Start an ironing service... official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

mrsspoon_2

Not sure if concertina is the right word...but when the shirt sleeve is really scrunched up like a fan, how do you get it flat on the board to iron it? I seem to waste a lot of time desperately trying to get it flat, ironing it as best I can, and then spend another minute ironing out the creases I've just ironed in because i couldn't get it flat on the board in the first place. Only seems to happen with cotton shirts. Is there a simple trick I'm missing?

missspeedy23

mrsspoon wrote: »

Not sure if concertina is the right word...but when the shirt sleeve is really scrunched up like a fan, how do you get it flat on the board to iron it? I seem to waste a lot of time desperately trying to get it flat, ironing it as best I can, and then spend another minute ironing out the creases I've just ironed in because i couldn't get it flat on the board in the first place. Only seems to happen with cotton shirts. Is there a simple trick I'm missing?

I know what you mean. Have you got a sleeve board? I find them time consuming for doing every shirt sleeve but think they're ideal for this situation. You just push the sleeve on the board and hold it round and then iron it - makes it a bit easier! Think they're only about £5 from Argos.

larmy16

I have a covered piece of foam about 5" x 4" which came with my steam press. It is brilliant for putting inside the bottom part of the sleeve and cuff and makes ironing them much easier.

I am sure you could reproduce this very easily with a piece of foam and covered with a bit of an old tea towel. I would say the foam is about 1" thick.

Hope this helps.

kettricken

Hi everyone

My ironing service is going really well, just manageable, ironing most evenings, and really welcome the odd one off, fits in very nicely with my part time job.

I have a question to the steam generator users, does the steam make the clothes feel dampish, I find this is the case, how do you solve the problem?

many thanks

Stephb1986_2

Hi everyone it's nice to see you all sharing advice.

One piece of valuable advice I can give is put a double layer of tin foil under your ironing board cover doing so will bounce back the steam therefore ironing both sides of the item it makes it double quick.

Kettricken it sounds to me like you have too much steam coming out at once try turning it down slightly without making the iron fire out scale.

As for fan like sleeves don't bother with the sleeve board too time consuming turn the iron up to maximum temperature get the shirt ready to be ironed get the iron put it at the top of the arm ie near the shoulder with your other hand pull the sleeve into place pulling it taught and getting the creases to separate then iron down the seam that is under the arm and in a upwards direction iron the crease down the centre of the arm. If the crease are still visable have a spray bottle of water and spray it on a little and try again. If you know the sleeves are like a fan prior to ironing it pull them all out of the bag/basket get your spray water and dampen them this will help.

If people are sending clothes like it then what do they expect? If they expect their stuff to come out a decent standard they should send it to a decent standard to begin with.

I go over things twice maybe three times but that will be about it. But tinfoil is the answer.

If anyone has any questions then feel free to drop me a line

Steph x

kellogs

Well, I've gone and done it! Yes I have started an ironing business in Basingstoke and am hoping for the best.

I am a stay at home Dad and my youngest will be starting School full time next week so I want to use my time during the School day to earn some money for the family. I haven't worked for over 7 years now, but being home all the time I have got good at ironing!

This morning I have been out and delivered 200 leaflets and am going to get a lot more printed, sit by the phone and hope for the best!

I am registered disabled so am unable to drive to collect clothing from anywhere so do have to ask people to drop off and collect their clothing so I hope this won't put people off. I will soon find out!

Thank you to all of you that have put advice over all the pages here. I have read it all and taken on board the advice and experiences that are there.

Loubylou2

Hi Everyone
I've got a few regulars now. I only did one leaflet drop so think I will do another although I had a few new customers recently from the free Yell ad. Just hoping they will also become regulars.

I'm in Kent too and charge by the item. 70p for adult items and 50p for childrens then 15 items for £10 or 25 for £15. Free delivery for orders over £15. I looked up other local ironing businesses to get the prices.
I also work term time so this as additional but much needed income and I did have one week when I had 6 customers but usually its only one or two max a week.
I don't make that much on an hourly rate as I think I'm a bit fussy (not with my own ironing just paranoid about my customers) I need to speed up a bit!

I always hang for a while before covering shirts so that they are completely dry. I do get a lot of the covers returned for re use and all the hangers are returned. Two customers who in hindsight only needed me to clear a backlog were good enough to provide their own hangers which is great.
Oh and by the way I text my customers with the cost and delivery times so when i went away i just sent a group text a couple of weeks in advance so they could get their orders in before. I was not available for 3 weeks and although i only have a few customers i didn't lose any of them so you should be ok,

Stephb1986_2

We usually tell people we're going away a fortnight before and then again the week before so they don't forget people still do forget. We use to send out letters with them on especially for christmas depending on what day christmas day fell on but you still get people ringing up on christmas day when your having your dinner so in the end we gave up on the letters and just said to the regular customers that if they wanted a collection they would be on what ever day and if they didn't want a collection to ring us and let us know.

Steph xx

rosie_red_2

Hi all. I am a newby on this forum. I have been reading through most of your posts as very interested in starting my own ironing service. I do currently work part time but need an extra income. Thought about adding a cleaning service to this as well but may be taking on more than I can chew!

Can anybody give me some advice please as to where I should start. I am ok on the how and where to advertise (thanks to previous posts) but what do I need? Do I stick with my standard iron to begin with or am I best buying a fancy iron or press? Where do I buy cheap wire coat hangers and Polywraps? Where do I get insurance? Am I best charging per item or by the kilo?

Any advice would be a great help. Thanks

missspeedy23

rosie_red wrote: »

Hi all. I am a newby on this forum. I have been reading through most of your posts as very interested in starting my own ironing service. I do currently work part time but need an extra income. Thought about adding a cleaning service to this as well but may be taking on more than I can chew!

Can anybody give me some advice please as to where I should start. I am ok on the how and where to advertise (thanks to previous posts) but what do I need? Do I stick with my standard iron to begin with or am I best buying a fancy iron or press? Where do I buy cheap wire coat hangers and Polywraps? Where do I get insurance? Am I best charging per item or by the kilo?

Any advice would be a great help. Thanks

Hi, welcome!

I started out with just my normal steam iron as it was good enough to start with. Then as I made money I invested in a press (though I only now use this for bedding) and a steam generator iron. The steam generator makes things a whole lot easier - I managed to iron 7kg of ironing in just under and hr and half last night and before then it would have taken me at least 2 and a half. I got mine from Littlewoods on pay next September and it was in the sale too.

I get plastic hangers from Wilkinsons/Tescos etc - they're normally around £1.50 for 10, though I saw them in Poundland the other day - 12 for £1. I bought my plastic coverings on Ebay, I think a roll of 500 was around £35 but wish I'd have got less covers with wire hangers for the same price as someone was doing them too.

Vistaprint is a good place for free business cards - you just pay for delivery.

I don't have insurance - not sure if that's a good thing or not but I just say that I pay a maximum of £40 per item on my T&C's. I charge by the kg as I find that the simplest way - just stick it on the scales and you've got the price. As time goes on you get a feel for how much it weighs too so if the customer asks you have a better idea.

Good luck!