Councils commission specialist laundry for several reasons: residents in temporary accommodation dealing with bed bugs, adult social care users who need incontinence laundry support, and housing incidents involving fleas. This guide sets out practical questions for commissioners and procurement teams, without assuming any particular framework or legal requirement.
In brief: define the services and sites, ask how loads are separated and how unsuitable items are handled, check national coverage for out-of-area placements, and agree referral and reporting routes. MyLaundress holds seven London council contracts for specialist laundry services.
Define what you are buying
- Which services: bed bug laundry, flea-affected textile laundry by assessment, incontinence laundry.
- Who refers: housing officers, social workers, accommodation managers.
- Where: London boroughs, out-of-area placements, or both.
- Expected volumes, and how they were estimated.
Operational questions
- How are specialist loads kept apart from ordinary laundry?
- What items are refused, and what happens to unsuitable or dry-clean-only items?
- How are bags labelled without exposing personal information?
- Who confirms collection timing, and how are changes communicated?
- How are prices set: published rates, weight-based pricing or quoted arrangements?
Avoid unsupported promises
Be cautious of bids promising guaranteed pest eradication, sterilisation or response times that do not depend on location. Ask suppliers to state their limits in writing.
About MyLaundress
MyLaundress holds seven London council contracts for specialist laundry services. That is a statement about the contracts we hold, not a council endorsement, and it does not mean every contract covers every specialist service. We manage incontinence laundry contracts worth millions of pounds, serving care homes and supported accommodation. That describes our incontinence contracts overall; it is not annual turnover or the value of any single contract. In London, specialist laundry is processed at our separate North Tottenham facility. National work uses coordinated local courier and processing partners.
Specialist laundry is available in London and across the rest of the United Kingdom, subject to postcode, textile suitability and agreed collection arrangements. Ordinary laundry and everyday dry cleaning remain London services, and London urgent-collection wording is not a national response promise.
Common questions
Do you hold specific accreditations?
Ask us directly about any requirement in your specification. We do not list accreditations we have not been awarded.
- Request a care or housing provider quote
- Multi-site specialist laundry procurement checklist
- Laundry for council housing and temporary accommodation
- Bed bug laundry service and prices
- Incontinence laundry service and prices
Published 2026-10-31 by MyLaundress team. Request a regular laundry quote