Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning

The carpet cleaning industry has experienced historic growth, topping out at $5 billion in 2017, and expected to grow to continue. Just about everybody with carpeting can require deep-cleaning services at one time or another. This includes private homes as well as commercial and public spaces. The same equipment used to clean carpets can also be used on upholstery and in cars, boats and anywhere else carpeted or fabric surfaces can be found. As the business owner, you’ll either make contact with customers directly or through a bevy of contractors who’ll bring you customers: caterers, restaurateurs, hotel culinary contacts, wedding planners and party and event planners. Anyone who owns carpeting, rugs or upholstered furniture and wants to keep them clean is a potential customer. That’s virtually every household in America—or, more realistically, in your marketing area. While residential cleaning is where the customer volume is, commercial customers are likelier to use your services more frequently. That’s because they have more foot traffic, so their carpets and upholstery get dirtier faster. And since their facilities are in the public eye, the decision makers are more motivated to maintain appearances. They’re also likelier to have more square footage of need, so one stop can generate more income than an average-size private home. These public spaces include office buildings, apartment buildings, shopping centers, auto showrooms, churches and other places of worship. How does a carpet and upholstery cleaning business make money? The business charges home residents, business owners, property managers and other customer types for cleaning services. The going rate is about 30 cents a square foot and business owners in this category try to average at least $100 an hour per visit. (The actual rate tends to range from about $75-$150 an hour.)