The cleaning business is turning out to be one of the most sought-after niches to foray into.

As rising levels of pollution are becoming a huge cause of concern for people around the world, especially in big cities, on-the-go households find it quite difficult to take time for house cleaning on their own.

Equipment Needed for a Cleaning Business

Moreover, growing businesses and ever-expanding commercial setups are constantly increasing the demand for dedicated cleaning teams.

If you think you can manage your very own team of cleaners, but you’re concerned about investment, you must be looking to know how to start a cleaning business with no money. Well, the good news is that it is possible. However, you will need to invest in good equipment which is not too costly (you can manage this small investment from friends or the family, or even with an emergency business loan or even with a credit card funding).

Consider it a long-term investment.

For any startup, initial costs can seem like a risk. However, in this case, they are essential to executing a successful start. A nice thing about cleaning equipment is that you can usually buy in bulk, and you can even get hefty discounts if you buy from a wholesaler online. The total costs for one cleaning employee or team shouldn’t exceed more than $1,500 at a time. As your business grows, you should become more comfortable buying larger quantities of equipment.

If a potential customer sees an ad of yours that tells them you will bring everything needed, they’ll be more inclined to call you. Even if they do generally have cleaning equipment lying around at home, they’ll think of your business more highly if you maintain a can-do attitude with no cost to the client.

So, what do I need?

Generally, for a house cleaning business, here is all the equipment needed for a cleaning business:

• A good heavy duty vacuum cleaner with a warranty.
• Cloth rags
• Paper towels
• Toilet brush
• Toilet bowl cleaner
• Broom
• Dustpan & brush
• Dry mop
• Wet mop & bucket
• Latex gloves
• Wet floor signs (optional)
• Extension cord
• Window cleaner
• Disinfectant cleaner
• Bathroom cleaner
• Furniture polish
• Soft Scrub product for sinks
• SOS pads
• Feather duster
• High duster
• Caddy with a handle to keep your supplies in.

Depending upon your packages and target market, you can make your own list of cleaning equipment too.

The value of human resources:

It’s important to note that not all “equipment” will take the form of physical materials. As a cleaning service, you’ll have access to various cleaning products that all do the same thing. But, your most important marketing point should be your manpower. For cleaning businesses, there is a low barrier to entry because of the minimal startup and equipment costs, so you’ll need to harness the power of human resources.

What will set your cleaning business apart from the many others out there is how well your staff are trained, how secure your clients will feel as your employees work in residential homes (i.e. background checks, demeanor), and how effectively they get the job done. Be sure to spend the right amount on the products we listed previously, but also shell out a good amount on being certain that you are hiring the best people you can get.

Will my clients provide any equipment?

So, this is kind of a gray area. While you may purchase all the equipment needed for your cleaning business, sometimes you may run into a client that is willing to provide you with some of the materials that they already own. After all, if your business is the one doing the cleaning, what use will those materials be to the client? Our advice would be to still ensure that you keep a good stock on hand of all the products above.

The reason for this is that you never know until you get a client whether materials will be provided or not, so you might as well buy them initially to prevent multiple purchasing appointments. Every client will be different, so you’ll always want material insurance and retain the ability to market your business as full-service.

How should I leverage my equipment?

You can offer services like $15/hour using your own equipment and $12/hour using customers’ equipment and supplies. As almost every household has their own equipment and supplies, they would be interested in saving money, and it can work great when you’re starting up on budget and do not have to invest in equipment.

So, start making your own list of cleaning equipment; for instance, if you’re offering commercial cleaning too, the supplies list may go further. Remember that you may start a bigger project with a limited budget even, i.e., for bigger projects, the industry cleaning machines like vacuum cleaners, carpet vacuum, etc., can be bought second-hand or rented on a requirement basis.

The equipment which is required for cleaning business costs hardly anything, when it comes to working out on expected ROI, but most important is the manpower which must be trained to do the cleaning job at best.

The market is full of cleaning supplies; so at times, it may be difficult to find the right product due to the stiff competition. So, ideally, you must do careful research on available brands before starting up, and when it comes to purchasing cleaning supplies, always buy in bulk, i.e. for the whole month. You can get the best price from hypermarkets and it will also save your travel time and money to buy for the whole month.

Hopefully this article has helped you imagine a starting point for your cleaning business. Good luck out there!