Equipment and Tools for a Cleaning Business
When I first started my cleaning service back in 2008, I did a TON of research on the most efficient and effective products and tools to use for my cleaning business. I searched far and wide on the internet, the bookstore, and my local janitorial store. The truth of the matter is, there are countless methods, products, and tools that will get the job done.
In those early days, I went through many different cleaning tools in efforts to find the BEST of the best. What I came to find, is that simplicity is key. Through trial and error and decades of experience cleaning houses on a larger scale (with my team) I came to find what lasts, what works, what’s efficient, and what’s effective. It can take time to develop out systems and processes for a cleaning service. Let me help you remedy some of that by giving you a run down of what equipment you’ll need.
While every cleaning business owner runs their business a little differently, if you’re running an operation where you provide equipment for your team / employees, I highly recommend consistency and continuity in regards to what products + tools you’re using. As you get feedback from your customers when something wasn’t cleaned up to standard, it can be easier to identify the core issue at hand. For example, when you’re dealing with multiple different vacuums, there are different nuances on how each piece of equipment works. This includes maintenance parts, operational cleaning methods, faulty features, etc.
Here you’ll find recommendations for commercial vacuums, mops, caddies, cleaning towels, storage equipment, cleaning bottles, and more. Whether you’re just getting started with your cleaning business or if you’re a seasoned pro, this is a great article to brush up on what cleaning equipment is available. Investing in and/or updating equipment + tools for your cleaning business means that you can run your operation more smoothly, efficiently, and effectively.
Vacuums for Carpets
A carpet vacuum will have a beater bar on the underside, where the vacuum runs over the floor. This beater bar function is important as this is a brush that runs over the surface of a carpet to help lift and remove dirt +debris from carpet fibers.
My recommendation is to skip the bells and whistles and get a vacuum that has really simple, yet really powerful functions. A good carpet vacuum will have a low pile setting and a high pile setting.
Upright Vacuum for Carpets: Oreck Commercial Upright Vacuum
Cordless Upright Vacuum for Carpets: CleanMax Pro Cordless. If you’re looking for something a bit more advanced in cordless technology, the CleanMax pro is a vacuum I used for many, many years. I did use their corded version, but I imagine their cordless version is similar. It has a battery run time of 50 minutes, so that is something to consider as you go throughout your day.
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Something to take into consideration with any vacuum that you invest in, are the cost of vacuum bags. While the cost of equipment and supplies should be factored in to your overall rate as a cleaning business, this is something that can cut into your margin.
Vacuums for Hard Surface Floors
A hard surface floor vacuum is a vacuum that replaces the function of a broom. Overall, this helps decrease dust. Rather than using a broom that kicks dust up into the air, a hard floor vacuum removes the dust/dirt/debris from the ground. Essentially, it contains it.
The best hard surface floor vacuum I’ve used, actually has no beater bar. Reason being, it creates better suction on a hard surface when there isn’t anything in the way, blocking airflow. I highly recommend a backpack vacuum over a stick vacuum for commercial cleaning. Ergonomically speaking, you’re utilizing body mechanics in a much better way so that you are able to freely move around the vacuum wand, without having to hold up weight.
Backpack Vacuum for Hard Surface Floors: Hoover Backpack Vacuum
I’ve used this vacuum for well over 15 years. Out of the 20+ Hoover backpack vacuums I had for my team, I rarely would need to replace one. They’re powerful, when used correctly. It has a number of attachments: the “wand” which is a long stick that runs over surfaces on the ground. It also has a dusting brush attachment to help remove dust from surfaces.
In regards to the cordless technology out there, I have seen anything powerful enough yet that matches the Hoover Backpack vac from what I’ve tried. However, there are a few new ones on the market (last I checked!) that have great reviews:
Sanitaire Transport Backpack Vacuum - it has 70min of battery time!
Prolux 2.0 Cordless Battery Bagless Backpack Vacuum - includes 2 batteries that last 30 min each / 1 hour of battery life total.
Hoover MPWR Cordless Backpack - it doesn’t come with the batteries, which are sold separately here.
Vacuum Attachments for Upholstery
Specifically for the backpack vacuum, you’ll want a handheld attachment that has a beater bar on it so that you can vacuum smaller surfaces such as carpeted stairs, furniture, cat tree’s, and so on. The Hoover Backpack doesn’t come with one of these, so it is an attachment that you’ll need to source.
The Rug Rat Attachment is one that proved to be reliable overall, with the exception of the occasional maintenance to clean out hair that gets stuck inside of the housing. The belt would also break down over time and I had a challenging time finding belt replacements for a decent price, but there are manufacturers that carry these.
Mops
If you haven’t learned the hand mopping method that we teach at The Tidy People, start here. This is a method that I high recommend to use every time you clean a small kitchen or a bathroom (high traffic rooms). I also recommend using the method the first time you clean a home.
Otherwise, for regular maintenance cleanings, you’ll want to invest in a spray mop and several mop pads that you can run through the laundry cycle.
If you want to go really fancy (but more equipment to maintain, potentially), the Dyson Submarine is both a mop and vacuum.
Cobweb Removal Tool
You’ll want a tool that will reach vaulted ceilings to remove cobwebs, dust, and other debris that accumulates up in these spaces. Beyond this tool, there isn’t really a necessity for scrubbing these spaces up high unless spiders leave behind their poo. That, is a whole other project that’s beyond your scope of services (likely) as a cleaner. That’s more of a handyman project.
This tool really requires 2 parts: the telescoping pole and the bristled cobweb attachment for the end of the pole.
The pole is a one time investment and the cobweb attachment is something that you’ll replace on occasion as it warps with wear and tear.
Snowboard Bag to House “Sticks”
It took me years of lugging around all of these awkward sticks and random attachments (the backpack vac wand, cobweb tool, spray mop, etc.) to finally figure out that there’s an easier way — why not put all of these items in a bag?
I discovered that the perfect sized bag for all of these items was a snowboard bag. If you want to get fancy with this, there’s also this wheeled bag that has wheels on the bottom to make carrying this bag a little easier going in and out of houses.
Buckets
Buckets will get used for various purposes such as mopping, towel storage, etc.
You’ll need around 4 nesting buckets per person on your team.
As you go throughout the day, some of the towels will get dirty and will need to be housed in something until they get laundered. Investing in something that’s not going to cause odors of dirty towels in the car is a great idea.
These buckets have an airtight seal on them, making it a great option for temporary dirty towel storage.
Caddies for Cleaning Supplies
Your cleaning system should be dialed in enough in which all of your products fit in one caddy, with the exception of special one-time use products for customer projects. I’ve used two different types of caddies over the years:
Plastic caddy with a top handle — this is easy to clean and I love how there’s rounded shapes for where the bottles go.
Tote bag + drink holder — this is next level, but can greatly help with carrying a caddy in and out of homes and walking to and from the car. This is the system that my team and I evolved to later on. We were able to store products in the neoprene “drink carrier” and then store that in the larger bag with towels.
Terry Cloth Cleaning Towels
By far, terry cloth cleaning towels are superior to any other towel. Microfiber towels are great while they last, but they don’t really hold up over time with being laundered frequently. Terry cloth towels however, are highly absorbent and you can wash and use them until they’re thin like paper (that’s a lot of uses!). They’re great for scrubbing, polishing, drying, glass cleaning, dusting, etc.
A great source for these is Rag Lady.
Basket or Rolling Cart
You’ll need something to house all of the towels that you’ll be transporting on a daily basis to clean all of those houses.
A basket or a rolling cart is a great containment option. This usually gets left in the car where you can re-up on your supply in between cleanings.
Brushes
I usually keep two different brushes on hand:
A small grout brush for grout and other small areas for edge cleaning. If you’re looking for a plastic free solution, this wood handle grout brush is comparable.
A hand brush for cleaning larger areas. Personally I like this one because it’s ergonomically friendly and easy on the hand. However, if you’re looking for a more sustainable option to reduce plastic usage, here’s a wood handle option.
Scrapers
My favorite scraper is a non-scratch one that doesn’t require the use of a razor blade. Especially if you have a cleaning team and people working for you, it’s important from a liability standpoint that you only give tools that won’t damage or scratch surfaces.
The Tidy People Cleaning System
While this article has an emphasis on cleaning equipment, I would put spray bottles under the category of equipment. The Tidy People is a refillable cleaning product line and cleaning system that was born out of professional cleaning experience. It uses 7 total products to maintain a clean home. We launched with 5 of those products.
When I pre-launched this product line, my team and I went into test+research mode. What I came to find was that this cleaning system was quite revolutionary for us as a cleaning business because it minimizes the amount of water that we’re having to keep on hand with our cleaning supply storage.
Our team was able to keep the super concentrated refills on hand in their cleaning equipment and refill bottles on the go, inside of clients homes. Before this, most of our team was having to drop in at our headquarters to refill their products on an every day or ever-other-day basis. This reduced office visits and gave time back to everyone on our team. Our staff were able to go home at the end of the day after their jobs vs. stop in at the office at the end of the day (or before their first job of the day). Refillable products are the way to go for cleaning businesses on the go! It saves so much time and single use plastic waste as well.
