8 Types of Cleaning Services to Specialize In

Starting a cleaning business can be rewarding, but you have so many choices. Residential or commercial? General or specialty services? Each unique venture is highly specific, and job demands and how much you can earn differ.

Choose your business model and set your services apart. Explore a basic cleaning service list to find your focus in a sea of different types of cleaning services.

1. Residential Cleaning

As one of the most common cleaning services examples, residential cleaning makes apartments and houses spick-and-span. Businesses that specialize in home cleaning usually do a little bit of everything.

Provide general cleaning.

Get into every nook and cranny. Residential cleaning covers all spaces, including living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms. And while every job is different, cleaners are often tasked with mopping, vacuuming, dusting, polishing, and sweeping; sometimes, they even do laundry and dishes.

A residential specialty can be quite lucrative. Charge up to $90 per cleaner per hour while you pull in an average of $127,000 per year as an owner.

2. Commercial Cleaning

Ever been in a commercial building—especially an older one—and thought, “A good cleaning would make all the difference”? Upkeep for office buildings, retail spaces, and industrial facilities is a heavy lift, and commercial cleaners ease the burden.

Clean and sanitize common areas.

From individual offices and cubicles to restrooms and reception/checkout, there’s a lot of ground to cover. And in commercial cleaning, tasks such as mopping, dusting, vacuuming, and removing waste are often completed overnight to prevent disruptions.

Thinking about pursuing commercial cleaning? Zap germs and make public spaces more pleasant for workers and customers—and charge up to an average of $100 per hour for it.

3. Carpet Cleaning

Between foot traffic and normal wear and tear, carpets take a beating. Make flooring like new again by offering carpet cleaning services. Cleaners stay busy through a combination of one-off jobs and regular maintenance. 

Deep clean residential or commercial flooring.

Dig in deep to remove stains, odors, and dirt in homes or big buildings. Carpet cleaning leverages high-powered vacuums and steam cleaners to get the job done, and you can sweeten the pot by adding carpet repair.

While it’s not glamorous, carpet cleaning offers moderate earnings. Your business could charge up to $0.40 per square foot while you personally earn $45,000 per year.

4. Laundry Cleaning

Laundry seems to multiply in a blink, and before you know it, the washing machine is working overtime. Help manage the madness by offering laundry services. 

Bundle with residential cleaning.

If you specialize in residential cleaning, handling laundry is a helpful bonus—especially for busy professionals. Consider offering to do laundry in customers’ homes or providing dry cleaning drop-off/pickup to save them time.

Support commercial laundry needs.

Go beyond socks and T-shirts by offering commercial laundry. Many organizations rely on laundry services for uniforms, while medical facilities need regular laundry services for bed linens, gowns, scrubs, towels, and more.

5. Window Cleaning

Little hands smudge the glass in a home. Weather-beaten office windows become cloudy. A simple spritz of Windex can’t do it all, which gives window cleaners an important role. Make windows sparkle and shine from the inside out.  

Freshen interiors.

Interior window cleaning is usually for residential needs and should at least include dusting and wiping panes to remove smudges. But you can kick it up a notch by also servicing blinds and curtains, including vacuuming or laundering them.

Maintain exteriors.

Homes and businesses alike need periodic exterior window cleaning. Your business could be the one they contract for regularly scheduled services. Thorough exterior washing takes care of what Mother Nature leaves behind, and specialty cleaning solutions and tools help remove mold and mildew and restore each pane.

Window cleaners often climb ladders or perform tasks suspended on scaffolding, so if you can handle heights, look to bring the business up to $15 per window and personally average $38,000 per year or more.

6. Furniture Cleaning

Furniture cleaning is more about maintenance than regular cleaning, keeping pieces looking fresh. Your business can opt to provide cleaning service and even upholstery maintenance, all of which require careful attention.

Maintain home furniture.

Cover the essentials with basic furniture cleaning, which involves polishing, spot cleaning, and removing stains. But remember that each piece is delicate, so you may need to use special cleaners for wood or various fabrics. 

Don’t want to pick up and deliver everything you work on? It may be possible to work inside customers’ homes to expedite service and avoid damage risks. And that’ll protect your bottom line as you take in about $180 per piece of furniture.

7. Pressure Washing

Wash away the grime and gunk with a blast of power. Pressure washing with jet cleaners renews siding, decks, sidewalks, driveways, and other exteriors that would take hours or days by hand, and providing this service makes it even easier.

Restore residential exteriors.

Pressure washing is most practical to offer for homes based on size and scale alone. Grease stains on the driveway? Beat-up siding? Your business can make these surfaces like new again. And since you’ll already be working outside customers’ homes, consider bundling this with other services, such as window washing.

These jobs add up, bringing in up to $0.50 per square foot while earning workers about $38,000 per year.

8. HVAC Cleaning

Clean air, don’t care. Air ducts and vents need regular TLC—ideally, once a year. Specializing in HVAC cleaning services keeps homes safe and comfortable. 

Clear residential HVAC systems.

HVAC cleaners improve both the environment and the inner workings of a home. Sneezing and runny noses? Flushing out air ducts eliminates dust and allergens for better air quality and fewer irritants. And if an owner’s furnace or dryer is working overtime, removing buildup from vents reduces fire risks.

Just for air ducts, you can expect to bring your business $450-$1,000 per job, while technicians take home a modest $39,000 per year.

What Type of Cleaning Services Will You Offer?

General cleaner or pressure washing warrior? Your startup can choose from so many options on a diverse cleaning services list. Follow your strengths. 

None of these seem like the right fit? Cleaning pros touch every corner. Your specialty—from commercial event cleaning to residential spring cleaning services—could still be waiting.

• Choose from the many types of cleaning services.
• Take steps to start and register your business.
• Develop a clientele through word of mouth and basic marketing.

Never settle for second best. Increase your efficiency and business growth with cleaning service software. Service Fusion saves time and improves service delivery with features ranging from estimates and scheduling to dispatching and payment—all in one place. Discover what software efficiency could do for you.