Becoming a self employed cleaner without a car?

whenispaydayagain?

My wife is wanting to do some part time domestic cleaning to up her income but the problem is she doesn't drive.

Do domestic cleaners (self employed) generally provide their own cleaning goods? I imagine they would to be honest but this is making us think how is she going to get all the equipment from A to B without transport?

Are there any other cleaners on here who work for themselves and don't drive? Any suggestions/ideas?

:T

Sambucus_Nigra

Strangely enough - I was discussing this with my new business partner this week. She is OCD and was telling me that her first business was cleaning, she would traipse round with a mop and bucket on wheels and cleaning cloths with stuff like vinegar and lemon juice in the bucket. It is do-able. I imagine that you would use the owner's vacuum cleaners and supply the rest yourself.

skivenov

Mum used to use her pushbike when she was cleaning for a few old fellas locally. She used to use what they'd got, and if she needed anything extra, buy it and leave it at the customers and add it on to their bill. With it being older folks she cleaned for, she'd combine it with doing a bit of shopping for them.

treacle7

Hi I am a cleaner and I am often asked if i am supplying my own cleaning products when i do the inital quote but more often than not I am invited to use the owners of the house's cleaning products. Every week I use all my clients bucket and mop and their hoovers. Recently i have been taking my own hoover but i do drive as I am also a gardener. I do have other non paying jobs and when I am on route from one of these voluntary commitments to my cleaning jobs i dont take the car. On these days I always carry a glass cloth, newspaper and if i notice the clients are running low on a cleaning product I will bring that too. It is etiquette to let the clients know when you formulate the quote/pay rate of how you intend to work. One answer to your quandry, if your wife is based in a urban area, is to advertise in her local shop so that she does not have to travel far. Alternatively she can join an agency and then they will supply all cleaning equipment and products on the site of the company the contract is with. hope this helps...

treacle7

PS if you are quoting with bringing your own cleaning products factor this into your wage structure...

angelsmomma

I use the clients cleaning equipment and products. I only do work where I can walk there in under 25 minutes and answer adverts in local shop windows.

Once known to a few people I got asked to do other people. I get asked to do work outside my area but don't want to pay travel costs so just say no.

Opinion

My cleaner rides her bicycle here and uses my cleaning products. When something runs out or she needs something else she leaves me a note or a txt message.

whenispaydayagain?

wow - thanks for all the replies!

I am (pleasantly) surprised that many cleaners use their client's cleaning products and vac/mop bucket etc. - That will be a massive help. Replacing what has been used on an as/when basis sounds good too - I imagine this cost could just be passed onto the client.

Just from a personal POV I would have expected the cleaner to provide everything if I was to pay a cleaner to clean my house. It’s a good job I'm not her target market lol.

It is good advice to start locally as this is what she intends to do - As I say it is only to top up her income to start with.

Thanks for all the input so far guys

silverfairy

Hi
I have a friend who is a domestic cleaner & she says a lot of her clients past & present provide their own products as some don't like the use of aerosols,lavender/lemon scents or prefer bleach or non bleach type products.She always had a chat with them in their home before she started to establish their personal preferences.

Februarycat

I'm hoping to start doing cleaning soon, and I dont drive. I was thinking of just using my bike or walk and use the customer's products and just keep it local to the end of town I live. Having said that I have advertised on Gumtree for a couple of weeks now and no response. I think perhaps I will try a postcard ad in the newsagent. I am working p.t as a cleaner in the evenings but want more hours.
Hope your wife finds some work.

fluffpot

If you use your own products then you should charge more. As above, my cleaner uses my products (that way I have control over what it used and charged!) and mops/vacuum/cloths etc. She leaves a note when something runs out. If you live in an urban area then no car = no problem. Parking would cost almost as much as the cleaning where I live! You can bus/train/bike or walk it. I wouldn't expect my cleaner to carry a load of stuff on the bus!