I currently operate a janitorial services company. I want to add on Hood cleaning. How do I go about to price thus type of work?
$1 per square foot
Just kidding! I donât know anything about hood cleaning! But even if I did my prices probably wouldnât apply to your business in Alabama. Plus I would probably exaggerate my pricing to look cool on the forum (Some people really do).
Good luck!
Ok, thanks Trevor.
Following. âŚ
Time+Materiel+Profit=Price
If youâre asking âexperiencedâ hood cleaners what âtheirâ price isâŚyouâll go brokeâŚyou have no experience, certifications, or equipmentâŚcorrect?
Plus why would they post this valuable info on a public board for everyone to seeâŚincluding the competition?
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You need to go to some type of hood cleaning class to learn some more of the ins & outs of that type business to figure out how to charge correctly that works with your business operation.
Donât take what most guys say on the net about pricing to be even close to being accurate since most way over inflate their pricing to make themselves look good. Heck we even have a âScrewballâ in the Parking Garage Industry who brags he makes 70K a day cleaning them so he only does this for 30days a year âŚlol
Following as well and hoping to see some legit replyâs.
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Gee Shaggy how much more âLegitâ do you want? My silver platter is platedâŚbest I could do.
How bout a âLegitâ name and signature?
id be embarrassed if thatâs the best I could do
OK lets use your pricing equation, Time+Materiel+Profit=Price (example from your average joe) My time is worth well im a kind guy and live within my means 10$ an hour and, Ohh I donât need more then a soap and some pressure to clean those hoods! ($40 in fuel and a detergent of my choosing) Lets make some profit off this guy!! lets charge him 20$ more to make it look like we are experienced! Ima quote this 1 at $100⌠Lets say he goes in there and actually doesnât do a bad job⌠Guess what, your standard pricing begins to fade because of people like this.
(purely used this as an example from someone thatâs completely in the dark)
its the same thing with cleaning everything, if people are afraid to post a ball park price or an example who knows what the markets like and those low ball prices end up becoming the standard.
I just donât get these pressure washing forums, it seems there are 4-5 of them and the same 10 posters on every single 1, And every time you check you are lucky if there is 1-2 new post a day. And the reason is because there is no bond with each other, its all âNO! I cant share any helpful information because you are my competitor!â This IMO is why the comparable business forums (Carpet cleaning Truckmountforums, lawnsite forum) are THRIVING and all the pressure washing 1âs just surviving.
so take it for what its worth⌠donât worry about commenting back to start an internet argument, I have said my peace and will not be back to read or post anymore.
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Gee ShaggyâŚA simple google search will tell you all you need to know. I agree with the âBondingâ comment, you see to âBondâ it seems you would want to share as much as you âtakeâ. Seems that most folks showing up here lately just want to askâŚâHow Muchâ⌠no introduction, no signature, no nothing, then you wonât see them again⌠which I find quite rude.
But to answer your questionâŚ$300-$400(+/-) per hood depending on hood sizeâŚdid anyone ask about insurances, certifications, training, wash water control, or other tangibles??? Well of course notâŚI just need to know priceâŚall that other stuff doesnât matter.
No argument hereâŚBye.
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straight off google Vent-a-Hood
⢠$10.00 to $30.00 per hood linear foot plus $40.00 to $65.00 per fan
⢠Minimum charge: $100.00 to $250.00
⢠Double the above prices for Asian restaurants
⢠Access panels: $60.00 to $85.00 each
⢠Give a discount for scheduling during the day or during off-hours as most work is done at night between 10:00 p.m. and 4 a.m. Charge extra for the first time cleaning. Charge extra if they are being forced to clean (citation from the Health Department) as it is probably in very bad shape.
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Yep, Just That SimpleâŚThanks!
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I make about 30k a year net. I have about 100 accounts. Iâve lost some but gained more. This is my 3rd year cleaning hoods. I learned under my father in law for 3 years who has himself been at it for over 8 years. He learned from someone else for about 5 years before he started his own thing. Iâd advise you to do the same. Go work for someone cleaning hoods until you feel comfortable being on your own. As far as prices you may need to just shoot a bid and see where it gets you. Always aim higher, but donât go too low so that you lose profit. You can always haggle on pricing. But start higher. Donât undersell yourself. Also don t forget its a 2 person minimum job if you want to look like a pro. I pay between $60-80 per job per employee. Donât forget to get general liability at the least. Getting bonded is your persianl preference. Gotta spend moeny to make money though. My expenses total about $1200/month. I personally never charge less than $300 per job out here in Kansas. Prices may vary where you live. My highest paying account is about $1,000. Price depends on type or hood, number of hoods, condition of hood and access to all parts of the system, as well as how often theyâd like to get them done. Upsel on things like cleaning the wall, floor, and appliances. $$$.
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The average hourly cost for hoodz cleaning
is $135 to $180 per hour, charging more for a larger crew. However, in addition to this flat hourly fee , there are also additional charges that will pop up: $50 to $75 for additional exhaust fans. Around $5 for cleaning filters.
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You need to go work for someone in the business and acquire some practical real world experience.
I donât know what the pay scale is in your area. Iâm in Ohio and start my technicians out at 13.00. My crew leads who know how to follow a schedule and route, have the right attitude when it comes to face time with customers, and know how to close out jobs properly day in day out will make around 18.00 with lots of perks. Hood cleaners are the necessary evil that many customers love to hate. There are certain franchises like McDonaldâs and Burger King that are required to have people stay with you when youâre cleaning their hoods. Many times employees of these fast food eateries hate to see you walking in the and even will blame you as the reason theyâre not at home smoking dope and playing Xbox. Hood cleaners are also blamed for anything and everything. If there are one or two cigarette butts in the lot, it was the hood cleaners, if an exhaust fan doesnât restart at the close of a job, hood cleaners damaged it. Pilot light wonât re-light, hood cleaners forgot to light it.
We are spraying wet steam inside establishments in the dead of summer. It gets pretty hot (kinda cold at night in the winter time) Couple that with the caustic chemicals we end up wearing on our faces, clothes, and hands for the entire night. Some of us use chemicals with a ph of 13. Goes great with the sweat and grease that attaches to us throughout the night. We set up ladders, Climb on top of commercial buildings, power wash rooftop equipment, field repair our own equipment, and document all of our work with photos. We do all of this in the dark while being soaking wet.
The man setting up inside the job has to take every precaution protecting customers equipment. Everything from open outlets, fryer oil, to overspray on equipment on the other side of the kitchen. Remember, some of us are spraying 4 or 5 gallons per minute inside a building. It doesnât take long to have a hundred gallons of water going in 12 different directions (we seldom funnel our water at my company) Thatâs usually about the time you realize that the kitchen floor drains are clogged as a result of pitiful maintenance. Btw, youâll get blamed for the clogged drains too.
To think you will be able to walk into this industry and âwing itâ is kinda arrogant or naive. We have to carry a minimum of 2 million dollars in insurance. That is primarily fire insurance. Thatâs right, hood cleaning is about preventing fires and not just making things pretty (although we do make em pretty). Unfortunately we are judged by how pretty we leave a store not how fire safe we leave it. Speaking of fire safety, I wonât even start on the kiss of death inside a hood system. The fire suppression system . Trip one of these at the wrong place in the wrong county with an overzealous health inspector and your customer has to close for cleaning, and throw all product out. Could be 20,000 worth of ribs they have to replace because you didnât know what you were doing when you triggered their system with 4000 psi or your technician was inside the hood, got his sleeve snagged, and instinctively yanked away. All that being said, with consistency and a tried and true protocol you can make a ton of money, have customers that mostly love you, and set your prices high because there is very little competition in this trade.
Note- Services/goods are worth what someoneâs willing to pay for them.
Read the NFPA96 hood cleaning standards, watch a bunch of YouTube videos on basic process, and go work for someone so you can learn the ropes. Be careful of non compete contracts with employers. If he trains you and you break off on your own, heâll sue you and win. Do six months with a company, buy the equipment and chemicals, and go hit the Chinese restaurants up. Weâve all had to do them and no one wants to deal with their messy hoods or shady practices. You have to make âem pay you before you leave their kitchen or you wonât get your money. Do some Chinese restaurants your first couple years in business and youâll really appreciate a McDonaldâs hood. Donât ask people what they charge for hoods. Itâs bad manners. Iâve had other hood cleaners ask me what a certain group pays us for cleaning and, I usually tell them. Iâve never had one come behind us and steal the account. I just think itâs $h!tty do ask.
Oh yeah, buy black clothes. You wonât stay as clean as the hood cleaner in the YouTube videos.
Hopefully, all of my fellow hood guys are raising their prices at this time. You guys should be increasing at least 20% if you originally priced the job fairly modestly. If you have a long term customer of 4or 5 years that youâve never increased rates on, go 30 % up. We all need to stay in front of these operating costs. One more thing, Burger King increased their prices 30% in the last year.
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They probably did, in the last 4-6 years 
I keep doing the same and commenting from post that were years old 
