The Cleaners Blog

A Guide to employing a Domestic Cleaner

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 16:43:09 GMT

Are you looking to employ a domestic cleaner?

You are in a position to employee a domestic cleaner. Regardless of if you rent or are an owner, you are about to welcome someone into your house. The place where you should feel the safest.

The classic way to engage with someone is word of mouth. And in most cases, it is the safest. But what do you look for and how would you look for it. You could check your local directory or do some research on the net, but whatever way you go for, it is important to have a clear idea of what you want and when you want it.

Ask yourself the following questions;

What do I want cleaned?
How often will I need it cleaned?
Will my domestic operative be a key holder?
What kind of person am I looking for?
How much experiance should they have?
How much am I willing to pay?

It is important that as the employer you remain in charge of your own home. It is not wrong to be advised by your prospective domestic operative, but ultimately it should be about what you want.

Regardless of whether they work for a company or are self-employed, you should seek to get references. They should be recent and relevant to the position you are employing. You can and should check to find out where they live. Ask for utility bills as that would be a good way to find out. Do not use a mobile phone bill.

You should check their right to work status. You do not want to fall foul of the law.

If they have been recommended to you, have a conversation with the person doing the recommending. What is good for them may not be good for you. What someone else sees as clean may not meet your standards.

Check if they have any criminal convictions that are directly associated with your living environment. That is not labelling anyone, but you have to make an informed decision to take them on or not, if their conviction is a concern to you.

You will need to make it clear on how much you are willing to pay. They should be paid the living wage as a minimum. But if you are paying cash that is an option and you have to remember that you and the domestic operative are not making any deductible declaration.

If you feel that they could be the right fit for you, give them a trial. Set a time, say two or three visits. Ask them to demonstrate how they would clean a room in the house. A good indication would the toilet as the potentially highest point of infectious material.

What days would you want them to work and is that flexible. The flexible option is dangerous as you both need to know where you are going to be on the day of a visit. If you are working from home or unsocial hours, you don’t want cleaning done during down time.

What will happen when or if you have to go away. Would you still want them in? If not, then it is fair that you should pay them for the time you are away. You should set payment limits if the operative wants to go on holiday. Are you going to pay them for all the time they are away, or a portion or not at all? There should be a compromise and it should be fair on all parties. Given the time and effort you are putting in to engage with a domestic operative, would you consider getting in a replacement if they go on holiday or off sick?

You will need to clearly define what rooms will need to be cleaned and what should be cleaned in that room. The domestic operative may not be able to clean everything on one visit,so it is important that you discuss a schedule. As the employer you have to be realistic about the time you want them to clean and what can be done. If you want a special clean, then you should negotiate them at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment. If you have concern regarding the environment, then make that clear.

If you have a family, you should instruct the family members of what the domestic operative is going to be doing and at the same time what you expect from your family member.

If you have pets, is the domestic operative going to be okay with them? Will it cause the domestic operative concerns to have pets around the house? Do they have any relevant allergies?

Get them to demonstrate how they would use and maintain the equipment you are providing. Like Vacuum cleaner Ask them to take it apart and replace the bag if there is one. You may think this is unreasonable but what you don’t want is your domestic operative spending you time trying to find out how things work.

Trust your gut instincts and if something does not feel right then do employ them.

In the next blog, I will be giving you advise on how rooms should be cleaned

Is Probiotic cleaning materials the way to go

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMT

The use of Probiotics is increasing in popularity. In the home, in offices and as part of pet health. It is safe, eco friendly and in a number of cases, more effective that what we call conventional chemicals.

Probiotic Cleaning

With concerns rising about the harmful nature of chemical-based cleaning on the environment and the inadvertent health effects on customers and employees, the need for a safer eco-friendly alternative within corporate cleaning has never been stronger. Probiotic cleaning offers more reliable results than traditional chemical-based methods, promoting a healthier and more hygienic environment. See below for some of the benefits of adopting a probiotic regime.

Benefits of probiotic cleaning

Probiotic cleaning offers an alternative option to chemical-based methods, improving hygiene and air quality in a safe, natural and eco-friendly way.

Safer cleaning

Our probiotic cleaning is 100% safe - free from toxins, carcinogens and pollutants as well as being suitable for sensitive skin. Scientifically proven to be safe for respiratory health, removing the risks linked to long-term use of chemical cleaning products, such as asthma, whilst providing more reliable, longer-lasting results.

Environmentally friendly

The natural eco-detergents are certified as animal cruelty-free, vegan and naturally sourced from plants.

Produced using eco-friendly ingredients and packaged using recovered plastic from the ocean. Our probiotic products are also 100% biodegradable.

Prevents superbugs

Switching to a probiotic cleaning regime reduces the chance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which is becoming a growing concern with chemical and biocidal products. Probiotics remain on surfaces, consuming the food (dirt) required for ‘bad’ bacteria to develop resistance, inhibiting their survival and growth.

Destroys coronavirus

All the probiotic cleaning products we use are effective against coronavirus and maintain effectiveness if used with alcohol hand sanitisers and rubs. Probiotics products break down the outer membrane of the virus and then safely consume the remnants as a natural food source.

Deeper cleaning

Cleaning probiotics reach into hidden nooks and crannies, safely consuming harmful bacteria beyond the visible level. This provides extra protection to your customers, employees and equipment from organic waste such as sweat, saliva and skin flakes as well as unpleasant odours, mould and dirt.

Longer lasting

Most chemical cleaning products are only thought to offer protection from harmful bacteria for around one hour after application. In comparison, probiotics remain on surfaces and continue to work for up to three days after use, preventing rapid recontamination.

Is training enough?

183:747976208 (Tommy Taylor) — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Training and development is one of the key components to deliving a first class service

For years, our industry has striven to improve the service delivery to our clients through training and development. There are several barriers to ensuring that staff have the appropriate education to perform their jobs. I will look at a few.

Cleaning has always been seen as a low pay, low skilled job. The pandemic has highlighted how skilled some of our operatives are and have to be to ensure that that the public are safe. However, regardless of how much or little training they get, it is all about perception. Our clients, despite not wanting to do the job themselves, continually ask, ‘why do cleaners need to be trained.’ And of course we know the age-old line ‘any one can clean.’

This makes it difficult for the industry to raise standards and therefore elevate staff training. But if we forget the outside noise regarding cleaning operative training, in this edition I am going to look at some of the challenges in training cleaning operatives. Before I go into this, it is reasonable to say that each company, nation or region has a different way in which they approach training.

Let start with looking at this subject from the employers side. Some employers see the benefits of training and therefore they make an investment to developing staff in practical and theoretical training. Training should start with the induction. The operative needs to understand what the company and its client aims, and objectives are. Standards should be set, and subsequent training should address the methods to achieve those standards.

Given that some of our staff start from a very low level of education base, some companies don’t always take this into consideration. Information overload is a regular criticism of our training. We expect our staff to take on way too much information in one session. The sessions are not always structured to meet the need and ability of its trainees.

If we look at how to handle chemicals as an example. Navigating around the different types of chemicals, and how to use, them can confuse staff. They struggle to understand how to use dilution ratios. But some trainers still follow the one size fits all approach and then wonder at the end of a session why some people just don’t get it.

The methods used to train staff may be inappropriate. The trainer continues to use the same old methods and style at every session. This is called ‘ineffective or inappropriate training.’ There is no absolute method for training, but what trainers & companies have to figure out is the model that fits their company culture and the people that work in it. Measure training at the time of delivery. Don’t wait until the operative goes on-site as that could be to late to avoid problems. Visualise how learning methods promote retention in your organisation. I have always set a minimum level of knowledge retention. I would be happy that, on the day of training, if they retain 5% of what I have told them, that is good. That figure would be a lot higher for a practical subject especially if they have a same -day assessment.

Too often, trainers subject their employees to training that is too enormous, repetitive, incomprehensible, outdated, or just plain useless. Bombarding trainees with too much content can make them feel burdened and cause them to push back or disengage from the training. This is called ‘Content overload.’

The trainer needs to find ways of making the training enjoyable and interesting. Staff will not engage if they don’t understand it, or don’t want to be there in the first place. Get the operatives to express themselves without embarrassing them. Praise them when they do something well and approach a question in a different way if they get it wrong. Don’t embarrass them or make a point of highlighting their mistakes in front of the group. Encourage them and, regardless of the outcome, a good trainer will know who has received the message.

Conclusion

The conclusion is to look at yourself as a trainer first before condemning the trainee;

Are your training methods appropriate?
Is the session structured. Not too long?
Is the session right for the trainee?
Are you open to changing your delivery style to meet the needs of the trainee?
Is the subject right for the trainee, or is the trainee right for the course?
Cleaning can be a dry subject (no pun intended) so make it interesting for all in the room.

There are other reasons, but these are just a few.

Has Covid gone forever?

183:747976208 (Tommy Taylor) — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

COVID 19 is not going away tomorrow and to understand what everyone is dealing with is always a good idea

In the cleaning industry we are heading for some very uncertain times. The word ‘Normal’ has been redefined. This covers the whole of our industry. For one group of people this new normal has a greater meaning. Not normally the best paid people and in some cases the least well protected are our cleaning operatives. Throughout the world COVID has meant different things to different countries in term of how respective governments dealt with it. In the UK, our system of employing cleaning operatives is very much different to that of the UAE. We do not buy in our labour; we do not have an obligation to house our cleaning operatives. The livelihood of cleaning operatives hangs in the balance. Some may have already been repatriated and others have an uncertain future hanging over them and their families. Our cleaning operatives are motivated by the potential to earn a decent salary to support their families back in their native homeland and the lack of earning potential will have a detrimental effect on their health and wellbeing.

So how do we help our workforce through this period? Developing a plan to mitigate employee fears and concerns should be a top priority. People are worried about their personal health and the health of those they care about. Men especially find it hard to express themselves to the managers with the fear that they may be seen as being weak. The manager may not be experienced enough to handle such emotions and may all have fears of their own. They have anxieties about their jobs, the future of their organisations and even the future of their industry.

To help employees through what will be a turbulent, stressful, and unpredictable return to work, organisations should focus on the personal experiences of their employees from a work and life perspective. It is critical to understand how the pandemic has impacted their personal connection to the culture of the organisation. It is also important to understand if employees feel their organisations are caring for them, as well as understand how to improve and advance that care during the return to the physical workplace, things will go better. Communication is going to be the key. In an environment that does not always gauge the opinion of its workforce a change in attitude from both management and operative could be the way forward.

Communicate frequently to make employees aware of the changes designed to keep everyone safe and healthy.

COVID is not going away tomorrow and to understand what everyone is dealing with is always a good idea.

Provide details of the changes – Clients will want to see an enhancement of cleaning practices. Train the staff and explain why there has to be change.
Encourage employees to participate and comply with new work practices. Listen to their suggestions.
Conduct demonstrations and training to introduce new skills to staff, get them involved. Do not just talk at them but engage.
Reward successful performance in relation to these practices. This does not have to be financial. Saying thank you can go a long way. But employers can help by finding ways to reward and recognise contribution.
Consider using a wide range of communication channels and materials – such as text messages (Whats App or equivalent); work place briefings where you can share good news from your clients or directors.
Organisations should tell their staff what they are going to do for them, to ease fear not only about COVID, but their jobs

Making sure that they have the correct equipment and PPE to do their jobs and to ensuring that they use it correctly.

Money will help, but what would help more is job security. The worry of family back home, catching COVID virus is always going to be there until a vaccine can be found. People need to have the building blocks that form Maslow's hierarchy of needs. For many operatives they are starting at the bottom of the pyramid since lockdown. Try and find a way of helping them and in turn they will help you in ways that you may not have expected.

What do you know about Vinly Flooring

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 08:46:35 GMT

A basic guild to Vinly Flooring

Resilient Vinyl Flooring: Characteristics and Maintenance

Resilient flooring refers to surfaces that possess elasticity in their materials, making them durable and flexible.

Among various options available in the commercial arena, vinyl is one of the most popular floor coverings due to its versatility in shades and styles. It comes in rolls, boards (planks), or tiles and is commonly installed using glue. The wide range of colors and profiles makes vinyl flooring suitable for various applications.

Vinyl boards or planks are designed to replicate the appearance of hardwood floors. They are known for their rigidity and durability, although they may be susceptible to dents or punctures from sharp, heavy objects.

Vinyl tiles are available as Vinyl Composition Tiles (VCT) or Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT). VCT contains a small percentage of vinyl (around 8% to 12%) along with other materials like limestone and clay, resulting in a porous surface that requires regular maintenance. On the other hand, LVT is made entirely from vinyl and does not need sealing or special maintenance to preserve its appearance. LVT finds common use in educational facilities, along with sheet vinyl and rubber floors.

Modern vinyl floor tiles are a popular choice for high-traffic areas due to their affordability, durability, and easy maintenance. They are highly resilient to abrasion and impact damage and can be refinished with chemical strippers and mechanical buffing equipment.

One of the significant advantages of vinyl flooring is that it requires minimal maintenance compared to tile floors since there is no grouting involved. However, joints can be sealed with PVC, ensuring higher hygiene levels. Consequently, vinyl flooring is often preferred in hospitals, public areas, and care homes. Its hard-wearing quality allows it to withstand heavy foot traffic, making it suitable for a wide range of commercial environments.

Vinyl tiles are typically composed of PVC and fiber, resulting in thin and fairly hard tiles. Despite their benefits, PVC tiles may be prone to issues such as lifting edges and surface wear due to foot traffic. Additionally, the thickness of the sheet and wear layer determines the floor's durability. Thinner floors are more susceptible to tearing and obvious damage once the print layer wears through.

Vinyl sheet flooring is designed with ornamental patterns that imitate wood, stone, or tile. The texture of these materials is replicated using embossing and specific topcoats, with a print layer adding to the appearance. Safety flooring often features a textured finish to provide non-slip properties.

Maintaining vinyl flooring offers several advantages:

1. Easy to clean and maintain.

2. Can withstand exposure to moisture without buckling, making it suitable for bathrooms and kitchens.

3. Depending on the type of vinyl, specific dressing recommendations may apply.

It is crucial to follow the manufacturer's recommendations for maintenance and redressing. For modern vinyl flooring, low-maintenance options may require little to no chemical application. However, it's essential to check with the supplier or manufacturer before attempting to clean the surface.

Common methods used to maintain vinyl flooring include:

1. Damp and wet mopping

2. Dry sweeping

3. Vacuuming

4. Scrubbing using a rotary, cylindrical, or orbital machine

5. Steam cleaning

6. Chemical stripping

7. Dressing using water-based polish

8. Water-based sealing.

Keep in mind that maintenance methods should not alter the floor's functionality or appearance. For safety or anti-static flooring, follow daily cleaning methods and avoid treatments unless explicitly directed by the manufacturer. Exercise caution while using chemical stripping to prevent damage to the surface, and always check for color fastness.

As cleaners, our role is to maintain the surface and preserve its aesthetics and functionality for as long as possible.