Ironing in London is priced on a short call, since the time depends on the pile. The cleaner irons in your home, as extra time on a regular clean or as a visit on its own.
Nothing leaves the house. Shirts go back on hangers in your wardrobe, and folded items are left on each bed or stacked by room, whichever you prefer.
Ironing added to a regular clean
Most ironing goes on the end of a weekly or fortnightly visit. The cleaner finishes the cleaning first, then sets up the board for the extra time you have booked, so the mopped floors dry while the shirts are pressed. Leave the laundry washed and fully dry in one basket; damp items take longer and can leave marks.
Ironing can be added when you first arrange domestic cleaning, or later with a phone call, and the extra time is priced on that call. In a bigger home, a house cleaning visit can finish with an hour of ironing in a spare room, out of the way of the family.
Ironing booked on its own
A visit just for ironing suits a household that already keeps on top of the cleaning but has a basket that never gets emptied. On the call we ask roughly how many items there are, how many of them are shirts and whether there is bed linen, since a double duvet cover takes about as long as three shirts. The price is given then and there. Phone between 8am and 7pm, or write to us using the contact page with a rough count of the items. As with any booking, a 50% deposit secures the date.
Setting up for the ironing
Agree on the call whose iron and board the cleaner will use. If it is yours, leave both out with the water tank filled or a jug beside it; a steam generator iron is fine. Have hangers ready for shirts and say where finished items should go. If the iron leaks or spits brown water, mention it beforehand, and the cleaner will keep it away from white cotton.
Clear a space near a socket, with a door or a rail nearby where shirts can hang as they are finished. If you fold things a particular way, such as shirts in thirds or sheets in squares to fit a certain shelf, demonstrate it once and the cleaner will copy it from then on.
Clothes and linen the cleaner can iron
- Shirts and blouses in cotton, linen and polyester blends
- Trousers, with a front crease if you want one
- School uniform and work wear
- Sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases
- Tea towels, napkins and tablecloths
The cleaner leaves anything labelled do not iron or dry clean only, leather and suede, sequinned or beaded pieces and T-shirts with printed designs that could melt. Silk and wool are pressed inside out on a low setting through a pressing cloth; if no pressing cloth is left out, they are put aside unironed. Stained items are put aside unironed, because heat can fix a stain into the fabric.
Questions about ironing
How much ironing gets done in an hour?
An hour of ironing usually covers about ten shirts, or a mix of five shirts and a set of double bed linen. Heavy cotton, pleats and children’s clothes with lots of small parts take longer.
Can the ironing be done while I am out?
Yes. Once the cleaner has access, ironing can be done with nobody home, as long as the basket, the iron and the board are left where the cleaner can find them.
Is ironing ever taken away and brought back?
Ironing is always done in your home. Nothing is taken away, so your clothes stay in the house the whole time.