Ask a House Cleaner

Cracks in the pavement happen when there are extreme temperatures or when a sidewalk has settled. Our cleaning businesses can also have get cracks in the pavement. Stress, overwhelm, and neglect are contributing factors to broken systems. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru give tips to recognize when you have cracks in the pavement. And steps to take if your business is crumbling so you can rep...

Fine china. How often should you clean fine china dishes? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives pro cleaning tips for fine china in a closed china cabinet. "There's no speed cleaning when it comes to crystal, glassware, plates, and bowls." Fine china in cabinets is rarely used and these expert cleaning tips will make the job easier - even cleaning the glass cabinet door. Today's Ask a House...

Do you tell the parents when you're house cleaning and you stumble on candy wrappers or beer cans in the kid's rooms? Do you tell the parents if it's needles, drugs or pornography? The dilemma is where do you draw the line? And are you a tattletale or a narc if you find stolen goods in a kid's room and you tell the parents? And if the kid is in trouble do you tell the parents or call the cops? Ang...

Guest room clean-up. How soon should I clean my space after family leaves? Airbnb guest room clean-up is different from a home with an extra bedroom. You can put off guest room clean-up if you're family. Guest room-clean up if you're a family that pops in unannounced needs speed cleaning after the last guest. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru shares a hack and some tips to create a cleaning ro...

How much should you pay a cleaning employee? Every cleaning employee has different levels of skill and experience. The price you pay a cleaning employee is a house cleaning FAQ and one we cover on this cleaning channel. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives tips to figure out how much to pay a cleaning employee (a new hire vs. experienced maid.) Today's Ask a House Cleaner sponsors are Savvy...

House cleaning is not for you if you hate to clean. And house cleaning is not for you if you don't know how to budget money. And house cleaning is not for you if you are not willing to learn. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru makes free cleaning videos that cover pro cleaning tips. Watch and learn and make a decision. "Is cleaning right for me?" And you won't waste your marketing budget if hou...

5 success traits of cleaning employees keep coming up when hiring house cleaners or maids. These success traits are the hallmark of a savvy cleaner and taught in our house cleaner training. They are reliability, being a self-starter or problem solver, willing to learn or teachable and honesty. Among the top 5 success traits of a successful maid service is the ability to follow company rules and be...

The area won't support cleaning services. Should I travel to grow my cleaning company? There is not enough work to expand or maybe it's just a bad market. What do you do it your area won't support cleaning services? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says you have to be a creative business owner if you've got no work today. And if you live out in the boonies and the area won't support cleaning...

Cleaning scams you'll learn in house cleaner training tell house cleaners to beware. A scam artist pulls cleaning scams on a maid service looking for new clients. "Come clean my space but I'm not home." The cleaning scams don't seem like a fraud until they ask you to cash a check or pay a third party hoping to steal your money. Clean scam alerts are a new house cleaning FAQ. Angela Brown, The Hous...

Who pays for parking during cleaning jobs? The house cleaner, maid, the cleaning business owner or the homeowner? Fair question - who pays for parking during cleaning jobs if a parking pass is needed? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives tips in today's cleaning videos on who pays for parking during cleaning? Paid parking is common in uptown areas and parking isn't free at all apartment com...

Cleaning through pain isn't a choice for some homeowners. They have housecleaning to do and haven't hired a house cleaner. If you are cleaning through pain and have backaches, or just feel bad, here are some tips to help you manage those chores. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives cleaning advice on pain and procrastination. If you're cleaning through pain or you just hurt, having cleaning...

Teenagers starting a cleaning business - is it possible? And how does being a teenage boss work? And how old do you have to be to be a house cleaner? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says teenagers starting a cleaning business have to follow FLSA rules. Teenagers starting a cleaning business must follow legal requirements for starting a small business. Teenage entrepreneurs beg friends "come...

How to fire the cleaning lady without fallout. As the homeowner, you don't want a hostile confrontation where the maid copies your house key and returns later to damage your property. So how do you fire the cleaning lady? Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives tips on firing the house cleaner while avoiding collateral damage. If you have to fire the cleaning lady you can do it without fear. T...

Show notes are just more house cleaning resources for you. But you have to know where to find them. We recently offered free downloads in the show notes. And people wrote in wondering where to find the house cleaning freebies. Do you know about show notes? They are chock full of similar videos, recommended reading and cleaning product reviews. There are links to FB groups, pro cleaning tips, and s...

Constructive Criticism is a skill you'll need if you have a house cleaning staff. The feedback you get from customers may offend you. But you get to reposition words into constructive criticism for your team. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says good communication is a big part of maid service training. Constructive criticism is confrontation made pleasant. This cleaning channel sponsors are...

What are the questions to ask on a walkthrough or house cleaning job estimate? The questions to ask on a walkthrough help you determine how long the job will take and how much to charge the customer. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru has 63 questions to ask on a walkthrough. And she covers a few of them here on this cleaning channel. She also gives cleaning advice and things to look for when g...

How to start a cleaning business with no money, no car. If you've got no money, no car, you can start a maid service and the cleaning videos on this cleaning channel will help you do that. Ask a House Cleaner is all about house cleaning FAQ and pro cleaning tips. We help you get started with no money, no car and will guide you through the growth process. Once you have money coming in and you're in...

Is it wise to do the same day walkthrough and house cleaning? Or should you give the job quote on a separate day? "Same day walkthrough is possible when you charge by the hour," says Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru. "If you bid a job that is not hourly your job estimate will depend on other factors. And the same day walkthrough and cleaning are not a good idea, because you don't know how lon...

"Where does stuff go?" A house cleaning newbie wants to know. Every house cleaner knows how to clean, and some know how to clean fast, but many wonder "where does stuff go?" It's among the house cleaning FAQ in our minds. Home organization is not part of most house cleaner training. And when a customer begs "come clean with me" or "clean my space" you'll find yourself wondering "where does stuff g...

"The challenges of hiring staff are hitting my house cleaning business pretty hard. I'm trying to grow my cleaning company and wonder what cleaning support services are available. What solutions do you have to deal with the challenges of hiring staff?" Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru discusses the challenges of hiring staff on today's Ask a House Cleaner. Hiring challenges are a house cleani...

House keys. Should you give house cleaners house keys or security codes? And what happens if the house cleaner loses the clients key? House keys are a common topic in house cleaning FAQ forums. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says a checklist for customer keys and a lockbox are a good idea. Every maid can have a private "cleaners code" to disarm the security alarm. And when they leave, they...

"Can you tell me how to speed up slow maids? Speed cleaning is how I grow my cleaning business and maid service. I have a worker who comes to clean with me and clean my space and she's super slow. Can you speed up slow maids or should I let her go?" Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says you can speed up slow maids. And she shares her pro cleaning tips in today's house cleaner training. Our As...

Should you clean for friends and family? And should you offer a friends and family discount? What do you do when they ask "Can you come clean my space or come clean with me?" Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says friends and family don't make good cleaning clients. Her expert cleaning tips say don't work for family. There's too much baggage and chaos to do speed cleaning and get on to the nex...

Rotating teams of house cleaners with built in consistency can ensure you keep clients when a maid quits. But rotating teams with a variety of cleaning styles can wreak havoc to your cleaning business. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says it's cool to have rotating teams if you have a cleaning system. You've got to have team leaders and strategies for a cleaning routine. Part of your house c...

Over-delivering on your house cleaning is a touchy subject. There are pros and cons to over-delivering on the cleaning services promised. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives us a look at the risks vs. rewards of over-delivering. Even if you're speed cleaning, the message you send your clients is "I don't respect your tight budget, so I'll just pay it forward. If the client can't afford you...