Longtime Laundromat Owner on 23 Years of Service, Challenges, Community Impact

For more than two decades, Lee Ann Geurts has been a steady force in her Brooklyn Park community in Minnesota, running three laundromats that have become known not just for clean clothes, but for connection, comfort, and care. What began as a business venture for her...

Green is Good Business 

Green Operations Increasingly Important to Feed Consumer Demand  When Green Laundry Lounge co-owners Pulin and Krishna Dasai got into the vended laundry industry, they wanted to change a narrative: laundromats are water and energy-intensive businesses.   “The...

Leveling the Playing Field

John Um wanted to make sure small business owners could get fair pricing and access to reliable suppliers without needing to have significant buying power. As a leader whose career spanned several major retail and e-commerce companies, he had seen firsthand how hard...

Staying Fierce: Haley Gould Finds Perfect Fit in Vended Laundry

Haley Gould is the Director of Partner Success for HappyNest. She manages an internal team while leading more than 100 partners across the United States building a successful pickup and delivery operation in addition to running their laundromat business. A consummate...

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

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…

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

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

In Your Face

Never Stop Looking for Creative Ways to Get Your Brand in Front of Your Customers – And Potential Customers If you’re a regular reader of PlanetLaundry, you know that my fellow columnists Stephen Bean and Dennis Diaz are always talking about the importance of your...

Alliance Laundry Systems to Acquire Washburn Machinery

Alliance Laundry Systems is acquiring the distribution assets of Washburn Machinery Inc. and is expected to close on the purchase later this year. Established in 1948, Washburn Machinery, Elk Grove Village, Ill., provides on-premises laundry solutions to a variety of...

General Booth Sales Now Open for Clean 2022

General booth sales are now open for the upcoming edition of the Clean Show, which is scheduled for July 30 – August 2, 2022, in Atlanta. Space is assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. With pre-sales already underway for all 2019 Clean Show exhibitors, the...

Laundry’s Changing Landscape

From Branded Concept Stores to Franchise Opportunities, Laundromat Investors Have Never Had More Choices “I hate that word ‘franchise.’ It always makes me think of French fries.” – Sigourney Weaver French fries? Yes. Cheeseburgers? Definitely. Dirty laundry? Maybe not...

Wash with Wally: Removing Permanent Marker Stains

How can I best remove black, permanent marker stains from a pair of heavy-duty, brown duck fabric coveralls? Any leads you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Admittedly, some black marker stains can be very difficult to remove, especially if the spots have been...

HappyNest Expands into Denver Market

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest is now available in the Denver area through the company’s new partner, Sunshine Cleaners & Laundromat, based in Arvada, Colo. “HappyNest is sweeping the country with our latest location in the Denver area,” said John...

Are You a Procrastinator?

The Time You’re Wasting is Costing You Money, Customers and the Opportunity to Reach Your Full Potential While attending Michigan State University as an undergraduate, I served as the student manager of the varsity tennis team. One particularly freezing January...

GNA Honors 2020 Distributors of the Year

Girbau North America recently recognized several distributors for outstanding sales and service in 2020. Fowler Laundry Solutions, based in Union, N.J., received the Vended Laundry and Multi-Housing Distributor of the Year awards; Sunshine Sales, headquartered in...

Speed Queen Adds Alliance Laundry Equipment to Distributor Network

Speed Queen recently announced the addition of Alliance Laundry Equipment to its distributor network. Alliance Laundry Equipment will represent the Speed Queen brand throughout Utah and Colorado, as well as parts of Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming. The company will take on...

Wash with Wally: Increasing Labor Costs

I own three vended laundries, and I’m quite concerned about the $15 per hour minimum wage that’s being talked about more and more these days. I have three or four employees at each of my locations, and I’m paying those attendants $10 per hour. I don’t know how I would...

HappyNest Names Chief Revenue Officer

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has named Jeanne Hopkins its new chief revenue officer. Hopkins has 30 years of experience in marketing technology and data, with a reputation for building sustainable customer and team relationships while bridging the gap...

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Scaling Wash & Fold Operations

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September Magazine Issue

This Month's Issue

 

  • Connecting, Learning, Advocating: CLA Maximizes Impact at Clean Show 2025

  • Member Spotlight: Finding a Niche in the Laundromat Industry

  • PlanetLaundry Podcast: Turning Setbacks into Success: Saichelle McNeill’s Journey

  • A Laundromat With Heart: Inside Cherry Drive’s Customer-First Approach

  • And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

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...

City Officials Tour New Speed Queen Franchise

Although open just over a month, California’s first Speed Queen Laundry franchise, located in Long Beach, recently attracted attention with visits from a pair of city officials. The store played host to visits from Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and Long Beach...

FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

Columns

The Laundry Doctor

On the Road Again

Originally posted - Nov 24, 2014 At a presentation on commercial accounts that I conducted for the Southern California Coin Laundry Association, one of the most popular questions from the audience was about pickup and delivery vehicles. When should you by a van? What...

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The Business Mind

Wash With Wally

Viewpoint

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.