As of February 2013, Castle Keepers is the largest IICRC Certified Firm in the southeast for House Cleaning.

As of February 2013, Castle Keepers is the largest IICRC Certified Firm in the southeast for House Cleaning, with a combined total of eight IICRC-certified House Cleaning Technicians…and adding more all the time!

Recently one of our house cleaning friends in Cincinnati, OH, answered the question “Why does HCT Certification matter to our clients?”

This is why you want to be certified. The attached picture is the ceiling of a 1920s art deco hotel which has been converted into high end condominiums. Just the floors are Terrazo, Marble, Hard Wood, Limestone, and VCT tile. There are 10 other materials I identified on the walls and mosaic paintings. We just won the $3,000-a-month ($36,000/yr) contract to clean the common areas of this 15-story building because we knew what all the ornate fixtures were made out of and we could answer all of his questions about how to care for them properly. That is why certification matters.

The point Derek Christian, owner of My Maid Service of Cincinnati, OH and of Dallas, TX, is making is that before a professional cleaner can begin to remove the dirt, allergens, and bacteria from surfaces in your home, that cleaning technician must first be able to accurately identify each surface that will be cleaned.

Why? Well, you want a clean home, right? What if I tell you that you can easily remove any kind of oil-based dirtiness from your granite kitchen countertop, using simple dishwashing soap. Will it work? Absolutely! The surfactants in the dishwashing soap are perfect for picking up and removing oily residues from cooking. But the chelating agents in the soap will also chip away at your granite, creating a rough feel to your granite and eventually creating a need to have that counter professionally polished to return the smoothness and shine you want.

PS: vinegar and lemon juice will also ruin your marble, and they don’t actually clean or sanitize anything.

An IICRC-certified House Cleaning Technicians knows to first check the material your counters, floors, cabinets, and other cleanable surfaces are made of and then to determine the cleaning products or tools that will both effectively and safely clean that surface.