Considering this Industry

[WilliamJamesFPV]

Hi everyone — I’m new here and looking for some real-world perspective.

I live in the Miami area and I’m considering getting into carpet and tile cleaning, but I honestly have no clue what revenue and profit typically look like. My rough idea would be mostly residential carpet + tile (about 90%), and some light commercial (about 10%). Since Miami is so condo-heavy, I’d also be open to doing condos using a portable unit when needed.

I want to be upfront: I have zero experience and no training in this industry. I’ve only done online research so far, and I keep seeing people say you can do well in this business if you stick with it for a while — but I don’t know what “doing well” actually means in numbers.

A few questions I’m hoping experienced owners/operators can answer:

1. Revenue: What does average monthly and average annual revenue look like for a solo owner-operator doing mostly residential carpet + tile in a market like Miami?
2. Profit: What does average annual profit look like after chemicals, fuel, maintenance, insurance, marketing, etc.?
3. Hourly economics: What’s a realistic average job rate per hour (either billed per hour or what you net per hour on average)?
4. Equipment ROI: I’ve seen truck-mount setups that cost $30,000+. For those who run a truck mount, what kind of return on investment did you see (and roughly how long did it take to pay off)?
5. Aside from the numbers, I do have a question about prolonged use of the chemicals in the industry. I know there are detergents, solvents, etc... What is risk level (low. Medium, high) to prolonged use over a career? Has this been a concern for any of the guys in the industry? Why, or why not? Any known issues related to health concerns arisng from this job?

Thanks in advance — I’m here to learn.

William James

 

[Bryce C]

Hi everyone — I’m new here and looking for some real-world perspective.

I live in the Miami area and I’m considering getting into carpet and tile cleaning, but I honestly have no clue what revenue and profit typically look like. My rough idea would be mostly residential carpet + tile (about 90%), and some light commercial (about 10%). Since Miami is so condo-heavy, I’d also be open to doing condos using a portable unit when needed.

I want to be upfront: I have zero experience and no training in this industry. I’ve only done online research so far, and I keep seeing people say you can do well in this business if you stick with it for a while — but I don’t know what “doing well” actually means in numbers.

A few questions I’m hoping experienced owners/operators can answer:

1. Revenue: What does average monthly and average annual revenue look like for a solo owner-operator doing mostly residential carpet + tile in a market like Miami?
2. Profit: What does average annual profit look like after chemicals, fuel, maintenance, insurance, marketing, etc.?
3. Hourly economics: What’s a realistic average job rate per hour (either billed per hour or what you net per hour on average)?
4. Equipment ROI: I’ve seen truck-mount setups that cost $30,000+. For those who run a truck mount, what kind of return on investment did you see (and roughly how long did it take to pay off)?
5. Aside from the numbers, I do have a question about prolonged use of the chemicals in the industry. I know there are detergents, solvents, etc... What is risk level (low. Medium, high) to prolonged use over a career? Has this been a concern for any of the guys in the industry? Why, or why not? Any known issues related to health concerns arisng from this job?

Thanks in advance — I’m here to learn.

William James

Hi William, I'm Bryce. I've got a little bit of experience. I really need to become a better businessman. I am going to seek counsel, study, and work diligently at that this year. I'll report back with those numbers in a season or two .

While it is excellent to begin everything wisely... I have found that this work is profitable enough, and forgiving enough that you can learn much along the way if you're motivated, friendly, and resourceful. Get proper training on natural fibers right away with an expert like Jim P if you're going to be cleaning upholstery and rugs, which you'll need to be cleaning if you're focusing on residential. However, all education is profitable.

I've become a pretty good cleaner over the past 2 years since I began this craft (thanks to many folks here), but I still have many miles to go. I bought my first used van and truckmount for $15k last spring, and spent about $4k or so on parts and did all the work myself getting it in good running condition (with many pointers from friends here). I got a great deal, and my machine has been running fantastic since I dialed it in like 8 or 9 months ago.

The return on investment with the van and truckmount is solid. You can get a sweet setup for under $30k that has many years of life left in it if you take good care of it. But unless you have a lot of capital and a great service center nearby, I recommend being (or like me, becoming) handy because the downtime and price of repairs is very costly. Get a direct drive setup, they are way easier to work on, and they are very reliable.

The cost of gas isn't nearly as bad as I imagined before I got a truckmount. Marketing is expensive. Build a good website, keep feeding your Google Business profile, do great work everywhere you go, amass 5 star reviews, be active on social media, be hungry and ask tons of questions, keep improving your techniques and equipment... and your marketing costs will get cheaper, and you'll make more and more money. My best month last year I grossed $17k.

As a cleaner I love meeting new people and solving new problems. When you can really help people and knock it out of the park it makes this work so rewarding. The work itself is really rewarding, there is something about extraction. Landing bigger jobs is really exciting, as is upgrading equipment. The work is humbling, which is good for us. There are a lot of great folks in this industry, and many here on this forum. Welcome, Godspeed.

 

[Bryce C]

I do have a question about prolonged use of the chemicals in the industry. I know there are detergents, solvents, etc... What is risk level (low. Medium, high) to prolonged use over a career? Has this been a concern for any of the guys in the industry? Why, or why not? Any known issues related to health concerns arisng from this job?

It's hard to be objective about that stuff. Some people can smoke and drink and live to 100, others can be clean as a whistle and die young, and when someone dies of cancer you can't do a controlled experiment to see how adding or substracting certain things might of prevented or exascerbated it.

I prefer to avoid synthetic chemicals, but I have been using what works to learn the trade, get skills, and figure everything out. Most folks in the industry believe that all modern cleaning chemistry is fine. Some are more cautious and just learn to keep it to themselves amongst cleaners. Who knows Personally, this year I am transitioning to more and more natural detergents where I can without falling short of the results my customers expect.

Ask people what their favorite vacuum cleaner is if you want to meet everyone

 

[FredBoyle]

How old are you and what is your work experience ?

Based on your questions , I’d guess you worked with numbers or you’ve had experience with being on the wrong side of a downsizing ledger due to bad numbers


Service Startups live and die by revenue …


All of your margin questions are relevant but I’d focus first on getting work

Pricing is easy, for local comps , you could always plug in what your local Stanley Steemer charges , and bump it at least 20% to get started


We got smoking busy out of the gate with a few commercial contracts and low ball advertising


I wouldn’t recommend the latter

 

[Mikey P]

This will answer all your questions..

THE NEWCOMER’S MANIFESTO (Please review)

T H E C L E A N I N G S T A N D A R D THE NEWCOMER’S MANIFESTO From "Accidental Owner" to Certified Multi-Surface Professional AN OPERATIONAL FIELD MANUAL | EST. 2025 INTRODUCTION: THE BARRIER TO EXCELLENCE "The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his...

mikeysboard.com