Exiting Laundromat Ownership? Contact Distributors!

So far in my laundromat equipment sales career as of March 2026, I've helped sell 19 laundromats spread between 14 owners. I'm not a real estate agent or a business broker, however working for a distributor there are always people calling asking about getting a store or if we know anyone looking to buy. The main office gets calls and emails all the time from people looking for locations.
A lot of these calls are from "tire kickers," people who don't know how to get into the business and just looking for information. Sometimes calls are from other owners looking to get an idea of what their stores are worth in todays market. There are some of these callers that are legitimate buyers with the backing to buy. I keep a list of these customers and qualify them as someone that can get into the world of laundromat ownership.
No commissions. No promises. 

So if you're selling a store how does the process work?
Simple.
As the seller I ask what information you are comfortable with me sharing with prospective buyers. If I find someone that seems to be a good candidate for buying your store I pass their information over to you and let you decide how you want to work with it. 

I ask two things of you as the seller:
The first is that you contact the buyer.
I've taken the time to qualify them as someone worth talking to.
They might not be right for your opportunity but they are worth contacting.

The second thing I ask is that you are serious about selling your store.
Don't tell me you are interested in selling and I should get you some leads and then decide you are not really selling. Legitimate laundromat buyers are usually prepared to make serious offers and are anxious to get into the business and not hearing from an owner who is supposed to be selling is frustrating. 

There are a lot of unprepared and unqualified store buyers out there so let me help you weed them out by talking to buyers I've met with.

It you are a laundromat buyer reading this, my next article is geared towards mistakes you are making that is ticking off current owners and explains why they are not contacting you. Stay tuned...

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

MFR Washer Spin Out Fix

 

It doesn't happen often, but you might have to spin out a load in a hard mount washer.
Maybe it was because of an error in the washer or maybe you're moving a load over from an unbalanced small chassis washer to spin out in the big washer.
Here is how you do a spin out cycle in a Maytag MFR washer.

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Diagnosing Drain Valve Problems

If you want to Diagnose a possible drain valve problem, give the video below a try.
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy 

First Looks at 2026 Maytag Hardmount Washer Lineup

 

If you didn't get a chance to go to Clean Show 2025 one of the bigger announcements was Maytag moving away from the MYR line they have made since 2015 to the MWR line that will be produced with the help of Tolan
(more on them in a future post).

These are not 100% production versions in these pictures from Clean so now that units are shipping in 2026 what do we look for?

Major parts compatibility across all sizes

Front loading soap drawer with soap going in the compartment closest to you

revamped door with hard inner door gasket that can be removed for cleaning or repair

The hard door gasket should also prevent the rubber gasket from wearing out as fast and help stop putting excessive outward door pressure on the door lock that could cause errors

Simple touch screen

A cap that can be removed to unlock the door in an emergency

A more traditional roller pin door lock

New bearing with different wear indicators so if there is ever a failure to help make diagnosis easier

Clearly different heights to differentiate sizes

More drain holes

A bump out lower front kick panel to help keep carts from crashing into the washer door

The dryers will still be made by ADC but will feature the MDC controller rather than the MLG control.

Nice deep reinforced lint tray

Stainless basket making the dryer look deeper

I have been surprised that Maytag couldn't make the MYR version of machines better than what they are because they have always been a good looking machine and made in America didn't hurt their appeal. However the reliability was not there for laundromat owners and that story melted away. Tolan is supposed to have a solid reputation so if they are making a dependable machine for Maytag then Maytag has a story to tell again. That is good for the market. If they can back that reliability up with fantastic prices to stop people from going the way of the cheaper Chinese brands and steal some market share away from the main competitors that have been "eating Maytag's lunch" the last 10 years that is a great story to start telling!

Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy

Always Need A Parking Lot?

 

When looking at a store to buy I’m often asked about parking lots.

Do you need a parking lot to have  successful laundromat.
The answer is NO.
Laundromats come in all shapes and sizes and are located in all different areas.

Each one is unique because of store size, neighborhood, equipment mix, zoning, street traffic flow, street patterns, building shape, lot size, etc.

The above store is 1,000 sq ft with 4 big washers, 20 small chassis washers, and 19 dryers.
The owner tells me his average customer uses at least three-four small washers and maybe a big washer. If you do the math this owner maxes out at 5-6 people in his laundromat at any given time.
He has an entrance in the front and street parking for three cars and an entrance in the back with street parking for six cars.
He also has a sizeable population that walks to the laundromat in all weather.
With the limited amount of customers that can wash or dry in his store, he only needs space for 4-5 cars before his store is maxed out.
A lot of people leave between cycles so there are always parking spaces available.
This location has been a laundromat since 1979 so it must not need a parking lot to survive and thrive.

The above laundromat is smaller than the first example.
It is on the corner of a busy street, yet the majority of the customers are people who walk there from the apartments above the laundromat or around it.
It also has almost all small chassis machines so it caters to the neighbors and customers who usually carry their 1-2 loads of laundry from their apartments to the store. There is a bar on one side of the laundromat and an auto repair shop on the other, plus being on a corner the city has blocked off some of the street parking as a fire lane. It maybe has space for two cars on either side of the entrance and there is a space or two across the street from the entrance, although that is a large apartment block so those spaces are often taken up by tenants.
This location has been around since the 1980s so it is another that didn’t need  a parking lot to survive and thrive.

Here is an example of a laundromat that is also on a corner of two busy streets but is a little more landlocked because it has to share street parking with other neighborhood store fronts and businesses in its own building. It is a larger store than the other two examples as it is about 1,500 sq/ft.
Like the other two examples, this building relies on walk up traffic from the area houses and apartments, It also has some street parking in front and on the side that people can come and drop off customers or park and do their laundry. Roughly 6-8 cars combined can park on both sides of the building.
This location has been around since roughly 2010 so it is a newer location than the other two and didn’t need  a parking lot to survive and thrive.

All laundromats are unique to their neighborhoods, buildings, owners, and customers. Even chain and franchise laundromats have small differences from each other. Parking areas for these laundromats are also unique. Having a parking lot with 5-10 spaces right in front of the laundromat entrance doors is great. What happens if those same 5-10 spaces are set further back from the store entrance by lets say a fire lane, loading zone, or the parking lot driving lane. Is that any different than having street parking that is not close to the entrance door? Not really. In the future we'll take a look at different parking lot situations. 

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Scraping Noise in Dryer?

 

If you hear a scraping noise in your dryers, check for coins an screws stuck in the basket holes or between the front of the basket and the front panel like in this video below:

Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy

442nd Regimental Combat Team Song

 

The company song for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. My father was a part of this unit from inception till it was decommissioned. 
Ev

Clearing MFR Washer Errors

 

Maytag MFR washers are still out in force at many laundromats.
If you get an error message on the screen, no matter what it is, here is how you can clear the error to see if it is a real mechanical error or something that was caused by random circumstances or customer error.

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Enter & Advance Rapid Mode Huebsch Washers

 

If you ever need to start a free cycle or go to a spin out cycle for a Huebsch front load washer here is how to do it. This procedure is similar for all the Alliance Laundry brands like Speed Queen and Primus.
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy 

Getting into Huebsch Speed Queen Programming Mode Older Push Button Front Panels

 

This is how you get into programming mode for Alliance brand washers like Huebsch and Speed Queen that have a push button that gets released when you open the front panel.

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Get Into Program Mode Pre 2021 Huebsch Speed Queen Washers