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.

The Local Laundry Hub
For Many of Today’s Vended Laundry Owners, It’s No Longer a ‘Cash-at-All-Cost’ Business An exciting movement is taking hold within the vended laundry industry. More and more laundries are serving as community hubs, where giving back is as important as receiving....

Please Advise…
Successful Laundry Owners Share the Best – And Worst – Business Advice They’ve Ever Received “In life, you need many more things besides talent. Things like good advice and common sense.” – Hack Wilson, Major League Baseball Player from 1923-1934 “No enemy is worse...

By the Numbers
An Interview with Ideal Spot CEO Marc Smookler Marc Smookler has started five companies – three of which are market leaders in their respective spaces: a commercial real estate data platform, an online retailer and a unified communications provider. Mr. Smookler’s...
Headlines
Navigating the Laundromat Lease
16 Tips for Successful Negotiating Your Next Store Lease A commercial property lease for a laundromat is a rare breed – truly an animal all its own. So, when negotiating such a lease, be sure to do your research. Your store’s lease will be among your biggest expenses,...
Commercial Real Estate
Industry Experts Discuss Current Trends and Issues – Along with Key Factors Shaping Today’s Markets Some laundromat owners are multi-store operators who have learned the real estate business due to a series of retail leases and/or building purchases over the years....
Curbside Laundries Celebrates Milestone
Curbside Laundries recently announced that it’s now providing wash and fold POS systems and pickup-and-delivery solutions to 350 laundromats throughout the United States. “It has been quite a journey,” said Aaron Simmons, a Curbside Laundries co-founder. “Just over...
HappyNest Recognized with Business Innovation Award
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest – based in East Greenwich, R.I. – has been named a recipient in Rhode Island Inno’s 4th annual Inno on Fire awards program, which recognize companies sparking innovation to help drive the tech ecosystem within the region....
Investing in Online Real Estate
A Look at Some Digital Marketing Options to Help You Build Your Laundromat Business As someone who is in the vended laundry business (or is considering investing in a laundromat), you’re also somewhat – by default – in the commercial real estate business as well....
Paychex Offers COVID-19 Vaccination Resources and Guidance
Paychex – a leader in providing human resource, payroll and benefits outsourcing services for small to medium-sized businesses – conducted an online survey of 300 principals of U.S. companies with two to 500 employees. According to the survey results, most business...
‘More Than Just a Place to Wash Your Clothes’
Chicago Owner Points to a Number of Reasons Why Childhood Literacy in Laundromats Makes Good Sense Paul Hansen’s business plan has always included making his laundromats an integral part of the neighborhoods he serves. From regularly hosting free laundry days at his...
Let’s Go to the Phones…
“Who you gonna call?” – Ray Parker, Jr. (Ghostbusters) The pandemic’s challenges have been well-documented within these pages. Given the Coin Laundry Association’s efforts to assure laundromats be deemed essential and open – along with your extraordinary work to...
HappyNest Partners with New York’s CleanFresh Laundromat
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded into New York’s south Westchester County market, through the company’s recent partnership with CleanFresh Laundromat in Yonkers. “We’re proud to be partnering with CleanFresh Laundromat with its new,...
60 Years… And Counting
An Interview with Laundromat Owner Frank Lambing Frank Lambing is one of the laundromat industry’s true pioneers. He opened Lamb Launderette on his family’s farmland in Williamstown, N.J., in 1961. And he’s never looked back. Today, still in the very same location,...
Maytag Commercial Laundry Announces Equipment Replacement Contest
Maytag Commercial Laundry recently announced its Replace Today for $10K Maytag Commercial Laundry Contest. Laundromat owners who purchase replacement equipment between January 1, 2021, and July 31, 2021, will be eligible to participate in the contest to win $10,000....
Alliance Laundry Systems to Acquire D&M Equipment
Alliance Laundry Systems recently announced that it is acquiring the distribution assets of D&M Equipment Co., headquartered in Chicago. This marks Alliance’s third acquisition of 2021 and the first purchase of a distributor of multiple manufacturers’ products....
SPONSORED CONTENT
SPONSORED CONTENT
Learn proven tactics to get your laundromat found on Google, earn more positive reviews, and convert social media followers into customers.
This Month's Issue
- Get Clear to Keep it Clean: Find Focus to Maximize Your Marketing Efforts
- Women In Laundry: From the Washroom to the Boardroom
- Store Profile: Southern Suds Changing the Game
- Member Spotlight: Hutchinson Belt Drive Systems
- And More…
THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS
Industry News
Recruiting Strategies for Tight Labor Markets
In today’s scramble to recruit the best employees, a new or growing business may need to devise creative recruitment strategies to keep pace with the competition. This is especially important in today’s labor market, where the unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been...
Ohio Laundromat Installs Children’s Library
Laundromat Libraries, a pilot program of the Marietta Community Foundation, recently established its first library at Old Town Express Laundry in Marietta, Ohio. “We are just happy to be able to provide a means to encourage young minds to cultivate a love for reading,...
Starchup, ZIPS Cleaners Announce Software Integration
Garment-care software provider Starchup and ZIPS Cleaners recently announced that ZIPS will be using Starchup’s software platform and API tools to launch a new mobile app for customers using home delivery, locker drop off and pickup, and EZ DropSM at ZIPS stores. ZIPS...
CleanCloud Partners with Gusto on Payroll Feature
CleanCloud has teamed up with payroll services provider Gusto to introduce its new CleanCloud Payroll feature. This new product enables laundromat owners to run payroll quickly and easily from the CleanCloud platform. All relevant data, including staff hours, are...
Whirlpool VP Named ‘Corporate Women’s Champion’
Seramount recently named Whirlpool Corp.’s Vice President of Channel Sales and Marketing Lynn Moersch its 2022 Corporate Women’s Champion, as part of Seramount’s Women of Excellence program. Moersch was honored for her outstanding leadership and business success, as...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
The Doctor Will See You Now….
Originally posted - Nov 04, 2014 Since I've been writing this column, I get inundated with questions from readers looking for advice on stain removal and garment care, as well as just the basic business of doing drop-off and commercial laundry. So, this month, I...
The Business Mind
Going Off-Script
How to Raise Your Laundry Business Above and Beyond the CompetitionYou might assume – understandably so – that most customers select a specific laundry based essentially upon location, vend prices and hours of operation. But that just isn't so.Let me explain...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Researching a Former Laundry Location
I do a considerable amount of drop-off laundry at my store, and I always seem to have a problem removing chewing gum from garments. Can you offer any suggestions for removing it? There are two ways to deal with this problem. One way is to spot it with a good paint and...
Viewpoint
Avoiding Surprises
Running a small business is far from an exact science. And operating a self-service laundry – with all of the market-by-market idiosyncrasies this entails – at times can be even less of a sure thing. With PlanetLaundry's cover story in May focusing on industry myths...
Digital Marketing
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
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.