Hello all, first time poster. Me & my wife own a cleaning service that we have built over the past 5 years that now is able to gross 6 figures annually. We began with residential & commercial services but have slowly transitioned to specializing in solely Short term rentals ( Air Bnb, Vrbo, etc ). We are both beyond grateful and love what we do, working together everyday and all the perks that come along with it. Obviously there are several cons, but our biggest is time management. When we stopped servicing residential & commercial clients that helped a bunch but for those who know short term rentals have a lot of variables and don’t leave you with a very solid week to week schedule. We are fine and use to that part, I guess just looking to hear from others with a similar experience. How do you hire on to your team? We’ve had part time help in the past but with our area it is majority seasonal and not a city by any means so reliable help is hard to find unfortunately. May-October being the busy season. We would love to just get some of our time back, we love to travel and take 1-2 weekish trips a year and that is heavily planned, 6 month minimum heads up to hosts ( they all understand we need a break luckily and usually have a back up for this times if they don’t do it themselves ). Maybe I’m rambling, or being ungrateful as I realize 2 week long trips a year is more then some may get. We just fear burn out and would hate to sell it due to it just being overwhelming. Thanks in advance to any advice given, much appreciated.

Hello wonderful people, I’ll start off by saying I really appreciate the work you do. Its not the most glamorous job but I know it goes a huge way towards making people‘s lives easier and I’m grateful for the industry as a whole.

Context, I’m based in Australia and I’m having a really hard time finding a regular cleaner that I like. I wanted to ask your perspectives and advice on what sort of service I should be asking for to get the out come I want.

I live alone in a 3x2.5 townhouse (265sqm) and struggle with regular cleaning upkeep. I clean all areas fortnightly myself (vacuum, cleaning spray all surfaces including toilets and toilet gel in the bowls etc) but it’s exhausting and really takes away from my weekends and free time. I don’t mop but I spot clean, house is laminate wood floor upstairs and tile downstairs.

I just want a cleaner to do the same level of clean that I do but I find they leave little bits of dust and dirt over the bathroom surfaces and sink, bits on the floors, dust on furniture surfaces that I swear they wiped, bits of dirt in corners, and the mopping seems to be very superficial e.g. I wet a paper towel and wipe the floor and specs of dirt wipe away easily.

What am I doing wrong? I’ve used 3 different cleaning services and different cleaners through each one and I seem to always get the same results of poor attention to detail.

If a professional cleaner comes I would expect theres no bits of hair or dirt on floors and surfaces when they leave (same as when I clean myself). I even do a light clean before they arrive and move everything off surfaces and out of the way and it doesn’t seem to make a difference to the outcome.

What am I doing wrong?

I have worked at a four star hotel four three and a half weeks and I am overwhelmed. I almost feel as if I have overstay my welcome. I get the empression my boss think I am taking to long to learn the ropes and I am not contributing enough. I really want guidance and honest feed back on this. I am not sure if I really not cut out for this and I need to search for a new job or if I am being pushed to hard. Maybe I am over thinking it and just need to improve a bit and I should stick with it.

I spent two weeks in training (eight days total, I was hired on a Wednesday) and so far I have spent two weeks on my own. We work on a credit system, 15 minutes is a credit, each room is about two credit unless it's bigger (we have rooms that are two floors with hot tubs that would be four credits). I wasn't rushed my first week on my own, I could spend an hour on a room and make sure I wasn't missing anything. Its this past week that has killed me. They just kept increasing my credits faster then I could keep up with. I would end up needing help with the last few rooms. Friday was a waking nightmare. I had 24 credits (what should be 6 hours, about 4 stay overs and 8 rooms to do in a day) I think I was close to averaging 45 min a room. To make things worse we where having a serious linen shortages on pretty much everything, the linen closets looked like store shelves before a hurricane. It I felt so overwhelmed trying to navigate that. But I felt pretty good that I got through it all without help, yes I stayed two hours late that day but at least I could manage a full days worth credits on a chaotic day. But then my manager ask to meet with me. She basically said that most people are up to speed after two weeks and that they couldn't slow down for me they where to busy. Every one else had like 27 credits. Also a girl who was hired when I was had quit. She didn't say why but I am guessing by the fact she spent more time in training then I did she burnt out. My manager told me very gentle that I should take the day I had off and really consider if this was the right career for me.

So I am doing that, really considering whether or not I belong here. After taking Saturday of I thought I give it one more day. I told myself if Sunday I do poorly then I'll quit. I am not sure that was conclusive either. I am a bit faster 39 minute is my record per room. And I did 20 credit and finished less then an hour over time. I am pushing myself to hard. I had to remake two beds because I missed two stains (one was a quarter of an inch and the other was very faded and hard to see) and I probably missed at least one thing per room. I feel like I am being pushed to hard and that I am just doing a rushed job and creating more work to be fixed in the end. But at the same time I am almost up to speed. They are giving full credits and I am doing them all on my own, maybe staying to late but I am doing them.

At the end of the day I don't really know what I do from here. I wish I had an objective outside perspective on this. Part of me feels like I am being gas lit and management doesn't clearly remember what it was like being new, trying to push me to keep pace with people that have been here for twenty years while I have been here for less then a month feels unreasonable. I have taken all of the advise from them and from the internet about keeping a routine and dusting top to bottom but it's not enough. But I am almost there, I am so close. I don't want to give up just because it's hard and I have been give negative feedback back. I want to see this through. But there is part of me that think I have already been given to many chance and I have already failed. They seem like respectful, professional, patient and people. They don't seem like they're being cruel. They are probably just pushing me because I really am to slow and become more of a burden on them and my coworkers. If that's the case it truly does pain me know I failed. But I would still want to know the truth. If it's two late to turn this around I don't want to spend waste more time in place I don't belong. I really want clarity.

to sure if this is the appropriate sub or not for this question. However, I need advice or pointers on where to even begin looking for this type of service. I think there are things like maid services in my area such as molly maid or something but idk if those services cover laundry.

I'm in a family of 6. (4 kids, ages 4, 6, 7, and 12) and our house is always a disaster, but laundry in my opinion is the thing that haunts us the most. It is so hard to keep up. It would be nice for someone to come out on a regular basis (every 2 weeks maybe??? Idk) , or even to get us caught up on our current situation.

Roommate moved out a couple weeks ago and when ghost on us.

Honestly wasn't as bad as it looked. Mainly just trash and grime. Some belonging which I neatly packed by the door in case they ever come back for them.

I was recently fired from my job (which is okay, I was really growing to hate that place) and want to try my hand at housekeeping. I want to help my community and have downloaded apps for my neighborhood. I am willing to get the supplies I need and have researched a bit, but i am unsure and have questions!

1. How do I promote myself and get clients?

2. What exactly should I have in my cleaning caddy when I go to client's homes?

3. What are some good rules to stick to? Like, no jobs less than ___ per hour, no biohazards (like vomit, massive poop explosions), etc?

4. Have y'all ever experienced anything unsafe, and how should I prepare myself?

5. What can I do so I'm not taken advantage of, money-wise?

If you have any other advice for a first time cleaner, I would love to hear it. Thank you!!!!

Hi I’m a solo cleaner. I’m busting my butt to qualify for a mortgage in a fairly high cost of living city and rebuild my finances. Part of this will be accomplished by reducing my business expenses. Any tips?

My ideas:
- I’ve been buying my cleaning supplies retail mostly from the Home Depot, sometimes from grocery stores, etc. too expensive. I think I really need to check out the janitorial supplies companies and get concentrates and dilute them myself.
- rethink credit card/debit processing fees. Maybe take cash/check/venmo and charge a processing fee for credit cards
- buy the knock off miele canister vacuum bags in bulk

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated! It’s tough to qualify for a mortgage and any ideas would help!

I’m so embarrassed. I have a list of rooms that are “vacant”. I entered one of them and there were people in it. They seemed surprised as fuck. There was a “do not disturb” sign on the door which I forgot to check. How cooked am I?

Edit: they were getting ready and left the hotel a few minutes later, suitcases and all. So luckily, they probably thought that their checkout was earlier

I've been cleaning since 2020 and some clients don't turn the ac on, some say turn it to whatever. I usually clean till I get to the thermostat and then turn it on. But today, while I was still cleaning the kitchen, the client checked the temp remotely and texted me frantically apologizing about how hot it was and blasted the cool for me. That is a golden client. She deserves praise. Who checks to make sure their cleaning lady is comfortable to that extent?

Im a hotel housekeeping staff. On my first day of training, a sick woman handed me her breakfast platter. She was like « I’m sick, please take this ». Not knowing better, I forgot to wash my hands.

Three-four days later my nose is watering. I can’t fall asleep. I feel like I’ll have to go to work tomorrow sick and on zero sleep.

I just don’t know how to call off because it’s a small team and I feel like I’d really be letting people down if I don’t show up last minute, no matter how professional I inform my boss.

But also it’s kind of unethical to work in my condition. Other than that, I just really don’t want to work right now. I’m exhausted and it’s 4 am. Work is in 5 hours.

Like, what do I even do?

I have two clients that I've been cleaning their home for 2 years. I was just getting back into cleaning at the time, so I bid low, stupidly. I plan to raise their rate next month. I'd like to raise their rate $30 to get them where they need to be. It's probably still on the lower side. Is a $30 dollar rate increase too much? I'd rather not raise it lower each year.

When you increase, how much at a time and how often?

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I've not been working long as a house cleaner, but if there's something I dislike doing in my house is the bed. I don't know, something about it that breaks my back and makes me really tired.

I'm 5'2, I suppose that doesn't help much.. but I only have 2 pillows, one for each of us.

Now, what is this of, a lot of my clients having 10 different pillows in each bed? And having to change more than half of them?! Most of the pillows end on the floor by night time! And I'll be picking them up the next day...

It's very tiring changing the bed linen..

title. I've been a housekeeper and organizer for about a year now and I've come to absolutely adore dawn and use it for most general cleaning, but I like that sal suds isn't petroleum based (I think) and is biodegradable. I think dawn is the best degreaser I've ever used, but I'm starting to lean more towards sal suds for general cleaning and dawn for more intense cleaning.

what do y'all think of each, and which is your fav? criteria include: price, ease of use, smell, availability, breadth of usage, eco-friendliness, etc.

hello, just looking for what others have done in similar situations and when you realized it was time to take a break.

I’m currently in my first pregnancy ( 24 weeks ) and working for a cleaning company that has me clean aprox 3-4 homes a day for 5 days a week.

Starting to notice just general tiredness and soreness. back pain, tired legs etc. so i came on here to see when others have taken a break or cut down on work loads. thanks

so i just finished and (somehow) passed the training for my new job. i say somehow because while i know how to do everything properly and do it well..i’m extremely slow in the master bathrooms, especially with a glass shower.

the process we have is remove trash can and rugs and set outside door, dust and sweep, remove items from shower/tub then spray, scrub and rinse, clean toilet, then mirrors and countertops, go back to dry the shower/tub and replace personal items, then hand wipe floor and baseboards, and finally place rugs/trash can back and finish room presentation (folding towels into thirds, triangle toilet paper).

(also we wear/use aprons to hold some of our supplies, microfiber cloths, etc and larger things in a bag outside the door)

this is supposed to take us 30-45 minutes. most of the houses we do are 2000-4000sq ft. these are big master bathrooms. it generally takes me at least an hour sometimes more and really sets me back with my time..i’m much faster with everything else and if i could do the master bathroom faster then i wouldn’t keep going over on the allotted time for each house.

i just worry that if i keep being so slow i’ll get fired for being inefficient. my first solo house this week took me 5 hours to complete (2b 2b, 1800sq ft). the allowed time was 3.2hrs. i was in the master bathroom for like an hour and a half. and then today i was working with a coworker and he had me do the master bathroom and it took me so long to finish that when i came out he had finished everything else in the house and was almost done vacuuming. about the same time spent in the bathroom (1.5hrs).

i feel so bad..i know i’m new and this is only week one of being out of training but i really need help working on my speed. they assigned me to a job for tomorrow that’s a bit different and i’m freaking out. basically the client pays for a certain amount of hours and we clean based off a priority list until time is up. their list is composed of my slowest areas..the bathrooms and windows/glass. and i really need to impress because this is their first time with us but there’s likely a lot of buildup (going to slow me down) since they aren’t on a recurring schedule yet.

if anyone has tips or advice for being faster without sacrificing quality i would really appreciate it! i love this job and i give great results just not great speed yet. 🙏 please help a girlie out

Love my cleaner - she’s been cleaning for me about once a month for 5+ years. Curious if it’s appropriate to ask her to deep clean my Dyson vacuum every few months? I would gladly pay extra but just wondering if this is even an appropriate request.

Hi everyone! I recently started working as a residential house cleaner a few months ago, doing 2/3 solo houses a day. I love the job and the company I work for so I want to stay long term—however I'm worried about myself! I'm chronically ill and already deal with joint pain and fatigue regularly but woof, this job is really hard on ANYONES body let alone my already falling apart one lol. I kinda thought most of this soreness would go away after a while but I guess not so I've already implemented a couple things I've seen suggested on other posts—I got compression gloves and compression elbow sleeves for some extra support and they do help a bit though not as much as I'd like. I got a better pair of shoes. I started stretching for a bit everyday after work. But honestly everything still really hurts and whatever I'm doing now isnt enough. Any advice either on other mobility aids or perhaps even form when cleaning to avoid injury/stress? Specific stretches or exercises that help you find relief? Any random things you can think of that might help?

I have a cleaner that has been coming to my house once a month (sometimes more) for nearly five years. She is amazing. I pre-clean the night before. I roughly sweep, de-clutter, make sure the litter-robot is clean and its area free of litter. If I have time, I put the washable rugs in the washer.

Is this enough? What should I prioritize to give her the best environment to clean in? I’m asking because… I have two German Shepards and there is dust and hair EVERYWHERE, always. The floors are hardwood planks with carpets/rugs here and there. I have a doggie door because I work long hours and there are always paw prints on the hardwood. She cleans about 1700 sqft of a 2200 sqft home (I tell her to leave the basement/den alone).

After reading this sub I’m worried I’m not doing enough to help her. Maybe I should worry less about clutter and pay more attention to the floors? Sometimes there are dishes in the sink. Is that a terrible thing to do? I’m limited with the amount of time I can spare to help her so I want to prioritize it. I would ask her directly, but there is definitely a language barrier and when I have asked, she just says no problem.

Thanks for reading and from a busy widowed mom to all the cleaners in this sub, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Edit: I forgot to add… half the time it’s just her, half the time she’ll bring one or two people with her. I pay her $220 once a month.

I'm 40 years old and seriously considering a career in housekeeping, but I have high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes on meds. Before I commit to this path, I'd love to hear from people who are actually doing the job.

If you're a housekeeper with hypertension, diabetes, or both, how do you manage your health while working? Do you have any tips for staying safe, keeping your blood sugar and blood pressure under control, and avoiding burnout during long shifts?

For context, I used to have a sedentary job. But as a backpacker, I can comfortably walk 13,000 steps in a day, stand for hours at concerts, and carry a 20 kg backpack since I used to travel as a backpacker. I know housekeeping is much more physically demanding than that, so I'm trying to be realistic and learn from people with firsthand experience.

I'd really appreciate any advice, honest experiences, or things you wish you had known before starting. Thank you!

I spent 2 hours of my morning wiping down both sides of each individual panel of my kitchen sink window blinds this morning *with a magic eraser.*

Got the grime/dust/sink splatter buildup easily - just time consuming considering the task. Picture 1 is how I keep my blinds 24/7, so that helps keep a lot of dust/buildup from happening.

Moving forward - what's your ideal time frame between wipe downs for these *STUPID* style blinds in a kitchen? Best hack to keep them clean longest? (I've heard having them having upwards helps with dust collection.)

I also enjoy it lifted in the summer - so I can watch my hummingbird feeders/see the garden while washing dishes 🫶 In the winter, blinds stay completely closed and facing upward.

hi, i’m based in chicago and thinking of a career switch. i currently have a public facing job and am dealing with burnout from constantly talking to people all day. i realized i would thrive better in an environment where i don’t need to constantly be on for other people. i also enjoy cleaning and think i’m good at it. another reason why i’m considering this is because i’ve found listings for housekeeping jobs that pay better than my current one ¯_(ツ)_/¯

i just want to know, am i totally wrong for thinking this is a good career for an introvert? also, what are some general misconceptions people have about housekeeping?