Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
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.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Time Management
- Speaking
- Coordination
Key knowledge
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Chemistry
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- 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.
- Sort and count articles removed from dryers, and fold, wrap, or hang them.
- Examine and sort into lots articles to be cleaned, according to color, fabric, dirt content, and cleaning technique required.
- Load articles into washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to perform loading.
- Clean machine filters, and lubricate equipment.
- Remove items from washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to do so.
- Operate extractors and driers, or direct their operation.
- Inspect soiled articles to determine sources of stains, to locate color imperfections, and to identify items requiring special treatment.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (73.5% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- None (64.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (61%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 63% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 73% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 69% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 88% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 64% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 95% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 89% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 92% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 1.62%
- Occasional contact with others: 7.96%
- Contact with others about half the time: 9.34%
- Contact with others most of the time: 27.91%
- Constant contact with others: 53.18%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 33.06%
- Fairly important: 14.75%
- Important: 8.46%
- Very important: 25.49%
- Extremely important: 18.24%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 1.63%
- Fairly important: 7.97%
- Important: 13.79%
- Very important: 38.56%
- Extremely important: 38.06%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 13.9%
- Very little freedom: 7.6%
- Limited freedom: 11.3%
- Some freedom: 48.86%
- A lot of freedom: 18.34%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 15.08%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 15.05%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 4.88%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 15.85%
- Every day: 49.13%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 40.96%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 30.77%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 21.32%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 2.97%
- Every day: 3.98%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 41.37%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 23.36%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.5%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 13.01%
- Every day: 2.75%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 44.96%
- Fairly serious: 27.7%
- Serious: 15.08%
- Very serious: 10.27%
- Extremely serious: 1.98%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 51-6011.00 · SOC 51-6011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8