Home cleaning services see big drop in business during pandemic

5/8/2020 (Permalink)

While having a clean house seems more important than ever, the potential risks that come with bringing someone in to do the cleaning have caused the industry to see a drop-off in business amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Harry Weingardt, the owner of Albuquerque-based SERVPRO of NE Albuquerque, said he’s had about a quarter of the jobs he usually does, so he only has a skeleton crew working to clean the few properties that don’t mind bringing someone in..

Asked why she thinks the 80-year old woman still wants her to come in and clean, Harry said, “I think she’d rather have the house clean.”

When he arrives to do the cleaning, Weingardt said the clients don’t stay and he guesses that they’re okay with his company coming in to clean because they’re practicing good social distancing and everyone is wearing masks.

Harry said when he arrives at a client’s house he immediately wipes everything down with disinfectants, then does the normal cleaning he would do, then wipes everything down again.

Harry is also having his employees take extra precautions, providing them with masks and other personal protective equipment including gloves, he said.

Right now the company is mostly just cleaning commercial buildings, according to Weingardt, but even with the commercial buildings employees are only working about 15 to 20 hrs a week.

He’s already been able to secure some office-cleaning jobs, he said and has been working to get more commercial certifications so he can attract even more commercial clients.

Though things look bleak now, Weingardt suspects things could be looking up for remediation companies in the near future.

He said he guesses that once the state begins to reopen there will be a new push for people who want to “clean everything to a completely sanitized level, so we’re trying to get ready for that.”