Remember 2020? The world went on pause, toilet paper became a currency, and banana bread had a full-blown renaissance. But tucked away beneath the sourdough starters and Zoom fatigue was another, lesser-known pandemic casualty: the American quarter.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Mint did what many businesses did—it scaled back operations. And when the Mint slowed down, coin production dipped. Meanwhile, we all started shopping online, tapping phones at checkout, and Venmoing like it was an Olympic sport. The humble quarter? Forgotten. Hoarded in jars, lost in couch cushions, and marooned in glove compartments nationwide.

And then… the world opened back up. But the quarters didn’t come with it.

Few folks felt that harder than Aanen Trelstad, owner of two coin-operated laundromats in Oregon: Hyland Eco Laundry in Beaverton and Hood Coin Laundry in Gresham. You might say he’s knee-deep in laundry—and up to his neck in coin problems.

Before COVID, Trelstad could roll into the bank and walk out with up to $1,000 in quarters every week. Now? His bank’s shelves are emptier than a detergent aisle during hurricane season.

So he’s gotten… creative.

“I’m hitting up everyone I know,” Trelstad says. “It’s amazing how many people have a pickle jar and have been collecting coins for the last 20 years.”

His most legendary haul? A cousin’s 3-foot-tall commemorative Heineken bottle. Brooke, we salute you. That bottle coughed up 2,000 quarters—$500 worth—and she’s only halfway through it. Somewhere, George Washington just blinked from inside a green glass tomb.

But for Trelstad, this scavenger hunt isn’t just quirky—it’s unsustainable.

“I can’t keep hitting up my neighborhood for quarters,” he says.

Adding to his woes, more people are working from home these days, which means they’re opting for the (slow, loud, occasionally possessed) laundry machines in their apartment complexes instead of heading to the laundromat. But guess what they are still doing?

Coming to Trelstad’s change machines.

“I’m losing $600 to $800 in quarters a week,” he says. “They’re not using my machines, they’re just raiding my change dispenser and leaving.”

Which means fewer quarters to run his actual business. Fewer loads spun. Fewer cycles rinsed. And a whole lot of frustrated foot traffic.

If you’ve ever wondered why a “coin shortage” matters in the grand scheme of laundry, this is it. For laundromat owners like Trelstad, it’s not just pocket change—it’s the heartbeat of the business.

Final Spin

So if you’ve got a dusty jar of quarters sitting under your bed, do your civic laundry duty. Use them. Spend them. Turn them in at the bank. Or better yet, feed them into a machine at your local laundromat. You’ll be doing more than washing your clothes—you’ll be keeping small business alive, one spin cycle at a time.

Support The Laundry Club Blog – If this story made you check that old coffee can of quarters, consider tossing one my way. Every bit helps keep The Laundry Club Blog spinning—no coin shortage here, just clean stories and dirty truths.