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BIZBITE

Commercial Dishwasher Deliming Service

Hard water quietly breaks dish machines — restaurants pay to keep glasses clean

Bottom line

Accessible entry point; validate local supply before buying.

Commercial dishwasher deliming services remove mineral buildup from restaurant and institutional dish machines. Hard-water scale causes cloudy glasses, poor sanitation, higher energy use, and equipment breakdowns. Operators sell recurring deliming visits to restaurants, bars, hotels, schools, churches, and cafeterias — especially in hard-water markets where the same machine needs attention again and again.

Acquisition score
Margin · multiple · SBA data
69Strong
Avg revenue
$210K/yr
$70K–$550K range
Profit margin
36%
~$76K SDE
Multiple
1.8–3.5×
of SDE
Est. buy price
$136K–$265K
startup: $7K–$40K

How It Works

Technicians inspect the commercial dishwasher, run a deliming cycle with approved chemicals, clean spray arms and screens, check water quality, and recommend recurring service intervals. Revenue comes from per-machine deliming, monthly or quarterly preventive maintenance, water-treatment upsells, and referrals from chemical suppliers or foodservice equipment repair firms.

BizBite verdict

Watch / verify

Commercial Dishwasher Deliming Service has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

69Strong
low data confidence · 40/100medium financing fit

Why it may work

  • +Attractive 36% estimated margin profile

Be careful

  • !Source link status has not been verified yet
  • !No last-checked date yet
  • !No SBA category enrichment yet
  • !No category operating model yet
  • !Low data confidence

Deal Calculator

Priced off $76K SDE — can this deal service its own debt?

2.66×
DSCR · Lender-comfortable
Purchase multiple — 2.6× SDE ($195K)
Category range: 1.8×–3.5× SDE
Down payment — 10% ($20K)
SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership
Interest rate — 10.50%
Typical SBA 7(a) range: 9.5–12% (prime-based)
Loan term — 10 years
Standard SBA 7(a): 10 years for business acquisition
Purchase price
$195K
2.6× of $76K SDE
Cash to close
$25K
$20K down + ~3% closing
Debt service
$2K/mo
$28K/yr on $176K loan
Cash-on-cash
186%
cash back in ~7 mo
Debt service coverage · what the lender sees
2.66×+$4K/mo after debt
Most SBA lenders want ≥1.25× coverage; 1.5×+ is a strong file.

SDE = revenue × margin estimate for this niche; it includes owner compensation, so budget your salary out of cash flow. Excludes working-capital injection, capex reserves, and taxes. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower.

Pros

  • +Clear pain signal: cloudy glasses and poor wash results are visible to customers
  • +Recurring need in hard-water regions
  • +Low-cost chemicals and simple procedures create attractive gross margins
  • +Easy add-on for foodservice chemical, appliance repair, or cleaning routes

Cons

  • -Small tickets require dense routes or bundled services
  • -Chemical misuse can damage machines or create safety issues
  • -Many restaurants try to push the task onto staff until results get bad

Best For

Foodservice service operators who can bundle deliming with dish-machine chemicals, water filters, kitchen cleaning, or appliance maintenance

Operating Costs

Costs are mainly technician time, deliming chemicals, PPE, test strips, vehicle expense, and customer acquisition. State Industrial warns a broken commercial dishwasher can shut down a kitchen for hours, while Lee's Foodservice markets deliming as a dedicated commercial kitchen service in hard-water markets.

Where to Buy

State Industrial Products - Commercial Dishwasher Lease/Maintenance

Notes the operational cost of dishwasher downtime for restaurants and commercial kitchens

Lee's Foodservice - Dishwasher Deliming Services

Example of a dedicated commercial dishwasher deliming service for restaurants and kitchens

Oxmaint - Commercial Dishwasher Maintenance

Hospitality kitchen maintenance guide emphasizing preventive care and downtime reduction

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Buy a commercial dishwasher deliming service
via State Industrial Products - Commercial Dishwasher Lease/Maintenance
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