What It Takes to Start a Cleaning Service
Many people who have a special knack for house cleaning may decide to offer their cleaning services to friends and business owners they know for a special rate. House cleaning jobs are not as simple as mere cleaning, though. In many states, a house cleaning job will require a company or individual to be bonded. House cleaners are, after all, in a work environment surrounded by clients’ personal treasures and valuable assets, and clients need to know they can trust the people they invite into their businesses and homes.
Bonding for cleaning house jobs is in place to protect both the clients and the workers. This bonding covers the possibility of theft, damage and other costly accidents. Although the general opinion is that clients are the primary parties that need to be protected in these types of work scenarios, the truth is workers need to be equally guarded from any kind of mishap.
Before any company can promote itself as one that does private house cleaning or office cleaning jobs, it must secure the proper insurance and bonding to operate legally as a cleaning business. Bonding is primarily in place to safeguard against theft, and insurance guarantees the customer will not have to bear the burden of medical bills or personal injury costs if a worker gets hurt.
House Cleaning Jobs: Starting a House Cleaning Business
Types of Bonding for House Cleaning Jobs
Currently, there are two main types of bonding that are issued for cleaning services. Surety bonding ensures that the cleaning business providing the housekeeping jobs will actually complete the task they have been hired to perform. If they cannot complete the job, surety bonding requires them to search for another cleaning or maid service to finish the work.
Fidelity insurance focuses more on what happens in the event that an employee of a cleaning company steals money or property from the client. It assures clients that the stolen items will be replaced for items of equal value. According to reports from the insurance industry, almost 40 percent of all theft claims come from incidents with cleaning services.
Getting Hired For House Cleaning Jobs
Many cleaning companies require employees to undergo background and criminal checks in order to work for them. With the requirement for so much insurance, it is not an unreasonable request. Each employee is a representative of the company and companies must be sure that they hire the right people.
Today, there is not much of an education level requirement for getting hired for house cleaning jobs. Because the job does require workers to be able to do simple arithmetic and follow instructions, many companies make a high school diploma or GED a prerequisite. The requirement to safely use various cleansing agents and operate and maintain machines makes some companies require that workers be in good health.
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, about 4.1 million people had building or house cleaning jobs in 2008. About 1.5 million people worked as house cleaners and maids. Thirty percent of these workers performed their jobs in private houses. The number of cleaning workers is expected to grow by only five percent through 2018, so the majority of people working in this industry will be replacing workers who leave jobs. The five percent growth rate is slower than the average for all occupations. Analysts believe it is due to the fact that so many people already work in the field.
California has the highest number of workers in the house cleaning profession: 90,940. The average salary for California cleaning workers is $22,830. Florida comes in behind California: 61.140 workers with an average salary of $19,400. Other U.S. states in the running for the highest number of house cleaning workers are Texas (55,960 workers; average salary $18,280), New York (49,110 workers; $28,680 average salary) and Illinois (32,800 workers; $21,900 average salary). It is important to note that New York has the fourth largest number of workers but the highest average salary.
States with the highest number of jobs available gives a slightly different snapshot of the industry. Nevada has the most jobs, with 22,250 available. Others rounding out the top five include: Hawaii (9,340), Wyoming (3,550), North Dakota (4,320) and Montana (4,960). The difference between Nevada and the next highest ranking state is nearly 13,000.
Although it does not rank near the top for the highest number of jobs or the highest number of cleaning workers, Washington, DC tops all other states for salary. A worker in the nation’s capital can expect to make an average wage of $30,030 annually.
Add On Services
Some cleaning services have been able to enhance what clients receive by offering add on services. Those can include running errands, window cleaning, party cleaning, real estate cleaning and new construction clean-up. This extension of services can help expand a client base and give an edge over the competition. New construction cleaning will require more equipment than cleaning companies often take with them to work sites. Workers doing this kind of work may need a shop vac, and ladder or window cleaning kit, with scaffold pulleys. Primarily, new sites need dust and debris removed.
Outlook for House Cleaning Jobs
One of the greatest rewards for cleaning businesses comes from private house cleaning contracts or larger contracts cleaning offices. The people who work these jobs are stable, long-term employees and do not often leave their line of work except to retire or to recover from illness. Because there will always be a need for a clean house or office, house cleaning jobs are not likely to disappear as the world advances further into the 21st century.