AI exposure: Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
Operate or tend washing or dry-cleaning machines to wash or dry-clean industrial or household articles, such as cloth garments, suede, leather, furs, blankets, draperies, linens, rugs, and carpets. Includes spotters and dyers of these articles.
Reading this score
computedAt 9.7% of weighted task load, Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers sits at the 13th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 86.1% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 32 tasks it averages 2.80 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Determine spotting procedures and proper solvents, based on fabric and stain types, at 65.0%. The least is Spread soiled articles on work tables, and position stained portions over vacuum heads or on..., at 0.0%. A gap of 65.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within production occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 16.2% across the group's 107 roles, with 81 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 32 tasks, 2 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 30 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 0.47 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.80 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.11 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.29 | 0-3 |
| Context | 0.69 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 0.53 | 0-3 |
Task by task
32 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Determine spotting procedures and proper solvents, based on fabric and stain types. | 65.0% | 10.0% | 25.0% | 3.62 | exposed |
| Start pumps to operate distilling systems that drain and reclaim dry cleaning solvents. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 2.46 | exposed |
| Inspect soiled articles to determine sources of stains, to locate color imperfections, and to identify items requiring special treatment. | 18.3% | 6.7% | 75.0% | 3.57 | untouched |
| Clean fabrics, using vacuums or air hoses. | 18.3% | 6.7% | 75.0% | 2.66 | untouched |
| Immerse articles in bleaching baths to strip colors. | 18.3% | 6.7% | 75.0% | 2.35 | untouched |
| Remove items from washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to do so. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.37 | untouched |
| Load articles into washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to perform loading. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.35 | untouched |
| Match sample colors, applying knowledge of bleaching agent and dye properties, and types, construction, conditions, and colors of articles. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 3.04 | untouched |
| Operate extractors and driers, or direct their operation. | 14.2% | 10.8% | 75.0% | 4.44 | untouched |
| Identify articles' fabrics and original dyes by sight and touch, or by testing samples with fire or chemical reagents. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 2.14 | untouched |
| Sort and count articles removed from dryers, and fold, wrap, or hang them. | 9.2% | 3.3% | 87.5% | 4.32 | untouched |
| Examine and sort into lots articles to be cleaned, according to color, fabric, dirt content, and cleaning technique required. | 8.8% | 3.8% | 87.5% | 3.88 | untouched |
| Operate dry-cleaning machines to clean soiled articles. | 8.3% | 4.2% | 87.5% | 3.01 | untouched |
| Dye articles to change or restore their colors, using knowledge of textile compositions and the properties and effects of bleaches and dyes. | 6.3% | 2.0% | 91.7% | 2.71 | untouched |
| Test fabrics in inconspicuous places to determine whether solvents will damage dyes or fabrics. | 5.9% | 2.4% | 91.7% | 2.68 | untouched |
| Start washers, dry cleaners, driers, or extractors, and turn valves or levers to regulate machine processes and the volume of soap, detergent, water, bleach, starch, and other additives. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.21 | untouched |
| Clean machine filters, and lubricate equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.71 | untouched |
| Sprinkle chemical solvents over stains, and pat areas with brushes or sponges to remove stains. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.58 | untouched |
| Apply chemicals to neutralize the effects of solvents. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.82 | untouched |
| Receive and mark articles for laundry or dry cleaning with identifying code numbers or names, using hand or machine markers. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.63 | untouched |
| Apply bleaching powders to spots and spray them with steam to remove stains from fabrics that do not respond to other cleaning solvents. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.40 | untouched |
| Operate machines that comb, dry and polish furs, clean, sterilize and fluff feathers and blankets, or roll and package towels. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.25 | untouched |
| Pre-soak, sterilize, scrub, spot-clean, and dry contaminated or stained articles, using neutralizer solutions and portable machines. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.24 | untouched |
| Mix and add detergents, dyes, bleaches, starches, and other solutions and chemicals to clean, color, dry, or stiffen articles. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.13 | untouched |
| Wash, dry-clean, or glaze delicate articles or fur garment linings by hand, using mild detergents or dry cleaning solutions. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.12 | untouched |
| Iron or press articles, fabrics, and furs, using hand irons or pressing machines. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.96 | untouched |
| Hang curtains, drapes, blankets, pants, and other garments on stretch frames to dry. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.95 | untouched |
| Spray steam, water, or air over spots to flush out chemicals, dry material, raise naps, or brighten colors. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.81 | untouched |
| Mend and sew articles, using hand stitching, adhesive patches, or sewing machines. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.74 | untouched |
| Mix bleaching agents with hot water in vats, and soak material until it is bleached. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.67 | untouched |
| Rinse articles in water and acetic acid solutions to remove excess dye and to fix colors. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.41 | untouched |
| Spread soiled articles on work tables, and position stained portions over vacuum heads or on marble slabs. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.14 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.