Is there money in cleaning exausts?

Hello all!

I have been doing powerwashing for 4 years now (houses, concrete, decks guttercleaning repairs, installs ect.) and was looking to get into hood and exaust cleaning. What does one make per service? How long does something like this take? If the money is good, I plan on taking the course and getting cetrtified but want to find out if this kind of work is profitable before I make this big investment.

As Matt say, no one else is doing hoods, it is easy, hardly anything goes wrong

Douglas Hicks
General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

Hey Cat,

Mr. Hicks is being facetious. There is more money to be made in house washing with less aggravation. Doug has answered that question many times before and the people who ask it don't usually listen, so it's a lot easier to answer the question how they want it answered, since you have already planned to get certified and take the course.

For instance, house washing, concrete can be done with cold water very profitably by one person in 1 - 2 daylight hours. Hood cleaners work with extremely hot water, in pairs or more in 3 to 4 NIGHTtime hours which cuts into the bottom line. Also, hood cleaning is dirty greasy work which gets on every piece of equipment you own and it would be advisable to maintain two separate rigs to effectively perform.

Why we do it rather than houses is because we don't have a good record of appealing to homeowners. We have a tendancy to be anti-social night owls.

Johnny

Let's see, is there money in cleaning exhausts? Let me think:

Is it dirty work?

Do the hours suck, well here is a pic of my cell phone history. Thats right, get a call fom one of your serviceman at 1:10 am and another call at 7:22 am, if you only sleep 5 hours a night it is the perfect business for you.

WOW!

Looks like I'll stick to house washing! lol. Seriously, the reason why I was thinking of hood cleaning is Its year round work. My work is seasonal and I can't stand starving in the winter. What does one make per cleaning if done on a monthly, quartely, bi annual bases? If I can get some accounts, it may lead into more like building maintenance, Snow removal ect. I would be a one stop shopping powerwashing company for there maintenace needs. I do all residential right now and would like to get some steady commercial work. Hey matt, is that you crawling in that duct?

That's what most people think, we work thru the winter! Sure! People forget the temperature plummets when the sun goes down. The only people out after dark are the homeless and the hood cleaners. Picture yourself standing and sliding on a roof in the dark with a 40 mph New Jersey cross wind whipping up your arse. The ladder is caked in ice and your hose is the only thing keeping you warm. Slip off the ladder into a snow bank when it's 10 degrees and you don't even feel the bones cracking. The steam cloud of sodium hydroxide gets into and on your face shield so you stop and try to wipe it off with a frozen rag, before your fingers freeze up. You can't see what your're spraying. It's like fishing in a caustic sea. Two thirds of the job is done on the roof so count on exposure to the wintry elements. Unless you only plan to clean inside. Shoot for a minimum of $250 per job, (one hood, duct and fan) and you'll probably hit the mark. Some jobs will pay more but then the average is going to be in the mid 200 dollar range. Don't forget to get a couple of million in insurance. Over time you'll learn to scale back winter work as much as possible, after all we're only washing freakin' kitchen exhaust systems. The ideal solution is to wash houses in Florida or Arizona for the winter and move back to Jersey for the rest of the year. Best of luck and be sure to wear your gloves.

Cat Powerwash said:

Hello all!

I have been doing powerwashing for 4 years now (houses, concrete, decks guttercleaning repairs, installs ect.) and was looking to get into hood and exaust cleaning. What does one make per service? How long does something like this take? If the money is good, I plan on taking the course and getting cetrtified but want to find out if this kind of work is profitable before I make this big investment.

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I have been in the vent hood cleaning business for 25 years. I recently turned my business over to my daugther. I have been making very good money for years. I also help people get into the vent a hood cleaning business so if you give me a call I can answer all your questions. Thanks, Jim Lindsey 800-748-8994

umm, Not very many people wash houses in Arizona. Better go to Florida.

Scott Stone

Hey Jim in Jackson, do you butt heads with John Bevilaqua at B&R Fire Protection/ Vent Hood Cleaning? To hear him talk I thought he was all alone in the Magnolia State. Jackson sounds like a great place to clean hoods in the winter. Nighttime winter temps only get down into the mid 30's. Any snow? I think I'll send some guys down to check it out. Golf, fishing and plenty of money. Jackson Mississippi here we come. See ya.

Thank you all for the replies. I think I may shy away doing this type of work!

Then again, you have to get the right accounts. I can tell you doing an airport grosses 350k/yr with grease traps and emergency fan service. I bid 1.3 million to do Trump's casinos but I didn't have enough of a name and I was the low bid so I got chucked. I won't touch a small pizza shop with a galley hood and one side draft on a wall for less than $250. The work is steady, repeatable and contractual. That makes your business viable to a bank or broker. But everything mentioned above is so true. You can laugh about the ice and the crawling into ducts, but it isn't fun while you're doing it.

MBryan said:

Let's see, is there money in cleaning exhausts? Let me think:

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Lots of money in it if you know what you are doing.

Not so fun if you do not.

I was nice to Matt whan I called....I waited til after 7AM [wow]