A local laundromat adapts during pandemic and coin shortage

As the pandemic and a national coin shortage affect local laundromats, you can now visit Soap Laundromat and pay with coins, a card, or soon, using your cell phone.

(LINCOLN, Neb.) – As the pandemic and a national coin shortage affect local laundromats, you can now visit Soap Laundromat and pay with coins, a card, or soon, using your cell phone.
The owner of the Soap laundromat says keeping quarters during the coin shortage has been a challenge.
“ We usually fill them once or twice a week, and we found that we were filling them almost every other day,” said Lynette Waltemath.

She says people kept using the coin machines just to get some change, not to wash clothes, and that affects the business.
And as for coins, she says banks only give so much. Lynette adds they have bought nearly $1500 worth of coins in the last few weeks.

“ Every single one of our 68 machines uses quarters,” said Waltemath. “So, that’s what has been the problem in the last that just started in the last couple of weeks that we haven’t been able to get quarters.”

Workers encourage customers to use debit or loyalty cards. But coming soon, there will be another payment option for customers.
“ We’ll be installing blue card readers, so, people will just use an app and then be able to start a machine using Bluetooth technology,” said Waltemath.

Lynette worried about closure due to the pandemic, but she says the health department ruled laundromats essential for low-income families. A mom of two says she appreciates the changes coming as the washer helps her family.

“Its’ really helpful cause who doesn’t want clean clothes you know?” says Ashley Richey, a customer. ” With me, I’m in a small apartment so we don’t have a washer and dryer. So, to have one right around the corner, it helps a whole lot.”

Lynette asks to help keep essential businesses running by not using the coin machines unless needed.
“We prefer people don’t come in and use our change machines if they are not customers because that does kind of get us low on quarters,” adds Waltemath.
And Lynette says she feels great that her essential business is serving others while surviving a pandemic and a coin shortage.