31+ Unique Cleaning Business Ideas

31+ Unique Cleaning Business Ideas

Interested in starting a cleaning business but not quite sure what to start?

The good news is, there are so many opportunities to become an entrepreneur and build an innovative product/service in this line of work.

If you're looking to start your own cleaning business, there are several low-capital options you can choose from.

We put a list together below of the most profitable cleaning business ideas you can start today!

Here they are:

1. Start an equipment cleaning & repair business ($8.5M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$708,333/month
Average Initial Investment
$700,000
Skills

Examples of a successful equipment cleaning & repair business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a equipment cleaning & repair business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an equipment cleaning & repair business ➜

Case Study

My name is Frank Pedeflous and my wife Sandy and I bought a small business named Ultrasonic Blind Cleaning Systems twenty-five years ago. The business originally manufactured hard window covering cleaning equipment and sold it as a business opportunity to new start-ups and retailers selling window coverings.

We bought the company originally for $535,000, and today our revenues are approximately $10,000,000 annually.

this-couple-bought-a-cleaning-equipment-business-for-535k-and-grew-it-to-8-5m-year

2. Start an exterior home cleaning service ($360K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$30,000 — $60,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$25,025
Time To Revenue
270 days
Skills
Business model

Nicholas Ciano from Walnut Creek, California, USA started Go Green Cleaning & Maintenance Services about 6 years ago, a exterior home cleaning service.

  • Revenue: $30,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 3
  • Location: Walnut Creek, California, USA

Case Study

I graduated from Chico State University, studying Business Finance, and jumped around from job to job looking for my ideal career. I struggled to find something I was passionate about and found myself lacking drive and ambition.

Be patient and enjoy the process. NO company started perfectly and it does take trial and error to learn what works for your industry.

It was not until I got a kick in the butt by my now wife that I decided to take life into my own hands and start something for myself, for us. I had worked construction jobs and other trade work before I realized I did not like the way they ran their workers and their business.

how-i-started-a-20k-month-exterior-home-cleaning-service-company

3. Start a pool cleaning business

How Much Can You Make?
$8,000 — $50,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful pool cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a pool cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a pool cleaning business ➜

Case Study

I’m Dan Stewart and I’m the founder of Dundas Valley Pools. We help homeowners with swimming pools in Southern Ontario, Canada maximize the summers in their backyard. We do this by providing personalized, on-site services such as pool openings/ closings, pool maintenance, equipment installations, pool renovations, and new pool installations. Since our humble beginnings in May of 2016 we have serviced 350+ pools, opened and closed 200+ pools, and have installed tons of high-quality pool equipment, pool liners, and winter safety covers for happy customers throughout Southern Ontario.

Dundas Valley Pools has grown from a company producing very little revenue in 2016 to a company that is earning an average of $8000/ month net revenue during the on-season. This year we hope to actually double that number. This is due to our expansion into more technical services as well as taking on larger jobs-- namely, new pool installations.

how-i-started-a-8k-month-pool-service-and-installation-business

4. Create an online course ($60K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$350 — $3,735,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$6,531
Time To Revenue
150 days
Skills

Lidiya Kesarovska from The Netherlands started Let's Reach Success about 10 years ago, a online course.

  • Revenue: $5,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: The Netherlands

Case Study

Back in 2013, I had already discovered my passion - personal development - and had realized writing is the best way to express myself. So I combined these and started a self-improvement blog.

Starting the blog was the best decision and not giving up on it over the years (even when no traffic or money was coming in) was what helped me move forward.

It was first just a hobby and I knew nothing about blogging. Over the years, after publishing a ton of content, gaining traffic, learning about SEO, email marketing, social media, and all the ways to monetize a blog, it became a real business.

how-i-created-a-5k-month-online-course-about-blogging

5. Start a boat cleaning service

Examples of a successful boat cleaning service:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a boat cleaning service:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a boat cleaning service ➜

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6. Start a junk removal business ($300K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$4,000 — $37,000,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$44,425
Time To Revenue
300 days
Skills
Business model

Sam Evans from Pennsylvania, USA started You Call We Haul Junk Removal almost 7 years ago, a junk removal business.

  • Revenue: $25,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 3
  • Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Case Study

When I was ending my freshman year of college, I was sitting in my dorm room one day when I got a call from my cousin. Both of us had been flipping items on eBay since we were 14 and always loved to find ways to make some extra money. He told me about a book called Effortless Entrepreneur, written by the founders of College Hunks Hauling Junk which is currently the world’s second-largest junk removal franchise.

I ordered the book on eBay for $4 and as soon as it came to my dorm, I immediately started reading. About 20 pages into it, I called my Dad who is a used car salesman. I told him that I was going to start a junk removal company and that I needed his help finding a truck. After nearly a week of calling him telling him every reason I could come up with as to why I needed to start this company, he was finally in. He helped me find a $1,000 truck on Craigslist, a 1991 Ford F-150.

I bought the truck, printed out some flyers at my school’s library, ordered a few hundred horrible business cards, and was officially in business.

how-i-started-a-18k-month-junk-removal-company-before-graduating-from-college

7. Start a crime scene cleanup business ($0/year)

Nick-Anthony Zamucen from Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA started Bio-One about 15 years ago, a crime scene cleanup business.

  • Revenue: $/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 7
  • Location: Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA

Case Study

I started Bio-One Inc. over two decades ago.

Bio-One is the nation's leader in Crime & Trauma Scene Cleaning with over 90 franchised to date and growing. Bio-One isn’t like any other business you get into, it’s not all about profit.

Let me explain a bit more. When a suicide, homicide or an undiscovered dead body is found, there are many people who get called to the incident. The police, coroner/medical examiner, fire department, detectives and the last responders are companies like mine, Bio-One the crime scene cleaners. Not all scenes we clean are crimes, but the term crime scene cleaner gives some mental picture of what gets done. We clean and remediate what is commonly left behind from EMT’s, police, fire departments and coroners to name a few.

how-i-created-a-1-2m-month-crime-scene-cleanup-business

8. Start an apartment cleaning business

How Much Can You Make?
$83,000 — $600,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$900
Time To Revenue
240 days
Skills
Business model

Examples of a successful apartment cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a apartment cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an apartment cleaning business ➜

Case Study

Hey! My name is Neel Parekh and I am the Founder and CEO of MaidThis® & MaidThis® Franchise, a cleaning franchise that helps residential homeowners and short-term rental hosts (Airbnb, VRBO, etc) with their cleanings.

  • We made our niche focus on cleaning Airbnbs and vacation rentals, in addition to regular home cleaning, which is a rapidly growing industry. We became the first cleaning franchise specializing in vacation rental cleaning.
  • Local businesses are often pretty old school and typically aren’t the best with marketing, especially digital marketing. We’re bringing new-age marketing tactics to this old-school industry.
  • Remote work: we’ve been able to stay extra nimble and lean with having a global workforce. This was initially done out of necessity so I could travel, but quickly became a huge competitive advantage. Our office team works across 8 different countries.

how-i-started-a-100k-month-home-cleaning-service-for-busy-individuals-and-airbnb-hosts

9. Start a dry cleaners business

How Much Can You Make?
$26,500/month
Average Initial Investment
$80,000
Skills

Examples of a successful dry cleaners business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a dry cleaners business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a dry cleaners business ➜

Case Study

Hello! My name is Nishant Tripathi, and I founded Dhobilite, a premium online dry cleaning, and laundry service. I started this company in 2011 with a vision to pioneer laundry service in India.

We started operations in the year 2011. Over the years, we experimented with and developed our business model and software. In 2015, we disrupted the laundry market and became India's first app-based, on-demand laundry service provider. We have expanded into more than 15 cities in the last two years and have around 20+ stores today. In addition, we have 30 plus franchises. We also have factories in Gurgaon, Noida, Lucknow, Hyderabad, and Faridabad.

i-built-a-318k-year-business-by-digitalizing-the-laundry-industry

10. Start a cleaning products business ($5.4M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$35,000 — $708,333/month
Average Initial Investment
$265,098
Time To Revenue
270 days
Skills
Business model

David Zamarin from Framingham, Massachusetts, USA started DetraPel over 9 years ago, a cleaning products business.

  • Revenue: $450,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 17
  • Location: Framingham, Massachusetts, USA

Case Study

The DetraPel idea started for me when I was in high school, but I had my entrepreneurial itch even earlier than that.

After just 4 months I was given an offer to sell for $150,000. The decision was easy. I sold my first business and invested all of the money into starting DetraPel.

Growing up in Philadelphia with divorced immigrant parents taught me a lot of what I needed to know to get to where I am today. I grew up watching my mother hustling daily to provide me with the best possible life.

detrapel-a-stain-preventor-product-that-got-on-shark-tank

11. Start a hospital cleaning business

How Much Can You Make?
$250,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$23
Skills

Examples of a successful hospital cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a hospital cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a hospital cleaning business ➜

Case Study

In 2005, Rachael Flanagan founded Mrs Buckét, a business providing industrial cleaning services.

They operate a commercial cleaning company that has won numerous awards. They provide commercial cleaning services and facilities to companies in the public and private sectors.

Mrs Buckét offers commercial building services to facilities in south Wales and Bristol for prestige car showrooms, offices, manufacturing & educational institutions.

When she started out, Rachael was only 18 years old, and she had just £20, which she used to buy a hoover and flyers.

article

Read the full story on startups.co.uk ➜

12. Start a waste disposal business

How Much Can You Make?
$4,000 — $37,000,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$1,450,333
Time To Revenue
300 days
Skills

Examples of a successful waste disposal business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a waste disposal business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a waste disposal business ➜

Case Study

Hi! My name is Dustin Maze. I am the owner of SOCO Waste, a locally owned and operated residential waste removal business based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Originally the loan provided a trailer and 5 dumpsters. We now have 51 dumpsters, two roll off dumpster delivery trucks and two residential garbage trucks. We are projecting $700-800k in sales for 2020.

how-i-started-a-41k-month-residential-waste-removal-service

13. Start an air duct cleaning business

Examples of a successful air duct cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a air duct cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an air duct cleaning business ➜

article

14. Start an aviation cleaning service

Examples of a successful aviation cleaning service:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a aviation cleaning service:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an aviation cleaning service ➜

article

15. Start a carpet cleaning service

How Much Can You Make?
$250,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$23
Time To Revenue
240 days
Skills
Business model

Examples of a successful carpet cleaning service:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a carpet cleaning service:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a carpet cleaning service ➜

Case Study

In 2005, Rachael Flanagan founded Mrs Buckét, a business providing industrial cleaning services.

They operate a commercial cleaning company that has won numerous awards. They provide commercial cleaning services and facilities to companies in the public and private sectors.

Mrs Buckét offers commercial building services to facilities in south Wales and Bristol for prestige car showrooms, offices, manufacturing & educational institutions.

When she started out, Rachael was only 18 years old, and she had just £20, which she used to buy a hoover and flyers.

article

Read the full story on startups.co.uk ➜

16. Start an oven cleaning business

Examples of a successful oven cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a oven cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an oven cleaning business ➜

article

17. Start a road cleaning business

Examples of a successful road cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a road cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a road cleaning business ➜

article

18. Start a vehicle cleaning service

Examples of a successful vehicle cleaning service:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a vehicle cleaning service:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a vehicle cleaning service ➜

article

19. Start a school janitorial service

Examples of a successful school janitorial service:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a school janitorial service:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a school janitorial service ➜

20. Start an airport cleaning business

Examples of a successful airport cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a airport cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an airport cleaning business ➜

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21. Start a professional organizing business ($96K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$8,000 — $100,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$1,500
Time To Revenue
210 days
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 100 hours/week
Skills
Interests
Business model

Examples of a successful professional organizing business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a professional organizing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a professional organizing business ➜

Case Study

Hey there! My name is Amber Barrett and I’m the founder and CEO of Arranged by Amber. I started this business in 2018 as a Professional Organizing service, but through pivots and lots of trial and error, this business now supports other Professional Organizers by implementing business systems and automation into their businesses.

Today, Arranged by Amber averages $8,000/month helping Professional Organizers implement business strategies and systems that save them time and money.

how-i-make-8k-month-helping-organizers-automate-their-business

22. Start a window cleaning business

How Much Can You Make?
$60,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$50
Skills

Examples of a successful window cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a window cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a window cleaning business ➜

Case Study

While he was still a full-time student, Johnny Robinson built OrangeWindowCleaning.com into a $700k/year operation.

One day while hanging out with his friend Sergio, Johnny came up with the idea of the window cleaning business. He first approached door-to-door marketing and approached local stores to offer window cleaning services.

Later, after he discovered digital marketing and how tools and software could help him multiply his client base was when this journey started to take off for real.

His story proves that if you want to start your own business, it doesn’t necessarily take a never-before-seen business idea to have a never-before-seen impact on your life.

article

Listen to the full podcast on sidehustlenation.libsyn.com ➜

23. Start a pressure washing business

Examples of a successful pressure washing business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a pressure washing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a pressure washing business ➜

article

24. Start a steam cleaning business

Examples of a successful steam cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a steam cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a steam cleaning business ➜

25. Start a snow removal service

Examples of a successful snow removal service:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a snow removal service:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a snow removal service ➜

article

26. Start a laptop cleaning business

Examples of a successful laptop cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a laptop cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a laptop cleaning business ➜

article

27. Start a chimney cleaning service

How Much Can You Make?
$21,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful chimney cleaning service:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a chimney cleaning service:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a chimney cleaning service ➜

Case Study

Hi everyone, my name is Mitchell and I’m one of the three founders of Patriot Chimney. We sweep, repair, and build chimneys and also service and repair dryer vents around the Roanoke Valley in Virginia.

I studied marketing in college, but my experience in the past few years has been a mix between marketing and sales, so my focus is primarily around building the sales and marketing strategy for us. My brother (Matt) and a friend of his (Billy) focus on the operations, actually getting on the roof and doing some real dirty work.

how-i-started-a-21k-month-chimney-service-company-while-working-full-time

28. Start a garden cleaning business

Examples of a successful garden cleaning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a garden cleaning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a garden cleaning business ➜

29. Start a carpet cleaner rental business

Examples of a successful carpet cleaner rental business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a carpet cleaner rental business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a carpet cleaner rental business ➜

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30. Become an attic room organizer

Examples of a successful attic room organizer:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a attic room organizer:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an attic room organizer ➜

article

31. Start a garage organizer business

Examples of a successful garage organizer business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a garage organizer business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a garage organizer business ➜

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Pat Walls,  Founder of Starter Story
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Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.