Starting a cleaning business?

Hello everyone and Happy Holidays!

I just thought I would take a moment to share a fantastic resource for others just starting in the cleaning business. Tailored Maid in VA is an excellent resource for information and help. But even better, she offers FREE forms for house cleaning businesses!

There is plenty of dirt to go around, so friendly competition is always welcome. If anyone happens to be starting a house cleaning business in Frederick, MD feel free to contact me for local support.

Of course if you aren't looking to start a business but just want your home cleaned, head out to my main website at FrederickHouseCleaning.com


Happy New Year!

Are you a local small biz looking for more traffic?

If you are another Frederick, MD Cleaning business and need more leads, feel free to contact me.
There is more than enough dirt to go around so I am always glad to meet other local entrepreneurs. Only requirement is you must be legit, bonded insured and everything. I will also request a reference list.

Please check out my website Frederick, MD House Cleaning to see more information about my company and make sure we have similar standards. I set the bar pretty high with my premium cleaning services so I can't be sending people to poor quality cleaning services.

Happy Holidays!

Quick toilet cleaning tips!

I only have a few minutes but wanted to share a quick tip. Before starting to clean your toilet; make sure to pour a bucket of water in it first! This will make the water level drop so it is easier to clean. It will prevent water from splashing and diluting your cleanser of choice.
For cleaning toilets, I really like a mixture of Baking Soda, Borax and Clove Oil. Sometimes I use other oils depending on my client's aromatherapy requests. Smells great and works great too! Of course for the outside of the toilet I use a natural disinfectant.
When cleaning for someone else it also adds a little extra flare if you make the toilet paper into a triangle on the end :) This also helps if you are cleaning with 2 people so the other person can immediately see the bathroom has already been sanitized.
And as always if you don't have time to clean your toilets; you can check out my Premium Cleaning Services in Frederick, MD website. I do admit right now we do have a waiting list however. I highly recommend Kidwell Kleaning as well.

Top 10 Hazardous Household Chemicals

I just copied this from the consumer law page. I really like it and just had to share

TOP "10" HAZARDOUS HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS

By Richard Alexander

---

AIR FRESHENERS: Most air fresheners interfere with your ability to smell by coating your nasal passages with an oil film, or by releasing a nerve deadening agent. Known toxic chemicals found in an air freshener: Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Phenol: When phenol touches your skin it can cause it to swell, burn, peel, and break out in hives. Can cause cold sweats,convulsions, circulatory collapse, coma and even death.

AMMONIA: It is a very volatile chemical, it is very damaging to your eyes, respiratory tract and skin.

BLEACH: It is a strong corrosive. It will irritate or burn the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. It may cause pulmonary edema or vomiting and coma if ingested. WARNING: never mix bleach with ammonia it may cause fumes which can be DEADLY.

CARPET AND UPHOLSTERY SHAMPOO: Most formulas are designed to over power the stain itself, they accomplish the task but not without using highly toxic substances. Some include: Perchlorethylene: Known carcinogen damages liver, kidney and nervous system damage. Ammonium Hydroxide: Corrosive, extremely irritable to eyes, skin and respiratory passages.

DISHWASHER DETERGENTS: Most products contain chlorine in a dry form that is highly concentrated.# 1 cause of child poisonings, according to poison control centers.

DRAIN CLEANER: Most drain cleaners contain lye, hydrochloric acid or trichloroethane. Lye: Caustic, burns skin and eyes, if ingested will damage esophagus and stomach. Hydrochloric acid: Corrosive, eye and skin irritant, damages kidneys, liver and digestive tract. Trichloroethane: Eye and skin irritant, nervous system depressant; damages liver and kidneys.

FURNITURE POLISH: Petroleum Distillates: Highly flammable, can cause skin and lung cancer. Phenol: (see Air fresheners, Phenol.) Nitrobenzene: Easily absorbed through the skin, extremely toxic.

MOLD AND MILDEW CLEANERS: Chemicals contained are: Sodium hypochlorite: Corrosive, irritates or burns skin and eyes, causes fluid in the lungs which can lead to coma or death. Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Irritant to eyes, nose, throat, and skin. May cause nausea, headaches, nosebleeds, dizziness, memory loss and shortness of breath.

OVEN CLEANER: Sodium Hydroxide (Lye): Caustic, strong irritant, burns to both skin and eyes. Inhibits reflexes, will cause severe tissue damage if swallowed.

ANTIBACTERIAL CLEANERS: may contain: Triclosan: Absorption through the skin can be tied to liver damage.

LAUNDRY ROOM PRODUCTS: Sodium or calcium hypocrite: Highly corrosive, irritates or burns skin, eyes or respiratory tract. Linear alkylate sulfonate: Absorbed through the skin. Known liver damaging agent. Sodium Tripolyphosphate: Irritates skin and mucous membranes, causes vomiting. Easily absorbed through the skin from clothes.

TOILET BOWL CLEANERS: Hydrochloric acid: Highly corrosive, irritant to both skin and eyes. Damages kidneys and liver. Hypochlorite Bleach: Corrosive, irritates or burns eyes, skin and respiratory tract. May cause pulmonary edema, vomiting or coma if ingested. Contact with other chemicals may cause chlorine fumes which may be fatal.

Of course most of my clients know I do not stock most of these. The few chemicals I do stock are rarely used, and only when I am desperate for quick results.

And of course if you are looking for Natural House Cleaning in Frederick, MD feel free to contact me.

Bye Bye Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner!

Have you purchased one of those fancy scrubbing bubbles "automatic" shower cleaners?
I have to admit when they came out I was just dying to get one myself. Now quite some time later; and having seen the effects of the chemicals on the average shower, I highly recommend ditching this gadget.
From what I have seen this product only leaves a filmy build up on the walls. This build up seems to be much tougher to remove than your average soap scum.
So my personal solution.... refill it with an eviromentally friendly, non-toxic solution. My favorite; mix vinegar with water and add some tea tree oil. Personally, I like 1:1 vinegar water ratio. For someone who can't handle the smell of the vinegar; I'm sure more water would work fine as well. The vinegar and tee tree oil will both prevent the nightmarish build up of mildew and disinfect. And this solution will not leave a filmy white build up like th1e intended refill. For instructions how to refill the container check out this site . OR an easier way.... pop a hole in the top and just pour in the mixture. Use a wine cork to close afterwards. Though I imagine this way there would be a little mildew on the cork.

McDonalds budget gets you McDonalds food.

Every now and then I encounter a client looking for a deal. These people will try to negotiate our set rate for services. When you go to the doctor, gym, or lawyer, do you negotiate the rates? I would assume not.
A set rate is a set rate. Yes there are trunk-slammers out there who will give bargain rates for their back-breaking labor. I am not one of them.
I pay my taxes, insurance, bonding and take care of all the other overhead involved with running a small business. I am honest, dependable and a hard worker. I do a lot of research on the materials and products in my client's homes to avoid the damage I have seen other companies do to homes. An untrained "housekeeper" can enter with whatever they feel is fit and do irreparable damage in a matter of minutes. And they don't have insurance to pay for their error. That is why I charge what I do. My rates are lower than most of the other cleaning companies here in Frederick so it amazes me when people try to negotiate for something even lower.

If you go out to eat on a McDonald's budget you will get McDonald's quality food.
Same concept is easily applied to house cleaning. You get what you pay for and I strongly urge everyone out there not to seek the bottom of the barrel prices. Your home and possessions are valuable and you shouldn't take the risk of letting in a novice just to save a few dollars.
Just my opinion and a little bit of a vent.

Looking for a cheap cleaning? Think twice!

I thought this was well written and just had to share. It is very important to make sure you hire a housekeeper with insurance, bonding and the proper license.
Like me of course! House Cleaning in Frederick and I am not the only one.... check out Kidwell's Kleaning for another great legit Frederick house cleaning service.


WHAT THE HECK IS A “TRUNK-SLAMMER”???

In years past, you would often overhear conversations in places like beauty salons, community clubhouses, cocktail parties and fancy restaurants that would start something like this…

“Wow, I just found the best housecleaner and…they are really cheap!”

This conversation was usually one of the ladies (or gentlemen) boasting about the cleaning person they had just hired to clean their home and this home was usually located in a high-income neighborhood because, after all, years ago only the wealthy could afford hired helpers in the home.

Well…times have changed…kind of…

The days of only the wealthy using hired help inside the home are gone! It’s not that the wealthier don’t use housecleaners any longer, it’s the fact that today’s average homeowners (especially the two income earner households) are seeking outside help with home maintenance because of time constraints, lack of energy to clean after putting in a 40+ hour workweek, etc. The market for independent cleaning contractors has skyrocketed over the past 10-15 years!

Along with this “boom” in demand has come the “boom” in independent contractors who are working without occupational licenses, insurances and may well lack the experience needed to “safely” clean the many varied surfaces that exist in today’s homes.

The industry refers to them as…Trunk Slammers.

When a homeowner (especially those homes where both parents are working full time just to cover expenses) goes looking for help with home maintenance, “price” is always a huge part of the decision on just who will be hired and…there’s nothing wrong with that…provided the potential consumer “knows what they are paying for” and…”the possible liabilities they are exposing themselves to” when selecting a cleaning service provider based solely on price.

What liabilities?

When hiring an unlicensed worker who is working for “under the table” wages that are not going to be reported to the IRS as income, you (technically) become that worker’s employer and (technically) you become responsible for income, Medicare, social security and unemployment taxes at the Federal level and, depending on the state you live in, may be responsible (technically) for some of the above…again…at the state level.

When hiring an unlicensed worker who is working for “under the table” wages that are not going to be reported to the IRS as income, you (most certainly) will be paying for that worker’s retirement also. Not today but when they retire and realize that they have little or nothing in their Social Security retirement account to live on , they will go on any one of a number of public assistance programs that your hard earned tax dollars (remember them…there the one’s you worked for and paid taxes on years ago…) will be paying for.

When hiring an uninsured worker, you become responsible (technically) for any medical expenses for “your employee” should “your employee” become injured while working in your home. In most states, you “should be” paying workman’s compensation insurance for “your employee”.

When hiring an uninsured worker, you will assume all liabilities for damage, breakage or theft of anything in your home. This may not sound like much of a liability on your part but…remember we mentioned, “experienced” earlier? Inexperienced people can, and do literally thousands of dollars worth of damage to the many new surfaces in today’s homes. Things like marble, granite, hardwood flooring, fiberglass tubs…. and the list goes on and on and on.

Oh, one other thing…you are breaking the law by hiring these individuals. Unwittingly (or maybe knowingly) you have become “complicit” in tax evasion, operating (in most municipalities/states) an unlicensed business and, in some states, operating a business without adequate liability insurance or workman’s compensation insurance. Claiming ignorance of your cleaner’s business status will not help. You as the purchaser of services are responsible to investigate the legal status of “any” outside contractor who performs “any” services on your home and you should never be afraid to ask for documentation from those service providers. (Remember the old “Caveat-emptor” phrase…it’s true!)

“Yeah”…you’re saying…”I know all this stuff already and anyway, no one ever gets caught for this kind of stuff!”

I say…”Oh Yeah”…a little research on the subject (your Due-Diligence) will quickly reveal that people, often unsuspecting people, are being caught and fined everyday of the week on just these circumstances. Check with the IRS if you don’t believe me.

The whole matter becomes an especially “different” kettle of fish if your worker/employee is also an undocumented alien but…that’s for another letter.

Makes you wonder…is that $20/$30 difference in rates really worth the risk(s)?

Your money…your decision.

D. Crichton
Co-Founder, International Cleaners Association
www.internationalclnrs.com

Favorite Cleaning Tips

So here I am, cleaning houses all the time. Along the way, through both book research and hands on research, I have come up with a few cleaning tips that stick in my head as both simple and effective.

• Use a door mat both inside and outside all entries!
• This makes a huge difference. The mats help collect the dirt and dust off people's shoes as they come in your home. Especially if you have wood floors, this simple tip can be a lifesaver. Little harmless pebbles stuck in shoes and then compressed between the shoe and your soft wood floor can and will leave unwanted nicks and scratches throughout your home.
  
• Go even further and ban shoes from your home!
• So very simple and yet most homes I clean do not have this rule. Everywhere you walk, your shoes pick up all sorts of dirt and grime. Oil from parking lots, food from restaurants and unmentionable crud in public restrooms. So if you want to keep your sparkling clean floors sparkling long after your maid service cleans your home; make sure to ban shoes! This even does wonders for light colored carpets.
  
• Disinfect your sponges!
  
• So simple to do. When you run your dishwasher, simply throw your sponge in too! This keeps that mildew odor from permeating your kitchen and keeps your sponge sanitary as well. Don't use your dishwasher? One of my clients also suggested simply microwaving a wet sponge to kill all bacteria. Or you can even just let your sponge soak in a bowl of bleach water (not that I personally care for bleach, but it does work well) By sanitizing your sponge, you are also going to save money by not having to replace the sponge every few weeks.
  
• You can even just switch to washcloths and wash them in your laundry after each use. I really like hand knitted washcloths myself.
  
• If you bought it more than 3 months ago and it is still in the bag from the store; you don't need it!
  
• Clutter can make even the cleanest of houses feel dirty. This problem is one I even personally feel plagued by. If you have things that have been sitting untouched for more than 3 months after purchase, I would recommend gifting or freecycling them. Or if you happen to be in my area (Frederick, MD) our local freecycle group can be found here.
• Clutter slows down our maids when cleaning. For more bang for your buck, try and lighten up on the clutter and you will be surprised the time that can be saved.
  
• Declutter before birthday parties and holidays.
• If clutter plagues you, have a declutter session before all children's birthdays or holidays before the big day. Children are constantly receiving more and more toys and junk which can quickly become overwhelming.
  
• Baskets work wonders for those tidy-up sessions!
• I love using baskets to help tidy. Keep one on the stairs and save yourself steps. As you clean one floor, you just toss everything in the basket so you only take one trip upstairs to put things away.
  
• For those little things that just don't have a home, a basket on your desk or by the phone can be a little catch-all to keep them all together.
  
• For quick baseboard dustings, use a natural fiber attachement on your vacuum.
• I read this in a book and use it all the time now. We find it to be a big time-saver to pass over baseboards, especially the really dusty ones.
  
• When we are doing an initial clean, this is just the first step. After the major grime is removed we then follow up with a wet cloth to get the rest of the dirt off.
• In houses with kids, use semi-gloss or satin finished paint for the walls.
  
• Flat paint is very difficult to remove dirt from. Semi-gloss and satin make cleaning up dirty fingerprints or splashes from accidents a snap.
  
• If you hate the sheen, at least use satin in the kid's play room and where they eat.
  
• Keep kids eating in the kitchen or dining room. Only water allowed outside these areas.
• This does wonders for people with pests such as ants or other unmentionables. If there are no food sources, the pests will stay where the food is and the infestation will be easier to tackle.
  
• This also is a lifesaver for light carpets. Children WILL spill their juice or other drinks so keep the spills all in one area.
• Under no circumstances should there be food in the bedrooms. This goes for children and adults. It is simply not necessary. And it has been proven that people who only eat at the table eat less anyway, so this can even help your waste-line!
• To prevent mildew in your shower or bath, squeegee after use. Also make sure to run your fan for at least an half hour afterwards.
• Even better yet, using a towel to dry out your shower is more effective (yes I know, this takes time and most aren't likely to do this)
  
• Mildew thrives on moisture, therefore if you get rid of the excess moisture you inhibit the growth of mildew.
  

I am positive I have more tips to share but these are ones that just come to mind at the moment. Feel free to leave your favorite tips as a comment.
And as always; if you are looking for House Cleaning Services in Frederick make sure to click the hyperlink to go to my main web page.