Our Freedom Story

Water was leaking, and I had to go turn off the water. It’s Sunday afternoon, and the store is busy. I didn’t want to have to fix the leak; I wanted to spend time with family. I overestimated my athletic ability and decided to jump onto the top of the washer. My kneecap caught the edge of the washer, and I crumpled to the floor. It was dislocated. 

My staff freaked out and called the ambulance. While crumpled up on the floor in pain, I wasn’t worried about medical care; I called my plumber. I needed to fix the current problem, but more than that, I needed to figure out how to never get into this situation. 

The problem with my current, traditional bulkhead setup is that the only way to get to the back, where the water was leaking, was to crawl over the washers. In that moment, on the ground in pain, I decided that laundromat owners needed a better way. 

Thus was born Freedom Bulkheads.

I, Paul Pettefer, owner and founder of Freedom Bulkheads, began my laundromat journey in 2004 by purchasing two 5,000-foot stores and then two more in the next couple of years. These stores were all built in the 80s and needed remodeling and repowering. This gave me experience in the design and operation of a modern laundromat. After 2020, my team and I expanded and built new stores in light of our experience. 

If we’ve met,  you know that I stand for working hard, making the most of all resources, and freedom. I know the struggles of working with traditional bulkheads, and I had you, fellow laundromat owner, in mind when creating Freedom Bulkheads. 

Let laundromat freedom ring!