HOW TO HIRE · PERSONAL & LIFESTYLE

How to hire a laundry provider in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Laundry services need no licence in the UK. Here is what to agree on washing, loss and damage, and how to check a collection service.

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TWO WAYS TO BUY THIS

Which do you need?

An individual by the hour

Someone washes, dries and folds in your home for a set number of hours, using your machine and your detergent. You pay a rate per hour, and an individual under the VAT threshold charges no VAT.

A company for the job

A laundry firm collects, washes at its premises and returns, priced by the load, the kilo or the item, with a written loss and damage policy. Its staff and drivers do the work, and VAT appears on the order once it is registered.

What changes

A rate per hour against a price per load or item; one person against a firm's staff; your instructions on the day against a printed price list and terms; no VAT from a small individual against VAT on the firm's order.

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a laundry provider in five steps

  1. Separate what needs special careDelicates, wool and dark colours; tell the laundry provider.
  2. Agree how loads are pricedBy load, by weight or by item, and what counts as a load.
  3. Ask about detergentsAllergies, sensitive skin, fragrance-free.
  4. Read the loss and damage termsThe compensation limit and how to claim.
  5. Count items back inAgainst the order when it is returned.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

Washing other people's laundry is not a licensed service in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and no register of laundries exists for you to check. The checks are the order record, the terms on loss and damage, and references.

Read the terms before the first collection.

Reasonable care and skill (Consumer Rights Act 2015)

A laundry provider trading as a business must carry out the work on your clothes and linen with reasonable care and skill (section 49). If it falls short, section 55 lets you require the work to be done again at their cost within a reasonable time; if that cannot fix it, you can ask for a price reduction.

Keep the ticket or order confirmation and raise problems as soon as you see them. legislation.gov.uk →

Your items in their care — insurance

No register sets insurance for a laundry provider. Ask whether their cover includes customers' clothes and linen while they hold them or carry them, and what they pay out if something is lost or ruined.

Ask for the policy terms or the compensation limit in writing before handing over anything valuable.

Cleaning chemicals (HSE COSHH)

HSE's COSHH rules on hazardous substances cover businesses using laundry chemicals. For you, the practical point is the detergent: ask what they use if anyone in the house has sensitive skin.

Ask the laundry provider which products they use and whether they can use yours. hse.gov.uk →

VAT

Laundry is standard-rated at 20%. A laundry firm over the £90,000 registration threshold must add VAT to the load, weight or item price and show it on the order. An individual doing your washing at home by the hour is usually under that figure, charges no VAT and has no VAT number to give.

Ask a laundry firm for its VAT number and for VAT shown apart on the order; an individual under the threshold adds none. gov.uk →

“How do you price laundry — per load, per kilo or per item?”

A good answer: A clear method and what counts as a load.

“Will the laundry provider wash each household's laundry separately?”

A good answer: Yes, never mixed with other customers' washing.

“Which detergents do you use, and can you use mine?”

A good answer: Named products, and a fragrance-free or own-detergent option.

“How do you handle delicates and items that should not be tumble dried?”

A good answer: Sorting by label, air drying where needed, and a warning on anything risky.

“What is your compensation if laundry is lost or damaged?”

A good answer: A written policy and a limit.

“When is the laundry returned, and is ironing included?”

A good answer: A time slot and a clear yes or no on ironing.

“Can I have a list of what you collected?”

A good answer: Yes, by item or by bag weight.

Getting the quote right

  • Who actually attends: the firm's driver and the staff who wash it, or the person who comes to your home, employed or subcontracted
  • The firm's VAT number on the order, with VAT shown apart from the load, weight or item price
  • Bulky items such as duvets priced separately, and the compensation policy
  • Collection and delivery charges
  • Booked by the hour instead: the rate per hour, the minimum booking, and which loads and ironing are done in it

Walk away if

  • No record of what was collected
  • Mixing customers' laundry
  • No written loss or damage policy
  • Ignoring care labels
  • Unclear load definitions that inflate the bill
  • Charges changed after the order
LOW
£12
TYPICAL
£25
HIGH
£70

What a laundry provider costs: £12–£70 per load

Laundry is priced by the load, the kilo or the item, with ironing, bulky items and collection often charged on top. Laundry Service price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Laundry providers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. CollectionBags collected and weighed or listed.
  2. SortingBy colour, fabric and care label.
  3. Washing and dryingProgrammes to the care labels, delicates air-dried.
  4. FoldingFolded or hung; ironed if included.
  5. ReturnDelivered in the slot, ready to check.

Wash and fold
Washed, dried and folded, but not ironed.
Per-kilo pricing
Charged by weight of dry laundry.
Service wash
A load washed and dried for you.
Care label
The garment's washing instructions.
Bulky items
Duvets, curtains and similar large pieces.
Compensation limit
The most paid for a lost or damaged item.

AFTER

When the job is done

Count and check itemsAgainst the order; look for shrinkage, colour run or damage.
Report problems straight awayIn writing with photos.
Keep the order recordEvidence for any claim.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked jobs, so yours about the returned laundry counts. If something was wrong, the make-it-right step comes first and the laundry provider is asked to fix it.

STEP 1Tell the laundry provider, in writingSet out what went wrong with the laundry and what you want done, by message or email. Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires a trader to use reasonable care and skill; where the laundry fell short, ask for it to be done again at their cost, or for money off.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyRate the laundry provider under four stars and you are asked whether to send the problem to them first; we follow it through. Then the review goes up.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplineNobody regulates laundry providers, so if a dispute over the laundry stalls, Trading Standards is reached through Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeA claim against a laundry provider for a refund or the cost of putting things right can go to small claims: up to £10,000 on the county court small claims track in England and Wales, up to £5,000 under simple procedure in Scotland, and up to £5,000 in the small claims court in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a laundry provider: questions people ask

A wash-and-fold or collection laundry needs no licence in any UK nation.

A trader must use reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Ask for a redo or a price reduction, and claim in writing for a ruined item.

Only if the laundry provider's cover includes customers' goods. Ask for the compensation limit.

£12 to £70 a load, typically around £25. Load size, ironing and collection move the price. Load, weight and per-item prices are compared in the laundry service price guide; enter your town above for laundry providers near you.

Ask; many will use a fragrance-free option or your own.

Raise it in writing against the order. Small claims is the last step.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in personal & lifestyle

How to hire: Dry Cleaning Pickup & DeliveryHow to hire: Ironing ServiceHow to hire: Home OrganiserHow to hire: Decluttering ServiceHow to hire: House SitterHow to hire: Errand RunnerHow to hire: Clothing AlterationsHow to hire: Tailor / SeamstressAll 701 hiring guides →

Laundry providers near you

Laundry providers in LondonLaundry providers in ManchesterLaundry providers in BirminghamLaundry providers in GlasgowLaundry providers in BelfastAll laundry providers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  2. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 55 — repeat performance
  3. HSE — does COSHH apply to the self-employed?
  4. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  5. mygov.scot — consumer rights (Advice Direct Scotland)
  6. nidirect — about Consumerline
  7. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  8. mygov.scot — make a court claim for money
  9. nidirect — small claims process
  10. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  11. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register