Did You Know? For a long time, plastic bags have been used freely within the dry cleaner industry. Did you know that plastic bags take between 400 to 1,000 years to disintegrate? And that is just an estimate as we have yet to see a plastic bag biodegrade. Even scarier, a single dry cleaner is likely to throw away up to 100,000 plastic bags a year – industry wide, that’s the equivalent of 486 million dollars worth of plastic bags! (Source: Master Drycleaners)

Vanguard Laundry Services (VLS) is a social enterprise commercial laundry based in Toowoomba;
purpose-built to provide jobs and career opportunities for people with an experience of mental illness who struggle to secure work.
(Source: Roots of Change)
Read more about a Social Entrepreneur

Duties and Tasks

• sorting articles for cleaning according to the type, colour, fabric and cleaning treatment required
• placing sorted articles into receptacles and onto conveyor belts for moving to repair and cleaning areas
• checking and removing stains from garments, and replacing buttons and making minor repairs
• loading and unloading washing machines, driers and extractors
• adding cleaning agents and starches to articles
• smoothing articles and guiding them through cleaning and pressing machines
• stopping and starting machines to untangle, straighten and remove articles
• ironing and pressing clean articles
• placing articles on shelves and hanging articles for delivery and collection
• packaging articles and preparing orders for despatch

Working conditions

Laundry workers work in specialist commercial laundries or in the laundry department of a hotel, hospital or other organisation that produce large volumes of washing. These facilities are often warm and humid and some of the cleaning chemicals used can have strong fumes, though work areas are usually well ventilated.

Laundry workers spend long periods on their feet, and are regularly required to lift heavy loads. Some laundry workers may drive vans or trucks to collect washing from customers and deliver the cleaned items when finished. The hours of work may vary, depending on the particular laundry. In some cases shift work - including nights and weekends - may be required.

Tools and technologies

Laundry workers use large, specially designed machines to wash and dry large volumes of clothing and linen. A variety of detergents, fabric softeners, bleach and stain removers are used, depending on the care requirements of the different items. They also use ironing and pressing equipment to remove creases from clean items and give them a crisp appearance. Large volumes of washing are usually transported around the facility using forklifts and motorised carts. Some laundries also use barcode technology to keep track of which items belong to which customer.


Education and training/entrance requirements

You can work as a laundry worker without any formal qualifications and get training on the job.
You can also complete a traineeship. The laundry operations traineeship takes 18 to 36 months to complete and is available as a school-based traineeship.

Ironers or Pressers iron or press garments and other fabrics, such as delicate and formal wear, in a commercial laundry or private residence. When working for cleaning companies, pressers are expected to ensure all articles of clothing that come in are free of wrinkles. This may either be accomplished by machine or by hand.

Strong attention to detail is required to ensure all customer’s items are treated and look great when given back. Additional customer service skills are good to have because pressers work with the general public on a daily basis.

Respect for public safety is also key for job applicants to have since pressers will work with machines that could be dangerous if in the wrong hands

ANZSCO ID: 811513

Knowledge, skills and attributes  

• Strong attention to detail

• Great work ethic

• Ability to work on your feet for hours at a time

• Punctual

• Willingness to learn

• Able to pass a drug test         

(Source: Your Career)

 

Duties and Tasks

• Presses articles, like drapes, knit goods, millinery parts, parachutes, garments, and slip covers, or delicate textiles, like lace, synthetics, and silks to remove wrinkles, flatten seams, and give shape to article, using hand iron.

• Smoothes articles and guides them through cleaning and pressing machines.

• Stops and starts machines to untangle, straighten and remove articles.

• Makes minor repairs.

• Adjusts temperature of iron, according to type of fabric, and uses covering cloths to prevent scorching or to avoid sheen on delicate fabrics.

• Irons and presses clean articles.

• Places articles on shelves and hangs articles for delivery and collection.

• Packages articles and prepares orders for dispatch.

• Operate pressing machines, which include both hydraulic and steam devices, to remove wrinkles from pants, shirts, coats, gowns and a variety of other articles to shape them appropriately

• Remove a finished article of clothing from the pressing machine and hang properly to allow article to cool and retain its shape

• Package finished coats and dresses, and tag according to company guidelines so that they are ready for customer pick up

• Use hand iron to finish off certain pieces that need a final touch to remove any discrepancies in the fabric

• Position finished materials on the overhead system and retrieve items when a customer comes to pick up something

• Clean pressing machines at the end of every shift, using company-provided lubricants and cleaning solutions to ensure they are ready for the next day

• Apply finishing touches to certain pieces of clothing depending on the material, such as placing velvet items under the hot head press

• Smooth out clothes by moistening them with a light application of water before pressing - Sprays water over fabric to soften fibers when not using steam iron.
  
  
  

Working conditions

YAC, shirt press, shirt factory, shirt ironing, shirt machine, shirt laundry
https://youtu.be/v92t9uVIkms

Tools and technologies

Irons, pressing machines, spray bottles, lubricants, cleaning solutions.

 

Education and training/entrance requirements

You can work as an Ironer or Presser without formal qualifications. Some on the job training may be provided.

 

Related Jobs or Working with these Jobs

Car Detailer

Cleaner

Material sourced from
Jobs & Skills WA [Drycleaner, Laundry Worker];
Mighty Recruiter [Presser; ]
Job Descriptions & Duties [Ironer; ]
Your Career [Drycleaner, Laundry Worker; Ironer & Presser;]