do any of you clean houses as a business?

[Tuesday]

I've cleaned hotel rooms and I know it's a tough job but DH and I have been tossing around the idea of starting some sort of home cleaning or maintenance business. He is the expert of us two - a licenced facilities maintenance mechanic. If you do have experience in house cleaning, could you let me know (either in this thread or by PM)? I'd like to ask some specific questions about how you exactly LEARNED to clean the houses. When I cleaned hotel rooms, we were taught a very specific and exact routine which was efficient. I assume if you clean houses, you adopt a similar routine? I have some more questions but I will wait until I hear from others . Thanks.


I posted this in the WAHM well area but no responses to thought perhaps I try this forum. THANK YOU!

[Rebecca]

This is something I'd consider to make some cash too. I googled house cleaning business and came up with a bunch of 'how to' links.

http://il.essortment.com/howtostartho_pub.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Sta...200.00&id=5122

[Tuesday]

Thanks, Rebecca. Do you or have you done residential cleaning? I have specific questions about training and routines that are used - I want to know about particular systems of approaching a house. When I did hotel room cleaning, each room was approached in the same manner and I'm wondering where I can get information on a similar approach in residential cleaning.

[Rebecca]

Nope. Never had, butd I'm interested in the same thing. If nothing else, it'd help me clean my own house. One of the websites mentioned borrowing a book from the library about specific order and procedure, but didn't list a title. How did you clean the hotel rooms?

My dh was recently laid off, and though we don't anticipate any problems with him finding employment (or consulting on his own), I like to be prepared. I thought this would be the perfect gig for me to bring in some extra money on my own schedule (and maybe get some exercise to boot!).

[Tuesday]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...97735?v=glance

You might want to check out this book in link above. I signed it out of the library and actually it has an entire chapter that answers my questions about routines. I just hadn't had a chance to read it until this afternoon! And, like you mention, the routine discussed would definitely be doable in an individual home. Hotel rooms were different because it was just the beds and chairs and a bathroom. I've done a lot of different jobs in my life and physically cleaning rooms was exhausting. I have a lot of respect for people who do this sort of work. I was most recently working as a legal assistant on Bay Street in Toronto and would actually prefer something more physical and closer to home. Anyway, check out this book- I was surprised how much information was contained in it!!

[djinneyah]

my routine....

i meet with the homeowner for a walk-through...go over each room, asking them what they want done in each room, if there are any specific cleaners they want/don't want used, etc.

when cleaning, i start with vacuuming, dusting and polishing. i do these first because i hate them the most, so i get it out of the way. then it's on to the bathrooms (shower/tub, then toilet, sink, and floor last). then the kitchen (start on one end and work my way to the other, again, floor last). final chore is windows.

this is my system. my mom, on the other hand, goes exactly opposite of how i do it. to each his own. for me, the main thing is making sure i cover the homeowner's little quirks (use baby oil once a month on the shower door glass to remove and prevent water spots, etc.) and use the products they want me to use. they generally don't care what order things are cleaned in, just as long as said chore is done well.

HTH