Skip to content
  • Our data is copyright protected — copying without permission is prohibited
  • We handle no money, ever
  • No business is promoted for payment
  • Tell us if something is wrong — we check and fix it
AyRojgar

Laundry and ironing service

Washing, ironing and returning clothes, with pickup and delivery. In Dhaka one shirt washed and ironed runs Tk 60 to Tk 155, and ironing alone Tk 15.

  • Last reviewed: 21 September 2026
  • Version 1
Laundry and ironing service

Laundry and ironing service

Starting capital
৳80,000 – ৳9,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
2 – 10 people
First sale
3 – 10 days
Editorial estimate
Break-even
4 – 16 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Shop · Medium difficulty

About the business

Many people sell this as an app, but the app here is the signboard, not the business. The business is machines, water, detergent and ironing labour. Take an order on the phone, collect the clothes from the house, wash, dry, iron and return them. That is the whole of it. The Dhaka market splits into three tiers and the gap between them is enormous. At the cheap end an online laundry washes and irons a shirt, trouser or panjabi for Tk 60, irons alone for Tk 15 and dry cleans for Tk 80; a cotton saree is Tk 150 and a single blanket Tk 350. In the middle tier another firm charges Tk 100 for a shirt or trouser, Tk 110 for a cotton panjabi, Tk 230 for a cotton saree, Tk 113 for a small bedsheet, Tk 350 for a single blanket and Tk 580 for a double. At the top a Gulshan dry cleaner charges Tk 155 to launder a shirt and Tk 210 to dry clean it, Tk 300 or Tk 450 for a cotton saree and Tk 2,250 to dry clean a wedding dress. The same shirt, Tk 60 to Tk 155: which neighbourhood you open in sets your price, not what the cloth is. The cost side is plain: machines, water, detergent, an ironing hand and power. In the DPDC area a commercial and office connection costs Tk 15.36 a unit with a Tk 90 per kilowatt monthly demand charge. The most telling number is the market's own: ironing alone sells at Tk 15 and wash-and-iron at Tk 60, so the washing step is priced at Tk 45, and inside that sit the detergent, the water, the machine's power and the folding.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳40,000 – ৳2,20,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳60 – ৳155 / unitMarket quote
Variable cost৳15 – ৳45 / unitEditorial estimate
Gross margin25% – 55%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue3 – 10 daysEditorial estimate
Break-even time4 – 16 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle1 – 45 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss2% – 8%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity50 – 200Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • Washing machines, a dryer, ironing tables and heavy irons, hangers and packing. Dry cleaning needs its own plant: the Gulshan firm dry cleans a wedding dress for Tk 2,250, but the price of that machine could not be verified here.Equipment
  • Detergent, bleach, stain removers, starch, hangers and wrapping. Neither the price of detergent nor how much a garment takes could be sourced, and both must be measured at your own wholesale market.Starting stock
  • Trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000, plus signboard fee and VAT, issued in 3-5 working days. The source does not state validity. No other licence could be found for this trade.Licence
  • Knowing the cloth: what can be washed and what is dry clean only. The published lists themselves put a zero in the laundry column beside blazers, coats, silk sarees, Banarasi katan, prince coats and overcoats, meaning those are never washed. Put the wrong garment in the machine and the compensation is yours.Skill
  • A wholesale supplier of detergent and chemicals, a machine repairer, and one man with a cycle or van for collection and delivery. Find out first how fast a broken machine can be repaired in your area.Supplier
  • A room with steady water, a drain and drying space, plus a commercial power connection: in the DPDC area LT-E is Tk 15.36 a unit flat with a Tk 90 per kilowatt monthly demand charge from June 2026, and LT-C1 small industry is Tk 12.73 with Tk 48.Workspace

How the work is done

  1. 1Decide which tier you are opening in. In mess and bachelor areas a shirt is Tk 60; in Gulshan or Banani the same shirt is Tk 155. The neighbourhood sets the price, so choose the area before buying machines.
  2. 2Take a trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000, issued in 3-5 working days.
  3. 3Take a room with steady water and a working drain. In a laundry the bigger problem is getting water out, not in; check it first, or a neighbour's complaint will close the shop.
  4. 4Put the power connection in the commercial class. In the DPDC area commercial and office (LT-E) is Tk 15.36 a unit with a Tk 90 per kilowatt monthly demand charge; small industry (LT-C1) is Tk 12.73 with Tk 48. Ask the distribution office which class you fall in.
  5. 5Buy washing machines, a dryer, ironing tables and heavy irons, and hangers. Dry cleaning needs a separate machine and is a big investment; better left out at the start.
  6. 6Set and print a rate for every item. The better firms keep four separate lists for ladies', gents', children's and household items, and mark which items are dry clean only.
  7. 7Set up numbering or tagging on every garment and give a receipt for each order. Lost or swapped garments are the biggest source of quarrels in this trade.
  8. 8Arrange collection and delivery, a cycle or van and one man. That is the real app; taking orders on the phone is enough, and no separate software is needed at the start.
  9. 9Get monthly contracts with small hotels, restaurants, hostels and clinics. Sheets and towels come in volume and come regularly, which keeps the machines from sitting idle.
  10. 10Keep separate rates for winter: blankets, quilts, nakshi katha and curtains. Published lists show a single blanket at Tk 350, a double at Tk 580 and nakshi katha at Tk 225-313; one winter season brings in a large sum.
  11. 11Buy detergent and chemicals wholesale and measure how much each load takes. Without measurement you cannot see where the detergent goes, and it is the main raw material of this business.
  12. 12Put a written rule on lost or damaged garments, stating how much you will pay. Without it printed on the back of the receipt, a ruined expensive saree lands entirely on you.

Seasons

  1. JanHigh
  2. FebHigh
  3. MarNormal
  4. AprNormal
  5. MayNormal
  6. JunHigh
  7. JulHigh
  8. AugHigh
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctNormal
  11. NovHigh
  12. DecHigh
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitChattogram · Port, hotels and office districts, with a large market in monthly sheet-and-towel contracts for small hotels and restaurants.
  • Strong fitDhaka · All three tiers sit here: a dry cleaner at Bhatara, Gulshan charges Tk 155 to launder a shirt while an online laundry charges Tk 60 for the same. The density of bachelors, messes and two-earner households is highest here.
  • Strong fitGazipur · The garment belt, thick with messes and bachelor tenants, though prices sit at the bottom tier, around the Tk 60 level.
  • Strong fitNarsingdi · A laundry based at Madhabdi publishes a national rate card: shirt Tk 100, cotton saree Tk 230, double blanket Tk 580. It sits in the cloth-market belt, so the work is there.
  • PossibleCox's Bazar · Hotel and motel sheets, towels and bathrobes, heavy in season, but the machines sit idle out of it.
  • PossibleKhulna · A divisional city with hospital and hostel linen work available; retail rates sit close to Dhaka's bottom tier.
  • PossibleNarayanganj · Next to Dhaka, a mix of factories and trading families, where the mid-tier price band works.
  • PossibleRajshahi · University and hostel students, steady but low-priced work that falls away in the holidays.
  • PossibleSylhet · Expatriate households and hotels, with more expensive clothing and so comparatively more demand for dry cleaning.
  • Weak fitMymensingh · Demand exists but home washing is the norm; the work that comes is winter blankets and quilts and the expensive garments.

Risks and cautions

  • HighOther: Losing or ruining a garment is the commonest loss here. What a customer demands for a ruined silk katan saree is many times what you earned cleaning it: the Gulshan list charges Tk 430 just to dry clean one, while the saree itself is worth thousands. Without a compensation limit printed on the receipt, the quarrel does not end.
  • HighDependency: Water and power: lose either and the day's work stops. In Dhaka's hot months water pressure drops and load shedding comes; clothes pile up, customers call, and rent and wages run on. Without a generator or a reserve tank, those days are a straight loss.
  • MediumDemand: The competition is on price and the floor is very low. The same shirt is washed for Tk 60 by one shop and Tk 155 by another. Charge Tk 100 and the shop next door can say Tk 80, because there is almost no barrier to entry: one machine and one iron is enough.
  • MediumWorking capital: Walk-in customers pay cash, but hotel, hostel and clinic contracts pay at month end. That month's detergent, power and wages come out of your pocket first. The more institutional work you take, the more money sits stuck.
  • LowCompliance: The licensing side is light, but drainage is not. Detergent-laden water backing up into a neighbour's yard brings complaints, and a landlord's notice means moving, with the cost of shifting the machines and taking a new connection all over again.

Sources

What changed

No corrections have been published yet.

Questions and answers

No questions yet. Be the first to ask.

Similar businesses

Home & local services

Photography and videography

Shooting stills and video at events. Packages start at Tk 15,000, while a workable camera, lens and tripod cost about Tk 105,000.

Capital
৳85k – ৳4 lakh
People
1 – 6
First income
7 – 30 days
Market quote
Home & local services

AC and refrigerator servicing

Servicing and repairing air conditioners and refrigerators at the customer's address. March to June is overloaded and winter is near dead, so annual maintenance contracts are what carry the year.

Capital
৳60k – ৳4 lakh
People
1 – 6
First income
7 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Sound and light rental

Buying mics, sound boxes and lights and hiring them out by the day. A one-day mic hire with vehicle was Tk 1,200 in Bhermara, of which Tk 500 is the equipment. Written permission is now required under the 2025 noise rules.

Capital
৳1 lakh – ৳4.5 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
7 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Easy-bike charging station

A garage charging the batteries of easy-bikes and battery rickshaws. Electricity in the LT-D3 class costs Tk 9.09-14.20 a unit, and commercial charging from a residential connection is prohibited.

Capital
৳1 lakh – ৳5 lakh
People
1 – 3
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate