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How much do carpet cleaners earn?

Carpet cleaning is a very popular trade in the UK. But how much do carpet cleaners earn? Let's look at the average earning figures to understand how much carpet cleaners make in the UK.

Whether you’re:

An apprentice or employed carpet cleaner looking for rough salary guides
Thinking about setting yourself up as a self-employed carpet cleaner
Run your own carpet cleaning company and want to hire carpet cleaners

This guide is for you.

How much do carpet cleaners earn in the UK?

Carpet cleaners in the UK can expect to earn a starting salary of around £9,270 as an apprentice, up to about £62,080 as a carpet cleaning limited company owner.

The exact amount you earn as a carpet cleaner will depend on your qualifications, skills, experience, and where you’re based – as well as the size and complexity of the carpet cleaning jobs you do.

One thing is clear… If you start your own carpet cleaning business you’ll have the potential to earn a lot more than being employed – whether that’s as a sole trader or a limited business.

Level	Per hour	Per day	Per year	Estimated business costs*	Approximate take home pay
Apprentice	£5.28	£42	£9,270	£0.00	£9,140
Newly qualified	£7.49	£60	£13,150	£0.00	£12,440
Employed	£10.42	£83	£21,670	£0.00	£18,230
Sole trader	£30.00	£240	£44,250	£5,530	£28,320*
Business owner (Ltd company)	£42.09	£337	£62,080	£10,860	£40,700*
*includes estimated business expenses such as vehicle, fuel, tools and insurance. You should always consult an accountant.

How much do carpet cleaners make a year?

When it comes to the yearly earnings, here are average carpet cleaner salary figures based on different levels of experience:

Apprentice carpet cleaner – £9,270 (£9,140 take home)
Newly qualified carpet cleaner – £13,150 (£12,440 take home)
Employed carpet cleaner – £21,670 (£18,230 take home)
Sole trader carpet cleaner – £44,250 (£28,320* take home)
Carpet cleaning company owner – £62,080 (£40,700* take home)

How much do carpet cleaners earn a month?

Based on the yearly figures above, we’ve calculated how much the average carpet cleaner salary works out as a monthly wage:

Apprentice – £915 per month
Newly qualified – £1,298 per month
Employed – £1,806 per month
Sole trader – £5,200 per month
Carpet cleaning limited company owner – £7,295 per month

How much do carpet cleaners earn per week?

If you’re interested in carpet cleaner earnings as a weekly figure, this is roughly how much carpet cleaners make per week in the UK:

Apprentice – £211 per week
Newly qualified – £300 per week
Employed – £417 per week
Sole trader – £1,200 per week
Carpet cleaning limited company owner – £1,684 per week

How much do carpet cleaners make per day?

If you’re wondering how much you can earn per day as a carpet cleaner, here are figures for the average carpet cleaner hourly rate in the UK:

Apprentice – £42 per day
Newly qualified – £60 per day
Employed – £83 per day
Sole trader – £240 per day
Carpet cleaning limited company owner – £337 per day

How much do carpet cleaners make an hour?

Carpet cleaning jobs are often charged by the hour, so it’s useful to know how much carpet cleaners make an hour. Here are the average earnings:

Apprentice – £5.28 per hour
Newly qualified – £7.49 per hour
Employed – £10.42 per hour
Sole trader – £30.00 per hour
Carpet cleaning limited company owner – £42.09 per hour

How to start a carpet cleaning business

How much do upholstery cleaners earn?

Upholstery cleaners are generally considered to earn a similar amount to carpet cleaners. Therefore, as an upholstery cleaner you can expect to earn anything from £9,270 per year as an apprentice, up to about £62,080 per year if you run your own carpet cleaning company.

That said, upholstery cleaning is one of those trades that can become very specialised in specific types of upholstery. If you offer cleaning services to a niche market, you can often earn more than standard upholstery cleaning jobs.

How much do rug cleaners make?

As with upholstery cleaning, as a rug cleaner your earning potential is generally considered to be the same as a carpet cleaner – so £9,270 to £62,080+ per year.

But also like upholstery cleaning, if you specialise in certain styles of rug or cleaning technique you may be able to earn more for specialist rug cleaning services.

How much do self-employed carpet cleaners make?

When looking at earning potential, starting your own carpet cleaning business as a self-employed carpet cleaner can massively boost how much money you can make.

Below are the average figures for a self-employed carpet cleaner salary in the UK:

Hourly rate – £30.00 per hour
Day rate – £240 per day
Yearly salary – £44,250 per year
Annual take-home pay – £28,320* per year

Want tips to expand your carpet cleaning business? Check out our guide on how to grow your business:

How to grow your trade business in 2023 – Free guide included

How much do carpet cleaners company owners make?

As the owner of a carpet cleaning limited company, here are the average figures for how much you can make in the UK:

Hourly rate – £42.09 per hour
Day rate – £337 per day
Yearly salary – £62,080 per year
Annual take-home pay – £40,700* per year

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How much do carpet cleaning businesses make?

Every business is different, and if you’re wondering ‘how much can a carpet cleaning business make’, the answer can vary.

The exact amount you can make as a carpet cleaning business will depend on a number of factors, including the size of your business, the amount of work you do, and how profitable your jobs are.

Carpet cleaning business revenue

Here are some figures for the average carpet cleaning business revenue in the UK:

Sole trader carpet cleaner – £44,250 per year
Carpet cleaning limited company – £62,080 per year

How much profit can you make with a carpet cleaning business?

After deducting business costs, a self-employed carpet cleaner can expect their carpet cleaning business profit (i.e. their take-home salary) to be somewhere in the region of £28,320* per year as a sole trader.

If you’re operating as a limited company, you’re looking at an average carpet cleaning business profit of around £40,700* per year.

How to work out your carpet cleaning business profit

To work out your profit as a carpet cleaning business, whether as a sole trader or a limited company, you need to factor in the costs for running your business – such as your work vehicle, fuel, cleaning materials, tools and insurance, etc.

Once you know how much your total running costs are for the year, you then deduct them from your carpet cleaning business revenue for the year to get your final profit.

For a limited company, it’s important to factor in wages as part of your business’s running costs and they should be included in your calculations.

Expert tips to increase profits as a tradesperson

How to make your carpet cleaning business more profitable

Making sure that your carpet cleaning business is profitable should be one of your top priorities as a small business owner. At the end of the day, you want to make sure that all the carpet cleaning jobs you’re doing are making you a profit.

To help you boost those profits, we’ve put together our top tips to make your carpet cleaning business more profitable:

Make sure you’re charging enough to cover your outgoings (including tools, materials, insurance, marketing, wages, fuel etc).
Focus on the jobs that make you the most money and require you to spend the least (for tools, materials, etc).
Limit how far you travel to avoid vehicle and fuel costs eating into your profits.
Minimise your outgoings by trying to have no or as little debt as possible.
Shop around for the best deals (like our member partnerships) on tools, equipment, materials and workwear.
Get your business name out there through marketing (your website, customer reviews and SEO).
Provide the best customer experience to all your customers to build a strong reputation and win more work through word of mouth.
Join a trade directory like Checkatrade to build your reviews and online reputation.

Expert tips to increase profits as a tradesperson

Become your own boss with your new carpet cleaning business

You could get your carpet cleaning business started with just seven easily actionable emails with the help of our ‘Become the Boss’ series.

Featuring fellow tradespeople who were once in your position, a free business strategy call, and at the end of it all, you as the Founder of your new business. What’s not to love?

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FAQs

Can you make money as a carpet cleaner?

Yes, you can. As a carpet cleaner or carpet cleaning business owner in the UK, you can make a decent living. That said, the exact amount you earn will depend on your experience and whether you’re employed or run your own business.

Here are the average yearly salaries for carpet cleaners in the UK:

Apprentice carpet cleaner – £9,270 (£9,140 take home)
Newly qualified carpet cleaner – £13,150 (£12,440 take home)
Employed carpet cleaner – £21,670 (£18,230 take home)
Sole trader carpet cleaner – £44,250 (£28,320* take home)
Carpet cleaning company owner – £62,080 (£40,700* take home)

Is starting a carpet cleaning business a good idea?

The answer to this question depends on your own personal and professional circumstances. That said, as small business ideas go, carpet cleaning is generally considered to have consistent high demand – which is key for starting a business.

You might want to check how many carpet cleaning businesses operate in your area. If there aren’t many, then chances are you’ll be able to get in on the local carpet cleaning action. On the other hand, if there are already dozens of carpet cleaning businesses operating in your area you might want to consider whether there will be enough demand for your services.

Is owning a carpet cleaning business profitable in the UK?

A carpet cleaning business can certainly be a profitable venture, as long as you generate enough work and charge the right amount for your services. Setting up a carpet cleaning business will involve some initial investment to buy equipment, cleaning materials, and potentially a vehicle – but after that, carpet cleaning is generally considered to be a pretty profitable business to run.

To give you a rough idea, here are the average take-home pay figures for carpet cleaning businesses in the UK:

Sole trader carpet cleaner – £28,320* per year
Carpet cleaning limited company – £40,700* per year

*Includes estimated business expenses such as vehicle, fuel, tools and insurance. You should always consult an accountant.