PlanetLaundry Podcast
America’s #1 Resource for Vended Laundry News & Info
PlanetLaundry is the official publication of CLA and is trusted by thousands of laundry professionals to deliver the latest news and industry-specific topics.

2019: The Year in Review
Laundromat Industry Experts Review the Past 12 Months – And Share Thoughts on What May Lie Ahead It’s impossible to recap the past year in the laundromat business without acknowledging the clear-cut success of the Clean Show, which attracted more than 11,000 attendees...

‘AMP’ Up Your Business Marketing!
An Interview with American Marketing & Publishing Co-Founder Joline Staeheli Joline Staeheli is a co-founder of American Marketing & Publishing and has spent two decades in a range of operations, technology and marketing roles. Today, Joline leads AMP’s client...

When Competition Moves In…
How to Respond When a New Laundry Business Enters Your Market Bill Gates has carved into his desk a quote by Andy Grove, one of the founders of Intel. It states: “Success breeds complacency… complacency breeds failure.” This may sound strange or surprising, but there...
Headlines
Wash with Wally: Cleaning in Cold Water
I’m considering switching to a cold-water detergent for my wash-dry-fold business in order to save some money on my natural gas bill. Does this make sense? I don’t want to sacrifice the quality of the wash I offer my full-service customers. No, that does not make...
Be Better Tomorrow Than You Were Yesterday
Are You Running a Finite Laundromat Business or an Infinite One? Let me start with a very simple question: did you “win” at business last year? Huh? I’m serious. I’m talking about the battle with your competitors. Did you win it last year? If your answer is yes, my...
Magic in a Box
How LaundryCares Family Read, Play and Learn Centers Are Impacting Communities and Changing Lives Before jumping into the “what” and the nuts-and-bolts of the LaundryCares Family Read, Play and Learn Centers, we need to take a step back and examine the “why.” How did...
SpyderWash, Wash-Dry-Fold POS Announce Cross-Platform Integration
Laundry payment system provider SpyderWash, a Setomatic Systems company, and Wash-Dry-Fold POS, a point-of-sale system developed for laundromats, recently announced they have teamed up on a cross-platform project. SpyderWash enables laundromat customers and employees...
New Benefits Added to CLA Health Insurance Program
The Coin Laundry Association – which is working with LIG Solutions to offer comprehensive, affordable health coverage designed for laundromat owners, as well as their families and employees – has announced a newly added element to this health insurance program. The...
HappyNest Expands Further into Long Island
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded further into central Long Island, N.Y., through its partnership with The Laundry Closet. HappyNest now serves the east end of Suffolk County – from Bay Shore to Sayville to East Setauket. “We decided to...
Get Down to Business
There’s Never Been a Better Time to Boost Your Bottom Line with Commercial Accounts In the laundromat business, idle machines represent missed revenue that can never be recovered. Every store operator knows that it’s all about “turns per day.” And no one understands...
Create Enthusiasm for Your Wash-Dry-Fold Business
Four Basic Steps to Marketing Your Full-Service Offerings Wash-dry-fold services can be an incredible boon to your customers. You’re offering them a time-saving, hassle-free way to get their laundry done. You’re helping today’s customers stay on top of their busy...
Wash with Wally: Cleaning Yoga Blankets
I have been approached by a potential commercial client about cleaning yoga blankets. They are heavy wool blankets about the size of a twin bed sheet. This client doesn’t want to dryclean the blankets. What’s the best way to wash them? And how would I dry these items...
What, Me Worry?
You’ll Never Eliminate Anxiety from Your Business Life, But Here’s How to Control It “Stop worrying about what can go wrong, and get excited about what can go right.” I’m confident you’ll agree that owning a business such as (but not limited to) a laundromat can be,...
A Change of Heart
The Laundry Doctor Reconsiders His Perspective on the Profitability of the Wash-Dry-Fold Business For 20 years, I’ve warned laundromat owners against letting their wash-dry-fold operations interfere with and encroach upon the self-service end of their businesses....
PlanetLaundry Podcast Episode 21: An Interview with Neal Shapiro
In this episode, you will hear PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman interview Chicago laundromat owner Neal Shapiro. In 2014, Neal – and his wife, Kate – purchased their first laundromat in Chicago. Since then, the Shapiros have become fully immersed in the laundromat...
SPONSORED CONTENT
This Month's Issue
- Metrics That Matter: Profit, Performance, and Planning in Vended Laundry
- Women In Laundry: Haley Gould Finds Perfect Fit
- Company Close-Up: Company Founded to Help Small Businesses Shines
- New Member Spotlight: How Robotics Could Change Laundromat Industry
- And More…
THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS
Industry News
Kentucky Church Offers Free Laundry Service
Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief is operating a free laundry service for Marion residents from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily throughout the month of July, to help with water conservation efforts in the area. A mobile laundry trailer is located at the Fredonia First Baptist...
Tennessee Laundromat, Local Cafe Team Up for Food Drive
Cycle Laundromat in Clarksville, Tenn., will team up with Manna Cafe to host a food drive on August 9-11. The Cycle Laundromat team will host the food drive to give back to the community they serve. Those interested in participating can bring in at least four cans of...
HappyNest Adds Second Partner in Charlotte Market
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has added Sunshine Laundromat as its second laundromat partner in Charlotte, N.C. As a result, HappyNest’s services are now available to residents and businesses in Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville, as well as...
ACI Names Senior Manager of Public Health
The American Cleaning Institute, the trade association for the cleaning products supply chain, has appointed Audrey McCalley as senior manager, public health. “Audrey joins ACI with a background in public health, clinical research, policy and sustainability,” said Dr....
A Surprise Trend: ‘Inflation Relief’ Tax Policy
Rising inflation levels have hit consumers hard, and state lawmakers have spent time trying to provide relief, including indexing income tax brackets, issuing taxpayer rebates, and adopting new sales tax exemptions. Georgia, Idaho, Indiana (with an expansion of a...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor

Reaching the ‘Finish’ Line
Originally posted -Mar 01, 2013 There are several ways to bridge the gap between doing "traditional" wash-dry-fold at your store and taking it a step further to offer your customers a more finished laundry product. A lot of laundry owners have bridged that gap by...
The Business Mind
Hiring Good People
Here Are the Keys to Conducting an Effective Job Interview If you own or manage an attended laundry business, it's no secret that at some point in time you're definitely going to have to advertise for and interview prospective attendants. This task just comes with the...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Mat Rental, Marker Stains and More…
I have landed a commercial account with the local sewer and water department, washing their leather gloves. But I am having trouble getting the gloves soft and pliable. I also could use some tips on how to remove all of the dirt, grime and grease on them. I would...
Viewpoint
Iowa Laundry Owners Get a Big Raise
"Is this heaven?" "It's Iowa." "Iowa? Could have sworn it was heaven…" – "Field of Dreams" (1989) While the specters of baseball players past may have confused Iowa for heaven in the movie, you wouldn't blame Hawkeye laundry owners for thinking they're living in the...
Digital Marketing
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Strategic Corporate Allies Program
Our Strategic Corporate Allies support CLA’s mission through advocacy, education, and innovation to strengthen the industry, advance our members’ businesses, and prepare the next generation of laundry professionals for the future.
Interested in becoming a Strategic Corporate Ally of CLA? Contact President & CEO, Brian Wallace via email at [email protected] or call (630) 491-0499.