Nov 21, 2022 15 Comments 15 Likes
Unless your house cleaners already know the flow of your home because you are a recurring client, they are not really expecting a lot of things to pick up from your homes floors and surfaces. House cleaning service may include a little bit of tidying up, but their main focus is on the actual scrubbing and cleaning of surfaces. This is of course, unless you already came to an agreement with them for the additional picking up work.
So that your cleaning service can make the most of the time they booked for you and get to the nitty gritty, here are some things to be mindful of before they arrive.
1. Children & Pets
Try to get as much of their toys off the floors and surfaces. Little toys and gadgets can be a hassle to pick up, and even more annoying when they get stuck in a vacuum. Now your cleaner has to spend a few minutes trying to get this thing out (if they can)
2. Clutter
If you have a ton of objects laying around like mail, paper work, books etc, here are a few solutions. You might be able to add this tidying and organization into your service if your cleaners offer it. But if they don’t and you’re pressed for time, you can get a box/bin and toss everything in there for now. The important thing is that you clear as much surface as possible so that your cleaners can get a deep vacuum, dusting and degreasing as they can. Clutter tends to be a magnet to dust. I can’t tell you how many times I move clutter to clean an area and then I move the things back only for them to release more dust that I have to clean again.
3. Kitchen
Depending on your service, it might include the washing of dishes. I am a cleaner that actually really enjoys scrubbing dishes down. It’s kind of a secret dream of mine to have a mountain of dishes to clean with my favorite dish soaps (ahhh). But don’t get too excited, some cleaners really dread this part. If your service includes loading your dishwasher, it would be nice of you to make sure they have a clear and unloaded dishwasher so that they can get right to loading. This can mean that if they are still there when the load is done, they might have the time to put your newly cleaned dishes away. However, if they have to unload what’s in there and then load the dirty dishes, they may not have the time to do that. Either way it should be fine and most house cleaners are used to this.
4. Toilets, yuck
If you are disgusted by your own toilet, imagine how someone else might feel. (No hard feelings). Not here to shame or judge you, but you can only imagine the array of toxic waste a cleaner faces when they have to clean a toilet. Studies have shown that toilets release a lot of microbes into the air when they are scrubbed and even flushed- 2 things your cleaner has to do. Now, I’m not saying you should clean your toilet before their arrival, but maybe give the rim a look-see and wipe it down with some antibacterial spray. Chances are you probably don’t ever lift the seat up to see what’s down there, and it may be a good hygienic practice for you to check it out every now and then :) . By giving your toilet a pre antibacterial wipe and scrub if you’re kind enough, you will help to lower the germ exposure your cleaners will face when they come to clean your throne. While you are in that toilet area, go ahead and empty your bathroom trash out, maybe? Many people don’t think about the toxic waste their cleaners have to come face to face with. Some people will throw virtually ANYTHING into their bathroom trash. We won’t get specific here, let your imagination run wild *upside down smiley face*. So do your house cleaner a decent favor and don’t subject them to more things that can make them sick. A quick toss of your bathroom trash is greatly appreciated :)
5. Bedrooms
If your cleaning service includes bed making, it’s nice to strip your bed of the dirty sheets or at the very least, leave the new set you would like for them to put on somewhere visible. Your house cleaners want to do the deepest cleaning possible, but more obstacles are only going to get in their way. It would be a great idea for you to pick up any of your dirty laundry and put in a hamper, and to hang anything else that is in the way. If your service includes tidying up, leave a note for your cleaners so that they are clear of anything that needs to be put away. Take a look under your bed for anything like socks that might be down there. I can’t tell you how many beds I have run my vacuum under only to hear the thump of something like a sock clogging up the hose. Oh the trouble this brings! Some vacuums have bent pipes that are perfect zones for something like a sock or pet toy to get tightly jammed into. Depending on the object that gets trapped in there, it can turn this problem into a minutes long battle with a vacuum. And that is IF they are able to get the object out without having to unscrew anything. So do your cleaners a favor, and just do a little check underneath. If you do have anything far under the bed, you can use a broom stick to try to bring it out.
6. Pets
Some of them are cute and some of them are scary. Your house cleaners are there to clean and they are most likely in a flow where they work at a speedy pace. Don’t let your pet slow their progress down. I can’t tell you how many odd encounters I have had with pets like hissing cats, dogs who won’t stop licking me, dogs growling and barking at me. I once cleaned a house with a large dog that I was already somewhat scared of, and had to deal with her attacking my vacuum and tugging it with her big snout every time I turned it on. I almost had a heart attack with that one. Most pets are not crazy about house cleaners and get very anxious when the house is full. Needless to say, just put them away in a room for an hour or two. It’ll save a lot of drama!
7. Reviews
If the service was great, PLEASE leave a review. Small cleaning businesses thrive off good reviews. With everything virtually being on the Internet today, online presence is everything that can make or break a company. Let the world know your honest experience with the service you received.
Now, if the service was bad, lets set our feelings aside and take some time to gather our thoughts here. Was the service TRULY that bad? Did they miss huge chunks of areas? Did they damage a surface from using a harmful chemical on it? Was the cleaning very sub-par and not a true deep cleaning like you expected? Or are you maybe having a bad day and now you are on high alert for anything else that’s not going perfectly your way? It’s important to be fair here. If you saw your cleaners work hard and fast, and if maybe they missed a corner or 2, maybe let it slide and communicate it to them. Most house cleaners will really appreciate the feedback and will learn you as a client so that they can ensure they don’t make the same mistakes in any of their future visits.
The truth is, a great cleaning company will most likely assign a team leader who will inspect all the work before marking the job complete. I can put my hand on the bible and tell you that most of the times I got an unhappy customer from my cleaning, it was due to their overall level of happiness. This is a very touchy subject, but i’ll just say there are some people who when you come around you can feel the tension and the sense that you are not being received well. Unfortunately when this happens, the job is already booked and we have no choice but to do our best as a cleaner. But I will say, once a customer has made up their mind that you are not going to please them, most likely it will be true no matter how hard you work or try.
So please ask yourself, was the job REALLY that bad or is it something deeper? I'm not saying don't leave a bad review, I am saying be fair. Many angry people will go onto a platform and leave a 1 star review. Really? ONE star? So you mean to tell me that after your cleaners were there for a few hours of deep scrubbing and degreasing, but they happened to leave a corner of dust somewhere justifies all but one star being taken away from them? It's pretty unjust if you ask me. 1 star should be reserved for someone who comes into your home and does absolutely NOTHING. Even 2 stars might be more justifiable. But 1 star just makes it seem like you throw temper tantrums when you don't get your way. So let's be fair. Let your cleaners know what you were unhappy with, allow them the chance to correct it, and if you still feel that horrible, by all means, let those fingers go to work on that keyboard.
8. Tips
And lastly, tip your cleaner! We know, you probably are already paying a couple hundred or more on your service. We know it’s a pretty penny and we really appreciate your business! Most cleaning companies charge just what they need to be able to run their business without going into debt and *hopefully* they pay their technicians a decent wage. However, for the amount of hard work a house cleaner does day in and day out, sometimes the only thing powering them through are the tips. You’re already accustomed to tipping your servers and bartenders, why not tip those that do the real hard work for you? The tips can mean the difference of them being able to get a nice massage at the end of the week. So please, tip your cleaners if you can. You will be their favorite client and they will have no problem going above and beyond for you next time.
