Let’s Get the Work Done
Basic Maintenance Services
These are your basic set of tasks for maintenance services:
If all tasks are done the cleaning generally takes 4 hours for an average size house – 3 or 4 bedrooms, 1 or 2 bathrooms
Living Areas, Bedrooms, Hallways and Study
General dusting and polishing of furniture (within reach)
Dusting of skirting boards, window sills, picture frames and rails, and door frames (on a rotational basis)
Dust the ornaments and arrange them back in the exact same position and angle
Dust all lampshades; Polish the front of the TV
Polish glass tabletops and glass windows in cabinet doors
Polish mirror wardrobes and dust the track they run on
Clean the telephone handset, Shake scatter rugs
Wipe dirty marks off the walls around light switches
Wipe leather lounges, or vacuum cloth lounges
Vacuuming, or sweeping and mopping
Change the sheets and make the bed (when required)
Kitchen
Clean the inside and the outside of the microwave oven
Wipe all fronts of cupboards and tops of benches
Wipe the outside and top of refrigerator, stove and oven
Clean any splash marks off the window above the sink
Dust the windowsills and polish the kitchen sink
Empty the bins and change their liners. Sweep and mop the floor
Bathroom
Clean the shower screen and door tracks, ensuring that all glass has no streaks
Scrub and sanitise the shower recess floor, Remove mould from grout and the soap residue from tiles
Clean the soap dish, shine the taps, pull the showerhead down and shine that as well
Clean and sanitise the hand basin, wipe the vanity unit and the cupboard under the sink
Wipe tiles above hand basin and remember to dry them off so they shine
Clean, sanitise and dry the bath, looking out for the ring that will appear when people have used the bath
Clean and sanitise the toilet inside and out including pipes and fittings at the back of the toilet
Dust window sills and polish mirrors leaving no streaks
Empty the bins and change their liners. Sweep and mop the floor
Laundry
Dust windowsills. Empty the bins and change their liners.
Wash the cleaning cloths and put away products
Wipe the washing machine, dryer, water heater and freezer,
If there is one, clean the laundry toilet. Sweep and mop the floor.
Empty bucket into the tub.
Clean, dry and polish the tub
This is just a summary of what you should be doing for a basic maintenance clean. In the chapters following you will find a detailed account of how to do the tasks you see listed here. It is important that you learn how to separate your services into Maintenance services, First Extended Maintenance services, Spring Cleaning services, Vacate Cleaning services and Window Cleaning services. If you do not strengthen your ability to do this you will find that you are lumping all the services into the one rate and not making a profit from your business. It is only through separating the services that you will be able to ask a higher rate for some types of service than others, thereby increasing the profitability of your work.
You should also charge a surcharge if you use your own products and equipment at a Maintenance Clean, or if you work after hours or on a weekend. This money is what helps boost your income each week.
I would like to mention here that some clients will ‘set you up’ to see if you are doing all that is required of you. I have had a few women leave things like five-cent pieces, hairpins or sewing pins in various places around the home to see if I was getting into the corners and moving furniture when vacuuming. I could always tell when I was being set-up because those items were too strategically placed to have fallen there by coincidence. So when this happens to you pick up each one you find and leave the whole lot somewhere obvious so that your client can count them when he or she returns from work. Never put money in your pocket. It is usually a trap, and clients are testing you to see how honest you are and how thorough you are.