Cleaning privacy curtains used in various medical facilities can be a niche source of income.

The niche market comes in finding locations to whom your company might provide services at a competitive price point that works for both parties.  While some larger facilities have their own in house laundry, many use the services of an outside vendor for laundry.  When it comes to the cleaning of medical privacy curtains however volume and pricing depend upon the situation. Larger commercial laundry companies may not competitively price smaller jobs as they are looking for truck load volume or they may not commercially launder these expensive custom sized curtains in a way that shortens their functional life span.  So the sweet spot for these potential clients maybe found in outpatient surgery centers, medical clinics, doctors offices or anywhere that has multiple exam rooms for patients like cancer clinics etc.  All are required to pass inspections that include requirements relative to cleaning and infection control – a key part of which is a program for sanitizing these curtains regularly.

Briefly the process involved setting up a portable injection-extraction cleaning machine next to the curtain, hanging a piece of clean plastic behind the curtain, usually using the track and a clamp, and cleaning the whole curtain using a solution that contains an approved hospital grade germicidal agent.  The Kleenrite 204Hx or any wet cleaning portable set up for fabrics may work.  Having heat is great and a knowledge of basic spotting is a plus as ink lines and blood stains are not uncommon as are paint spots in what are usually synthetic blend fabrics.

Pricing for these services typically include a travel charge and then a cost per curtain based upon its square footage or the number of panels or widths of fabric depending upon what makes sense.  Usually the grommets at the top are six inches apart and tags on many of them have sizes written on them so one can quickly calculate pricing.  Some providers use a price chart based upon square footage with definitions for small, medium or large rather than so many cents per sq. ft..  For those that have snap panels or like using fabric withs counting seams and multiplying by the cost per panel is easy to quote as well.  As there curtains retail from several hundred to many hundreds of dollars per curtain the 10-20% of value cleaning guideline yields costs of $25-$80 per curtain.  Remember however that the value of your services compared to a laundry option of dollars per load means that if you want jobs your pricing has to stay competitive.

Benefits and selling points for the value of ones services however should focus on several key points that on location cleaning brings to the client.

1) Work is done on location – no lost or damaged items off site

2) No need for replacement curtains or swaps as curtains never leave

3) Convenience – clean after hours or in slow times without down time

4) Gentler cleaning process – extends the life of the curtains

5) Spotting done only to areas needed, no harsh chemicals, bleaches etc.

6) Fast – one can easily clean 4-14 curtains per hour (size, logistics)

For more detailed information on the systems used by one company to service multiple locations of various sizes ranging from a few curtains to several hundred request more information. (Article will be updated with downloads and forms in the future.)