Although cleaning franchises may make some people think of mops and buckets, they actually cover a wide range of products and services and many of them are taking advantage of changes in society and technological advances to achieve strong growth.
In the commercial sector, companies have discovered that outsourcing cleaning services can be cheaper and more efficient, as it means they do not have to spend money on the latest cleaning equipment.
As well as general building cleaning franchises, there are bespoke products and services provided for items such as carpets, vehicles and machinery.
There is market stability for franchisees in this sector as every business needs their workplaces and items to be cleaned regularly, so if a good relationship is built up with clients, these franchises can work with them for a number of years.
According to Starbrite Chemicals, which provides cleaning chemicals and sundry lines mainly to the automotive sector, the motor industry alone spends in excess of £50 million on these products and services each year.
Residential cleaninghas also taken off over the last two decades, with more than £11 billion per year now being spent on domestic help in the UK by around 2.7 million households.
Demand has increased fourfold over the past ten years and it is predicted to double again in three years alone, claims cleaning franchise Myhome.
This growth has been driven by a sharp increase in two-salary households, as there are many more cases of both partners working. This lifestyle means that increasing numbers of people have little inclination for housework and with the extra money they can afford a cleaning service.
Even mothers are bringing in cleaning firms to help them as more of them are working full-time or part-time, particularly single mothers of which there has been a large rise over the last 20 years. By the same token the number of single fathers has grown as well.
This has led to major growth for established cleaning service franchises. One of which is Molly Maid, set up in Canada in 1978. It currently operates across three continents and expects to clean more than two million homes this year.
Another factor has been improvements to cleaning technology. Firms can now get the job done in a much quicker time than even five years ago, reducing any inconvenience and provided they operate professionally, they will clean up additional dust and grime, making homes a more hygienic place in which to live.
Franchisers have achieved great success through these developments, including Chem-Dry, which provides franchisees with a "unique, patented, revolutionary carpet cleaning system". It says it is the fastest growing franchise starting from scratch in the UK.
With ever increasing demand for cleaning franchises, many more look set to achieve similar growth results over the next 20 years.