the reality of tile and grout cleaning

[Mikey P]

well?


has it set in yet that the gold rush is over and you pretty much have to clean and seal tile and grout for what you charge to clean and protect carpet now to be competitive?


I'm good with it on repeat jobs, it's not like it really takes any longer to clean a travertine or porcelain and spray some Cobbs down then it does to suck a rug


I love the Cobbs sealer /Protector because on most floors the excess just flashes off leaving no trace.



and you dont even need to swap out the multi or pump up due to the fact the his carpet protector is the same as his stone protector..


thank you Larry!!!!













Hi Bob!

 

[Barry-QDCC]

I was just considering this very topic myself this afternoon. My history is owning a Chem-Dry franchise from 1994 - 2008. I had 3 vans, office, and all the headaches that go with it. Got out in the beginning of 2008 to do other things. Got back in carpet cleaning in mid 2009 as a one man band when the other things weren't working out so well and I decided to go back to what I know how to do to make some money. I didnt venture into tile & grout while in CD but I decided I needed to add tile cleaning since alot of people have replaced some if not most of their carpet with hard surfaces.

To cut to the bottom line and answer your question more directly, since starting cleaning tile I've slowly cut out tile cleaning services by degrees. I started out intending to clean all types of tile - granite/marble/travertine etc. I've evolved to just ceramic/porcelin. I'm considering to cut those out also and go back to just do carpets and upholstery. The reason why is because I really don't clean much tile and I trace that to the fact I do charge alot to do tile. I feel I have to because I find it time consuming. I also realize another reason I'm not that busy is that I don't "push" tile cleaning in my advertising like I do with the carpet/upholstery cleaning.

My tile cleaning revenue is a very small percentage of my carpet cleaning. I need to buy a new work vehicle and I am leaning towards a Ford Transit Connect - small but great mileage. I'm worried about having enough room for all the equipment -but it would be no problem if I ditched the tile cleaning and just stayed with carpet upholstery.

I didn't do a good job of getting to the bottom line yet, have I? Probably TMI too. But here is what I really am thinking. I'm 55 yrs old. I don't want to grow and have employees again. they are too much PITA. I make $400-$500 a day, most days anyway. I'm not booked out weeks ahead like many claim here, but I stay busy - and that's just doing mostly carpet with some upholstery thrown in once in a while. So why am I even messing around with tile cleaning? I don't think I will be much longer.

 

[knoxclean]

We have seen the prices drop in our area but we have remained at the same price. We still do plenty of tile but maybe it's because we are doing it while in the home doing carpet.

 

[Steve Lawrence]

Yeah, the honeymoon is over for us with T&G, too, but we're keeping our prices and our minimum high so the jobs we do get are very profitable. The biggest PITA is cramming all that extra stuff in the van and dealing with the clutter all day.

 

[Ken Snow]

For us the key is adding it on while doing carpet. I think we are up fo 6-8 crews outfitted and planning on 12-15 by spring. If they avg 30+k a year it will be a nice growth, not counting commercial which has doubled every year the past 3.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[CrazyRay]

Well like anything else as more and more people offer this service the prices will naturally become more competative. It's not like the bottom fell out though. At this point, I certainly would not quit the tile and grout cleaning biz. If you have the equipment and know how but not doing much of it, then you're not trying. In my opinion, t & g cleaning is still the best add-on to a carpet and upholstery cleaning business.

That said though, I have had to re-think my approach to selling it. Without a doubt, still the best way to start the sales process is while you are in the customers home cleaning carpet. "A picture says a thousand words". . . with t & g cleaning it might be 10,000 words. I will do a demo everywhere I can. Most of the times I don't even ask. I just do it. With the gradual build up of soil, most people don't even realize how dirty their floor is. They are amazed/embarassed. When I have done a demo, I close about 95%. If not done the same day, then they would schedule real soon.

Anyway, here is the problem the way that I see it. The prices have been pretty darn high. In the past, the jobs that I lost were typically not to a cheaper competitor. People just hesitate to spend that much money on that service. So what I started doing was itemizing the prices of cleaning and sealing. I offered the option of DIY sealing to the customer. This almost cut the price of the job in half. I would give them tips and pointers on what to do and answer any questions they might have. Most of my customers still wanted us to do it all, but I have gotten many jobs that would have been lost otherwise.

One last thing. Yes I agree with Mike, the Ultraseal from Cobb is awesome! On carpet, upholstery, on stone and grout. It can't be beat on performance or price in my experience.

Ray Waits
... of Rugs to Riches fame.

PS. Can we talk about pricing here? I am curious what everyone charges. For my company it's 60 cents psf for cleaning, 40 cents psf for sealing.

 

[Dmreed4311]

Well like anything else as more and more people offer this service the prices will naturally become more competative. It's not like the bottom fell out though. At this point, I certainly would not quit the tile and grout cleaning biz. If you have the equipment and know how but not doing much of it, then you're not trying. In my opinion, t & g cleaning is still the best add-on to a carpet and upholstery cleaning business.
That said though, I have had to re-think my approach to selling it. Without a doubt, still the best way to start the sales process is while you are in the customers home cleaning carpet. "A picture says a thousand words". . . with t & g cleaning it might be 10,000 words. I will do a demo everywhere I can. Most of the times I don't even ask. I just do it. With the gradual build up of soil, most people don't even realize how dirty their floor is. They are amazed/embarassed. When I have done a demo, I close about 95%. If not done the same day, then they would schedule real soon.

Anyway, here is the problem the way that I see it. The prices have been pretty darn high. In the past, the jobs that I lost were typically not to a cheaper competitor. People just hesitate to spend that much money on that service. So what I started doing was itemizing the prices of cleaning and sealing. I offered the option of DIY sealing to the customer. This almost cut the price of the job in half. I would give them tips and pointers on what to do and answer any questions they might have. Most of my customers still wanted us to do it all, but I have gotten many jobs that would have been lost otherwise.

One last thing. Yes I agree with Mike, the Ultraseal from Cobb is awesome! On carpet, upholstery, on stone and grout. It can't be beat on performance or price in my experience.

Ray Waits
... of Rugs to Riches fame.

PS. Can we talk about pricing here? I am curious what everyone charges. For my company it's 60 cents psf for cleaning, 40 cents psf for sealing.

Ok lets talk price, I guess I missed the gold rush. I charge .30 per sq ft to clean tile and .25 to seal with a 99.00 min. Lots of tile in my area, most homes have mostly tile with carpet in the bedrooms or on the second floor.
I have to admit sometimes I feel guilty charging what I charge. I find tile cleaning much easier than carpet cleaning, just more time consuming.

 

[mcatt]

I have seen this also Mikey. Seems more difficult to land at even .75cents a sq ft nowadays

 

[Shane Deubell]

Usually go with a sliding scale $1 sqr ft for say 200 sqr ft and then down to .30 for larger commercial jobs. After set up time we can move pretty fast.

 

[Lars]

Most of my stone and tile work comes from add on services from my existing clients, so it is easier to get my rates.

 

[Newman]

Usually go with a sliding scale $1 sqr ft for say 200 sqr ft and then down to .30 for larger commercial jobs. After set up time we can move pretty fast.

X 2 - with a $50 min per room. No I will not bring in my tools and clean your hall bath for $15

 

[curt johnson]

Here's one thing I don't get. Cleaning residential tile can be very simple and profitable. Whether you charge .30 or 1.00 you should be able to make money. If you have the right equipment and use the best chems out there it's super simple. You don't have to take a whole day to do a 2 hour job. When I see the "20 step process" some use for t&g I cringe. If you can charge enough, then great. We live in AZ where the tile market is saturated. Everyone cleans it, everyone installs it, everyone has it.

Keep it simple and make tons of money!

 

[hogjowl]

I charge .65 to clean and .85 to seal. I have a competitor who has a radio ad saying he will clean and seal for .65.

 

[mirf]

The pain for us is all the extra equipment on the truck too. We have been trying to clean only by Appt. but then we have to go back, no savings there. Going to outfit the truck and go for it as add at the time of cleaning. Going to start at .60 to clean and see how it goes. Color sealing on the spot will be a problem with scheduling though.

 

[dealtimeman]

We do a fair amount of tile and grout mostly from referal. 1.00 to clean .50 to seal.

most price shoppers baulk but that's fine, we take them as they come. Still a very profitable service within the biz .

 

[boazcan]

Most of the companies that advertise in our market do so by area. $30 - 40 per area (up to 100 sq ft per area). So by the time they "area" it out, it still comes out to .50+/sq ft. But consumers read the ad and figure the "fair or going rate is .30". We charge each job separately based on what needs to be done. Empty, large areas, furniture, small areas spread all over the house, etc. We vary between - .50 for very large jobs to $1.

We come across many consumers who have "tried" some of the cheaper cleaners who produced very poor results. Mrs. Piff says "Oh, the last guy said this area was stained". We also have had many of them have their appliances damaged from the chemicals - spraying. I know for a fact there are OO's around that only use varying dilutions of muriatic acid - damaging grout, etching tile, etc. Lots of previous color seal done 4+ years ago during that craze. Run across at least one a week with peeling color seal or damaged color seal from a previous cleaner after having it color sealed. All these are causing some rethink having it done or ripping it out. Can't say I blame them. It is a shame the BS that goes on out here on a daily basis.

The gold rush is not over, but it takes much more educating the consumer as what the real deal is. However, a few more years of what has been going on over the past few years and I fear it may be damaged beyond reason. It is a bit more profitable than carpet for us, but still time consuming. Not so much for a two man crew, but very much for a one man crew. We are very meticulous on any spot that does not come out from regular cleaning, wiping base boards, cleaning SS appliances, laying out covers all around for other floor coverings, getting around appliances, moving furniture. Plus our average repeat is turning out to be around 4 yr time frame. It should cost more on that fact alone.

 

[handdi]

what matters what your competition is charging?
free demos almost always work
when i give an estimate i always try to do a free demo
did one sat 400 bucks i cleaned her carpet 4 months ago
she said she tried everything but couldn't match the demo i did for her
and it was easy
i think there is still a place for higher priced tile cleaning just like carpet cleaning
not everyone is goin to be your customer
actually did 4 or 5 nice tile jobs last week
first for a while
i think people will always pay for a top job not everyone but enough to make us a nice living

 

[Aaabrightfloor]

I personally prefer tile and grout
I normally do commercial T&G
Commercial tile and grout are so dirty (most places) that the difference is so notable. is easy to get a wow when you are done
I normally charge .40 to .60 psf

 

[Steve Lawrence]

small baths are $50 for us, some much more.
all else is $1-2 per sq ft.
Yeah, we don't do a lot of tile at those prices but when we do do it we make very good money and we do a very detailed spectacular job with mini brushing and toweling in the tight areas--lots of hands and knees work. A very specialized service the way we look at it.
Sealing is .75 which we usually do.
Okay, we may only do 3-4 jobs a month but who cares? I'd rather clean carpet and uph any day. My guys feel that way, too. Have often thought about ditching this service because it's not fun which most of our work is. But, as long as we make big profits when we do it we will stick with it. My guys do get a little stressed over it though and I don't blame them. Give me empty houses of carpet any day.

 

[John Olson]

Ok lets talk price, I guess I missed the gold rush. I charge .30 per sq ft to clean tile and .25 to seal with a 99.00 min. Lots of tile in my area, most homes have mostly tile with carpet in the bedrooms or on the second floor.
I have to admit sometimes I feel guilty charging what I charge. I find tile cleaning much easier than carpet cleaning, just more time consuming.

Do you know your cost to seal? WHat sealer are you using. Even the middle rung sealer is costing you .24 a square to seal if your doing it properly and paying yourself a min of $20 an hour. .1 a sq profit isnt going to keep you in buisness....

 

[Shane Deubell]

Most of the companies that advertise in our market do so by area. $30 - 40 per area (up to 100 sq ft per area). So by the time they "area" it out, it still comes out to .50+/sq ft. But consumers read the ad and figure the "fair or going rate is .30". We charge each job separately based on what needs to be done. Empty, large areas, furniture, small areas spread all over the house, etc. We vary between - .50 for very large jobs to $1.

We come across many consumers who have "tried" some of the cheaper cleaners who produced very poor results. Mrs. Piff says "Oh, the last guy said this area was stained". We also have had many of them have their appliances damaged from the chemicals - spraying. I know for a fact there are OO's around that only use varying dilutions of muriatic acid - damaging grout, etching tile, etc. Lots of previous color seal done 4+ years ago during that craze. Run across at least one a week with peeling color seal or damaged color seal from a previous cleaner after having it color sealed. All these are causing some rethink having it done or ripping it out. Can't say I blame them. It is a shame the BS that goes on out here on a daily basis.

The gold rush is not over, but it takes much more educating the consumer as what the real deal is. However, a few more years of what has been going on over the past few years and I fear it may be damaged beyond reason. It is a bit more profitable than carpet for us, but still time consuming. Not so much for a two man crew, but very much for a one man crew. We are very meticulous on any spot that does not come out from regular cleaning, wiping base boards, cleaning SS appliances, laying out covers all around for other floor coverings, getting around appliances, moving furniture. Plus our average repeat is turning out to be around 4 yr time frame. It should cost more on that fact alone.

Have to agree with you on throwing acid around like crazy and peeling color-seals.

The worst jobs are always poor color-seal.

 

[Mikey P]

I use Cobbs ultra seal on most jobs .
Never a complaint.


One $35 galling will seal well over a 1000 feet f gate most porous stone.

If just applying it to grout I bet I could over 5000 feet.

 

[Shane Deubell]

We use stonetech grout sealing or bulletproof if the customer is willing to pay for it. Just happen to drive by a dealer all the time plus jondon sells it.

 

[John Olson]

What happened to your $200 a gl stuff. having a brain cramp what the hell is it called?

 

[boazcan]

John Olson" data-source="post: 4184430" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

What happened to your $200 a gl stuff. having a brain cramp what the hell is it called?

Drytreat

Bryan
SurfaceSolve Floor Care

 

[Larry Cobb]

.

the reality of tile and grout cleaning

There is plenty of "Grout & Tile" cleaning work . . .

for cleaners who can handle it cost effectively.

Water-based fluorochemicals like Bulletproof,

will leave a milky-film if sprayed on dark tile.

Dynachem Solvent-based Impregnator won't leave any visible residue when sprayed over the entire surface.

http://www3.cobbcarpet.com/zen3/ind...t&search_in_description=1&keyword=impregnator

Larry

P.S. No Grout Sealer is worth $180 per gallon.

 

[Mikey P]

For the same price as drytreat I can color seal..

Still do some stone sealing with it though

$180 a Gallon

 

[glenboy]

i like tile cleaning as well,but i am only gonna do it for good money.my carpet cleaning is my money maker.tile cleaning is good for your reputation because the results cannot be achieved by Mr customer.

 

[dealtimeman]

What is dry teat and why is it so expensive.


I try almost all new products to see for myself if they work or not but I don't think I will buy a chem that cost 180 a gallon.

 

[Larry Cobb]

Protector from overseas including a warranty.

You can offer one also, for a higher sq. ft. charge.

Larry