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.
CLA Member of the Year
An Interview with Multi-Store Owner Michael Finkelstein Michael Finkelstein began his professional career as a broker manager for Georgia Pacific, where he worked with supermarkets in the Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia territories. In 1983,...
Maintaining the Ideal: The Keys to Optimum Dryer Care
An Interview with Whirlpool Customer Relations Manager Joe Carrita Joe Carrita has spent more than 23 years in the commercial laundry industry, with a special focus on the on-premises laundry market and customer service. He recently discussed the latest in dryer care...
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...
Headlines
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....
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...
SPONSORED CONTENT
This Month's Issue
- Tech on the Rise: How Operators Are Using Innovation to Run Smarter, Faster Laundromats: From AI phone systems to real-time data tracking, operators and suppliers share how technology is reshaping the modern laundry business and what’s coming next.
- Business Profile: Delivering a Superior
Laundry Experience - Member Spotlight: Rick Rome –
Innovating Laundry, One Customer at a Time - Guest Column: How AI Changed Google Reviews (What Laundromat Owners Need to Know)
- And More…
THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS
Industry News
COVID Relief Bill Introduced
Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Ben Cardin recently introduced legislation to create what’s being called the Hard-Hit Small Business Relief Fund (S.4471). For small businesses demonstrating substantial losses in 2020 and 2021 due...
ICYMI: New York City Repeals Retail Laundry License Requirement
On July 18, 2021, New York City enacted Local Law 80 of 2021, which repeals the licensing requirement for retail laundries. This repeal went into effect on December 31, 2021. Beginning last December, a retail laundry license from the city’s Department of Consumer...
Don’t Overlook Supply Chain Delays When Considering Section 179 Deductions
To be eligible for a 2022 Section 179 deduction, the eligible equipment must be purchased and put into service by midnight December 31, 2022. It’s not enough to merely buy the equipment. Given that, laundromat owners are reminded to keep the current supply chain...
State Tax Changes Taking Effect Mid-Year
Although the majority of 2022 state tax changes take effect at the start of the calendar year, some are implemented at the beginning of the fiscal year. Individual and corporate income tax changes usually take effect at the beginning of the calendar year to maintain...
Oregon Laundromat, Rotary Club Help Fund Local Laundry Program
The Rotary Club of Crook County in Oregon recently presented the Family Access Network with a grant of $2,000 to support laundry services at Express Eco Laundromat in Prineville, Ore. The laundromat partially matched the grant funding to help support the purchase of...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Fire and Water Restoration
Originally posted - Sep 12, 2012 I get calls from laundry owners all across the country about how to handle garments that either have been through fires or damaged by flooding. And, personally, I've done a good deal of work with a number of fire and water restoration...
The Business Mind
Hard Facts on Dealing with the ‘Soft Costs’ of Business Ownership
Are Stress, Customer Diversity and Managing Your Employees Taking Their Toll on You and Your Laundry Operation? In general, self-service laundry owners typically face about 11 or 12 costs on a monthly basis. These costs can range from utilities and labor to vended...
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
Clean 2015: Wash-Dry-Fold, Commercial Accounts Dominate the Show’s Third Day
With more and more self-service laundry owners looking to grow their businesses through the addition of wash-dry-fold services and commercial accounts work, the Coin Laundry Association – on the third day of Clean 2015 in Atlanta – dedicated the entire morning's...
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.








