Laid Off? Here Are 8 of the Best Cleaning and House-Maintenance Franchises You Can Buy Now. The time to start a cleaning company is now.

As an entrepreneur, you know you are done working for other people, but you might not know what comes next. How do you create a sustainable business? What if you're struggling to create a business idea? 

Investing in a franchise tends to be safer than creating a new business from scratch due to the support and knowledge you can receive from your network. Of the entries on our Franchise 500 list, some of the very best are in the home-cleaning and maintenance industries, which are more valuable than ever right now.

Check out this list of wide-ranging franchises you can start in your area.

Related: 5 Low-Cost Franchises You Can Start for as Little as $4,000

Servpro

Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 27

Initial investment: $160,075 to $213,950

Initial franchise fee: $50,000

New units in 2019: 28 units (+1.7 percent)

Franchising since the U.S. went to the moon, Servpro started as a painting business but quickly pivoted to cleaning and restoration. Servpro franchisees offer disaster restoration to both commercial and residential customers whose property has suffered fire or water damage. You can learn more about the path to becoming a franchisee here.

PuroClean

Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 121

Initial investment: $72,765 to $192,615

Initial franchise fee: $50,000

New units in 2019: 22 units (+8.4 percent)

Restoration franchise PuroClean offers emergency services to the insurance industry, home service providers and property owners. You can survey the company’s available markets (which span all 50 states) here.

Related: 24 Top-Ranked, Affordable Franchises You Can Buy for $25,000 or Less

Restoration 1

Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 167

Initial investment: $79,100 to $183,350

Initial franchise fee: $49,500

New units in 2019: 35 units (+21.1 percent)

Restoration 1 franchisees offer a variety of services that include 24-hour emergency water extraction, drying, fire damage restoration and general maintenance and cleaning services for home and business owners. Its company website claims it has available territories across the U.S.

The Maids

Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 35

Initial investment: $63,300 to $141,200

Initial franchise fee: $12,500

New units in 2019: 65 units (+4.7 percent)

Three of the most common praises franchisees have for The Maids revolve around the flexibility, potential and support network it offers. Right now, The Maids website also lists 17 featured markets, so it's definitely worth checking to see if one of these markets might work well with your own location and values.

Merry Maids

Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 61

Initial investment: $89,619 to $125,023

Initial franchise fee: $37,500 to $51,500

New units in 2019: -16 units (-0.9 percent)

Founded in 1979 and franchising since 1980, Merry Maids boasts over 1,000 cleaning franchises in the U.S., relying on a two-person, home-cleaning for its franchisees. Its website lists some of the business's biggest untapped markets, which include New York City and Cleveland.

Molly Maid

Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 65

Initial investment: $111,700 to $156,200

Initial franchise fee: $14,900

New units in 2019: 10 units (+2.1 percent)

Originally founded in Canada but brought to the U.S. in 1984, Molly Maid has grown to 485 units in the United States but still has plenty of available markets left you can check out. Some of the biggest cities include Atlanta and Chicago. You can see a partial list here.

Related: The O.J. Simpson Trial's Surprising Impact on Molly Maid's Founder and Business

MaidPro

Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 111

Initial investment: $57,560 to $222,450

Initial franchise fee: $20,000 to $80,000

New units in 2019: 16 units (+6.3 percent)

MaidPro prides itself on the flexibility it offers. The company doesn't force its franchisees to purchase supplies from preferred vendors, allows for variable team sizes and even offers a 90-day out clause. You can learn more about Maidpro at its website and browse its list of available franchises for sale here. 

Related: 5 Franchises Animal Lovers Can Start Right Now

Maid Brigade

Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 183

Initial investment: $94,700 to $116,700

Initial franchise fee: $35,000

New units in 2019: 3 units (+0.7 percent)

Maid Brigade's company website says the business wants to work with franchisees "to analyze the demographics in a given area and assemble a portfolio of contiguous zip codes to comprise between 25,000 — 40,000 total qualified households based on annual income of $100,000 or more."