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.

Diamonds in the Rough

Diamonds in the Rough

What Makes a Laundry Ideal for a Successful Turnaround? There’s been a lot of talk about purchasing and retooling older, neglected laundromats. And, in recent years, it has proven to be a great strategy for many savvy laundry operators looking to grow their...

Clean 2019: A Recap from New Orleans

Clean 2019: A Recap from New Orleans

Taking a Look Back at the Industry’s Trade Show and Convention Technology was center stage at this year’s Clean Show in New Orleans. “Technology is beginning to rapidly disrupt the vended laundry world,” noted Sharon Brinks, who owns The Laundry Station in Wichita,...

The First Lady of Literacy in the Laundromat

The First Lady of Literacy in the Laundromat

An Interview with New York University’s Dr. Susan Neuman Dr. Susan B. Neuman is a professor of childhood and literacy development at New York University. Previously, she has been a professor at the University of Michigan and has served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary...

Headlines

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...

Keep Your Customers Coming Back for More…

…Or Why You Should Eat Pizza with a Knife and Fork I recently popped open a very good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and poured myself a glass. That first sip was amazing. The flavor was beyond overwhelming. Unfortunately, a few minutes and a few sips later, I hardly...

RKU Standard Acquires Standard Change-Makers

RKU Standard Inc. – under the direction of Rob and Kathleen Unterborn – has purchased Standard Change-Makers Inc. from the McNutt family, which has owned the currency changer manufacturer since its founding in 1955. Standard Change-Makers was established by James R....

CLA, LaundryCares Name Project Manager

The Coin Laundry Association and its charitable organization – the LaundryCares Foundation – jointly have named Tanisha Moore as project manager. Moore, who joined the CLA in 2015, has served the association in various managerial roles, from membership services to...

Creating the Right Atmosphere

An Interview with Mike Kelly of Atmosphere TV Mike Kelly began his sales and marketing career in the wine and spirits industry, having built and executed marketing programs for some of the largest spirits brands in the world. “When I came across the opportunity to...

Wash with Wally: Installing an ATM

I just got into the laundromat business, and I’m considering installing an ATM in my store. My question is whether I’m better off buying a machine outright and installing it myself, or having an outside vendor own and install the ATM, with some type of commission...

Speed Queen Laundromat Franchise to Open Flagship Location

Speed Queen has announced the construction of its flagship laundromat in support of the brand’s franchise model. The 12,250-square-foot store, located in Chicago, is scheduled to open this spring and will feature an array of equipment, with washer capacities ranging...

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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

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...

EVI Completes Acquisition of Clean Designs, Clean Route

EVI Industries Inc. – headquartered in Miami – has announced it has completed the company’s acquisition of Clean Designs Inc. and Clean Route LLC, based in Lakewood, Colo. Known collectively as Clean Designs, the company is a distributor of commercial laundry products...

Alliance Adds Quality Assurance Positions

In its North America service area, Alliance Laundry Systems has created the position of quality assurance specialist – with industry veterans Tony Berton and Scott Demotts taking on those roles focused on large-chassis and small-chassis products, respectively. Berton...

HappyNest Names Digital Marketing Director

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has named Turner Scott as its new director of digital marketing. Scott – who most recently served as digital marketing manager for a specialty home décor company – is responsible for coordinating and executing HappyNest’s...

FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

Columns

The Laundry Doctor

Uniformity

Originally posted - Oct 06, 2014 Many laundry owners looking to add commercial work to their service menu often fail to consider a fairly simple and yet quite lucrative type of account – company uniforms. Yes, it's true that the large commercial cleaners have been...

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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.