Guidance.help

Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers

Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers is the O*NET name for people who operate or tend washing or dry-cleaning machines to wash or dry-clean industrial or household articles, such as cloth garments, suede, leather, furs, blankets, draperies, linens, rugs, and carpets. The skills rated most useful are operation and control, monitoring, and active listening. You may also need to operate extractors and driers, or direct their operation. On the six-type interest model it reads RCE, meaning hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world comes first, followed by orderly work with data, records and clear procedures. Getting in usually takes a few months to a year of learning on the job, a level O*NET calls some preparation. People who want hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world usually fit better here than those who need research, analysis and working through hard problems.

What they do

Operate or tend washing or dry-cleaning machines to wash or dry-clean industrial or household articles, such as cloth garments, suede, leather, furs, blankets, draperies, linens, rugs, and carpets. Includes spotters and dyers of these articles.

Main tasks

  • Operate extractors and driers, or direct their operation.
  • Remove items from washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to do so.
  • Load articles into washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to perform loading.
  • Sort and count articles removed from dryers, and fold, wrap, or hang them.
  • Start washers, dry cleaners, driers, or extractors, and turn valves or levers to regulate machine processes and the volume of soap, detergent, water, bleach, starch, and other additives.
  • Examine and sort into lots articles to be cleaned, according to color, fabric, dirt content, and cleaning technique required.

Skills

  • Operation and Control
  • Monitoring
  • Active Listening
  • Time Management
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Critical Thinking

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You like ending the day with a physical result you can point to.
  • You like clear rules and getting the details right.
  • You want to start work after a short stretch of training.
  • You are comfortable relying on operation and control and monitoring.

May not suit you if

  • You would rather stay away from physical, hands-on tasks.
  • You want to spend most of your time analyzing and researching. Investigative rates 1.0 out of 7 here.
  • You want a career built on years of advanced study.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code RCE takes the three highest, and Realistic comes first here.

Preparation

Some preparation. Most people start with a high school diploma, then learn from experienced coworkers over a few months to a year.

Also called

  • Dry Cleaner
  • Industrial Laundry Attendant
  • Laundry Aide
  • Laundry Assistant
  • Laundry Attendant

Related careers

Is this your direction?

See how your interests line up with RCE and 906 other careers.

Take the career test

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.