Last week at a networking event the host asked me about any dirt I might have on one of our clients. He was joking, but there was a marked pause in the meeting, where people really wanted to hear something, some gossip. It is kind of a common passing comment.

My response, as always, is to praise our clients for the impeccable way they manage their lives. This particular client is extremely successful, and he makes a list each morning of the tasks he wants to accomplish, then checks them off during the day. The note book he carries is common knowledge, he has carried for the past twenty years.

Over these many years that we have been in the cleaning business I have learned that refusing to respond makes you sound like you are hiding something. Anything negative you say will of course be wrong. We have found that we do have an incredible set of clients who are remarkable, and sharing the success of their lives is something every one responds to favorably.

I never lie, or make something up, because that has negative consequences. It’s best to be forthcoming with some obvious virtues which leaves the questioner with no where to go.

In the bathroom also, around the toilet needs to have more water before a disinfectant is used. When possible, if time allows, it is easier to go over a floor more than a couple of times. In most cases the attention you spend to the traffic areas will be enough, but if you are only cleaning the floor two or four times a year it’s worth it to do the whole floor more than twice.

For touching up the floor, which is what most people do, a flat surface mop that you use with a terry cloth cover works best. The days of the sponge on a mop handle are over. Those deposit more dirt than they pick up. O’Cedar makes the best system for this.

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.

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.

There are some cautions for this, such as don’t let is sit too long. When you rinse you have to rinse repeatedly. The residual will break down over time, but you want to make sure it’s rinsed. With some bleach solutions, and we will talk about that another time, you want to let the product sit to be effective. Hydrogen peroxide starts working right away, so the time you are working with it is enough time.

Don’t splash the peroxide around, it is a bleaching agent. Work it with the cloth. On the wall surfaces of the tub or shower surround you will want to saturate the cloth. Wear gloves, and clothing you don’t mind losing.

Now this is actually a good thing, as long as you are careful. I only brought it up because it is a step. In the long list of things you can do with your tile this is really pretty benign.

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.

For those who have cleaning challenges we have found we are both, the cleaners, and customers, unhappy with the results. Expectations are high, so some times there is disappointment. The price is also a little bit higher than what some want to pay.

Some simple tricks for once a month cleaning are to clean the dishes, and put them away. Dishes cost a lot for the cleaners to do. Clean a section of the kitchen, and put everything there, out of the way. Get everything you can out of the way in the bathroom. Pick up the toys, put out the trash, and straighten where the vacuum is going. The idea is for the cleaners to clean, and the less they move around the more they can get to.

If you read through this blog you can see that these simple tips get you half way to a clean house. What you may also want to consider is breaking the cleaning into two sessions of an hour each to see how a system may work for you. It may be that paying $120 to $135 for once a month would be better than paying $180 for once every two weeks, but you may want to try it both ways.

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.

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.

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.