After getting a business name for your carpet cleaning business, creating a business plan, registering it, marketing it, and hiring the right staff, you need to purchase the right equipment to start operating. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a budget or have funds to buy new equipment or hire from the store, you need the tools to start working.
Carpet cleaning business is currently in high demand as it features services that most customers cannot do on their own and attain quality results. So, most homeowners and offices will need carpet cleaning services. If you have the right tools and are well trained, you will deliver great services to your customers and they will keep rehiring you if they need carpet cleaning services.
Most carpet cleaning equipment does not come cheap. Therefore, you should be prepared to spend in order to get the right equipment. Also, you need to hire or properly train your employees on how to use the different carpet cleaning equipment.
So what equipment is needed for a carpet cleaning business? Here is the equipment needed for carpet cleaning business:
- Rotary machine
The rotary machine is vital in delivering a thorough carpet clean. With so many rotary machines on the market, ensure to buy a quality machine as cheap ones won’t give you the results that you desire. Also, cheap machines are not durable and will end up costing you more when they break up
Besides, the customers can easily tell if you used a good machine or not as the quality of work greatly differ. As a result, you should always go for the best rotary machine with a good warranty so that you can have your tool repaired or replaced in case it comes with a defect.
Rotary machines perform exceptionally well as they are normally utilized for heavy-duty floor scrubbing. They use a unique mechanism and can be used for both floor and carpet cleaning. This means that you will have a 2-in-1 machine instead of buying separate equipment.
However, it is not a must to purchase a rotary machine, especially if you’re just starting your carpet cleaning business. You can as well as decide to hire one or if you’ve got funds, then you can just purchase a new one.
- Industrial carpet cleaning vacuum
Another vital tool that you need for carpet cleaning is the industrial vacuum. Buy a high-quality, durable, and easy to use industrial vacuum. Furthermore, you need to acquire additional attachments for stairs and small spaces. Note that there are both low-end and high-end vacuum cleaners on the market.
Check out our latest carpet cleaner reviews, and take your pick
Check out reviews and buy proven and high-quality ones only. Cheap vacuum cleaners will not give you the best results possible and are prone to breaking. Therefore, if you want to provide the best cleaning services to your customers, then you need to purchase or hire the best industrial vacuum machine.
- Tools
Apart from having a quality rotary machine and industrial vacuum, you will also need some tools to perform a wide range of tasks.
The tools include:
- Carpet brushes
- Carpet rake
- Cleaning wand
- Stair tools
- Spotters
- Spray bottles for chemicals
Different tools will be required for different carpet and upholstery cleaning tasks. That’s why it is important to assess your client’s carpet, rugs or upholstery before taking on the job and giving out a quote.
- Premium cleaning products
Having the right equipment for the job is important but so is having the right cleaning products.
Some of the must-have cleaning products include:
- Shampoos
- Sprays
- Stain removers
- Pet odour remover
- Stain guards
- Deodorizer’s
Make sure that you test products before using them in a customer’s home or office. This will not only help you know how it works but also figure out if it provides exceptional results or not. If you find that the product is not appealing to you, then there is a high chance that it won’t be appealing to your client as well.
Additionally, the types of cleaning products that you use are usually determined by the cleaning methods that you apply. Different methods require a different set of products.
Carpet Cleaning Equipment – Should You Hire or Buy?
This is one of the most challenging parts about starting a carpet cleaning business. Most people start with inadequate funds while others are loaded. After starting your business, you need to decide whether you’re going to buy all the tools and all pieces of equipments or buy a few and hire others. But if you’re on a tight budget, you can decide to hire the tools from a local hardware store.
However, the best option is always investing in quality carpet cleaning business equipment that will serve you for many years. So, when you start your business and have a handful of customers, you can start hiring some of the costly tools like the rotary machine and then buy them later. But if you’re sure that you will expand your cleaning business soon, then it’s better off buying the equipment than hiring it.
It is always a good thing to start out with simple and cheaper tools like a steam carpet cleaner, industrial vacuum, and a few cleaning solvents and detergents.
Then you can proceed to buy other tools and products such as carpet brushes, carpet rakes, upholstery wands, stain removers, spotters, and rinsers. Finally, you can now decide to hire or purchase a rotary machine as it doesn’t come cheap.
What determines the equipment needed for carpet cleaning business?
- Types of services that you offer
Depending on the services that you offer, you will find that some tools are more important than others. Some clients will just need regular maintenance while others will need a deep cleaning of their carpets and upholstery.
Also, some people may need carpet cleaning only while others may need you to clean their carpet, floor, rags, and much more. If you offer a wide range of services, then you will need more tools and this might be costly in the long run.
While starting out, it’s advisable to specialize in a few services before expanding. Don’t just offer services for the sake but ensure that your employees are well trained and deliver high-quality outcomes.
- Cleaning methods
Besides the services that you offer, the methods that you use to clean your client’s carpet also determine the type of tools that you purchase. Some of the most popular methods include dry carpet cleaning, encapsulation, hot water extraction cleaning, carpet shampooing, and bonnet cleaning.
Dry carpet cleaning is one of the latest methods and it is great for offices or people who want to use the carpet in a short while. Bonnet cleaning is another quick method for cleaning a carpet that is in a busy area and has to be used after a short while. However, it is also costly when compared to other methods like hot water extraction and carpet shampooing.
Final thoughts
Now that you know the equipment that you need for your carpet cleaning business, ensure that you pick the right tools for the services that you will be offering and the methods that you will be using.
The simplest carpet cleaning methods don’t need a lot of tools but the carpet takes longer to dry, while the more advanced methods need high-quality tools but dry quickly and need great skills to apply them.
If you’re on a budget, you can start by hiring some tools but buying new equipment is the best option if you intend to expand your business. Also, ensure that you get skilled workers or train them on how to properly use the tools for exceptional service delivery to clients.