Gathering cleaning supplies for your cleaning business may be the most time-intensive and expensive step about starting a cleaning business. However, it doesn’t have to be stressful or overwhelming. At Insurance Canopy, we provide cleaning business insurance to maids, window cleaners, house cleaners, and more, but we also give professional advice to cleaning professionals.
Today we’ll walk you through the essential cleaning supplies for cleaning businesses so you can get started with collecting your inventory, and the best ways to purchase your supplies.
Get Cleaning Product at Wholesale
Before going through a list of cleaning supplies for cleaning businesses, it’s important to understand that you can and should buy products at wholesale. What you don’t want to do is go to the grocery store, go straight to the cleaning aisle and stock up on cleaning supplies. Doing it this way is ineffective and will cost you a lot more money.
Because you’re a cleaning business that will always need supplies to do your job, you’ll most likely buy products in bulk. When you buy from wholesalers, you can buy in bulk and purchase them at the wholesale price—instead of the retail price—which will save you a lot of money.
Because there are multiple different types of cleaning business, search around online for the best wholesaler to purchase from so you can get the supplies you need at the best price available. Ordering from wholesalers is also great because you can have recurring shipments of the same products so you always make sure you have your needed supplies on hand.
Use Your Own Products
You should never rely on using your customers’ cleaning products because that isn’t professional. Instead, always take your professional supplies to your customers’ location. Having your own products that you are familiar with will also help you clean more efficiently because you know how the products work and when they are to be used. You can also charge your customers a little bit more because you’ll need to pay for the cleaning products you use.
Start with the Essentials
There are various different supplies and products you can purchase for your cleaning business, but we’ll start with the essentials.
- Disinfectant Cleaner: this can include a spray and wipes, so you can clean and disinfect every surface. There are multiple different brands and options, so do some research to see what will work best for your specific services you provide.
- Broom and Mop: these two items are essential to clean any tile or hardwood floor. Don’t forget to get a dustpan with your broom and mop cleaner.
- Vacuum: make sure you have a top-notch vacuum that can clean all carpets.
- Bucket: every cleaner needs a bucket. You can use your bucket to carry your supplies and also to fill with water to clean.
- Duster: having both a long and short duster is essential to keeping your clients’ space clean and dust-free.
- Microfiber Cloths: these clothes make cleaning easy and can be used on any surface—glass, wood, mirrors, etc.
- Rubber Gloves: rubber gloves will protect your hands and make sure they aren’t exposed to cleaning chemicals all day on the job.
- Shoe Covers: go the extra mile and show your customers you care about keeping their space clean. Wear shoe covers to keep your customers’ space clean.
- Trash Bags: you will need trash bags to dispose of any trash you find while cleaning your customers’ home or office, and emptying their trash cans.
- Laundry Bag: use this bag to put your dirty rags, so you can wash them afterwards and reuse them.
- Various Cleaners: you’ll need glass cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, carpet cleaner, etc. The types of various cleaners you’ll need will depend on your profession. If you’re a maid, you will need to gather basic house cleaning supplies, like toilet cleaner and wood polish. If you’re a window cleaner, you will need to purchase glass cleaner and other window cleaning supplies.
- Brushes and Squeegees: these will also depend on the services you provide. You will need a toilet bowl brush for house cleaning, and squeegees for window cleaning. Tile brushes can also help you clean tile and make it sparkly new.
- Cleaning Apron or Uniform: this is an item for you—the professional cleaner. Wearing an apron or a uniform will protect your clothes from getting dirty or damaged, and will help you look more professional, especially if you have a company logo on your uniform.
Because each cleaning business is different and offers various services, you will need to research your specific industry for other service-specific products.
Build Up Your Inventory
We hope this list was helpful in understanding what cleaning supplies you need for your cleaning business so you can get started collecting your inventory. Keep in mind that you don’t have to purchase all of the items upfront; you can start little by little to build up your inventory. We wish you the best of luck with your cleaning business!
