Career profile
Also known as Dry Cleaner, Laundry Aide, Laundry Assistant, Laundry Attendant, Laundry Housekeeper, Laundry Technician, Laundry Worker, Personal Clothing Laundry Aide, Spotter
Laundry Worker
Also known as Dry Cleaner, Laundry Aide, Laundry Assistant
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Interests Profile
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Realistic
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Conventional
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Enterprising
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Pay Range
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$19,130 - $35,310 (annual)
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Required Skills
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Active Listening
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Monitoring
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Speaking
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Knowledge Areas
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Customer and Personal Service
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Production and Processing
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Public Safety and Security
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Core tasks
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Load articles into washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to perform loading.
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Apply bleaching powders to spots and spray them with steam to remove stains from fabrics that do not respond to other cleaning solvents.
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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.
What does a Laundry Worker do?
Laundry 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.
In addition, Laundry Workers includes spotters and dyers of these articles.
What kind of tasks does a Laundry Worker perform regularly?
Laundry Workers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:
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Load articles into washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to perform loading.
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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.
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Operate extractors and driers, or direct their operation.
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Remove items from washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to do so.
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Sort and count articles removed from dryers, and fold, wrap, or hang them.
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Clean machine filters, and lubricate equipment.
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Examine and sort into lots articles to be cleaned, according to color, fabric, dirt content, and cleaning technique required.
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Receive and mark articles for laundry or dry cleaning with identifying code numbers or names, using hand or machine markers.
The above responsibilities are specific to Laundry Workers. More generally, Laundry Workers are involved in several broader types of activities:
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Activities
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Importance |
Details |
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Handling and Moving Objects
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Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
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Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
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Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
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Performing General Physical Activities
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Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
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Controlling Machines and Processes
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Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
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Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
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Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
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Handling and Moving Objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Performing General Physical Activities
Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
Controlling Machines and Processes
Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
What is a Laundry Worker salary?
The median salary for a Laundry Worker is
$25,470,
and the average salary is
$26,600.
Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Laundry Worker salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.
Many Laundry Workers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors.
About 10% of Laundry Workers earn less than $19,130 per year,
25% earn less than $21,890,
75% earn
less than $30,030, and
90% earn
less than $35,310.
Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Laundry Workers is expected to change by 11.7%, and there should be roughly 26,600 open positions for Laundry Workers every year.
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Median annual salary
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$25,470
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Typical salary range
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$19,130 -
$35,310
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Projected growth (2020 - 2030)
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11.7%
What personality traits are common among Laundry Workers?
Interests
Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.
Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Laundry Worker are usually higher in their
Realistic
interests.
Laundry Workers typically have very strong
Realistic
interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Values
People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.
Compared to most people, those working as a Laundry Worker tend to value
Relationships,
Support, and
Independence.
Most importantly,
Laundry Workers moderately value
Relationships.
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.
Second,
Laundry Workers moderately value
Support.
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.
Lastly,
Laundry Workers somewhat value
Independence.
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.
Psychological Demands
Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.
In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Laundry Workers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as
independence,
attention to detail, and
integrity.
Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Laundry Workers, ranked by importance:
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Demands
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Importance |
Details |
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Independence
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Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
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Attention to Detail
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Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
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Integrity
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Job requires being honest and ethical.
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Dependability
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Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
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Cooperation
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Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
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Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
What education and training do Laundry Workers need?
Working as a Laundry Worker may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.
Laundry Workers need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.
Educational degrees among Laundry Workers
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35.0% did not complete
high school or secondary school
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43.4% completed
high school or secondary school
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13.2% completed
some college coursework
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2.9% earned a
Associate's degree
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4.8% earned a
Bachelor's degree
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0.5% earned a
Master's degree
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0.1% earned a
doctorate or professional degree
Knowledge and expertise required by Laundry Workers
Laundry Workers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as
customer and personal service,
production and processing, or
public safety and security
knowledge.
The list below shows several areas in which most Laundry Workers might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.
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Knowledge areas
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Importance |
Details |
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Customer and Personal Service
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Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
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Production and Processing
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Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
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Public Safety and Security
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Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
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Mathematics
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Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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Administration and Management
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Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
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Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Public Safety and Security
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Important Abilities needed by Laundry Workers
Laundry Workers must develop a particular set of
abilities
to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.
For example, Laundry Workers need abilities such as
arm-hand steadiness,
oral comprehension, and
oral expression
in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Laundry Workers, ranked by their relative importance.
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Abilities
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Importance |
Details |
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Arm-Hand Steadiness
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The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
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Oral Comprehension
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The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
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Oral Expression
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The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
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Manual Dexterity
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The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
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Control Precision
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The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
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The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Critical Skills needed by Laundry Workers
Skills
are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.
Laundry Workers frequently use skills like
active listening,
monitoring, and
speaking
to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Laundry Workers, ranked by their relative importance.
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Skills
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Importance |
Details |
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Active Listening
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Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
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Monitoring
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Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
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Speaking
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Talking to others to convey information effectively.
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Social Perceptiveness
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Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
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Operations Monitoring
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Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
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Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
What is the source of this information?
The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.
