Little things that make a difference, like pulling out the drawer below the toaster and dumping it. You can also turn the toaster upside down and dump out crumbs into the garbage while jiggling the knob. I use a damp cloth with some Windex to clean the outside, but a very little dish soap works just as well.

We had a mishap this week with a one time cleaning we were doing. The unit had all Viking Equipment, Stove, Range Hood, and Dishwasher. The sink was also commercial Stainless Steel, it had the hard corners that commercial kitchens like for dish washing, it gives more room at the bottom.

The new owner of the unit wanted us clean before they moved in. Units were lightly used. The next day she called us back in because she found some things that were done badly. One was the travertine in the bathroom, which is a story for another article, the other was the Range. The range had caked on grease that had softened but didn’t removed, it just kept smearing.

The woman was very nice about the whole thing, which I appreciate, while making some excellent points I never thought about. Number one is that those commercial ranges have this elaborate set of galvanized, and stainless steel underneath that requires a lot of time to address. Second is that in a commercial kitchen they have some one to clean the stove every day, most home owners don’t. Last is that the finish may be baked enamel but she could see that it was scratch, not by us, but before. As it was cleaned, by me, again, the scratches became more noticeable.

Just as an aside I have cleaned commercial kitchens before and usually it’s a mess that falls onto the floor. Crumbs, baked on grease, all the little nooks, crannies, the chemicals, and water cascade onto the bottom pan and get wiped out. Even at that the stove looks used. That’s just a part of the deal, and in some kitchens, like country kitchens it’ a good thing, in others, it’s just inappropriate.

We cleaned a new construction today, but I was concerned that the carpet cleaner was ill equipped for the job. He brought in a portable cleaner that you see in hotels, or apartment complexes. The new home owner was the one who contracted with us, and the carpet cleaner. The builder wouldn’t have taken the risk.

You need enough suction to extract as much moisture out of the carpet as possible. If the moisture stays in the carpet for an extended period of time it will attract more dirt, create a breeding ground for bacteria, and possibly lead to a mildew smell, especially here in the pacific Northwest.

In an earlier post I talked about how many truck mounted carpet cleaning companies there were, they are plentiful, and cheap. This guy, by the way, was about the same as a truck mounted service. His equipment was in good condition, but hardly what you would want in your home.

Today I bid to clean about 2800 square feet of new construction that was really pretty immaculate. It needs a lot of dusting. Another company bid $600. They are billing at $50 per hour per person, and work in teams of three which is fine, but they pushed the envelope with the time. They have a 4 hour minimum.

On a place I bid about a month ago another company quoted $42 per hour, but wanted a total of 10 man hours. There was nothing there, the place had been empty for about four months, and was cleaned, obviously, at one time, the place was just looking tired.

Now to be fair, there is a higher rate for one time cleanings, $36 to $42 per hour has been a going rate for some time. Going to $50 per hour in hard economic times is a stretch. We know that the cleaner’s wages haven’t gone up that much. What I’m more surprised about is the time.

In my opinion, I have a better sense about bidding than most companies that use a formula. I can pretty accurately figure out what a task will take. Refrigerators, bathrooms, whole house vacuuming , all take about one person an hour. Dusting, organizing, kitchen counter tops, and cleaning floors are more variable.  

I’m going to speculate that it is harder to find cleaners who are fast, and good in today’s market place because there are so many independents. Most companies who have large over head need to pay for offices, cars, equipment, insurance, and taxes. It’s made being an individual, or husband, and wife team much more attractive for the workers.

So it’s kind of odd, the times we are in, right now, that companies are raising rates, and independents are, in some cases, the better cleaning choice.

At the end, and beginning of the school year there is a shift. It’s a busy time of year for households, and cleaners. Especially here in Seattle people are also moving inside for the winter in September, or outside for the summer in June. The University has us cleaning out a spare bedroom, or cleaning a new dorm room, it’s the same for June.

Then you have the people who are selling a home, or deciding to keep it for another year. People moving into new homes, or out of homes they have sold are another reason for cleaners to be busy.

This article is about how you can get the best out of a cleaner in these times of the year. Some cleaners take on too many jobs. One of the purposes of this blog is to build a network we can refer to. So if you know you have a life changing event coming up it helps to book some cleaner time early. It’s also good to confirm your time as it gets closer.

The most important thing is for you to be flexible. Many companies are paying bills at these times of year. Taxes are due, the company employees, or contractors, also have kids, so we all want to help each other. It will all get done, it’s just a busy time of year.

This past week, after over twenty years in this business, it came to me that what we sell is trust. Anyone can clean well, or badly, but when you invite people into your home, give them a key, you are trusting them. I know it sounds like I’m completely stupid for just realizing this, but it has always seemed natural that people would give me the keys to their home.

To be fair to myself, most of our clients have come to us by referral. Some have found us in the local paper, but usually we have a common bond in the neighborhood. We are a small company with a limited service area. Today people look us up online, and we do have a good internet presence, so that helps.

I’m thinking, that is why so many people go with large companies. They trust the brand name, and that the brand name is thorough in back ground checks, and they know what they are doing. That is very true. Large, national companies do have procedures for getting people in your home you can trust. In another post I’ll explore the dynamic of large companies, but in the trust department many have excellent references.

What started me thinking about this is that we just discovered Angie’s List. Actually they discovered us. We got a good review, and they contacted us. As I researched the company, one of the things they are selling is a way to trust a service provider. After all these years of being in business it just struck me, that what all business people do is sell trust. In the business world it’s even called Blue Sky, there’s a term for it.

Now, I can’t tell you how to trust some one, or a cleaner in particular, but when you hire some one that is a big part of the equation. I guess in a future post I will give you a check list of what to ask for from a cleaner, and maybe that will help. In the mean time hire some one you are comfortable with, and you can put the person to a location you can trust.

One of our clients today made the comment for us to “have fun.” It struck me as an odd comment because his wife told us we were having too much fun the last time we were there. She is referring, of course, to our chatter, laughing, and making funny faces while we clean. Not all houses are as fun, but we like these people, have been cleaning there for seven years, and they have eclectic stuff. It’s a whimsical kind of place.

We all speak Spanish, so it is confusing for some clients to understand. Most of the time, with my team, they are making fun of my bad Spanish. However it helps in a day to have some fun.

In my opinion one of the greatest things, and this can help you if you chose to do your own cleaning, is having everything in one place at one time. We have a bucket of cleaning supplies, and a bag of rags. We have the two vacuums to be able to get everywhere. I also have my special ramiento to do high dusting. It’s a duster on a pole. You can get one at Ace Hardware for between $15 to $20.

The other great thing is working in teams of three. We have the option of rotating tasks. The fact we rotate gives us the ability to make fun of each others methods. I get it all the time. There again I also notice that some people forget the same things, or hum a tune, or do things different from me.

Our team has been together for about two years now. We do have a rhythm, and having some fun, making some games out of the cleaning, helps get the job done. I think it gets done better our way.

Ultimately cleaning apartments is fast, but they have to be done well. Attention to detail is important. Refrigerators, stoves, the inside of cup boards is paramount. The term is getting the unit “rent ready.” In another post we will talk about why this is all so important, but for right now these are some steps I take. 

The best tool of all is my duster brush on a long pole. We buy them at Ace Hardware for between $15 to $20. It reaches above the window, and door frames, catches cob webs, and dusts the base boards. It’s also handy for the hard to get at areas. It’s the first thing I do so it gives the dust a chance to settle. 

Number two is to use water when possible. I still get in trouble by my cleaning team for wetting everything with a damp cloth, and moving along. After getting things wet for about fifteen minutes I go back, re-rinse the rag, spray Windex and pick up as much moisture as I can. I rinse the rag as needed, but often. I finish with a dry rag. So essentially I go over the same areas three times, but it goes quick.

The baths get a generous amount of Comet in the toilet. All around the bowl gets lots of disinfectant. The shower, tub, and surrounds get lots of water, scrubbed down, and rinsed before being dried, first with a damp cloth, rinsed often, then dried with the dry rag. Again I damp mop the floors after wiping around the bowl with paper towel. We use disposable gloves, it makes the work go a little faster.

Finally the floors get vacuumed and damp mopped. 

Refrigerator, and stove will get a separate post, but if the oven is self cleaning always use that instead of a chemical.

Here in the Seattle area we know just about all the players in the House Cleaning business. You may think we compete for clients, but really we all fill niches that rarely over lap. One thing I noticed yesterday was that one of the single person house keepers that works for a neighbor of a client now works with two other people. She had been cleaning by herself for ten years that I know of, and this year she added more clients, so she needed more help.

That started me thinking about a lot of things that make up a good cleaning company. We struggle with keeping track of the people who work with us. We put systems in place then a day can just get away from us. Even when you work alone some things get forgotten. So how does some one decide one day to start hiring people?

From what I understand of the woman I saw she is training her cousin to take over some clients. The other person is a friend who needs work. What it finally comes down to is that people are out of work. We lose clients that way, but in the world of laborers it’s also true. People need jobs, and house cleaning is one of the things many people think they can do.

This makes for opportunities to some of the people who hire a house keeper, but we get more of our clients from people who prefer our approach after an independent experience. People who clean alone need to be extremely self motivated. Usually they take on one, or two, clients a day, and charge about $75 or $80 for about 3 or 4 hrs. The problem is that an independent gets tired in a day, after day routine.

Company workers also get tired, but we all have good, and bad days. In a team, or company setting, one person can be up when another is down. There is also some one, who is looking for new business, while servicing the clients they have. There’s less likelihood that some one will lose clients, and be out of the business. A team, or company, gives more security in that way.

Speaking of that security, we hear that an independent person is like a part of the family. They like the idea they know who the person is, and can trust them. Companies can be hiring people off the street, and even with a back ground check you just never know. That is a two way street because it’s hard to get rid of a member of the family when something comes up.  

We see a need for both house keepers, some one who can come in every day, and companies. We have experimented with both. Some companies only do house keeper placement. This year house keepers ar doing very well. We chose the team approach for the reasons I’ve outlined, but as I said, we all fill niche.

We have a sister company called A Spring Cleaning that does/did whole house deep cleaning. The regularly scheduled housecleaning company we operate has really taken over our time, but we still do a couple of deep cleanings a week. Let me clarify, we do detailed cleanings.

George Pappas called me yesterday from New Way Carpet, Upolstery, and Wall Cleaning, at 206-244-8709. He was looking for work, just bought a house, and was a little surprised that this year has been slow. He is a very high end cleaner who has had a steady clientele through the entire recession. This year is different.

We scaled back our deep cleaning because people are reluctant to pay at a price point starting at $360 and up. This is what George is finding also, but I do want to make this post a caution of sorts about new cleaners, and cleaning companies.

Deep Cleaning is really a skill. When we first started many years ago we had some trial and error in what works. Thankfully we have had a very few times when we had to repair damage. Bleach stains in carpet are the biggest liabilty and we have Mr. Color Restoration at 206-363-1877 who we have only had to call twice. He fixed the stains as good as new.

There are issues with damage to grout that the sealer is worn off, or poruos tiles that may discolor. Fabrics on upostery can be delicate, or paint may be damaged by chemicals. It’s hard to make all the right choices for every product. That is why we stay with regular house hold products you can buy at the super market.

In George’s case he has the equipment to do a micro fiber steam cleaning. He know what works where, and how. It is best to hire some one who knows how to care for your home, rather than by price.

The job we went to today has had three bids now without getting a match. the tile work is older and we can do the job by hand scrubbing, but our price for that is really high. After some of the quotes they have maybe we would be a better choice. We gave them George’s number today and we’ll see what George says for a price.