With over 27 million households and 5.4 million businesses in the UK, the cleaning industry is a robust service market with diverse cleaning franchise opportunities. As people are becoming more strapped for time, they’re willing to allot some of their disposable income towards the convenience of professional cleaning services. Contract cleaning is also in continuous demand, with the premises of multiple sectors – including commercial, hospitality, health, education, and more – in need of professional-grade cleaning and hygiene services.
Recent years have seen the rise of niche, specialised cleaning services, a development that encourages even more franchise businesses to flourish. Advancements in cleaning technology, such as eco-friendly solutions in an increasingly environmentally aware market, are providing lucrative opportunities for new business in what may otherwise have become a stagnant market.
Some types of cleaning require specialist equipment that requires trained operators to use. This is beneficial for cleaning franchises because individuals or even companies are unlikely to go out and buy the equipment themselves. This then helps to drive the demand for cleaning companies to do the task for them.
Here’s a look at a few of the cleaning services that require specialist equipment:
- Pressure Washing Services
Dirt can get deeply ingrained into surfaces, making it very difficult to get them clean. This includes hard surfaces like walls and patios that become darkened and less attractive as time goes by. Pressure washing makes light work of getting these surfaces looking as good as new.
Pressure washing involves using equipment that produces a powerful jet of water at such high pressure that it helps dislodge even the deepest ingrained dirt. The results are instant with the original colour of surfaces reappearing as soon as the water jet makes contact.
- Commercial Laundry Services
Most of us have our own washing machines at home which are all we need for the job of washing our clothes and bed sheets, etc. When it comes to laundry on a larger scale, however, our domestic appliances just are not up to the job.
Many businesses, like hotels and restaurants, will need a lot of laundry done on a regular basis and industrial washers and driers are needed for the job. A franchise that caters to this need has the potential of winning long-term regular business from nearby companies.
- Carpet Cleaning
Carpets are often vacuumed, sucking up dirt and debris from the surface. However, a vacuum can do little about the deeper, ingrained dirt and liquids that have been spilt. Home carpet cleaners are also now available that do a pretty good job at removing stains, but they still can’t penetrate deep enough to get carpets thoroughly clean.
A carpet cleaning franchise will have specialized equipment that’s able to remove dirt that has been ingrained for many years. White carpets can become white again and people are often amazed at the results, unaware of just how grubby their carpets had become over the years. Demand for professional carpet cleaning services makes it a potentially profitable business opportunity.
- Steam Cleaning
Steam cleaning uses water vapour to dislodge dirt from fabrics and other services. No chemicals are used in the process meaning it is suitable for use on delicate fabrics. Steam cleaning is also very effective at killing bacteria, fungi, and parasites, making it an excellent choice where sanitation is important.
Domestic steam cleaners are available but these tend not to be as effective as industrial cleaners. There’s also the possibility of shrinking fabrics so it’s best to leave the job up to the professionals, further increasing the demand for their services.
- Dry Cleaning
Dry cleaning is perhaps the most effective way of getting clothes thoroughly clean. It is often used when people are getting out an old dress or suit for a special occasion and want it to be as good as new, or when there’s been a spillage of red wine or other tough to remove stains.
Dry cleaning requires specialist washers, dryers, and other equipment. It also uses specialist chemicals that should only be used by a trained person. It is one of the most in-demand specialist cleaning services meaning a good profit can be made from it.
Cleaning Services without Special Equipment
It’s not only the equipment that puts cleaning services in demand. It’s also the labour – and the skills. Not only can cleaning be hard, tiring, and sometimes unpleasant work but how many people are comfortable climbing ladders to clean their upstairs windows? These factors, and others, mean that there will always be a demand for cleaning services meaning companies that provide these services can be very profitable indeed - thus making cleaning franchises a popular choice for investors.
The potentially lucrative nature of cleaning businesses makes them a good opportunity for investing in a franchise. There are a wide range of franchise options within the cleaning sector to choose from, including: commercial cleaning franchises, window cleaning franchises, oven cleaning franchises,carpet cleaning franchises.
Investing in a cleaning franchise also has various benefits over starting yourself from scratch. One such benefit is that you are starting out under an established name that people recognise and trust. This is appealing to a lot of people who might otherwise struggle to get noticed at first among all the competition. The franchisee will also usually help with marketing, meaning that’s one less thing you have to be concerned about.
Another benefit is that, when investing in a franchise, you will often have all you need to get started. This means all the equipment you need to do the job and you will also often get ongoing assistance from the franchisee. Another benefit is that the franchisee will also often provide full training on equipment and methods before you get started. It’s a business that’s ready and waiting to hit the ground running instead of having to go through the time and expense of building the company up from the bottom rung.
Cleaning may not be the most glamorous industry to invest in, but it is a reliable sector with ongoing demand. Many franchisees operate purely on a management level, leaving the cleaning to their employees.
Our listings represent all the diverse specialisations the cleaning franchise industry has to offer. Explore our listings of cleaning franchises for sale at Franchise Direct and tap into a market with huge growth potential. Begin your franchising journey today and discover the opportunities awaiting you!
Further Reading
- Learn more about the profile of a cleaning franchise
- Take inspiration from other's success stories on starting their own cleaning franchise
- Delve further into the finer details of some of the popular opportunities on the market:
- Jan-Pro Cleaning Franchise
- Molly Maid Cleaning Franchise
- Service Master Cleaning Franchise