Ironing service

You collect or receive bags of laundry from local customers, iron it at home, then return it folded or on hangers, usually on a set day each week.

Most customers are regulars sending a weekly or fortnightly basket rather than one-off jobs, so building a small round of five to ten regulars is the realistic path to steady income.

Because the work happens entirely at home, there is no travel time cost during the ironing itself, only for collection and delivery, which some services charge for separately or ask customers to handle themselves.

Lowest-cost way to test demand: Use an iron and board you already own and take on two or three baskets from friends or neighbours at a fair rate before buying a rail, branded bags or a press.

Ten regular baskets a week at £15 each is £150 a week, or roughly £600 a month, achievable in eight to twelve hours of ironing time once you are efficient.

Adding a small collection and delivery charge or asking customers to drop off themselves improves the hourly rate considerably.

Income scales with how many hours you can realistically stand at the board each week rather than with marketing effort, so this suits people wanting steady, capped hours.

What changes your earnings most

• Your ironing speed and how efficiently you batch similar items
• Whether you offer collection and delivery or ask customers to do this themselves
• How many regular weekly customers you build versus one-off requests
• Basket size and item mix, since bedding and shirts take very different amounts of time

This is a fast side hustle to start earning from: with an iron, a board and a local Facebook post, a first customer can appear within days.

Before taking on regular customers it helps to time yourself on a typical basket so you can price accurately and know how many you can realistically manage per week.

Word of mouth among parents at school gates and in local groups tends to bring a steady trickle of enquiries once you have a couple of happy regulars.

Building a full round of eight to ten regulars usually takes four to six weeks of steady local promotion.

• Local Facebook groups and community pages

  Post your service, area and pricing; ironing services get consistent interest in most local groups.

• School gate and parent networks

  Word of mouth among parents dealing with uniforms is a strong, low-cost source of regulars.

• Local noticeboards and letterbox flyers in your immediate streets

  Reduces collection and delivery travel by keeping your customer base geographically tight.

• Referrals from existing customers

  Ask happy regulars if they know a neighbour or friend who might want the same service.

Objections you will hear, and how to answer them

• "Can I trust you with my clothes?" — offer a small trial basket and be clear about care instructions and any damage policy.
• "Isn't it cheaper to do it myself?" — sell the time saved rather than competing on price alone.
• "What if something gets scorched or shrunk?" — public liability insurance and care taken with labels reduces this risk and reassures customers.

Why customers might not buy: Ironing is a chore most people actively dislike and readily pay someone else to do, so demand is easy to find once you are visible locally; the limit is how much time you personally have at the board.

• Register as self-employed with HMRC once your income exceeds the trading allowance.
• Public liability insurance is sensible given the risk of scorching or damaging customers' belongings.
• Check any home business clauses in a tenancy agreement or mortgage if running the service from a rented or mortgaged home.
• Keep simple records of income and any collection and delivery mileage for your Self Assessment return.

This is general guidance rather than legal, tax or insurance advice. Requirements may vary, so check current official guidance or speak to a suitable professional.

A week of low-cost steps to test whether real customers want this before you spend serious money.

1. Day 1: Set up your workspace and pricing

   • Set aside a dedicated space for the board, rail and baskets.
   • Draft pricing by basket and by item.

   Outcome: A working space and a price list.

2. Day 2: Test your own speed

   • Time yourself ironing a typical household basket.
   • Calculate your effective hourly rate at your proposed prices.

   Outcome: Confidence in your pricing.

3. Day 3: Sort insurance basics

   • Get a public liability insurance quote and buy cover.
   • Decide your collection and delivery policy.

   Outcome: Ready to legally take on customers.

4. Day 4: Create your listing

   • Post in two local Facebook groups.
   • Mention the service to parents or neighbours directly.

   Outcome: Local visibility.

5. Day 5: Respond to enquiries

   • Reply promptly to interest.
   • Offer a trial basket at a slightly reduced rate to new customers.

   Outcome: First bookings.

6. Day 6: Complete first jobs

   • Iron and return the first baskets on time.
   • Ask for honest feedback.

   Outcome: Proof of reliable quality.

7. Day 7: Plan the regular schedule

   • Set fixed collection or drop-off days.
   • Note how many more regulars you can realistically fit.

   Outcome: A repeatable weekly routine.

• Dedicated ironing space and rail ready
• Pricing tested against your actual ironing speed
• Public liability insurance in place
• Collection and delivery policy decided
• Local Facebook and community posts live
• Trial baskets completed and feedback gathered
• Simple income record started

Consider this if

People who iron efficiently, have space at home, and want a low-cost, home-based recurring side hustle.

Avoid this if

Anyone wanting fast, high hourly earnings or unable to store multiple customers' laundry.

Biggest opportunity

School uniform season and building a tight local round to minimise collection and delivery time.

Biggest risk

Pricing baskets too low for the actual time they take, which caps your earnings however many customers you have.

First milestone to aim for

Time yourself on five real baskets and confirm your hourly rate before committing to a full weekly round.

Is ironing service a good side hustle in the UK?

It can be, for the right person. It is worth considering for people who iron efficiently, have space at home, and want a low-cost, home-based recurring side hustle, and a poor fit for anyone wanting fast, high hourly earnings or unable to store multiple customers' laundry. The biggest opportunity is school uniform season and building a tight local round to minimise collection and delivery time, while the biggest risk is pricing baskets too low for the actual time they take, which caps your earnings however many customers you have.

How much does it cost to start ironing service in the UK?

Budget £40–£350 as an indicative range. The main essentials are good quality steam iron and sturdy board (£40–£120), clothes rail and hangers (£20–£60), public liability insurance (£50–£120 a year). Use an iron and board you already own and take on two or three baskets from friends or neighbours at a fair rate before buying a rail, branded bags or a press.

How much could a beginner realistically earn from ironing service?

An indicative initial range is £150–£900 a month, with the top of that range reached only with a steady flow of paid work and repeat customers. Ten regular baskets a week at £15 each is £150 a week, or roughly £600 a month, achievable in eight to twelve hours of ironing time once you are efficient. These are estimates rather than guarantees and depend on your ironing speed and how efficiently you batch similar items, whether you offer collection and delivery or ask customers to do this themselves, how many regular weekly customers you build versus one-off requests.

How long does it take to get the first paying customer?

Typically 1–3 weeks. This is a fast side hustle to start earning from: with an iron, a board and a local Facebook post, a first customer can appear within days.

What should you charge for ironing service?

Common pricing in the UK: standard laundry basket at £12–£20 per basket; per shirt at £1.50–£3 per item; weekly regular customer rate at £15–£25 per week for an average household load. Check what comparable UK providers actually charge before setting your own prices — rates vary considerably by area and experience.

How do you find customers for ironing service?

Local Facebook groups and community pages: post your service, area and pricing; ironing services get consistent interest in most local groups. School gate and parent networks: word of mouth among parents dealing with uniforms is a strong, low-cost source of regulars. Local noticeboards and letterbox flyers in your immediate streets: reduces collection and delivery travel by keeping your customer base geographically tight.

What do you need to check legally before starting?

Register as self-employed with HMRC once your income exceeds the trading allowance. Public liability insurance is sensible given the risk of scorching or damaging customers' belongings. Check any home business clauses in a tenancy agreement or mortgage if running the service from a rented or mortgaged home. This is general guidance rather than legal or tax advice — check the current official guidance linked at the end of this guide before you start trading.

Pricing unit used

Figures assume pricing standard laundry basket at £12–£20 per basket.

Weekly capacity assumed

Income ranges assume 4–20 hours a week of actual working time, not including travel, admin or quoting.

Startup cost basis

The £40–£350 range covers the essential items listed above at typical UK retail prices. The lower end assumes you already own some equipment or buy second-hand; the upper end assumes buying everything new.

Direct costs deducted

Income figures are shown before tax and before ongoing costs such as electricity for regular iron use (£10–£25 a month), replacement bags, hangers and covers (£5–£15 a month), fuel if offering collection and delivery (£15–£50 a month). Treat them as gross of tax and net of nothing.

Time to first paying customer

The 1–3 weeks estimate assumes you actively approach potential customers from day one rather than waiting to be found.

Status of these figures

All figures on this page are indicative working assumptions built from publicly available UK pricing and typical operating patterns. They are estimates rather than forecasts, and your own results will differ by location, pricing, demand and how much time you put in.

The full method behind these costs, income ranges and match scores is set out on the methodology page.

• Domestic cleaning

  £50–£400 to start

• Holiday let cleaning

  £100–£800 to start

• Babysitting

  £0–£150 to start

• Compare ironing service with domestic cleaning

  Domestic cleaning costs £50–£400 to start against £40–£350 here, and is local, in the customer's home. Which suits you better depends on your budget, time and how you prefer to work.

• Compare ironing service with holiday let cleaning

  Holiday let cleaning costs £100–£800 to start against £40–£350 here, and is local, at the property between guest stays. Which suits you better depends on your budget, time and how you prefer to work.

• Compare ironing service with babysitting

  Babysitting costs £0–£150 to start against £40–£350 here, and is local. Which suits you better depends on your budget, time and how you prefer to work.