Offering lower-cost services can help you maintain steady income and keep your crew busy when people are feeling pinched. As folks pay a lot at the pump, it might not feel like the right time to launch into a major construction project. Instead, they could be looking for ways to make better use of what they already have.
Take their vinyl fence as an example. Vinyl gives home and business owners an option that should stand sturdily through the years. Still, it’s not impervious to environmental buildup. You can potentially create an additional revenue stream by offering to take care of that for them.
Let’s take a quick look at how a vinyl cleaning service could work for your contracting company.
Why vinyl fences need cleaning
Diligent homeowners can often keep their vinyl looking new by routinely giving it a scrub and rinsing it down. People tend to get busy, though. And with the many demands of modern life calling, something as low-urgency as cleaning a fence often gets pushed aside.
Over time, environmental buildup gets harder to remove. Suddenly, the hose-down and homemade cleaning solution might not do the trick. That’s where you come in.
You and your team can offer to remove:
- Algae/Mold/Mildew
- Caked-on dirt
- Hard water spots
- Pollen buildup
- Bird droppings
- Plant matter buildup from mowing or edging nearby
- Sprinkler rust stains
This gives you a way to generate repeat business from existing customers. You can reach out and say, “We installed your fence X years ago. Would you like our team to give it a professional cleaning to make it look new again?”
Tools and skills needed for vinyl fence cleaning
As an added benefit, offering this service doesn’t require much by way of investment. To set your team up to clean vinyl, you just need to provide them with:
- Buckets
- Microfiber cloths
- Non-abrasive cleaner (Simple Green)
- Soft bristle brushes
- Sponges
- #0000 steel wool (quad zero)
Then, when they’re on the property, ask the property owner to provide a water source (e.g., a spigot or garden hose). With this water, have your team make a solution of diluted cleaner in the bucket. The ratio is usually 1:10, but check the label.
Then, they can sponge the cleaner onto the fence and let it sit for a few minutes.
After that, the soft-bristled brush is often enough to remove visible spots. If not, the ultrafine steel wool gives them a leveled-up option. Remind your team that vinyl can scratch easily so only gentle pressure should be applied.
Finally, they can dump the bucket, refill it with fresh water, and sponge the fence down to give it a rinse. Or, if they have hose access, the rinsing gets faster and easier.
A final pass with the microfiber cloth should leave the vinyl fence sparkling.
Offering more value
To set your services apart, you might choose to position your vinyl cleaning as biodegradable and pet-safe. If you use a cleaner option like Simple Green, you won’t be introducing anything toxic to their property.
These are just a few tips. If you want to talk about deeper details with vinyl experts, contact our Vinyl Craft team today.
