What Does a Professional Cleaner Actually Notice in Your Home?

What Does a Professional Cleaner Actually Notice in Your Home?

A little hello before I start…

If you have found your way to my first blog post, hello and welcome!

I am Kasia, the person behind KTS Cleaning Services & More. I’ve been cleaning homes and properties for more than 10 years now, and over that time I’ve picked up plenty of tips, learned a lot and come across more than a few cleaning challenges along the way.

So, I thought it would be nice to have a little corner of the KTS website where I can share some of that with you.

I’m not going to make things complicated. I’ll be talking about cleaning, looking after your homes, things I’ve learned through my work and hopefully sharing a few useful tips along the way.

For my first blog post, I thought I’d start with something that perhaps you’ve wondered about yourself…

What does a professional cleaner actually notice when they walk into your home?

The answer is probably not what you think.

First of all, I’m not judging your home

I wanted to start with this because I know how many people worry about it.

I’ve walked into homes where someone has immediately apologised for the washing on the chair, the breakfast dishes, the dog hair, the toys on the floor or simply because they haven’t had time to clean.

There really is no need.

Homes are lived in. People work, children make mess, pets shed hair, washing piles up and sometimes there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.

That may be exactly why you have asked me to come in.

When I walk into somebody’s home, I’m not thinking about why something hasn’t been cleaned. I’m looking at what needs doing and how I can make things a little easier for you.

Every home is different

One of the first things I notice is how a home is actually used.

A busy family home is very different from a home with one person living in it. Add children, pets, working from home or a house that’s empty for part of the year, and the cleaning needs can be completely different again.

That’s why I don’t think the same cleaning routine works for everyone.

Some homes need more attention in the kitchen. In other homes it might be the bathroom or the floors. You might have a room that hardly gets used and another that seems to need cleaning five minutes after I’ve finished with it.

I’m fairly sure some floors wait until I leave before getting dirty again.

Over time, I also get to know what matters to each client. And quite often it’s the little things.

And it isn’t only homes

Of course, not every property I clean is somebody’s home.

Holiday lets are a little different because I’m looking at the property through the eyes of the next guest. I notice the things they’re likely to notice when they first walk through the door – how everything looks, whether it feels fresh and welcoming and whether those little finishing touches have been taken care of.

Commercial cleaning is different again. There I’m thinking more about the people using the space everyday, the areas that get the most use and the things that perhaps get overlooked when everyone is busy working.

That’s one of the things I enjoy about my work. No two properties are quite the same, and I learn to look at each one a little differently.

I notice the bits that are easy to forget

When you clean for a living, you do start noticing things other people probably don’t.

Skirting boards, door frames, handles, the edges of floors, the tops of furniture and those awkward little corners where dust somehow manages to appear from nowhere.

And cobwebs. They seem particularly good at choosing places nobody can quite reach.

That doesn’t mean everything needs doing every single time. Part of the job is knowing what needs attention and when.

Sometimes its those small things that make the difference between somewhere simply looking clean and a home feeling properly looked after.

I look at what I’m cleaning

This is something people probably don’t think very often, but I do.

Not everything can be cleaned with the same product or in the same way.

Wood, stone, tiles, glass, and different finishes all need looking after differently.

Cleaning isn’t about using the strongest product you can find and hoping for the best. Sometimes a tad of patience works much better than half a bottle of cleaner.

At the end of the day, I’m working in somebody else’s home, property, or workplace, with things that belong to them, and I treat them with the same care I’d want someone to show in mine.

I notice what matters to you

This is probably one of my favourite parts of having regular clients.

Once I get to know my clients and their home, I start learning their little preferences.

Someone might love coming home to a beautifully made bed. Someone else really notices their kitchen. Maybe there is a particular way they like their cushions arranged, or something they would rather I didn’t move at all.

They might sound like tiny details, but I think they matter.

For me, a good cleaning service shouldn’t feel like somebody has simply worked through a list and left. It should feel like your home has been looked after in a way that works for you.

So please don’t clean before I arrive!

Yes, people really do this

Of course, putting a few things away can sometimes help me get straight on with the cleaning, but please don’t feel that you need to make your home spotless before your cleaner sees it.

Otherwise, that defeats the point!

Life gets busy. Sometimes the house gets on top of us. There is nothing embarrassing about that.

After more than 10 years of doing this job, I can promise you I’m far more interested in what I can do to help than whether there were a few dishes in the sink when I arrived.

And I think that’s probably the biggest thing I’d like you to take away from my first blog.

A home doesn’t need to be perfect.

We all have times when life gets busy and keeping on top of the house becomes one job too many. Sometimes having someone come in and take care of the cleaning simply makes life that little bit easier.

And really, that’s what I’m there for.

Kasia

KTS Cleaning Services & More