Employers

Approximately 218,600 laundry and dry cleaning workers are employed in the United States. Jobs are available nationwide, in small communities and large cities. Typical employers range from community dry cleaners and laundries to large institutions such as hotels, motels, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, some government facilities, and commercial industries.

Starting Out

If you are interested in laundry or dry cleaning positions, contact state or local employment offices or read newspaper want ads to find job leads. Checking the Internet or the Yellow Pages for local dry cleaners or laundries may provide some job contacts. The best way to find work, however, is to apply directly to dry cleaning or laundry plants.

Workers in dry cleaning and laundry jobs generally advance by learning their basic assignments and moving to more skilled tasks. Skilled workers may be promoted to line supervisors or department heads, for example. Employers may also send promising employees to programs offered by trade associations to enhance their skills. However, advancement in these jobs is generally limited.

Motivated workers may become plant managers after several years of experience. Many businesses, though, prefer to hire college graduates with degrees in management for these positions.

Join the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute International (DLI) to access networking and marketing resources, receive discounts on education, and access publications.

Read the DLIs blog, https://www.dlionline.org/blog, to learn more about the field. 

Become certified by the DLI in order to show employers and customers that you have met the highest standards established by your industry.