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.

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...

The Urban Laundromat Renewal

The Urban Laundromat Renewal

Maximizing Turnover, Revenue and Profit In many urban settings, utility, real estate and rent costs are on the rise, which makes doing business there tricky. Luckily, for the vended laundry owner, there are many concrete ways to effectively combat costs, while...

The New ‘Green’ Standard

The New ‘Green’ Standard

Running a Sustainable, Eco-Conscious Laundry Business is Good for the Planet – And Great for Your Bottom Line Sixty-two degrees. That was the average global temperature this past July, making it the hottest month on record, dating back to 1880. Last July also marked...

Headlines

Library Association Honors LaundryCares’ McChesney

The Association for Library Service to Children has named Elizabeth McChesney the 2021 recipient of its Distinguished Service Award. This honor recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to library service to children and to the ALSC. McChesney...

Reaching Out to Today’s ‘Omni-Shopper’

How to Unify Your Business’ Online and Offline Experiences We’ve been living in an “omni-channel world” for a while now. What does that mean? It means your customers aren’t just looking you up online or finding your ad and making a decision. They’re looking everywhere...

Biden Adjusts PPP Rules in Favor of Small Businesses

President Biden changed the main U.S. COVID-19 aid program for small businesses this week in an attempt to reach smaller businesses and sole proprietors left behind in previous rounds of aid. For two weeks, starting on February 24, the Small Business Administration...

Alliance Laundry Systems to Acquire PWS

Alliance Laundry Systems has announced that it is acquiring the distribution assets of PWS Inc., the largest distributor of Speed Queen equipment and replacement parts in North America. The deal is expected to close in March. PWS opened in 1968 and maintains offices...

HappyNest Adds New California Location

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest recently announced the company’s further expansion into Orange, Calif. “Once again, we have found a great partner who will complement our conversion of Springboard licensees in the Orange County area,” said HappyNest...

On the Money

An Overview of the SBA’s 504 Loan Program The Small Business Administration’s 504 Loan program is a powerful economic development program that offers small businesses, such as laundromats, another avenue for business financing, while promoting business growth and job...

First Tide Laundromat Opens in Chicago

The first Tide Laundromat recently opened for business in Chicago, on the city’s far north side. According to the Procter & Gamble brand, it is a part of Tide’s strategic focus “to bring innovation and new technologies to the out-of-home laundry services...

Cents Announces $4.25M Financing Round

Cents, a leading business management and in-store operations platform for laundromat owners, recently announced a $4.25 million financing round. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Newfund Capital, Riverpark Ventures and 1517 Fund....

Enthusiasm for Our ‘Essential’ Industry

The laundromat business has proven itself to be recession-resistant, pandemic-resistant – and, yes, “essential.” As a result, the industry is growing at a rate at which I’ve never seen before. People are fleeing corporate America to build or buy laundromats. Current...

HappyNest Launches Fresno Location

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded its operations into Fresno, Calif. “California became a big growth market in the fourth quarter of 2020 and that expansion is continuing into 2021,” said HappyNest founder John MacKrell. “We are excited to...

The New Investors

As Interest in the Laundromat Industry Grows, Who’s Getting into the Business… and Why? Melody Fanto has never been afraid of hard work. She has been a registered dental hygienist in Long Island, N.Y., for 30 years. In addition, she previously owned an auto repair...

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September Magazine Issue

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

Franchise Development Veteran Joins Tide Cleaners

Tide Cleaners has announced Bill McCane as its new vice president of franchise development. Prior to joining Tide, McCane worked for a number of prominent franchisors with roles in franchise operations, product marketing and business development. Most notably, he...

CSC ServiceWorks Expands Social Impact Program

CSC ServiceWorks has announced it is expanding its social impact program, CSC CommunityWorks. In 2022, the company continues to extend its network of community center/local CSC branch partnerships in the company’s 40 markets – donating and servicing new equipment and...

HappyNest Expands Reach in Utah

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded south of Salt Lake City and is now available in West Jordan, Utah, through its new partner, Midvale City Laundromat. This Midvale-based operation also provides PUD services to residents and businesses in the...

Industry Mourns Reed Hinrichs

HK Laundry Equipment co-founder Reed Hinrichs recently passed away at the age of 93. An icon in the laundry industry throughout New York and Connecticut, Mr. Hinrichs first established HK Sales in 1967, with his business partner Jim Kerr. The company started out by...

HappyNest Partners with Arizona Laundromat

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded into North Phoenix, Ariz., through its new laundromat partner, My Laundry Room. HappyNest’s laundry services are now available in North Phoenix, as well as portions of Scottsdale. “Prior to partnering with...

FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

Columns

The Laundry Doctor

Community Service

Orginally posted - Jan 02, 2013 Your laundromat is a crucial part of the neighborhood in which it's located. And, as a small-business owner, you need to recognize this fact and do what you can to strengthen that bond with those within your community. Whenever I look...

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The Business Mind

On Your Best (Financial) Behavior

How Understanding Behavioral Economics Can Help You Make Better Financial Decisions Have you ever heard of behavioral economics? If not, you have now! But what exactly is it? In a nutshell, behavioral economics can best be defined as how our individual psychology and...

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Wash With Wally

Viewpoint

Clean 2015 Attendance Tops Previous Show

Just two days into Clean 2015 in Atlanta, the laundry industry's biennial trade show has already surpassed the attendance figure of the 2013 event in New Orleans by approximately 5 percent. What's more, the Atlanta show's net square footage of 189,300 square feet is...

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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.