How To Clean Your Dishwasher

And if you're frugal (like me), here's an even cheaper method to clean your dishwasher.

Ten Creative Ways To Clean Ten Weird Places

Chances are you own a shop vacuum, and maybe a pressure washer. These tools — plus a few more — will help you get started getting rid of the dirt on your house’s siding, shop floor, basement corners and fences and decks. Here is the ultimate guide to putting grime in its place.

Ten Creative Cleaning Tips

The World's Best Cleaning Agent

It's cheap. It's eco-friendly. You can drink it. Eat it. Even bath in it. And in our case, you can clean just about anything with it.

We're talking about vinegar. The world's best cleaning agent!

Click here to see just how many things can be cleaned by using vinegar.

Green Cleaning Your Home

Fight The Flu With Simple Cleaning Techniques

They're back, perhaps sooner than you realized. If you don't do something about them now they may stick around for quite some time.

No, they're not a carload of impromptu guests who view your home as their on-the-cheap getaway. They're influenza and friends, the viral vixens that sneak into your home and lounge around while spreading their gunk and funk to you and your family.

Like unwelcome guests, getting rid of them can be quite a chore. That's why health care and home industry professionals say it's best to stop them in their tracks before they invade and gear up now for the certainty that they will be knocking on your door soon.

Here are some tips for keeping germs at bay in the home:

- Wear gloves when cleaning. Germs lurk even when illness isn't present, Carter said. "There are some things you should never touch," she said. "That's why we always wear gloves."

- Wear a mask to protect yourself against airborne germs and viruses.

- Wash hands frequently. "Germs aren't just on toilets," she said. "You can pick up the flu virus by touching a doorknob if it's on there."

- Avoid touching your eyes while cleaning. This helps to not only prevent the spread of viruses, but safeguards your eyes against the effects of strong chemicals or cleaners.

- Turn on bathroom vents and open windows (weather permitting) to allow for better air circulation.

- Change your vacuum bag after extended periods of illness. "It's a good idea to get that out of the house because those germs are in the dirt and they're in the bag," said Dave Segan, owner of Vacuum World in Waynesboro. "It may not solve the problem of the germs that are still in the air and you may still get the flu, but at least by getting that old bag out of the house you've got fewer germs to deal with."

- When humidity levels are low, as they often are in winter, viruses and bacteria can spread more easily and nasal passages can't filter as effectively, increasing illness, notes Abby Buford, a spokeswoman for Lowe's. Installing HEPA filters throughout the home can help confine airborne allergens including household dust, mold and pet dander.

- Help fight the growth of bacteria and mold in the home by using a humidifier designed to guard against germs.

- Houseplants such as ficus, palms and anthriums will help purify the air indoors naturally while making your home look nicer.

Click here for the full article.

The Rags We Use

The "rags" we use to clean your home are more accurately defined as microfiber cleaning cloths.

Here's a great article that tells you everything you ever wanted to know about the cloths. In a nutshell, they are miracle cloths.

Here's another article on how microfiber works a lot better than the traditional cotton cloths.

One-Time Cleaning Packages

The Deep Cleaning Package
Our most thorough, most detailed cleaning package. A top to bottom cleaning that will leave your home looking cleaner than ever before!! Rates are based on an hourly rate and most deep cleanings require anywhere from 4-7 hours for completion. We do not offer a more detailed cleaning package.


The Spic & Span Cleaning Package
Most people that select this cleaning package fall in love with it because you receive so much value. With this package, you will receive a team of two maids for three hours. In some cases, this package can accomplish many of the same things as a deep cleaning - that's why so many people decide to utilize the package. The normal rate for this type of cleaning is $190.


The Clean As A Whistle Cleaning Package
Perfect for a three bedroom/two bath home that just needs a little TLC. With this package, you will receive a team of two maids for 2.5 hours. The normal rate for this cleaning package is $155.


The Tidy Up Cleaning Package
If you are looking for the most bang for your buck, then this cleaning package is made for you. With this package, you'll receive a team of two maids for 2 hours. The normal rate for this type of cleaning package is $125.

The Many Uses Of Vinegar

Are you ready to be astounded by vinegar's power over that grunge in your bathroom or on your hardwood floors? Believe it or not, vinegar is an extraordinary cleaning and deodorizing agent.

Click here for the full article.

How To Make The Big Move Easier

From packing to keeping track of pets, kids, and valuable items, moving day can be an absolute nightmare from start to finish. However, tt doesn´t have to be! Use these eleven practical tips to take the stress out of your next move, and start enjoying your new home sooner.

Eleven Tips To Make Moving Easier

And here's some information on our Move In/Out Cleaning Package

The Story Of The Dirtiest Home Ever!!!

The Introduction To The World's Dirtiest Home


The Overhaul


The Final Results

Safety First

Lincoln, Nebraska -- A man is recovering from second and third degree burns after the cleaning products he was using ignited in his home.

Officials say the homeowner was cleaning his floors when the fumes from the cleaner ignited the pilot light in the furnace and hot-water heater, causing the blaze.

"We would encourage people to use non-flammable solvents, use plenty of ventilation and -- if possible -- shut off or stay away from sources of ignition, meaning water heaters, stoves, electric tools, etc. Use lots of ventilation in those areas," said Captain Dustin Morton, Lincoln Fire and Rescue.

Officials say one victim managed to escape uninjured while the other suffered second and third degree burns to his forearm.

The house sustained $15,000 in structural damage and $5,000 in losses.

It may look like water. It may smell good. But it could hurt you. Without warning! Remember, safety first. Take this quiz to learn more about your household cleaning chemicals......

Take The Quiz

Homemade Cleaning Products

Here are a few quick and easy recipes that you can use to create your own homemade cleaning products.

• Create a solution of dishwashing liquid and water for use as an all-purpose cleaner.

• Clean countertops by alternating between white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. Put one on the counter, then the other and wipe.

• To clean the carpet, sprinkle baking soda, and vacuum after 15 minutes.

• Scour greasy pots and pans with salt.

• Try olive, almond or walnut oil to polish furniture.

• To clean the bathtub and tile, use vinegar (rinse well, as it can corrode some fixtures) or mix 2 drops of tea-tree oil with 1 cup of water.

• For the toilet, let 1/2 cup of vinegar stand for a few minutes, brush the bowl and flush.

• Mix equal parts white vinegar and hot water to clean windows and glass.

Quick Cleaning Solutions For Every Room

Here's what to do around the house if you have 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, or half a day to clean.

Quick Cleaning Solutions

Spring Cleaning Your Kitchen

It's that time of year when everyone starts thinking about giving their home an extreme makeover. We call it a deep cleaning. But most of you call it a spring cleaning.

Here are some tips on how to spring clean your kitchen.

90 Days Per Pillow

Do you have allergies? Ever get hives or even food poisoning? Believe it or not-it could be coming from your pillow. Tiny organisms that look like something out of a science fiction movie could be shacking up in your home.

You will be tossing and turning after hearing what we found in a home, hotel and store bought pillow. It's an investigation that took four weeks, hundreds of dollars, and hundreds of miles across the state to a laboratory in Orlando. But the results and tips for your family were worth it.

According to the study findings, you should get rid of your pillows after 90 days.

Ninety days per pillow! It may seem costly or even a little overboard but just remember your bug-like bed mates that could be sharing that pillow the next time you lay down.

Click here for the full article.

The Health Effects Of Clutter In Your Home

Getting organized is unquestionably good for both mind and body — reducing risks for falls, helping eliminate germs and making it easier to find things like medicine and exercise gear.

Click here to read the full article.

The Dirtiest Home of 2007

Two Maids & A Mop is looking to find the dirtiest home of 2007. We clean homes everyday and we've seen some pretty bad ones. Now we want to see your house. And we want to see just how dirty it really is.

No, you're not going to win a free housecleaning. And no, you're not even going to win a free vacuum cleaner. We just want to see it. And the rest of the world does too!

Click on the following link if you want to post pictures of your dirty home -
The Dirtiest Home of 2007

Killing Fleas

Researchers from Ohio State University have discovered that vacuum cleaners kill fleas just as well as any poison. They said a standard vacuum cleaner abuses the fleas so much that it kills 96 percent of adult fleas and 100 percent of younger fleas.

Click here for the full story.

How To Declutter Your Home

Holiday entertaining season is upon us, and in some households it will run clear through to Super Bowl Sunday on February 3.

But what to do now if you cringe each time you look at the stained carpet, fret that the draperies look so last-century or that the living room could use a little something, though you're not quite sure what?

We asked five experts -- a real estate agent, a model home stager, an interior designer, a professional organizer and a cleaning service owner -- what three or four things they'd recommend to spiff up the homestead, even if time and money are tight.

Click here for the full article.

From Worst To First

"I believe that I am making history not because of my race or my sex but from whence I came," Carson said.

That was vintage Julia Carson. She never forgot where she came from and the voters in her district rewarded the one-time cleaning woman by never forgetting her on Election Day, voting to send her back to Congress six times.

That's from a story in Indianapolis about a local politician deciding to retire. And what they're saying is that being a "cleaning woman" is bad. It's as low as you can go.

They say it because that's what everyone thinks. It is easy to understand.

A cleaning woman does the work that you don't want to do. She mops your floor. She cleans your kitchen. She scrubs your toilet. She does all this for almost nothing. Not a rosy picture.

No wonder that the average cleaning company changes its entire staff around at least six times per year.

Yes, there's no reason to hide it. Cleaning for a living isn't looked upon very highly by society. But you need us. You might not admit it, but you know it.

You can't live without us.

Talking To Your Maid About You

They rid the rug of pine needles and ensure that guests don't find scum in the bathtub. They render the kitchen floor gleaming, so that if the turkey slides off the platter and lands on the tiles, it's still edible. And with any luck, they keep pace with the kids' bedrooms so that if auntie decides to hike up to the second floor, she'll have no cause to finger-wag.

While the hoopla of the season is mostly devoted to purchasing the perfect gifts, it might be said that it is the cleaning folks who are the true elves of the holidays. They provide the pristine backdrop you need to ensure that your decorations aren't lost amid clutter or dust.

With this in mind, we decided to talk to a few of those undaunted souls who battle our grime weekly; we listened to their tales of a life lived on the front lines of people's messy lives and heard about the special pressures of the holiday season.

Click here for the full article.

The Top Five Most Frequently Asked Questions

It's true that every house is different and every customer is different. But for the most part, we hear the same questions over and over again. Here's our top five most popular questions....

1. What are your rates? What do you charge?
The phrases change, but the premise is the same for everyone. Everyone's first question deals with our rates. Click here for a detailed answer to the question.

And if you're too lazy to click, just know that we can't answer this question without first asking you a series of questions, such as....

1. What is your home's total square footage?
2. How many bedrooms/bathrooms do you have?
3. How often do you require our service?
4. What type of cleaning do you require?
5. Where do you live?

Make sure you click here for a better explanation.

2. Will I be able to get the same two people each time?
Yet another question that isn't so easy to answer. Click here for a detailed response to this question. And if you're too lazy to click, here's a synopsis.

It's our goal to send the same people every time. It makes your life easier and it makes our life easier. Our system works like this. Two people are assigned to a route. Your home is also assigned to a route. As a result, you should get the same two people every time. The only reason that you won't receive the same two people is because one of the two people isn't at work. Which is exactly the problem. We can't guarantee you that everyone will be at work every day. Stuff happens and people miss work. People also quit. And when they quit, we lose one of the two team members.

The good news is that we will show up. You don't need to worry about that. We will show up. And you can bet that the two people who show up will care. They'll care because your opinion determines their pay level.

3. Are you bonded, licensed, and insured?
In a nutshell, yes, yes, and yes. But there's far more to the story than a simple yes. And of course, we have a link for you to click so that you can learn more about this subject.

Click here to learn more about the joke of the cleaning industry called a bond.

And click here for even more information on bonds, licenses, and insurance.

4. Do you supply your own equipment and supplies?
Yes.

Click here for a detailed description of our cleaning equipment and supplies.

5. Do you need to be home for us to clean your home?
No. We only need you for three things. We need you to let us in your home. We need you to tell us what you want us to accomplish. And we need for you to critique our cleaning after we're finished.

Entering your home can sometimes be accomplished without you. We do accept customer keys if you can't be home when we arrive. We lock each safe in a fire proof safe and we also number designate each key to ensure your safety.

We can also talk to you before the cleaning to discuss your specific needs. Of course, talking directly to us at your home is a great benefit. But then again, you're hiring us because you don't have enough time in your day anyway.

And we'll either call or email you after we're finished to receive your critique of the cleaning.

Cleaning Tips For Your Weekend

There's a cleaing tip in this directory for everyone out there. Click here for tons of cleaning tips.

Have a great weekend. And don't forget, you can always call a cleaning company if you don't want to tackle the house yourself. Maybe even this cleaning company - Two Maids & A Mop.

Three Quick Facts About Two Maids & A Mop

Fact #1- If you hire us for long enough, we promise that we'll make a mistake.

Your house is big. It has a bunch of rooms. And it has a bunch of stuff in each of those rooms. We're going to forget to pick up your rug one day. And we're going to forget to wipe down your bedroom baseboard one day. We're going to forget lots of things because we're just like you. We're human and we make mistakes.

Fact #2- We won't know that we make a mistake unless you tell us.
The best medicine for one of our mistakes is communication. If you tell us, we'll fix it. Plus, we'll document it so that we can limit the occurrence of the same mistake. But we can't know that we messed up if you don't tell us. Customer feedback is the only thing that separates us from everybody else. Without your feedback, we're just like everybody else.

Fact #3- When you tell us that we messed up, we'll fix it-FAST.

Of course, it's according to how fast you tell us about one of our mistakes. The quicker you communicate to us; the quicker we're able to respond. The bottom line is that we want to correct our mistakes - no matter how small or trivial. Because we want you to be happy. And you can't be happy if you still have dirty floors after we leave your home. Talk to us and we promise that we'll run to your house in order to make you smile.

How To Raise The Value Of Your Home

In a nutshell...keep it clean.

One of our cleaning packages is called a "Move In/Out Cleaning". Obviously, people select this package when they are either moving into or out of their home. The home is empty, except for certain appliances. Here's what we'll clean during a move in/out cleaning.

• inside/outside of cabinets and drawers
• inside/outside of appliances
• full, detailed cleaning of bathrooms, kitchen, bedrooms, and common areas
• interior windows and blinds
• sliding glass doors and tracks
• vertical surfaces such as baseboards, molding, trim work, and doors
• vacuum carpets
• sweep and mop hard surface floors
• pick up any loose trash or garbage

You can expect a lot with this type of cleaning. And it really transforms your home. However, you've either already sold or bought the house when you select this type of cleaning package.

The real estate market is in a major decline right now. With so much inventory, little things can go a long way in separating your home from the next home on the MLS. Keeping your home clean has been proven to enhance the image of your home. And the image of your home goes a long way in determining the value of your home.

Check out this article that details how keeping a clean house translates into extra dollars for your home.

Window Washing 101

One of the most difficult tasks associated with cleaning a home is how to effectively clean the windows. Personally, we've tried a number of different cleaning agents and techniques. Our most effective strategy has been to utilize a cleaner called Sprayway Glass Cleaner. It can clean everything from your mirrors to your windows. In addition, it is virtually streak-free and eco-friendly.

Of course, there are several different methods that you can utilize in your home to clean the windows. Check out this primer on how to effectively clean those pesky windows.

Housecleaning 101

Check out these cleaning tips for various areas around your home.

Housecleaning 101

The One Time Housecleaning

Let's assume that you're having a big party this weekend. You've got loads of things to accomplish before Saturday and one of those things just happens to be cleaning the house.

But you don't have the time so you decide to hire a maid. So you pull out the yellow pages and start dialing. At some point, you call Two Maids & A Mop.

When you call us, we educate you on the two types of services that we can perform if you only need us one time.

The most detailed service is called a deep cleaning. Some call it a spring cleaning. It is a top to bottom cleaning and you can expect a lot of detail. The problem with a deep cleaning is that it is sometimes too expensive for you.

So we offer you another one-time service. We offer a general housecleaning that is pretty straightforward. You receive two maids for two hours. You determine what areas should be cleaned during that two hours. The best way to make this type of cleaning work for you is to provide us with a priority list that ranks the areas most important to you. This ensures that we won't clean your windows when you really want us to clean your baseboards.

Most of our customers require our services at least once every two weeks. But there are many people that only need us once per year. You're just as important to us.

And who knows, our commitment to customer satisfaction may just cause you to hire us more than once per year.

Vacuuming More Than Just Dust

Take a look at this article about how a maid vacuumed the the life savings of one woman. Fortunately, the money was recovered from the local garbage facility.

Trivia question...

What if your maid lost thousands of your dollars while cleaning your house? What would be your first course of action? What would happen if the money was unrecoverable? What types of preventive action can you do to make sure something like this doesn't happen to you?

Because if it can happen, it will happen.

Hint #1
Hint #2
Hint #3

Free TwoMaids E-book Now Available

The Insider's Guide to Professional Housecleaning is now available for you to read for free. The book contains tons of frugal cleaning tips that you can implement in your home right now. The tips will save you money and time.

Her'e's your chance to find out how the pro's get it done. Happy reading!

P.S. Feel free to send the book to anyone. It's yours to use as you wish.

The Insider's Guide to Professional Housecleaning

Weekend Cleaning Tips

Couple of tips to help clean your home this weekend......

How To Clean Your Indoor Air

How To Clean Your Windows

The Weekend Warrior's Guide To Effective Housecleaning

Spring Greening

Introducing Spring Greening

How To Spring Green Your Home

Our Equipment

One of the perks of hiring a legitimate cleaning service is that the company will provide all the necessary cleaning equipment and supplies. Two Maids & A Mop is no different. We bring everything. And here's what you can expect when we walk inside your front door.

We'll start with what we usually end with - the vacuum. We use the Carpet Pro CPU-2 vacuum. It's been a relatively good vacuum. Much better than our last one. Our last vacuum broke everyday. The fan inside the vacuum caught everything (even little tiny dust particles) and the fan abruptly broke everyday. Click on this link for more information about our vacuum.

Our glass cleaner is called Sprayway. It's streak free. It's ammonia free. And it works great. Click here for more information about Sprayway.

We clean your hard surface floors in a variety of ways. The most popular method involves using a deodorizer called Boardwalk. It smells good. It cleans good. It disinfects. And it's harmless. Click here for more information on Boardwalk. Vinegar is the preferred choice for many customers because it is the ultimate cleaner. The biggest problem with vinegar is its smell. It stinks and it doesn't give off that fresh smell everyone is looking for when they walk into their home.

We disinfect your bathrooms with a product called Lemon-Q. It is used by many of the area hospitals and that's why we use it. We don't use any bleach products. Bleach is just too dangerous. Click here for more information on Lemon-Q.

Our all-purpose cleaner is called Clean-All. We use it mostly in your kitchen. There is no direct link on the internet, but it's similar to Fantastik. Click here for information on a similar product.

To dust your furniture, we use Kleen Guard. It has a lemon scent and it has proven to be the best available option in its price range. Click here for more information on Kleen Guard.

And finally, we use E-Z Off to clean your ovens. Many of you have self-cleaning ovens and this product is safe for your oven. Click here for more information on E-Z Off Oven Cleaner.

Some Things Never Change

We send messages through thin air in a matter of seconds. We travel from one end of the country to another in just a few hours. Yes, we've come along way. But one thing remains consistent. You clean just like your mother cleaned. Just your grandmother cleaned. And just like her grandmother cleaned. Cleaning hasn't changed. And it doesn't look to change anytime soon.

Sure, you've got the Roomba. The robotic vacuum. But it's a novelty. Wishful thinking. You want it to be easy.

But cleaning is hard. It's dirty. It's time consuming. It's work. You can't change facts. Someobody's got to move the rugs. Somebody's got to pick up the candle to dust underneath it. Somebody's got to scrub the toilets.

So time has stood still in the world of cleaning. But the good news is that time has given us the ability to prove what really works in your home. Some products come and go like the wind. But the most effective cleaning products stick around forever.

One product that has stood the test of time is vinegar. Vinegar has been around for more than 10,000 years. It's used today in the same manner as way back then. Amazing. But true.

Check out some great uses for vinegar.

The Best Super Bowl Party

The best Super Bowl party that you've ever attended didn't just happen. Nope. There was lots of planning before the kickoff. Part of that planning involved cooking. Part of that planning involved grocery shopping. Part of that planning involved......

CLEANING THE HOUSE

That's right. You gotta clean your house so that you can mess it up during the game. Of course, you could do all the the cleaning yourself. Or you could just call Two Maids & A Mop. We'll clean everything for you.

Now we can't do everything for you before the party. Click Here To Find Out How To Host The Best Super Bowl Party Ever.

Premaidification

Are you guilty?

Click here to learn more about premaidification.

150 Cleaning Tips For Your Home

You could always just hire Two Maids & A Mop to clean your home. But if sweating and scrubbing is your thing.........

Click Here To Get 150 Cleaning Tips

Click here to find out which tip I needed to use yesterday afternoon.

Tips On Organizing Your Home

Organizing your home made easy.

Click here for the story.

The Maintenance Cleaning

Most of our customers utilize our services at least once per month. If you schedule for your home to be cleaned at once per month, you're getting what we call a "maintenance cleaning". Many of our customers have asked that we better explain exactly what should be expected in a maintenance cleaning. So here goes.....

There are two phases to a maintenance cleaning. The first phase is to clean certain areas that are expected to be cleaned each and every time. These areas typically include bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, appliances, and floors. We also should be dusting all horizontal surfaces such as counters, tables, and fan blades each time. Finally, we should be emptying all garbage cans within your home. The second phase is to conduct an inspection throughout the house of certain areas. These areas are mainly comprised of your vertical surfaces such as interior windows/blinds, baseboards, trim work, cabinets/drawers, and picture frames on walls. In addition, we should also be inspecting your light fixtures to see if they are dirty. Of course, if we find that any of these areas are dirty; we clean them.

A maintenance cleaning is not a deep cleaning. A deep cleaning is much more detailed and thorough. It's a better cleaning because we get rid of the inspection and just clean everything in your home. Of course, it's much more expensive as well. But the maintenance cleaning can be very effective as long as regular service is conducted at your home. If service is interrupted, then our maintenance cleanings become ineffective because our inspection phase should be replaced with a cleaning phase. Because more of your vertical surfaces are dirty.

There you have it. That's how we clean your home if you hire us for weekly, biweekly, or monthly cleaning service.

Best Cleaning Tip Ever

There's a lot to choose from on this site. And there's one for everybody. Have fun.

Click here to find your best cleaning tip ever.

Free Housecleaning For Bluewater Bay Residents

Last month, we offered our services for free to anyone that lived within the Bay Point subdivision in Panama City.

This month, we're offering our services for free again. To qualify, you must meet two requirements:

1. You must live within the Bluewater Bay subdivision in Niceville.
2. You must contact us before September 2, 2006.

It's that simple. Is today your lucky day?

The Rest Of The Story

Perry Phillips Interview Continued........

4. What are the biggest problems facing the housecleaning industry?

There are several that greatly affect this industry. But I will touch on what I feel are the top two:

1. Mind set: Employees and business owners with low self-esteem. I even get this from owners with annual sales over a million dollars. People need to realize that this is a viable industry and if you run it like a real business, there is a lot of money to make. It can be a great business opportunity.

2. Under the table cleaners: While the old time day-helper is a thing of the past, there is a new breed of entrepreneur out there cleaning homes for cash under the table. People are out there that do not carry insurance and do not pay taxes, and in some horrible cases that could go very wrong. Most customers are unaware of the risk involved with doing business with these people. I feel strongly that as an association we need to do all that we can to educate the customer so that they can make better informed decisions.

5. Where do you see the industry 10 years from now? Will we all be trying to fix the same problems as today?

No, there is a great sense of ingenuity in the industry now, more vendors and suppliers are taking notice of what we are doing. There are more options and tools emerging that fit exactly what our owners need to build their businesses and run them more efficiently.
If we pull together and work hard as an association, the two problems I mentioned above will cease to exist. We need to educate each other and educate the customers!

6. What are the most common misconceptions about a housecleaning company?

That it is not a legitimate business and that people actually clean homes because they can’t do anything else!

7. What questions should every consumer ask before hiring a housecleaning company?

1. Are you licensed?
2. Do you carry proper insurance- General liability and worker’s comp?
3. How do you hire your people- what is your screening process/ background checks
4. How do you train your people?
5. Will you guarantee my satisfaction?

We actually have an extensive consumer education section on the ARCSI website.

Interview With A Maid Service Pioneer

Perry Phillips is a pioneer. Perry is the founder of The Association of Residential Cleaning Services International (ARCSI). Attorneys have their association. Plumbers even have their own association. But cleaning companies have historically been disrespected because many view it as a simple job. As a result, nobody really ever thought that an association could help. Heck, it's just cleaning after all. But Perry came along and started one. And he's done a great thing. Professionals from across the country now know that their daily problems aren't unique. We all have them. We're not quite as inefficient as we originally thought. I recently interviewed Perry and asked him a few questions concerning his past and the future of the cleaning industry. It's a two part series. Here's part one.

1. How did you get started in the residential cleaning industry?

I started my first residential cleaning company when I was 19. The idea for it came while I was in high school and involved with DECA, Distributed Educational Clubs of America. One of our class assignments was to write a business plan, make an appointment with a banker, the whole nine yards. I chose to write mine on a maid service, which was virtually unheard of in the relatively small town I lived in. I chose it because it was different. I got a great grade and even entered it in the state competition where I won and participated on the national level. (I didn’t do so well there, was too focused on being in California and having too much fun).

After one long hard year in college, like most students I needed a break - so I took a semester off. While at home doing nothing I received strong “encouragement” from my mom to either go back to school or get a job.

Two of her friends had been complaining that their cleaning person was unreliable and doing a lousy job, and I also had a friend complain that she had a dead-end job. I decided to play middleman and put them together and take a cut! It worked great. Within a month our little enterprise had several customers. Business was booming and in no time there was more work than we could handle. I was even cleaning homes - which I did not anticipate doing. The plan was for me to be involved until I went back to college and she would keep the clients/ business. Well, my friend ended up meeting a guy and leaving town, and I was faced with a dilemma. I had more clients than I could handle, more wanted service, so I did the most logical thing I could think of. I ditched school all together and started hiring people to grow my new business. By the time I was 22 I had 25 employees!

2. What changes have you seen since you started in the industry?

Many! The industry has come a long way. I have been involved in the residential cleaning industry for almost 16 years and the biggest change I have seen is the customer base growing so quickly. More and more people are realizing that hiring a service is not necessarily a luxury, but in many cases a necessity. It can give them back quality time in their lives. Another significant change is the level of professionalism among business owners. Even though my first experience in the industry, like many successful owners, was very humble beginnings, there are now more people with corporate and professional backgrounds getting into the industry.

3. What prompted you to start the Association of Residential Cleaning Services International?

Mostly frustration. While I did enjoy some success with my cleaning service, it was only mediocre success compared to what I see many ARCSI members doing today. Like many young, green business owners, I learn too much the hard way. I kept hitting a wall with my business. I would reach a certain level and could not get past that. That frustrated me and caused me to bail out more than once. I’m not sure if the industry followed me or I went back to it, but nonetheless I was there. Then a great thing happened - the internet! As I started to dig in and look for the missing piece of the puzzle I realized something. When I found a new idea, or put a few things together that made sense to me, I got more satisfaction out of sharing it with others than implementing them myself.

I subscribed to every trade journal I could find, and bought every book I could get my hands on. Then one Sunday on my boat, surrounded by all my current trade journals, I had a eureka light bulb moment; the residential cleaning industry needed this, and I was the person to do it. It took two years to get my plan/ideas to the point I could act on them. Once I did, it really started to take off and less than 6 months into it I sold my last business, and dived into the association work full time.

Free Housecleaning For Bay Point Resort Residents

There's a neighborhood in Panama City called Bay Point Resort. It has more than 1,200 homes and condos alongside the coast , golf course, and marina. Everybody eats and plays together. It's a really big, but close community. It's what the owner of a housecleaning company calls heaven.

To be successful, a housecleaning company would only need to serve around 5% of the community. We currently serve one, single home. So far, it's been far from heaven.

We've ran advertisements in the community newsletter and sent each homeowner several letters asking for their business. None of it has worked.

So, here's what we're going to do. We're offering one FREE HOUSECLEANING to every resident inside Bay Point. That's right. We don't want your money. We want to show you why we're better than your current provider.

There is a catch (as usual). We obviously can't clean free forever. So, you have a deadline. The deadline is this Friday, July 28th. Today's your lucky day if you stumbled across our website. If you live in Bay Point.

To everyone else, don't fret. We'll be announcing more free neighborhood cleanings soon. Stay tuned for more giveaways.

To residents of Bay Point, call 769-6646 today. Or at least by July 28th.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Mops

Selecting a mop may be more difficult than you imagined. Here's a primer on the art of mop selection. If selecting a mop is boring to you, just call us. We'll do it for you.

The Dangers Of House Cleaning

Cleaning your home isn't normally regarded as "dangerous". Most people consider the physical demands of the job as the biggest obstacle when it comes to safety. However, what you're using as a cleaning agent can be very dangerous.

The world's most dangerous cleaning agent is bleach. Two Maids & A Mop doesn't use bleach because it causes way too many problems. It damages skin, causes respiratory problems, and burns throats, eyes, and tongues. Not to mention the adverse effects it has on fabrics and carpets. It discolors everything in its sight. For every one good thing bleach produces, it produces ten bad things.

There's other nasty cleaning agents out there. Some agents cause harm to everybody and others cause harm to just a few people. The best way to determine if your cleaning agent is safe for use in your home is to read the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Here is the MSDS for Windex. You don't need to be a chemist to understand the MSDS. Take the time to read each MSDS before you use any cleaning agent in your home.

One healthy way to clean your home is to call Two Maids & A Mop. Each of our cleaning products are safe for use in almost every home. The only exception may be allergic reactions to odors such as lemon. If you don't live in our cleaning area, follow this lady's advice.