r/Laundromats

I've been looking at laundromat listings on BizBuySell and LoopNet lately and noticed how much time it takes to sort through them. Most listings are thin on the details that actually matter, asking prices are all over the place, and there's no easy way to tell at a glance whether a deal is fair, overpriced, or worth a closer look.

I'm thinking about starting a free weekly newsletter where I do that filtering work. Each Tuesday, I pulled 5 listings from the major marketplaces that week, with my honest take on each one — what I'd pay, what I wouldn't, and why. Not a listings dump. More like a friend who looks at the same listings you do and tells you which ones are worth your time.

Before I commit to writing it weekly, I want to find out if anyone would actually read it. So:

• Would you subscribe to something like this?
• What would make it genuinely useful vs. just noise in your inbox?
• Anything you wish existed in this space that doesn't?

Appreciate any honest feedback, including "no, this already exists" or "no, I'd never read it." That's useful too.

Hey folks, I'm new to this as my gf just bought herself a laundromat and we have two washers that are messing up. The first one is overfilling when there's laundry in it to the point of leaking, but when empty to test it does not. I'm thinking maybe a pressure switch or the hose to it? I was told that it was leaking from the door the first time, then the empty test cycle was fine, then another customer used it and it was leaking from the door again and the soap dispenser. They couldn't find the breaker for this one apparently so they unplugged it and called it done.

The other one just kept filling and filling. She tried to find the breaker for that one and couldn't, so a gentleman turned the taps off for her while she held the door closed.

Both happened on different days but while I was at work so I can only go off what she said. So far for the second one I've been able to look at it and, with my very limited knowledge of a multimeter and a YouTube video, I tested the inlet valves and they all tested around 1000ohms, which is apparently in the good range. I checked the pressure switch and I'm confident it's the problem since all three terminals had continuity. I compared it to another machine that was the same and got the same results until I realized that one was out of order due to electrical issues so I can't count on it and it was already past time to leave

I apparently also need to go through and label some breakers.

Any help is appreciated, I'm in over my head a bit but I'm enjoying learning about most of this.

Where do you guys find part timers aside from posting signs up on the store?

one of my employees quitting this week and i need to find a replacement.

There is a new laundromat near me and the price of a basic wash is less than the laundromat I usually go to. The thing is that I feel like the washers at the new laundromat use less water than the ones at the one I used to go to. There are options like using extra water but if I would add this option the cost would be about the same as my old laundromat.

My question is - what would happen if I brought a bottle of extra water with me and poured it in as, or right after, the machine filled?

By the way, the machines are front loaders.

Hello Laundry owners, I want to have an idea about something please let me know about this. I am from Pakistan, and I have heard that laundry owners import towels and then supply them to their customers. Is it true?
I have strong connections with established towel exporters in Pakistan who are already doing business and supplying institutional towels to buyers in the USA. I myself have run a towel processing unit for a good amount of time.

Basically, I want to get in touch with such laundry owners who import towels so that I can supply them with the quantities after getting in collaboration with my connection (towel manufacturers in Pakistan). Supply ability is good if any of you think about consistent supplies. So let me know if this post reaches someone interested

I’ve been looking for a WDF locker option for my laundromat and just stumbled upon laundro.ai. Has anyone else heard of it? They are offering a 4-door smart locker and a years worth of software for $3,600. Sounds like a good deal to me but I’m not sure of exactly what it will provide me. If anyone’s heard of this or used the system please message me!!

I've been trying to utilize the advice I've been getting in this group.
Focused more on specific numbers and examples instead of only generalized advice.
Still working on increasing quality.

I’m looking to buy an existing profitable laundromat business (potentially a few) in New Jersey.

I was looking online, I’m not sure though where the best area to be looking is to find deals.

I also don’t have a background in this field, not trying to make a rash decision, but eager to get into the industry.

Looking for advice on where to find a good laundromat deal, and also tips on how to better learn what I don’t know.

My background is in tech (computer programming) for past 8 years, looking to move away, and heard laundromats have a very high success rate.

Thanks in advance

I have Electrolux Laundry Program Manager (LPM) and am trying to create washing programs adapted to some special needs, but can't find any documentation. That is, I have the manual for LPM but it just describes how to use it, not how to combine steps to create an efficient program.

I have started with the default 60 ℃ programs (that doesn't include prewash or prerinse) and want to add prewash and prerinse (and some modifications to the main wash too).

The main wash phase consists of five main wash steps, the purpose of some of them seem to be to balance the drum, flush the detergent compartments and heat the water. Intuitively I would say that some of these steps should be the first of any program, it just happens to be part of the main wash program because that is the only washing cycle in the default 60 ℃ program, and therefore I should add them before prerinse and/or prewash, and/or remove them from the main cycle.

However, this is where I lack documentation and therefore have been forced to use ChatGPT but it gives me the weirdest recommedations (which I could guess is because there is very little documentation for it to base its advice on).

Besides, none of the factory default programs on my machines include prerinse or prewash so just copying how Electrolux does it is not an option.

Anyone know anything about how to setup prerinse and prewash as part of an otherwise typical 60 ℃ program? Or know where I can find documentation for this?

Thank you.

I'd love to hear what owner/operators used to purchase a business. My preference is an existing business (vs. new construction), so vendor financing is not an option.

Other than SBA or owner financing, what other resources should I look into? TIA.

Can someone please give me guidance and tell me where to start for laundromat business?

Hi,
as the title says, my mom has decided she wants to buy a laundromat and believes whoever she purchases it from they will train her in owning a laundromat.
Does that actually happen? sounds a bit too good to be true.
Also, how does one start it? (she has the capital, and the want... just doesn't know the how)
She doesn't have reddit so I thought to ask here.
thank you for anything

Looking to buy a laundromat in the Southern California area. I’m looking at the nearby competition and for example, they are pricing their 6 load washes at 6.25. The laundromat I’m looking to buy is at $8 for 6 load. The competition also have newer machines and is remolded. The prospective laundromat I am looking at has 10 year old machines and is not attended and needs work.

How do I deal with this if I end up buying it? If I lower the prices to try to get more volume, I risk staying afloat and if I need to go back to original prices, I will lose a lot of customers. I’m on edge on buying this. The rent also doesn’t help as it’s outrageous for its smaller size.

Hi everyone! so I’ve been thinking about starting a small laundry business because apartments are increasing in my area and there isn’t one nearby yet. My plan is to start with maybe two or three units first and then grow depending on how things go. But I’m not sure what type of commercial laundry equipment I should be looking at. Should I start small and test demand or invest in more units early so I don’t struggle later. I’ve seen different machine setups people talk about and even noticed that some models look similar across suppliers like online stores which makes me think there are standard builds out there. I don’t want to overspend at the start but I also don’t want machines that can’t handle the workload. If you’ve started a laundry business before, how did you decide on your first machine? Any advice would really help.

I have been in the tech industry for 6 years now. I have been interested in buying a small business and hiring a manager, more like an absentee owner company. I have looked into:

1. Vending machines - Need to buy a lot to make profit, quite a bit of effort on loading, unloading, etc.
2. Laundromats - Leaning towards this as rate of success is greater than 90% and investment is not as car washes which have even higher success rates. Plus I plan to buy from those who are retiring so that I can scale the laundromat, probably through inculcating Artificial intelligence/Tech since it's my background.

Has anyone been in this similar path or did you end up buying something else which worked out for you? How did you go about it and how do I find mentors? Trying to find a community too.
Any other opinions/suggestions are welcome.