Quick answer: To start a dry cleaning business in India, pick a location with enough households or offices within a short delivery radius, decide your services mix (laundry, dry cleaning, wet cleaning, pressing), buy the equipment that mix needs, stock a short chemical shelf, hire and train a presser and a spotter, complete registrations and GST with a CA, price per garment, and spend the first 90 days filling the machines. Indicatively, a retail store lands in the high single-digit to low double-digit lakhs to open, with the dry cleaning machine the largest item.
Step by step: how to start a dry cleaning business in India
- Market and location. Walk the area. Count apartment towers, offices, hotels and hostels within two or three kilometres, because that is the radius a rider can serve several times a day. A corner shop on a residential main road, with water, drainage, three-phase power and a place to park a two-wheeler, is the usual starting point. Indicatively, 300 to 800 square feet is enough for a retail store.
- Services mix. Decide what you sell on day one. Most new stores open with laundry (wash, dry, fold), shirt pressing and dry cleaning of suits, sarees and woollens. Wet cleaning is a strong addition for delicates and odour jobs; wet cleaning vs dry cleaning explains where each process fits.
- Equipment list. For the mix above: one or two commercial washer-extractors, a tumble dryer, a steam press or vacuum finishing table with a boiler or steam generator, a spotting board with steam and air gun, a dry cleaning machine (or a plan to send solvent-only garments to a nearby plant until volume justifies one), racks, hangers, packing and a billing system. Indicatively, the washers, dryer and pressing set-up sit in the low to mid lakhs together; the dry cleaning machine on its own sits in the high single-digit to double-digit lakhs.
- Chemical shelf. Keep it short and buy direct so the prices are known. The starting shelf is listed in the section below.
- Staff and training. A presser, a washer operator who can also spot, a counter person and a rider. The presser and the spotter are the skilled roles. Train everyone on three things in week one: garment inspection and ticketing at the counter, the six-spotter board, and the pressing standard for a shirt and a trouser.
- Licences and GST. In general terms: shop and establishment registration, a municipal trade licence, GST registration (expected by any hotel or corporate client from day one), and any pollution-control consent your state asks of dry cleaning machines. Confirm the exact list, thresholds and rates with a CA for your state.
- Pricing. Price per garment, by category. Work out your expected monthly cost (rent, wages, utilities, chemicals, delivery) and divide by the number of pieces you realistically expect in month three, not month one. Add your margin and check the result against the market. Charge extra for heavy spotting, express service and bulky items. Chemical cost per piece is a small part of this; laundry business in India: cost to set up and run shows how to work it out per kg.
- The first 90 days. Covered in its own section below.
The starting chemical shelf
A new dry cleaner needs eleven to thirteen products, and no more, to cover every ticket that comes across the counter:
- Wash: Laundry Detergent for cottons and everyday loads, DC Detergent for dark and premium garments, Softener, Collar & Cuff 500 for shirt collars, Colour Fix for the first washes of new coloured garments, Bleach for whites and Oxy Bleach for colours.
- Wet clean: Wet Clean Wash and Wet Clean Finish if you offer wet cleaning, plus Odour Spray.
- Finishing: Starch for cotton shirts and Starch Spray at the press.
- Spotting: the six spotters: Spot Sweat, Spot Ink, Spot Oil, Spot Rust, Spot Grease and Spot Food. Each one handles one stain family, so the board is learnable in a day. The stain removers dry cleaners actually use explains the board in detail.
For the solvent machine itself, the solvent, filters and detergent are specified by the machine vendor; what chemicals are used in dry cleaning lists them. Prices for all Purolix products are published per litre or per kg, GST 18% extra, and valid till 31 December 2026, so the chemical line of your plan can be a real number.
Indicative cost to open
Every figure here is indicative and will move with city, brand and the mix you choose. Confirm with local vendors and a CA.
| Item | Indicative range |
|---|---|
| Premises deposit and basic fit-out | Low lakhs; higher in metro high-street locations |
| Washers, dryer, press, boiler, spotting board | Low to mid lakhs combined |
| Dry cleaning machine (if bought on day one) | High single-digit to double-digit lakhs |
| First chemical stock, hangers, packing | Tens of thousands |
| Two-wheeler for pickup and delivery | Around a lakh, or use an existing vehicle |
| Working capital (two to three months of costs) | Low lakhs |
Opening without the dry cleaning machine and outsourcing solvent work for the first few months cuts the figure substantially.
The first 90 days
The store is built; now it has to fill. A simple plan by month:
- Days 1 to 30: get the process right. Run every garment type through the full flow and fix what breaks. Set the dosing card for each machine and stick it on the wall. Introduce yourself to the building managers and society offices within the delivery radius and leave a price card.
- Days 31 to 60: fill the machines. Offer pickup and delivery on fixed days per building. Approach two or three small B2B accounts: a guest house, a salon, a clinic, a restaurant with table linen.
- Days 61 to 90: tighten quality and cost. Review rewashes and customer complaints weekly; most trace back to sorting, spotting or dosing. Measure chemical use against the dosing card. Decide, with real numbers, whether to buy the dry cleaning machine or keep outsourcing.
Stocking the shelf
Purolix supplies the complete shelf above direct to laundries and dry cleaners across India: the wash range, the wet clean pair, finishing starch and the six-spotter system, each with a published price and dosing guidance in the box. For a new store, we suggest small packs for the first order so you can learn your real consumption before buying in volume. Tell us your planned machines and city and we will reply with pack sizes and a starting dosing card. For everything else in this guide, from rent to registrations, talk to local vendors and a CA before you sign anything.
Can I start a dry cleaning business without a dry cleaning machine?
Yes. Many stores open as a laundry and wet cleaning shop with a spotting board and a press, and send the few true solvent-only garments to a nearby plant. The dry cleaning machine is bought once solvent volume justifies it. Be honest on the ticket about which process the garment got.
Do I need GST registration for a dry cleaning shop?
In general terms, GST registration becomes mandatory once turnover crosses the threshold for services, and B2B customers such as hotels and corporates will expect a GST invoice from day one. The threshold and the applicable rate should be confirmed with a chartered accountant for your state.
How should a new dry cleaner price garments?
Price per garment, by category: shirt, trouser, suit, saree, lehenga, blanket, curtain. Work out your cost per piece from rent, wages, utilities and chemicals divided by expected monthly pieces, add the margin you need, then check the result against what nearby stores charge. Charge extra for spotting-heavy pieces and express service.