Why a Laundrymat?

Many people have been asking why a laundrymat? What made you decide to go into the family business? As a woman can you do it?

What made you decide to go into the family business?

After 8 years of teaching third grade and being a school librarian this past March, I made a huge switch. I along with my husband decided to dive into the world of laundry mats. My father likes to call himself a textile maintenance engineer.

40 + years ago my father, along with his grandfather (my great grandfather) and my dads father (my grandfather) they decided that Killeen, TX needed a laundrymat. My great grandfather was in the construction business along with his son and another local friend.



At the age of 25 my dad build his first location, over the years he has built and bought multiple laundrymats throughout our city. I remember being in middle school and helping him build one of our locations. I was just 11 years old and in the 6th grade. He was building the store just a block away and I remember many long hours spent there while he laid floor, installed plumbing, ran electricity and the like. I remember learning about welding and realizing that having a laundrymat is so much more than just dirty clothes.


In high school, I was known as the girl whose family owned local laundrymats. My father has coined literally the phrase we "make our living a quarter at a time." Not much has changed in over 40 years of ownership. It still cost 25 cents to start a dryer and we have no washers that cost over 8 dollars for a load. WOW 8 dollars seems high however, this one washer can hold over 90 pounds of your clothing.

As a woman can you do it?

The answer is YES! This is just not a man's occupation anymore. We pride ourselves on the fact that we do fix all of our machines. Recently I helped my father lay tile at one of my stores, we can fix the fan in the hot water heater.


We supply all the candy, chips and sodas to our vending machines. I can clean up water on the floor or fix a machine when a sock is caught in the door.

If a dryer isn't getting hot enough, yes I can flip a switch and make sure the flame is igniting.

I can unstop a sewer line.

Is it a pretty job no! I don't get to wear fun jewelry or heels but I do enjoy every moment of everyday and have found something that makes me happy!

YES it is a messy job, but YES I can do it. Everyday, I constantly have something new to face. Everyday I am learning something new.

The biggest thing I have learned is that 99 percent of problems are really not that big a deal in the grand o scheme of things. It can be fixed or you can get the part in a matter of days.