It's a little odd for Festiva Laundry to be a finalist in the "America's Most Progressive Coin Laundry" contest, given that it's moved past coins altogether.
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The laundry is so progressive that it now sells electronic, debit-like cards to operate the washers, dryers and vending machines at its facility on the corner of Orange Street and Columbia Avenue.
Although their facility has moved past part of the award's name, co-owners Phil and Carol Wolgemuth, of Lancaster, say they're more than happy to accept recognition.
"We know we have a progressive laundromat," Phil said. "I don't know if we ever thought there'd be a contest."
But when Phil saw an ad for the contest in the Coin Laundry Association's newsletter, he thought, "Why not apply?"
Tolt Laundry Co., in Carnation, Wash., and Giant Laundromax, in Minneaopolis, shared first place while Express Laundry at the Image Center, in Adrian, Mich., shares the title of runner-up with Festiva Laundry.
Members of the Coin Laundry Association judged the laundries on their technology, environmental awareness, amenities and security.
Nine plasma TVs and 16 security cameras hang scattered throughout the three aisles of 58 washers and 68 dryers in Festiva Laundry. A children's area, with a TV, books and a tic-tac-toe board, sits in one corner of the pink-, purple-, yellow-, and neon-green-walled building on the corner.
Phil said he and his wife spent about six months planning Festiva Laundry before it opened a year-and-a-half ago.
"We thought, 'Why can't we do a really cool laundromat?'" he said.
But they were after more than just cool.
To build the facility, the Wolgemuths remodeled an old building, saving energy, they said. The majority of their machines are eco-friendly, too.
A "double" washing machine, for example, will clean twice as many clothes as a typical top-loading machine and use even less energy. The doubles spin twice as fast during the extraction process, Carol said, so the dryers don't have to use as much energy either.
Their dryers include Festiva Finales and Festiva Grand Finales, which can hold up to 75 pounds of laundry.
"We named all our machines just for fun," Phil said. "We got the trademarks."
"He's an attorney," Carol said, laughing a little.
Phil replied, "Today, if you have a creative idea, someone can take it and trademark it, so you can't use it."
Being unique, the Wolgemuths said, was always part of the goal.
The Wolgemuths have at least one of their six attendants working at the facility the entire time it's open, from 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.
Customers can pay 99 cents per pound, with a minimum of $10, for a next-day drop-off service, which is particularly popular with Franklin & Marshall College students.
"We have, right now, mainly guys, and they come in by the trunkful," Carol said.
"In new dorms, they have pretty nice facilities," Phil said, "but you have to do it yourself."
Between the college students, the people who have their own machines but want to use larger ones for bedding, and the regulars, the place can get pretty packed, especially on Sundays, the Wolgemuths said. They don't count the number of customers at any given time.
"There's an attitude that they take some pride in this place," Carol said.
Phil said that "fosters a sense of community."
Staff writer Liz Navratil can be reached at enavratil@LNPnews.com or 481-6014.
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