Laundry ironer

Laundry ironers re-shape clothing items and linen and remove creases from them by using irons, presses and steamers. They clean and maintain the ironing and drying area and organise the items accordingly.

A laundry ironer typically does the following:

• smoothes articles and guides them through cleaning and pressing machines
• stops and starts machines to untangle, straighten and remove articles
• makes minor repairs
• irons and presses clean articles
• places articles on shelves and hangs articles for delivery and collection
• packages articles and prepares orders for dispatch.

The following job titles also refer to laundry ironer:

presser
steam presser
laundry worker
dry cleaner
laundry attendant
dry cleaning worker
fur ironer
clothes presser
clothes ironer
laundry assistant
laundry presser

No formal educational credential is generally required to work as a laundry ironer.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Laundry ironer is a Skill level 2 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to laundry ironer.

laundry worker
braiding textile technician
clothing quality inspector
clothing cutter
nonwoven textile technician

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of laundry ironer. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of laundry ironer with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

textile chemical quality technician
textile sourcing merchandiser
textile quality technician
clothing process control technician
laundry and dry cleaning manager

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of laundry ironer.

• Quality standards: The national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.

These skills are necessary for the role of laundry ironer.

• Distinguish accessories: Distinguish accessories in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate accessories based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.
• Iron textiles: Pressing and ironing in order to shape or flatten textiles giving them their final finishing appearance. Iron by hand or with steam pressers.
• Collect items for laundry service: Collect the dirty pieces of clothing or other linen within the facility and send them to the laundry service.
• Handle linen in stock: Manage laundered items and store them in safe and hygienic conditions.
• Distinguish fabrics: Distinguish fabrics in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate fabrics based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.
• Maintain customer service: Keep the highest possible customer service and make sure that the customer service is at all times performed in a professional way. Help customers or participants feel at ease and support special requirements.
• Sort textile items: Sort garments and other textiles to be pressed and ironed or for customer pick-up.
• Operate dry cleaning pressing machines: Use assigned equipment such as shirt, sleeve, collar, cuff and single or double buck pressing machines to press a variety of customers garments.
• Identify cloth items: Count and collect the items, and provide them with the drop off and delivery dates. Fix tags with a safety pin or staple, describing important information about the customer. Apply special colored tags for different sorts of treatments, and assemble and re-assemble the order after the laundry and dry cleaning process.
• Read care labels: Sort clothing items according to their colour or fabric by inspecting and reading care tags or labels. They indicate agitations, how a particular fabric should best be washed, bleached, dryed, ironed and cleaned.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of laundry ironer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Organisational policies: The policies to achieve set of goals and targets regarding the development and maintenance of an organisation.
• Properties of fabrics: The influence of chemical composition and molecular arrangement of yarn and fibre properties and fabric structure on the physical properties of textile fabrics; the different fibre types, their physical and chemical characteristics and different material characteristics; the materials used in different processes and the effect on materials as they are processed. 

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of laundry ironer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Guarantee customer satisfaction: Handle customer expectations in a professional manner, anticipating and addressing their needs and desires. Provide flexible customer service to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Evaluate garment quality: Evaluating stitching, construction, attachments, fasteners, embellishments, shading within the garment; evaluating pattern continuity-, matching; evaluating tapes and linings.
• Sell services: Encourage sales by identifying the customer’s buying needs and by promoting benefits and features of the organisation’s services. Respond to and resolve customer objections and agree to mutually beneficial terms and conditions.
• Follow up orders for customers: Follow-up/tracking of an order and notifying the customer when the goods have arrived.
• Count money: Count money by sorting and wrapping money and coins.
• Clean surfaces: Disinfect surfaces in accordance with sanitary standards.
• Clean equipment: Perform cleaning routines after equipment use.
• Set up machine controls: Set up or adjust machine controls to regulate conditions such as material flow, temperature, or pressure.
• Pleat fabrics: Apply pleating processes to fabrics and wearing apparel products following adequate procedures and using specific equipment for the purpose.

8157 – Laundry machine operators

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References

1. Laundry ironer – ESCO
2. Ironer and Presser | Your Career
3. Featured image: By Samuli Lintula with Turun Tekstiilihuolto Oy – Own work, CC BY 3.0