Carpet Cleaning Profits

One of my favorite service businesses is carpet cleaning. A few years back, I ran my own carpet cleaning/upholstery cleaning company. Although I’ve moved on to different ventures, my carpet cleaning business was a true money-maker right from the start.

For anyone contemplating getting into the carpet cleaning business I would suggest that you work for a company to learn the ropes first. Although it is possible to simply read a few “how-to” manuals, visit some websites, buy some used equipment, and set up shop; you will save a lot of time, money, and hassle if you have some basic experience first.

By working for another company and getting some experience, you will not only know how to clean different types of carpet, but you will also know what equipment you need to do the job in a professional manner. Oh yeah, and you will also be less likely to make mistakes that could be very costly. It’s so easy to use the wrong method or chemical and wind up causing substantial damage.

When I started, I had no idea how to clean the various kinds of carpet, what chemicals to use, or what equipment to buy. Most of my knowledge was gained over the Internet and through my equipment supplier. Although I managed to fake it until I understood more about the business, I would have saved myself a lot of money and frustration had I gotten some real-world experience first.

Carpet Cleaning Methods

Hot water extraction (steam cleaning) – hot water extraction is by far the most popular method to professionally clean carpets. Though it’s also called steam cleaning, there is no actual steam. The only “steam effect” is the high-pressure spray down where the wand meets the carpet (it looks like steam). If you were to use actual steam to clean a carpet, you would ruin it in a second.

This method is fairly basic: A hot water solution is sprayed into the carpet fibers under high pressure from nozzles attached to the cleaning wand and is quickly vacuumed up by the same wand. In other words, the solution nozzles are behind the vacuum duct. As the operator pulls the wand towards him/her, the resulting action is a spray followed by the vacuum. Dry time is several hours depending on the equipment being used.

If you’re getting into hot water, you have two choices as far as equipment goes:

Portable units – I started with a portable unit and I did just fine. The newer portables have much more power than in previous years. The obvious advantage here is that you can take these machines into places where you can’t get to with a truck-mount. Another huge advantage is the cost. You can buy a good used portable set up for under $5,000.

Truck mounted units – have much more power, and this is the preferred method of seasoned cleaners. A truck mounted system consists of a large carpet cleaning machine that is permanently mounted to a vehicle (usually a van). Only the solution line and the vacuum hose are brought into the customer’s home. With this system you are able to get much more power and, thus, the job can go quicker and the carpet will dry faster. One major disadvantage is that you are limited by your length of hose. Another consideration is the cost. A top-of-the-line truck mounted unit can go for $90,000. Most are around $40,000.

Most fledgling carpet cleaning businesses are started with portable equipment and then upgraded to truck units as they become more established. There is also the matter of perception. When a carpet cleaner arrives to someone’s home they look much more credible if they have the $50,000 machine at their disposal. The reality is that portable units can do almost as well.

One more thing about hot water extraction is that this is the preferred method of all the major carpet mills.

Some of the lesser known carpet cleaning methods are:

Dry foam – Carpets dry fast, but this method is unable to clean deeply into the fibers. The solution often contains optical brighteners to give the appearance of a clean carpet.

Dry Chemical – one of the biggest carpet cleaning franchises uses this method. A dry chemical is agitated into the carpet fibers and then vacuumed away with the dirt attached.

Oscillating pad – a solution is sprayed into the carpet and a machine similar to a floor buffer is used to provide an oscillating movement while using a cotton pad to clean into the fibers. The pads are changed frequently during each job. This method works well and the carpet dries fast. Unfortunately, the procedure requires an experienced hand since it is very easy to damage the carpet with the oscillating motion of this machine.

Competition

The carpet cleaning industry is one of the most competitive businesses you’ll ever come across. Not only is it dominated by a handful of large corporations, but you’ll also be competing with scores of one-man operations. Open your local Yellow Pages phone book and look under carpet cleaning. Now imagine that for each ad listed, there could be dozens of other small operations that don’t advertise.

Another consideration is that companies will frequently lowball prices just to get in the front door. Of course, they hope to upsell the customer once they arrive on site. As an honest, one-man operation, you don’t stand a chance competing against these prices unless you, yourself, start using the same tactics. This leaves a huge black eye on the industry as a whole.

The good news is that carpet cleaning is still a very in-demand business and there certainly is no shortage of carpet to be cleaned. I always say, where there is high competition you can bet that there’s high demand. One more carpet cleaning business is not going to make much difference.

Marketing

Initially, you’re going to have to struggle to get each job. Because you may not have the resources to advertise in the Yellow Pages along with every other major competitor, you will be left to distribute fliers, advertise in the classified section of the local paper, or engage in door-to-door sales.

When you’ve been in the business for a while you’ll notice two things happening: You will have enough money to advertise in the Yellow Pages (this is where most people look for carpet cleaners), and you will start getting referral business. Once you get to this point, things will start snowballing rapidly.

Revenue

Starting out, you’ll be lucky if you can manage to make $30,000 per year. After a few years, things will improve significantly as you start getting more and more referrals. Once your schedule is full every day, you should be able to gross at least $60,000 per year. From there, the sky’s the limit as they say. You can start by hiring an employee, and then get an extra truck on the road, start advertising more, and so on. Eventually, you could end up simply running the business and leaving the physical work to your employees.