Before spring has sprung completely and the daffs quietly bow their heads, are your thoughts filled with joy or foreboding about the cleaning task ahead?
You could hire a good cleaning service to give you a hand, but how do you find one? Last months article was part one of the "guide to finding a really good cleaning service" or more importantly how to "Avoid Rogue Cleaners", this month we'll reveal more of what some cleaning companies don't want you to know!
Essentially there are three types of cleaning service; the individual, the agency and the professional company. One thing that applies to all three is that very few use the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) to check their staff. I couldn't find any local companies other than HomeMaid offering the assurance of CRB checks for their employees. Just remember you'll be handing over your house keys, alarm codes and perhaps your crown jewels, makes your think doesn't it?
Individuals often come by word of mouth, a friend of a friend, which can be fantastic; however they are often uninsured, don't pay taxes and use your cleaning products and equipment. You will also be the employer which will makes you liable for tax to HMRC. If you can forget the lack of insurance and the cost of tax liability, a cleaner using your cleaning products and equipment will cost you a lot more than you realise. Empty out your cleaning cupboard and work out the value of the contents, suddenly your £9 an hour cleaner just became a whole lot more expensive!
Agencies aren't much different from individuals; you still provide expensive cleaning products, although they'll have liability insurance, but often not fidelity bonding, vital for your peace of mind. You'll still be the employer and incur tax liabilities.
Companies come in two "flavours" non-franchised and franchised. Franchises will tend to be more expensive as they have to pay a commission or a franchise fee to the parent company for every clean they deliver. Any professionally operated company will value their staff, train them, provide uniforms and have quality checks. You can easily spot a company confident in its staff and methods, they guarantee the service!
Good companies constantly improve or upgrade their products and services, things to look out for are environmentally friendly products and HEPA filtered vacuums. I couldn't find any other local company providing HEPA vacuums as a standard service to help guard against dust mites. This is remarkably irresponsible when you consider that dust mites have accounted for an 84% overall increase in asthma cases from 1982-1994 and 72% for children under 18; the Lancet (Feb 02) highlighted that pregnant women inhaling dust mite allergens can pass this on to their unborn child.
Orginal Article Published in the Live Ribble Valley Magazine
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