Ask a House Cleaner

Cleaning sad happens. It happens to every house cleaner or maid at some point. You have bad days, or your biorhythm is diving. You may be cleaning sad because you're heartbroken, lonely or hurting. But the show must go on. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says you can manage cleaning sad with compartmentalization. You may need a mental health day if you're sorrowful, but it helps to compartme...

Airbnb: Do you clean it yourself or hire a cleaning service? Or should you charge an Airbnb cleaning fee? And if you do and you clean it yourself, do you pay yourself? Are there Airbnb cleaning companies? Or do you just hire a Maid Service? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru suggests you clean it yourself. This will shape your clients Airbnb experience and guarantee your ratings and reviews. Ye...

"Should you wear shoes in the house? And is it okay to wear shoes in the house if they are indoor shoes? Where is the best place to keep shoes in the house?" Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru talks shoes in the house germs and gives cleaning advice. It's a house cleaning FAQ from DIY cleaners and homeowners. Today's Ask a House Cleaner sponsors are: Savvy Cleaner (house cleaner training and pr...

"Dust. Where does dust come from? And is pollen residue the same as dust? What is the best duster for home use? And what are the best dusting techniques?" Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru walks us through how to prevent dust in your home and you'll get the MERV rating explained. Today's Ask a House Cleaner sponsors are Savvy Cleaner Training (house cleaning training.) My Cleaning Connection (...

How do you know it's junk when you're decluttering and organizing your home? How do you know it's junk if the stuff still works or is useful? Angela Brown, on today's, Ask a House Cleaner, tackles tips on junk, hoarding disorder, and spring cleaning. How do you know it's junk? The infamous Marie Kondo in her KonMarie Method of minimalism decluttering asks "does it bring you joy?" Joy or not, it's...

Are you ready to retire from house cleaning? It could be you want to close your cleaning business and try something new. Or maybe you just want to quit your cleaning job. The real question is when is the right time to retire from house cleaning? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives tips on retirement planning. A house cleaning FAQ is "what is involved when you retire from house cleaning?" A...

The fear of rejection is common. And house cleaners face negativity every day. But how do you overcome the fear of rejection? Is it possible to reprogram your mind for a more positive outlook on life?  Angela Brown says yes. On today's Ask a House Cleaner she recommends overcoming the fear of rejection with self-help tapes while sleeping.  "You're going to get negative feedback but you can reframe...

"Who cleans the light bulbs? If you're a maid and you're speed cleaning and you're the one that cleans the light bulbs what do you do if the light bulb breaks?" Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru answers "who cleans the light bulbs?" And gives cleaning advice on how to clean light bulbs. "Don't touch a hot light bulb" and how to tell between an incandescent light bulb, halogen light bulb, and f...

Vision boards and house cleaning. "How do I grow my cleaning company using vision boards?" Vision boards were popular in the 90's and house cleaners are using vision board ideas to create happy customers. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says the law of expectation is no different from making a Google search. You ask a question, you expect an answer. She shares her vision board success story...

"How early can I clean? I need to set a cleaning schedule for my team and wonder how early can I clean without waking people? Cleaning early isn't for everyone, but if you don't plan your day it's impossible to run a cleaning business." Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives cleaning advice and answers "how early can I clean?" Today's sponsors are Savvy Cleaner (Maid service training and prod...

Should I call the cops on my house cleaner or maid? Our maid steals stuff and we don't tolerate theft but we don't want to call the cops. Should we get a new housecleaning company? I hate that our house cleaner stole from us. But if we don't call the cops will she steal again from us or someone else?" Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says small theft leads to larceny. If a cleaning employee i...

What is a professional house cleaner? And how is a professional house cleaner different from a maid or a DIY housekeeper? If you're housecleaning for money you're a professional house cleaner right? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru answers this house cleaning FAQ in today's Ask a House Cleaner with expert cleaning tips. "The pros have professional training and cleaning business strategies. Yo...

House Cleaning Website old vs. new - which is best? The old way was building a free website and the new is a paid website. For a house cleaning website which is best to market your cleaning business? "Every house cleaner needs a house cleaning website." Says Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru. Then she gives tips on Wordpress.com vs. Wordpress.org and plugins. Websites are a house cleaning FAQ....

 "What Airbnb cleaning tips do I need to know if I do Airbnb cleaning as part of my cleaning service? And how do I know what to clean every day if there are no Airbnb guests?" An Airbnb cleaning business is much like a regular maid service. As a house cleaner, you and the homeowner decide what to clean in an Airbnb. You'll also agree on an Airbnb cleaning charge.  Angela Brown, The House Cleaning...

"Should I have a cancellation charge for maid service? And if so how much? I'm trying to grow my cleaning company then a client suspends cleaning. And should I have a cancellation charge if they reschedule or postpones cleaning? Or should I just charge a flat rate for a cancellation?" Cancellation charge is a house cleaning FAQ Angela Brown gets asked a lot. On today's Ask a House Cleaner she give...

What are cruelty-free cleaning products? A customer asks "Can you clean my space with cruelty-free cleaning products?" And I don't know the difference between Kosher cleaning products and vegan cleaning products. Are non-toxic, eco-friendly, cruelty-free cleaning products all the same thing? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives cleaning advice on Multi-Level-Marketing or MLM detergents. Wha...

Hardwood floor secrets can make cleaning your hardwood floors a breeze. First of the hardwood floor secrets is using a dry mop or microfiber mop to sweep the floor. Next in the hardwood floor secrets is recognizing light cleaning vs. heavy duty cleaning. A damp flip mop can tidy up the lesser used areas and steam mops for hardwood floors can remove dog slobber. A steamer is also great for high tra...

"Should Airbnb guests clean up after themselves? Airbnb cleaning is so expensive and we have to charge an Airbnb guests clean up fee. Is it our job to clean up after them or should Airbnb guests clean up before they leave?" Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives cleaning advice and cleaning tips for these house cleaning FAQ. The Airbnb cleaning business is booming right now. Because Airbnb gu...

"Cleaning motivation. Where do I find cleaning motivation to clean my space? I don't like housecleaning and I'm wasting time with distractions and dips in my biorhythms." Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says a cleaning routine replaces cleaning motivation. DIY cleaning hacks include having a cleaning caddy, cleaning triggers and then the use of science like Focus@Will. Today's Ask a House Cl...

"Do I have a bad house cleaner? I called a maid service to come clean my space but I think I got a bad house cleaner. And I don't know how to verify house cleaner training or proper insurance." Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says a bad house cleaner lacks confidence and has no policies. If you ask basic cleaning questions and the maid doesn't have clue you need to find somebody else to clea...

Moonlighting as a maid while house cleaning is a sticky situation. I get that you are moonlighting while house cleaning because you want to earn more and need extra money. If you're going to start your own cleaning business as a side job it's best to be upfront. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says moonlighting is a side hustle. But it can get you fired from your day job or worse if you stea...

"How much to clean 5 rooms?" Don't you hate it when homeowners price shop house cleaning? How much to clean 5 rooms? Can you even give a fair price or a cleaning estimate without knowing more details? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says when someone asks "How much to clean 5 rooms?" They are asking for a sales pitch. If you give a cleaning quote sight unseen there's no price negotiation. Th...

Customers you can't please. Are they wrecking your business? When you have customers, you can't please sometimes it's just a gap in your work agreement. There needs to be teamwork between homeowner priorities and the house cleaner priorities. Another reason Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru recommends using worksheets. Customers you can't please activate your satisfaction guarantee which cost...

Delegate housework. It's easier said than done. Lots of homeowners don't know how to delegate housework. So, they micromanage the house cleaner or maid and mismanage their own household chores. One house cleaning FAQ is "Do I clean my space or do I delegate it?" Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru asks "how much is your time worth?" You may want to take inventory and then delegate housework to a...

"I would never clean house. I just want to grow my cleaning company behind a desk. I'm better than cleaning house. It's not that I'm snobby, anti-team or arrogant, it's just I would never clean house." Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru warns against the "I don't need to lower myself, I would never clean house" attitude. It's not good for customer service or employee morale. Today's Ask a House...