10 Secrets Professional Cleaners Use

HOW TO CLEAN FASTER AND BETTER

Do you wish you didn’t have to clean your home? Who doesn’t? But if hiring a professional cleaner isn’t in your budget, maybe there’s a way to still learn from these experts that would save you a considerable chunk of time and ease the burden of doing it yourself.

Professional cleaners use methods and strategies to get the job done well and as quickly as possible. After all, their bottom line depends on it. Most professional cleaners charge by the job. That being said, they clean as fast as they can so they can move on to the next job.

I’ve been cleaning professionally for over 10 years. When I first decided to clean for a living, I didn’t feel confident enough to clean for other people. I thought I knew how to clean my house, but I didn’t feel qualified to clean someone else’s home.

So, I read everything I could about house cleaning, speed cleaning, and professional cleaning. I picked up the strategies being used and started using them in my business.

The strategies I learned made a big difference with how fast I was cleaning and how well I was cleaning. It was a game changer!

These methods aren’t hard. You just have to know what they are and then apply them. And if I can do it, you can do it too!

You have a busy life. Check out these professional cleaning tips to shorten the time you spend cleaning, so you can spend more time doing the things you love.

1. KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU HAVE TO CLEAN

This might seem obvious, but if you don’t have it set clear in your mind what it is that you need to be cleaning, you will be wasting time cleaning things you don’t have to. Professional cleaners don’t clean haphazardly. They have a list of specific items and areas they clean. Here’s a common list:

• Dust all horizontal surfaces, the edge of the ceiling and wall corners for cobwebs, and all of baseboards. Do this throughout the entire home.
• Kitchen: Clean the sink and stove top. Clean the microwave (inside and out). Clean the outside of the refrigerator, oven, and dishwasher. Wipe down counters. Spot clean the outside of cupboard doors and drawers.
• Bathrooms: Clean toilets, bathtubs, shower stalls, sinks, and mirrors. Wipe down any counters.
• Clean any other mirrors and TV screens.
• Disinfect light switches, landline type telephones, and doorknobs.
• Sweep or vacuum all floors. Mop as needed.
• Spot clean marks on walls.

TAKE ACTION: Make your own list of what to clean. Post it where you know where it is and where you can find it easily- like on your refrigerator.

2. KNOW HOW OFTEN YOU NEED TO CLEAN

Professional cleaners usually clean weekly, biweekly, or monthly. How often depends on certain factors of the job such as how many people and pets live in the house, and how active they are.

If a home is cleaned more often than needed, time is being wasted. If there’s too much time in between cleanings, there’s more that needs to be cleaned and it will take longer to clean. You have to find that sweet spot in between.

TAKE ACTION: Decide how often you need to clean your home. If unsure, try every two weeks. Write this on your cleaning list and mark the actual date of your next cleaning on your calendar. Adjust the frequency of cleaning as needed.

3. SPLIT UP THE JOBS

Professional cleaners sometimes have a cleaning team. When they do, each person is assigned a specific job. Cleaning is a lot easier and faster when more people help.

TAKE ACTION: If you have other people who can help clean, assign each person a job. For example: One person might do dusting, one might clean floors, and one might clean the kitchen. Write each person’s name next to his or her job on your cleaning list.

4. HAVE ALL YOUR CLEANING SUPPLIES ON HAND

Professional cleaners bring their supplies, so they have everything they need with them. Searching for the proper cleaning products, supplies, and tools wastes precious time.

TAKE ACTION: Gather up all your cleaning products and small supplies and put them in a cleaning caddy. Keep all the bigger cleaning supplies and tools together where you can find them easily when you need them.

5. HAVE A ROUTINE

Professional cleaners follow the same procedures for cleaning every single time they clean. This method allows the cleaner to get faster and faster until she reaches a peak cleaning time.

6. CONQUER THE BIG AREAS FIRST

Get the areas that need the most cleaning out of the way first. These are usually the most important areas. The  kitchen and the bathroom are usually the most time consuming. If they’re done first, then what’s left will be easier to finish fast.

7. CLEAN TOP TO BOTTOM

Professional cleaners clean from top to bottom. Due to gravity, dust (and everything else) falls down. So, it only makes sense to clean this way.

8. ALWAYS DUST BEFORE VACUUMING

This rule has the same reasoning behind it as cleaning from top to bottom. Dust falls down, then you can vacuum it up.

9. ONLY CLEAN AN ITEM OR AREA ONCE

Never backtrack! Never repeat! Cleaning an area more than once takes more time than you think. To ensure that you only do it once, and to keep track of what you have already cleaned, try these tips:

• When cleaning a room, start at the same spot each time. I always start at the entryway.
• Always clean in the same direction around the room. Clockwise works well for right handers. Counter-clockwise works well for left handers.
• When dusting a ceiling fan, count the blades, or else you can be dusting in an endless circle.
• Clean in sections of decorations or furniture. Start at the top and work your way down. Then move to the next section.
• When sweeping, vacuuming, or mopping, draw imaginary lines so you don’t repeat the sections that you have already cleaned. When cleaning a tile floor, you can count the blocks or you can use furniture and doorways as markers for your lines.

10. FOCUS ON THE JOB AT HAND

Don’t get distracted by all the things you want to do, like checking your phone, checking email, or watching TV. Likewise, don’t get distracted by all the other things you have to do, like picking up clutter, doing laundry, or doing the dishes. There will be time for all of that after you are done cleaning. Focus on the list of things you have to clean and make cleaning the priority.

Follow these methods and procedures and you will be surprised at how fast and efficient you become at cleaning. Keep practicing and you will be cleaning like a pro in no time at all.