MANLIUS — Just in time for spring, a professional cleaning service that started out in the Mohawk Valley region has opened up another, closer location.
After having to turn down requests coming from Manlius and nearby communities due to the distance from its original coverage zone, the Waterville company Home Sweet Home expanded first to a local storage unit about six months ago and next a more official space at 100 E. Seneca St. that opened in February.
“When I went out to Manlius for a couple estimates, I realized it’s a really great area,” said the business’ owner and operator, Heather Loveland-Button. “I said why not just give this a go and see what comes of it.”
Because Loveland-Button recently gave birth to a baby boy, the side of the company that deals with the installation and maintenance of gardens has been put on hold for the time being, seeing as how that seasonal gig requires more personal supervision on her part without as much backing from managers.
Nonetheless, Home Sweet Home still offers the residential and commercial cleaning assistance that it has since its inception in October 2014.
This service allows clients to begin with a “deep cleaning” if at least half a year has passed since specialists last cleaned their home.
That encouraged starting point entails a top-to-bottom dusting, the sanitizing of kitchen and bathroom surfaces, the polishing of appliance exteriors, the wiping down of woodwork, thorough vacuuming and mopping, and the removal of soap scum, mildew and mold from showers and tubs.
For an extra charge, the company will add the freshening of oven interiors, refrigerators and blinds to any appointment.
The deep cleaning is provided through a choice from a three-leveled approach delineated by the labels of bronze, silver and gold.
The bronze routine employs only dusting tools, while silver gives the staff members a chance to get on their step stools and plant themselves down on the floor to hand wash households.
The most expensive of the three, the gold option, incorporates dish and denture brushes on the way to leaving every nook and cranny as spotless as possible, Loveland-Button said.
“Some people are very particular, or they may be moving into a recently purchased, previously occupied home, so it’s important that we really go super, super deep and remove left-behind dust and grime and things of that nature,” she said.
Past that stage, Home Sweet Home provides recurring services tailored to customers’ unique needs or budgets. Most often, though, its cleaners return on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis to straighten up and preserve the degree of tidiness reached with the deep cleaning.
As a new mom with a better understanding of some people’s personal and professional balances, Loveland-Button said she notices a value in relieving families of the task of cleaning.
“The imaginary to-do list and the immediate stress go away, and they have more time for relaxation,” she said.
The business’ attention to commercial offices includes the disinfection of door knobs and door frames, the disposal of trash, the restocking of tissues, and the sweeping and sanitation of conference rooms, reception areas, restrooms and break rooms.
Pertaining to most any indoor workplace other than restaurants, commercial cleanings usually occur every two weeks unless daily, weekly or monthly visits are desired.
As she introduces her newest location, Loveland-Button said the circumstances surrounding COVID have presented hurdles scheduling-wise.
“With people working in their homes more now than ever, and with some hesitance to be around others because of COVID, we often have to stop in when they’re not home or else work around conference calls they may have,” she said.
According to Loveland-Button, Home Sweet Home strives to be “eco-conscious” by limiting the use of paper towels and by avoiding products like Pledge aerosol cans and Windex bottles, citing potential hormone disruption caused by the latter.
Instead the business uses such items as terry cloth, vinegar, olive oil, rubbing alcohol and Environmental Protection Agency-approved disinfectant.
Extended to Oneida and Madison counties and now parts of Onondaga County, the cleaning service is currently looking for new hires willing to stay on their feet for eight hours a day.
“It’s a very physically demanding job, but it’s also extremely rewarding because you can see a job before and after it’s done in the same day,” said Loveland-Button.
Home Sweet Home can be contacted at (315) 520-0118, and additional information can be found on cnyhomesweethome.com.
