Rug cleaning business

You need to check out the competition. And have a large space for drying turnouts. Rugs should 've turned around in less than 2 weeks. Difficult in this weather to wash and reoroofand dry
 
flirtygerty said:
Don't do it, rugs are so cheap now, I buy new rugs every year, unless people have very expensive rugs, I find it just as easy to buy new
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Sort of agree with this you'd have to offer value for money. I pay £54 for 3 but it's a lot more than a third for just one which is what I usually need. I only paid £52 for my
Shires combo which I love. Good luck though if you can make it work.
 
I used to work for a cleaning Co. They had a massive unit for cleaning and drying as well as repairs. You'd need to be good. We used to.get a lot if returns because the reproofing didn't work

In fact the business was a franchise so they had the name and products of a large well known company
 
My friend runs one from home. Her USP is that she's very good at repairs. She also collects and delivers to yards and offers leather repairs (which I do). She has an excellent reputation for service and quality because she doesn't cut corners.
 
Good advice Thankyou . I was thinking I could try do a pick up and drop off for the rugs and perhaps a quick turnaround service for in the winter . Do the rugs have to be completely free of hair ? I can imagine grey ones being difficult ! Xx
 
I run my own rug cleaning business and have done so now for around 10yrs. My advice would be dont cut corners, check out the competition, dont be greedy and use the best products available like Nikwax or Nuumed Nuuwash. be reliable and stick to deadlines that you make. Most of all dont take on more business than you can deal with.

As for hairy rugs, yes grey horses are more work, I just use a dandy brush to get off as much as I can and also very strong sticky tape to pat off as much as I can. Some rug companies charge more to remove hair, I dont I just do it. I dont send rugs back in fancy bags, just good old bin liners with drawstring tops so they can be re-used and to keep costs down. I try not to put prices up as far as possible.

It is hard work so dont be under any illusions that its easy money. I must do a good job as dont have many if any complaints and I have a lot of repeat customers. I also do dog beds and anything else thrown at me. Also as my machines have a sluice setting and are flushed out regularly, I occasionally do curtains and bed duvets. You have to be versatile and flexible and honest, if a rug wont re-proof, and you get to know when they wont anymore, then say so and dont take peoples money........hope that all helps.
 
When choosing one, drop off and pick up, good quality repairs and trustworthiness (i.e. only repair what is needed and worth doing) are my priority.

I used to use a great one a couple of years ago who had a lot of trouble with people not collecting their rugs for ages. Apparently they were basically using him as storage, sending their summer rugs for cleaning in autumn and not picking them up till spring (and vice versa for winter rugs). Eventually he had to put some policies in place to put a stop to it, don't know if that is a common problem.
 
laura_nash said:
When choosing one, drop off and pick up, good quality repairs and trustworthiness (i.e. only repair what is needed and worth doing) are my priority.

I used to use a great one a couple of years ago who had a lot of trouble with people not collecting their rugs for ages. Apparently they were basically using him as storage, sending their summer rugs for cleaning in autumn and not picking them up till spring (and vice versa for winter rugs). Eventually he had to put some policies in place to put a stop to it, don't know if that is a common problem.
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Yes that used to happen where I pick up and drop off, I stopped this by making it a policy that people pay when they drop their rugs off for cleaning. Not surprisingly it doesnt happen anymore, rugs are collected promptly now!
 
That's great advice izzwizz Thanku . I know it will be hard work but I don't mind that ! Should I use an anti bacterial wash too ? My only worry would be if a rug doesn't re proof well . The machines I'm looking at do the reproofing as part of the wash x
 
I cant see it as a profitable business, and is also seasonal, you need to be on commercial electric of course. Only person I know who does it has a commercial laundry, so rugs are only a sideline, and it is not really a great mix. There is a lot more profit in normal laundry, and there is not much there!
To be honest, all I do is wash mine with a bucket and brush every year on a summers day, its not as good but its OK.
 
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What do u mean by commercial electricity ? How seasonal would u say ? And what time of year is quiet ? I already have a part time job so was hoping to fit it around that x
 
Are you looking to buy or lease your machines? If you are leasing read the small print very carefully.

I think Bonkers2 probably means three phase electricity, not a domestic supply.

I would say do lots of research first and see what else is on offer in your area. Not that long ago it would have been a really good idea but nowadays, certainly in Sussex, there are lots of rug cleaners and I think a lot of them just offer it as a service alongside an existing equestrian business.

It is hard work and you will need some sort of insurance as inevitably you will have a customer who will try to claim you have ruined their extremely expensive rug.
 
Devilish Janey said:
What do u mean by commercial electricity ? How seasonal would u say ? And what time of year is quiet ? I already have a part time job so was hoping to fit it around that x
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Domestic electricity is for residential customers, it is expensive per unit, but you are not responsible for the supply.
Business electricity is cheaper but you may be responsible for some of the infrastructure, not sure of the details, if you intend to do this from home your bills are going to be a lot bigger than if you use a business premises. I looked in to buying a commercial machine to take in laundry and offer ironing as part of my business, and the machines were about £3K!
I don't know how seasonal, but obviously few customers from June to September then a massive demand for a couple of months.
I think it is very difficult to find a profitable business, but others have done it, good luck. Any other talents?
 
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Devilish Janey said:
What do u mean by commercial electricity ? How seasonal would u say ? And what time of year is quiet ? I already have a part time job so was hoping to fit it around that x
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I do it alongside my other part time job, it can be seasonal but I find that I am fairly busy all year round to be honest. As said before I only use horse products for the job, my re-proofing process is done separately to the wash cycle. I do think from feedback I get that people are willing to keep their rugs clean when they have paid good money for them and look after them well. I see some fairly old rugs come through so it kind of proves that a lot of owners like to keep their old faithfuls going, saving them money in the long run.
 
I also think it would be hard to make money off of this. If you add up the cost of wash+reproof+ repair, you get very close to the cost of a new rug. In fact, I've also had bad experiences with reproofing (rug less waterproof than when originally bought), so I now try to avoid washing/having to reproof entirely. My rain sheet has been going strong for a few years now without any reproofing (or washing).

Where I see a real opportunity is in a repair-only service, if you can figure out how to make that one work. I understand why they usually request a clean rug before making any repairs (cross contamination, dirt in the sewing machine), but it means that you always end up paying a wash+reproof on top of the repair, even if you don't want the wash/reproof. I'd be happy to pay a small amount to let someone else fix tears or re-attach straps, but in the end I always end up doing it myself to save the cost of the wash+reproof (with uncertain results).
 
supsup said:
I also think it would be hard to make money off of this. If you add up the cost of wash+reproof+ repair, you get very close to the cost of a new rug. In fact, I've also had bad experiences with reproofing (rug less waterproof than when originally bought), so I now try to avoid washing/having to reproof entirely. My rain sheet has been going strong for a few years now without any reproofing (or washing).

Where I see a real opportunity is in a repair-only service, if you can figure out how to make that one work. I understand why they usually request a clean rug before making any repairs (cross contamination, dirt in the sewing machine), but it means that you always end up paying a wash+reproof on top of the repair, even if you don't want the wash/reproof. I'd be happy to pay a small amount to let someone else fix tears or re-attach straps, but in the end I always end up doing it myself to save the cost of the wash+reproof (with uncertain results).
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Can see what you mean, especially with cheaper rugs on the market. However, my horses have Rambo Duo's and one of them is coming up for 9yrs old now. Its washed and re-proofed and come like new each time and has never ever leaked. Rugs suffer wear and tear just as much as our coats do, some brands will only wash and re-proof a few times whereas others will go on forever. The sun does also weaken them along with rolling as you can imagine. Materials used in some brands are not as hardwearing and thats just how it is. We demand cheaper products and ultimately pay the price. One of my horses is a greasy boy and his rugs would be in an awful state now if I didnt keep them clean, esp his stable rugs. Everyone has their preferences for rugs and cleaning and I never push my business on anyone.

The repair side is done by another lady and she will repair dirty rugs, just not wet ones. She doesnt charge a lot and does that alongside her other part time job. I make enough from my part time business to make it worth doing, but then I dont over charge, I think much depends on which part of the Country you live in as to what is charged.
 
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