Production · Holland code RC
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.
Also called: Dry Cleaner, Laundry Aide, Laundry Attendant, Laundry Worker, Industrial Laundry Attendant, Laundry Assistant, Laundry Housekeeper, Laundry Technician (Laundry Tech).
O*NET 51-6011.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $34,890
- Middle half earn $30,360 to $37,560. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- 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.
- Apply chemicals to neutralize the effects of solvents.
- Clean machine filters, and lubricate equipment.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening2.9 / 5
- Monitoring2.9 / 5
- Critical Thinking2.8 / 5
- Speaking2.6 / 5
- Reading Comprehension2.5 / 5
- Active Learning2.3 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Production and Processing2.7 / 5
- English Language2.5 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service2.5 / 5
- Chemistry2.2 / 5
- Education and Training2.0 / 5
- Computers and Electronics2.0 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic90
- Investigative0
- Artistic3
- Social6
- Enterprising9
- Conventional54
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- laundry and dry cleaning manager · DE Leiter einer Wäscherei oder Reinigung/Leiterin einer Wäscherei oder Reinigung · FR gérant de blanchisserie et nettoyage à sec/gérante de blanchisserie et nettoyage à sec
- laundry worker · DE Maschinenwäscher/Maschinenwäscherin · FR blanchisseur industriel/blanchisseuse industrielle
- laundry ironer · DE Maschinenbügler/Maschinenbüglerin · FR repasseur en blanchisserie industrielle/repasseuse en blanchisserie industrielle
- laundry workers supervisor · DE Wäschereiaufseher/Wäschereiaufseherin · FR responsable d’atelier de blanchisserie industrielle
- linen room attendant · DE Wäschepfleger/Wäschepflegerin · FR chef lingerie
- wearing apparel presser · DE Bügler/Büglerin · FR presseur en industrie de l'habillement/presseuse en industrie de l'habillement
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Travel agency managers and proprietors (1225)10,400 employed
- Garage managers and proprietors (1252)17,700 employed
- Hairdressing and beauty salon managers and proprietors (1253)20,400 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Japan
Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “クリーニング職，洗張職”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.
- Median monthly pay
- ¥195,300
- Middle half earn ¥171,800 to ¥240,300 a month.
- Workers in the category
- 30,580
- Regular employees in firms of ten or more.
Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Plant and machine operators and assemblers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €39,630 |
| Netherlands | €37,567 |
| Austria | €37,304 |
| Sweden | €36,005 |
| Germany | €34,433 |
| Ireland | €32,617 |
| France | €28,550 |
| Italy | €28,330 |
| Spain | €24,409 |
| Portugal | €11,309 |
| Poland | €10,259 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.05. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (51-6011).
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