Ask a House Cleaner

Want to know why we call cleaning jobs "clients" not customers? Many house cleaners call them accounts, jobs, houses or cleans. At Savvy Cleaner Training, we teach residential cleaning techs to call jobs clients not customers. There is mutual respect and a professional perception that comes with titles or labels. Customers behave like clients when you refer to them as such and maids are frugal wit...

How do you clean around "Lived-in"? WHAT? Your house doesn't look like a Pinterest board? If you have stuff everywhere and you need tidying up, you're normal. Today's #AskaHouseCleaner brings straightening up and clutter-free, organizing tips. But a lived-in home is just that - lived-in. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says clutter removal is part of daily DIY cleaning. And housekeeping wasn...

Want to know what to put on your flyer to pick more cleaning business accounts? Bobby Walker of TRT Pressure Washing and Window Cleaning gives us tips.  Streamline your CRM, scheduling and invoice details with https://HousecallPro.com/Angela Once you know what to put on your flyer, leaflet or door hangers, running flyers is a breeze. He shares how to get business from flyers. And he answers the qu...

How do you talk a customer out of firing you? If you are a house cleaner or maid and have that feeling "I think I'm getting fired" get of your comfort zone. Find out why. Keep all your cleaning business details organized with https://HousecallPro.com/Angela As maids or cleaning techs client communication is essential to a working relationship. Often, you can talk a customer out of firing you if yo...

Ever been too depressed to clean your house? Cleaning when depressed is almost impossible because it's just not a priority. And if you're too depressed to clean your house is easy to become overwhelmed, ashamed and desolate. Depression cleaning is not always the answer either - just plowing through doesn't solve the problem. Today on #AskaHouseCleaner Angela Brown gives tips on the time audit and...

"Cleaning relaxes me, should I start a cleaning business?" "Not so fast my friend." Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru advises. Professional house cleaning is not about relaxation on the job. You can relax in the evenings by having https://HousecallPro.com/Angela run your admin tasks automatically. But if you have a domestic cleaning service you will be trading time in exchange for money. Effic...

Remarkable service. Wanna know how to get remarkable service from your house cleaner? Liz Trotter from Castle Keepers drops by the #AskaHouseCleaner show with answers. It's conversations the house cleaner has with the homeowner. And it's the maid meeting the housekeeping expectations set up on the walkthrough. Residential cleaning isn't hard but the results can get skewed if you trick the house cl...

You know why we talk about toxic chemicals here? It's because they are in most every home. Cleaning detergents, strong cleaning products, cleaning degreasers, even cleaning aerosol spray. Many toxic chemicals need personal protective equipment (PPE) if you're going to use them all day. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru is willing to talk about toxic chemicals so you can become familiar. She re...

Wanna know why I bought 3 books instead of lunch? It is predictably irrational behavior and can double your house cleaning revenues. I bought 3 books instead of lunch when I meant to buy only one book. The book Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely is about behavioral economics. He talks about selling a bundle of items rather than a single item (or service.) His buying observations tricked me too....

Exact times or a range when you schedule cleaning appointments with customers? #AngelaBrown says exact times work best. "The world runs off a calendar and you can't keep a roster of accounts if you keep showing up late." Schedule all your appointments with https://HousecallPro.com/Angela Do your inventory the night before and keep your cleaning caddy prepared in advance. Work from a timetable and...

Ever wonder how to stay safe when cleaning solo? House cleaners and maids ask this question. When working by yourself it's wise to carry pepper spray. #AngelaBrown says to wear appropriate attire when #cleaning. She says all your interactions with clients should send a clear message. "No sexual favors", and #PersonalSafety Personal protection is a big part of how to stay safe when cleaning solo. T...

The cost of a mishandled complaint can cost you thousands in lost revenue. And then there is a cost of damage control and reputation management. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says take responsibility for your actions. If customer satisfaction is the question accept responsibility and do a re-clean or offer a refund. If you break an item while house cleaning offer to fix it, or offer to pay...

A towel monkey or towel swan is an inexpensive way to add some holiday flair to your vacation home or BNB. #Rentalpreneur Rachel Prince shares tips to delight your guests you're hosting this holiday season. An Airbnb Christmas can be an inclusive celebration with generic but memorable moments. Today's Ask a House Cleaner sponsors are Turnover Cleaning Tips (for the live-in host who does the turnov...

Menopause almost wrecked my business this year. Nobody tells you that menopause is going to smack you upside the head with a bunch of whackadoodle hormones that are going to make you scream one minute and cry the next. Nobody (especially business owners) want to share that with you and how you are supposed to survive the joy of maturity. Well, hooray for all the courageous women out there who have...

What do you do when flyers don't work? A cleaning business owner ran some flyers but no one called... In this episode of #AskaHouseCleaner we look at forms of social proof and how to target your marketing. #AngelaBrown says you can't market your cleaning business without the basics in place. i.e. A CTA (call to action), phone number, email, social media, and a QR code that leads people back to you...

Appointment reminders for house cleaners are to confirm appointments. But what do you do if there is no response? You can follow up with clients with https://HousecallPro.com/Angela And some message appointment reminders will ask the customer for a C to Confirm or a D to Decline. But if the clients don't call back are you a no call no show or do you show up? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru s...

The rules do apply to you. You're not special enough that you don't have to obey the laws or follow the rules. House cleaners listen up, the rules do apply to you and you will get referrals through dependability. It's not an entitlement, but your work ethic clients are hiring. Customers hire maids and they expect reliability, compliance, consistency, and teamwork. They want a satisfaction guarante...

Cleaning with disabilities comes up from time to time. People wonder can those with Down syndrome clean? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says yes. Those with Down syndrome want to be a contributing member of society. They want to give something back and help others in spite of their disabilities. Development delays shouldn't stop anyone who wants to clean from house cleaning. Today's #AskaHo...

Mother-in-law cleaning is that aggression #cleaning you do when you know your in-laws are coming. Whether its manipulation or jealousy, the condescending comments can drive you mad.  Mother-in-law cleaning doesn't have to be about distant, cold or bullying emotions.  It can be about enjoying the relationship and letting go of the arrogant mental illness games.  Today's #AskaHouseCleaner sponsors a...

When furniture polish goes bad - do you use more? Or do you remove the build-up from the last use? Should you use furniture polish at all? https://HousecallPro.com/Angela can keep track of your customer scheduling while we answer these questions. There are so many furniture polish uses and only a few furniture polish problems. Many DIY house cleaners use #furniturepolish while many don't. Today's...

"Teach your kids about your cleaning business if you want them to have a work ethic." Ken Carfagno of Carfagno Cleaning and host of the Solo Cleaning School podcast drops by the #AskaHouseCleaner show today. Family values start with you leading by example. You can host family cleaning projects that teach kids to clean. As a homeschooling parent, this dadpreneur says to include a "clean up" time ev...

How to bid apartment complexes for house cleaning is our topic on today's #Askahousecleaner. Pricing apartment complexes is not as simple as doing walkthroughs and leaving a bid packet. Cleaning job proposals depend on a variety of factors. Are you doing building maintenance or move-in move-out cleanings? And are they condominium cleanings or is this a high-rise apartment cleaning? Today's sponsor...

How and when to say no to hoarding jobs is a fair question. In today's #AskaHouseCleaner we cover that as part of the care series. Streamline your daily admin tasks with https://HousecallPro.com/Angela Compassionate cleaning includes some psychology training. Hoarding is a mental health issue and it comes in all forms. Compulsive hoarding, organized hoarding, itemized hoarding, extreme hoarding an...

House cleaners love Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds because there are so many Sal Suds uses. And on today's #AskaHouseCleaner we're going green with Lisa Bronner. Lisa Bronner is the author of Going Green with a Bronner Mom. She's also the granddaughter of Emanuel Bronner the creator of Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 pure castile soap. If you've ever wondered how to clean with natural cleaning products this is for...

How do you find the SDS or Safety Data Sheet? It's a great question because as house cleaners and maids we need it for workplace safety. Another way to work smart not hard is to use https://HousecallPro.com/Angela to streamline your admin and scheduling tasks. Now back to the SDS. The globally harmonized system of classification and labelling of chemicals mandates one. On every chemical product so...