The 8th of March is coming soon… Flowers and gifts will be tomorrow, but at first a woman has to have some “fun” – do the cleaning! Vacuum cleaner, mop and rags – a Cinderella cleans apartment before ball. She is dreaming about prince, who is able to save her from this labor and make her a princess. The cleaning isn’t a princess job, this is a job of professional cleaners.

The cleaning business in Ukraine just started to pick up speed. Even though some cleaning companies opened their departments in the other cities, there’re about 70 enterprises in Kiev, just 10-15 of which present the licensed services with a guarantee of the jobs quality. The companies specialize at the cleaning of big office premises, shops and other commercial estate. Just 3-4 enterprises in the whole capital are ready to do the single service before holidays or general cleaning for physical people on the small area.

Who Makes Money?

As everybody knows, the supply creates demand. Ukrainians rapidly borrow the experience and lifestyle of Europeans, which created a big industry out of cleaning business. In Germany, France, Great Britain and Spain the professional cleaners have already replaced the hired cleaners. The half of the native cleaning companies clients are the private people.

More often the clients of cleaning companies are the owners and tenant of cottages, big apartments (from 150 sq.m), especially with the designer interior solution. Besides, the cleaners are popular among the rich bachelors (both male and female). The rich families order such services less often – they prefer hiring the housekeepers. Their position usually is: why do we need to invite strangers, if our housekeeper gets money for this job and cleans the house for a little bonus. The housekeeper is a main competitor of the cleaning companies.

At the first view this attitude makes sense. However, the main difference of the professional cleaning is using of professional equipment. Even though you have a hard-working housekeeper, she’ll never clean the kitchen from soot and grease – it can be done just with special polishing machine. The quick restoring of polisher on the scratched parquet can’t be done by housekeepers. Each material should be cleaned with special technologies, equipment and detergents. The effect can’t be compared to any trivial cleaning with vacuum cleaner or rag.

The professional cleaning is essential because of the growing demands of people to live in sanitary and comfortable environments, and because of the desire to make the life of trimming materials longer. Because it’s not really smart to throw the favorite coach away, because your guests poured their drinks there. Even though is sounds strange, but the regular wall-paper may live longer, if they are cleaned regularly. So the time of repair is not coming soon.

The other reason to ask for professional cleaning help is unpleasant smell in apartments. Of course, the cleaners can’t fix the ventilation system or sewerage system, but very often the reason of smells is different.

“Sometimes our clients have no idea, what is hiding behind their coaches and cup-boards: during the cleaning you may find not only the lost stuff, but also muffins, rests of food and so on”, Lina Volovchik, the manager of Clean Day tells.

Price and Quality

What is the cost of this service? Where and how you can find a company, which you can trust your apartment and comfort?

You shouldn’t call the advertisement in the new-paper or look for the cheaper variant. The questionable cleaners may be adventurists and damage you stuff, for example improperly chose the cleaners. That’s why try to ask for your friends’ advice or order a service of the company, which you already know.

You should make a decision – if you need to do a general cleaning, which includes cleaning of all surfaces, windows washing, bathroom and tile cleaning.

“Our clients order general cleanings before and after the fests”, Iryna Kladko, the marketing specialists of Shaden Group says, “That’s why if you expect a load company on the 8th of March, you should order the cleaning in advance. The perfect variant is when a specialist estimates the price of order at your place”.

We should notice that the components of general depend on the company, so you should make clear the details in advance. You should ask about:

• Dry cleaning of floors
• Damp cleaning of floors
• Removing of dust from the ceilings and walls
• Washing of windows from the inside
• Vacuum cleaning of the upholstered furniture
• Washing of stairs
• Removing of dust from all vertical and horizontal surfaces

The standard cleaning cost 300 grivnas or more.

The rest of jobs are paid separately. For example:

• Washing of windows from the outside
• Washing of window-sills
• Washing and cleaning of glass and mirror surfaces
• Cleaning and disinfecting of bathrooms and showers
• Wiping of kitchen furniture and equipment
• Cleaning and processing of sanitary engineering and furniture
• Cleaning of radiators from pollutions
• Polishing of doors with a French polish
• Cleaning of balconies
• Dry cleaning of carpets and upholstered furniture
• Wiping and removing of pollutions from the small details of the interior
• Processing of metallic and chrome-plated surfaces with special polishes

The cleaning companies offer lots of services:

• Removing of stains from the surfaces – 10-12 grivnas for each
• Cleaning of Venetian blinders – 5-18 grivnas for one square meter
• Cleaning of furniture – 4-25 grivnas for one place depending on the type of furniture (the most expensive service is cleaning of coaches)
• Washing of windows – 2.2-12 grivnas for square meter depending on the height and side (inner or outside) of the window. The windows washing from the outside on the height more than nine meters ranks to high-rise works or industrial climbing. It’s paid according to the separate tariffs.
• Cleaning of facades – 5-53 grivnas for square meter and more depending on the type of cleaning, fa?ade and complexity of works
• Sanitary processing and disinfection – 11-27 square meters for the processing detail
• Care of floors – 1.9-14 grivnas for one square meter, cleaning of the floors – 4-11 grivnas for one square meter. The price depend on the area of premises and type of the covering (marble, linoleum, parket)

Lots of the companies have a minimal cost of the order (about 500 grivnas). You would ask: what for? While counting lots of the factors should be taken into account, beginning with the area of premises and finishing with the materials of surfaces. The urgency of the order don’t influence on its price, it depends on the factor of time: if the team has some free time.

As the Attis-MR claims, the price of the service depends on the quantity of people, who work at the object – about two thirds goes to the salary of cleaners. The general profitability of cleaning industry is 30-50% with the average cost of works – 6-7 grivnas for square meter.

For comparison: the cost of single cleaning by qualified housekeeper will cost you 250-300 grivnas. However the job will be done without using of specialized technique and will take lots of time.

Source: “Mir Nedvigimosti”