How many Sq Ft per hour?

How many sq ft per hour are you cleaning? just an average and dont over analyze the question....it is what it is. curious because a lady said a guy cleaned her carpet in 35 minutes and was gone!...he charged her $200 for about 800sq

I can clean 500 to 1,000 sf per hour.

Sounds reasonable. Im more concerned about $$ per hour. I like to make $150- 250 per hour.

The lady likely forgot introduction, inspection and set up and tear down time.

It does sound reasonable....I bid jobs assuming 1,000 sqft per hour. On commercial I can get closer to 1,300 sqft, but residential is 800 - 1000 on a steady basis.

Now that would be the cleaning portion, not including inspection, set-up, vac etc. If he did the job in 35 minutes....she found a hack.

Me personally I can clean 1500 - 2000 sf / hr, before you guys call me a hack, lol, that's cleaning time only, not including pre inspection, setting up and tear down, and charging them after the job is done, so 800 sq ft in 35 minutes is definitely possible, if working around the furnitures or empty unit. If the place is extremely soiled, probably closer to 1200 sf / hour.
Now that's me, my techs are probably closer to 1000 sf / hr.

Not very many, I've never quite understood the covering 1k per hour, while maintaining top quality work.........maybe it's my entry level equipment holding me back?

800 sq ft could be 4 200 sqft empty rooms so ya pretty easily in 35min not including set up/teardown/walk through

my set ups/tear downs are really fast but walk throughs are pretty slow and usually chat with the customer a bit and establish a relationship

This was time he got there to the time he left....the rooms where furnished and he was a hack! This was one of those houses you just cant move fast in and do it right. I personally clean (in the past) 1000 sq an hour - even when I can do more and often I do much less...I dont want the customer to feel like this lady did.

Davey Cracker wrote:Not very many, I've never quite understood the covering  1k per hour, while maintaining top quality work.........maybe it's my entry level equipment holding me back?

Not very many also... I wish I would have had a TM out of Highschool when I could work all day and not be phisically fazed, I would have had plenty of Cust. and been a million heir.I stoped by the old guys place yesterday and he said a few areas took a while to completly dry, I used my "entry level chemtex" with my aw29 wand that needs different jets "he told me get different jets" other then that he loved the carpet and was happy.  He likes the jets to "cut the dirt" mine has a wide fan which is ok if your painting a large house with a sprayer but this is carpets, whole different ball game.  My friend dp told me how to bring that wand up to par, thats the next project.

ya you never want to look like your rushing, or people will simply value your service less

this is an age old business rule, like back to the 1800s

If your building something or whatever your doing if you look rushed, your lowering the value of your service in the eyes of the customer

brianbenaiah wrote:  My friend dp told me how to bring that wand up to par, thats the next project.

Was he honest, and tell you 'ditch that pile, and get a good wand', or did he sugar coat it?

If he sugar coated it, then that's what I'm here for, Brutal Honesty.

Nope, I didn't sugar coat it but I also wasn't being a jerk, lol.
All the little things I did since I knew Joe Bristor and be a member of this forum had helped me to be a super efficient cleaner, that being said, I could clean 800 sq ft in about 35 minutes but even with a helper, including pre inspection and walk through and billing, it's going to be closer to an hour because like AC said, building a relationship with a customer takes some time, you can't look like you're rushing when you do pre inspection or walk through, now the cleaning is a different story, I'm always cleaning fast and when they ask at the end why is it really fast, I just point my finger to my equipment and tell them that the beast is doing the cleaning, I just moved the wand and we also have a 7 days guarantee, if they're not happy, I won't and I'll be back to fix no charge, that usually brings a smile on their face.

ACpower1 wrote:ya you never want to look like your rushing,   or people will simply value your service less

this is an age old business rule,   like back to the 1800s

If your building something or whatever your doing if you look rushed,   your lowering the value of your service in the eyes of the customer

It is okay to look like you are "Rush'in", but you have to wear this hat.

Trying to figure out how to get my logo on that beauty!

The point is this guy probably did 15 minutes worth of what looked like work and had to milk the clock for the rest to look good.....I figured out who he is and yep.....he wont last much longer...he started out with nice equipment and has been selling it off slowly to support his habit and fines. can you say nose dive?....drugs are the one thing I have no tolerence for!

Now that I have Nick on the payroll I want to clean faster Joke

Production time is so important but building a rapport and relationship with the customer is more important in residential. Like DP that takes time.

After 8 years of cleaning carpet I find that shooting the shoot with a customer is one of the most enjoyable aspects of this business.

After 8 years of cleaning carpet I find that shooting the shoot with a customer is one of the most enjoyable aspects of this business.

Enjoyable and absolutely necessary if you want to win customers. Without it, your service is just a bunch of tools and machines....same as the next guy down the street.

The first guy that I ever worked for always told me that the best tool on the truck was you. Success or failure was not going to come down to the equipment nor the chemicals, it would come down to the personality and character of the cleaner.

Loyal customers will not let you go out of business, this is a fact. I have more people sending me jobs than I ever find on my own and they are quick to scold me for not charging more.

Throw yourself into the job and it will reward you. Heck, I suck at managing a business and should have been out of business after the first year, but I am still alive in year 8 as well.

milspec6 wrote:

The first guy that I ever worked for always told me that the best tool on the truck was you.  Success or failure was not going to come down to the equipment nor the chemicals, it would come down to the personality and character of the cleaner.

That is Absolutely Correct!!.............nail on head!!