Let me guess that you’ve spent many hours researching commercial cleaning supplies but have ended up so overwhelmed as there's thousands of products available to purchase from many different suppliers online. That’s why we (as commercial cleaners of over 34 years) have put together a list of everything that we think is essential to have when you first launch your company.
If you need any further help or advice, please feel free to reach out!
Just remember you can always buy as you go with cleaning products and materials. You don’t need to have a high startup cost. Just buy what you need to complete your first few jobs and then add to your kit as your business grows.
Brands
If you are thinking of starting up as professional domestic cleaners this may not be as important to you, but we think it’s very important for commercial cleaners to decide which brands they will be using as some brands are more affordable than others, whilst other brands offer outstanding training, so it’s wise to investigate this first.
We highly recommend Bio Productions, Christeyns Professional Hygiene (formerly known as Clover Chemicals), Prochem and Greyland as they all supply heavy duty chemicals that are tried and tested and are manufactured here in the UK.
There are many other brands available, but these are the top ones that we regularly recommend and use ourselves.
Chemicals
We’ve listed below our recommendations on different types of chemicals that we think are essential to have in your cleaning kit.
- Perfect for cleaning everything from sticky finger marks, kitchen worktops, desks, car interior, small stains in carpets, floors, internal and external doors etc. A few examples would be Ubik 2000, Orange Maximum or Orange Squirt.
Antibacterial Cleaner & Sanitiser
- Make sure you buy a fast-acting sanitiser so you don’t have to stand around for several minutes until the surface has successfully sanitised.
- If you're buying on a budget and need to cut back on spending, you could always save money by using antibacterial cleaner & sanitiser to clean the washrooms as the only difference with washroom products is the scent.
Glass Cleaner & Stainless Steel Cleaner
- Perfect for cleaning all glass and stainless-steel surfaces in homes and businesses. Most glass cleaners can be used to clean stainless steel surfaces too, so check the directions whilst purchasing glass cleaner.
- Hear us out on this one. You may not be supplying washing up services, but did you know that Fairy Washing Up Liquid is used by many professional window cleaning companies throughout the industry? If you are planning on cleaning any glass by hand, we highly recommend using the brand Fairy.
- If you are offering any type of oven, grill or BBQ cleaning, you will need a very heavy-duty oven cleaner. We recommend Vanquish Oven Cleaner from Christens Professional Hygiene (formerly Clover Chemicals). But always remember to wear chemical resistant gloves to avoid chemical burns.
- A basic toilet cleaner for regular use to leave the toilet bowl cleaner than ever!
- For the dirtier jobs it’s important to have a heavy-duty toilet descaler available. Pour a decent amount into the toilet and leave it to work its magic whilst you move onto cleaning something else or have a tea break!
- A good disinfectant is essential to kill bacteria and viruses, and it can come in various fragrances such as pine, lime or candy.
- A heavy duty drain unblocker can come in very handy. Just pour the drain unblocker down the drains (sinks, baths and showers) and wait for the product to get to work unblocking the drains.
- There's plenty of floor cleaners and maintainers available, but if you just want a basic floor cleaner that can be used on most floors, we recommend Floorit.
However, if you also want to tackle flooring including applying and maintaining polish, or even carpet cleaning feel free to contact us today for further advice on products that we recommend.
- Many cleaners like to spray air freshener in the property they’ve just cleaned, right before leaving. This is so it smells nice and fresh for when the customer comes to inspect the work carried out. The powerburst air fresheners are great for this as one spray from the can may be enough per job.
If you are planning on working in any type of food establishment, make sure you speak to the client before buying to confirm which chemicals they will allow you to use onsite. You can find our food safe disinfectants here.
Janitorial Supplies
- You may find our spray mop handy, depending on the job size. With the spray mop you simply pour the cleaning fluid into the handle and press the button every time you need to spray the floor. Otherwise, you can buy the basic mop and bucket.
- If you decide to use a normal mop, you will need to buy a bucket. You can get many different types of buckets including a mop bucket with wheels, a spin mop bucket or just a basic mop bucket with a wringer. If you are cleaning a warehouse or large premises the bucket with wheels will be ideal.
- A separate bucket for diluting cleaning chemicals may also be handy if you are working on a large or difficult job. Be sure to pick out the best one for you.
- You can get many different types of bags, including very heavy-duty bin bags that will not break easily, or you can have the basic everyday black bags. Our heavy duty refuse bags are manufactured here in the UK.
- Depending on the types of cleaning you will be carrying out you may need a yard brush. These are heavy duty wooden brooms that come in various sizes, including small ones which are ideal for coaches or extra-large ones which are great for equestrian areas.
- In our opinion, these are the best type of cloths to use for cleaning but remember not to wash them in fabric conditioner as it makes them less absorbent.
- If you are cleaning any type of reflective surface, you will want to use a glass cloth. These are a very soft cloth, which when folded correctly, will leave no smears or marks to be seen.
- Ideal for cleaning kitchens as they are absorbent and can be used many times both wet and dry before disposal.
- You can get many different types of scourers, including stainless steel scourers and copper scourers, but we recommend copper scourers the most as they are less abrasive, meaning they are less likely to scratch surfaces.
- If you are planning on buying 5ltr concentrates of cleaning fluids, you will need to also buy spray bottles to decant them into. You must label the spray bottles properly. Some manufacturers will provide you with spare labels to attach to these spray bottles. Let us know what labels you need, and your order number and we can help you get labels if it’s possible.
Personal Protective Equipment
- Disposable gloves are a must when cleaning but be sure to change them for chemical resistant gloves when needed. Most cleaning companies will use Nitrile disposable gloves over latex or vinyl, as there's less chance that your employees will be allergic to them.
- It’s important to use chemical resistant gloves when using harsh chemicals, such as oven cleaner as they can leave some very nasty burns otherwise.
- Make sure you get the right face mask for the job. If you're cleaning up pigeon poo, you’ll need proper respirator face masks or air fed mask, otherwise you can get FFP2 or FFP3 face masks which are ideal for keeping bad smells out.
Overshoes
- It’s important to have a vehicle first aid kit as you never know when you might need to use it.
- Keep on top of health & safety by having a cleaning in progress sign or wet floor sign on the job.
- Disposable overalls are great for the dirtier jobs and can usually be reused a couple times before disposal.
Steel Toe Cap Shoes, Trainers or Boots
Machinery
You will also need to buy some machinery, which you can get either second hand or brand new but remember to make sure it’s PAT tested before using it on a customer's site.
There are many types of machines you can get, which are great for commercial cleaners, including vacuum cleaners, floor scrubbers, ride on scrubber driers and even carpet cleaning machines.
If you are looking to purchase any machinery from Prochem or Karcher, reach out to us as we will be able to offer you a great discount, and we can also organise an onsite trial of the machinery so you can test out the machine with Prochem or Karcher themselves.
If you have any questions regarding what you need to start up a cleaning company, or if you need help placing an order/buying in bulk please contact us today!