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.

Are You Covered?

Are You Covered?

Five Business Insurance Questions New Laundry Owners Must Ask When thinking about purchasing a vended laundry, insurance very likely is not at the top of your to-do list. However, it’s probably more important than you think, as insurance coverage for your store is...

Bracing for Impact

Bracing for Impact

Sewer Impact or Tap Fees Are a Reality in the Vended Laundry Industry – But That Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Fight Back As commercial real estate rents continue to rise and more markets are being characterized as “mature" (with more than a few established laundromats in...

By the Numbers

By the Numbers

Whether Selecting a New Laundry Site or Keeping an Established Store Thriving, Industry Experts Reveal the Data You Need to Know The age-old adage for retail success – which most certainly includes vended laundry businesses – has long and invariably been, “Location,...

Headlines

CLA Adds New Directors, Announces Executive Committee for 2021

The Coin Laundry Association recently welcomed two highly respected industry leaders to its Board of Directors for 2021. Those new directors are laundromat owner Yvette Morton Williams of Conyers, Ga., and distributor Alex Harris, president and CEO of Professional...

The Road to Laundromat Ownership

Should You Build a New Store or Buy an Existing One? After much time thinking about it, you’ve decided that 2021 will finally be your dream year – your time to become an independent owner of a vended laundry business. The question then becomes should you buy an...

Keeping a Roof Over Your Head

Whether Buying an Existing Store, Building a New Facility or Just Trying to Maximize Your Current Laundromat, Don’t Neglect the Roof By definition, a roof with a hole in it is like devouring a Big Mac and a large order of fries right after your workout. It kind of...

The Psychology of Risk

Mastering the Uncertainties of Laundromat Ownership “Ninety-five percent of thought, emotion and learning occur in the unconscious mind without our awareness.” – Dr. Gerald Zautman, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University It’s a well-accepted fact that all business...

Speed Queen Launches Podcast

Speed Queen recently launched a podcast called Laundromat Insights, which has been developed to educate and entertain both laundry industry veterans and newcomers, according to the company. The podcast will leverage industry experts and laundry owners to offer advice...

PlanetLaundry Podcast, Episode 16: Here’s to Your Health

In this episode you will hear our editor Bob Nieman interview Tim McNichols of LIG Solutions, the newest healthcare insurance program added to CLA Business Solutions. You can read the entire story, “Here’s To Your Health” in the December 2020 edition of the...

Go for ‘Broker’

Working with a Broker to Buy or Sell Your Next Laundromat With some 30,000 laundromats in the United States – give or take – there are stores perpetually being bought and sold in nearly every market throughout the country. This is where a reputable laundry broker...

Stay on Target

Knowing Your Audience is the Key to a Strong Advertising Message It’s a fact that many laundromat owners love to advertise. And it’s equally true that several of these operators, unfortunately, do so incorrectly – thus, spending large sums of money for very little...

HappyNest Names Chief Technology Officer

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest Inc. has named Bill Doll its new chief technology officer. Most recently, Doll served as senior vice president and CTO at Ipswitch Inc., prior to the company’s sale to Progress Software in 2019. For the last 12 months,...

CG West Hosts Educational Session on Laundromat Cleaning

Continental Girbau West, headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., recently hosted “Laundromat Cleaning by Design,” an educational presentation for laundromat owners. The session focused on cleaning and disinfecting hard surfaces, choosing the proper chemistry for...

The Dedication of CLA Volunteers

The Coin Laundry Association could not end our Month of Thanks without recognizing our most valuable asset – our volunteers. From the members who contributed their time to LaundryCares events to those who have served as speakers for our events or authors of articles...

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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

States Address Rising Gas Prices with Tax ‘Holidays’

In March, U.S. gasoline prices hit an all-time high at $4.33 per gallon, surpassing the previous record set in 2008. Clearly, this is not news to laundromat owners who offer pickup-and-delivery services for their residential wash-dry-fold and/or commercial accounts...

HappyNest Expands Reach in New York

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded within Westchester County, N.Y. – now available in Yonkers through its new laundromat partner, Lucky Suds. In addition to Yonkers, HappyNest laundry services are now available to residents and businesses in...

GNA Recognizes Lavanett as 2021 Canadian Distributor of the Year

Girbau North America recently presented Lavanett – based in St. Laurent, Quebec – with its second consecutive Canadian Distributor of the Year Award. Led by Earl Eichen, Lavanett was recognized for exemplary performance in the vended and on-premises laundry markets...

EVI Industries Acquires Laundry South, Expands into Mississippi

EVI Industries Inc. has acquired Laundry South Systems & Repair, based in Pearl, Miss. The deal marks EVI’s 19th laundry distributor acquisition. The addition of Laundry South expands EVI’s sales and service operations into the state of Mississippi and increases...

GNA’s Gary Clark Announces Retirement

Gary Clark, the technical service manager for Girbau North America, has retired after 27 years with the company. Clark started at GNA during its formation in 1995 and was among the first employees hired. “We’ve all been fortunate to work alongside Gary, to get to know...

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

‘Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty’

And Five Other Useful Observations on Life and the Laundry Business As I have mentioned before, I am continually intrigued by what thoughtful, introspective and accomplished individuals from all avenues of life have to say. As a result, I continue to collect their...

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Wash With Wally

Viewpoint

A Healthy Obsession

As it is with many, if not most, small-business owners, I'm almost obsessive when it comes to tracking the financial health of my business. From the beginning, I have insisted on collecting daily – first at one location, and now three. Fortunately, with two sons...

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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.