Time constraints fueling growth in cleaning industry

Mop the floors, take out the trash, scrub the toilet. Cleaning up after yourself and your loved ones is time consuming, and that's perhaps why more and more people are choosing to pay someone else to do the dirty work.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the cleaning services industry is expected to grow 5.5 percent annually through 2009. It is a $46 billon dollar a year business, with maid services making up 66 percent, or $30 billion.

Sarah Smock, director of marketing for Merry Maids, said there are several factors to explain the growth, including the number of two-income households, the growing size of homes and increased participation by children in extracurricular activities.

But the No. 1 reason people give for needing a maid, Smock said, is time.

"People want more time to do other things," she said. "It's not always fun things either, but they're looking to take house cleaning off their list of duties."

Trish Ingels said time is the main reason she has had twice- weekly maid service since 1981.

The cleaning service also is part of her professional life. Ingles is a broker associate at Gloriod & Associates Real Estate and said that when she lists a house she refers the owners to her service.

"It makes a big difference," she said. "Some people just have no idea how to clean, so their house just doesn't match others on the market."

The majority of cleaning services are small and local. Ingels said she uses a local husband and wife team.

Large firms make up only about 10 percent of the market, with mom and pop shops accounting for the rest, said Kevin Carnahan, founder of International Janitorial Cleaning Services Association.

The IJCSA was formed to represent the janitorial industry, which includes janitorial services, janitorial suppliers and general cleaning services that perform duties such as window washing, carpet cleaning and housecleaning.

But while starting a cleaning service can often be done for less than $1,000 dollars, success is just as difficult as with any other entrepreneurial endeavor. Carnahan said that three of every seven cleaning startups fail within two years.

Charles Blue started MediClean Building Services three years ago.

Blue said he started with janitorial services and then added maintenance. He does a lot of the work himself but also has three employees.

One of the company's latest projects is "green cleaning" for the City of Manitou. "Basically that's the way the cleaning services is going," Blue said, even though some of the cleaners are more expensive.

Carnahan concurs.

"Equipment is getting more high tech in terms of vacuums supplies," he said. "Chemicals are going back to the basics such as the natural vinegars and backing soda that mom used."

Copyright 2007 Dolan Media Newswires
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