Category: FAQs

Which Cleaning Services does Carfagno Cleaning Offer?

12/4/2020

Carfagno Cleaning has literally done it all in over 15 years of cleaning. Before I share the main services offiered, let me refresh you on a few other commonly asked questions.

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How Can you Possibly Clean Alone, Ken?

11/20/2020

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I love the illustration in this image. When you tear the word "impossible" in two, you get "I'm possible". It's the same letters emphasized differently, but the change makes all the difference in how our brains respond. In this article, my goal is to share the common misconceptions of solo cleaning. I will break down each perceived negative and show you the "possible". Let's get started!

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Will You Take Cash?

10/16/2020

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It was early 2007 when I was asked this question for the first time. The person asking me was a local business owner and friend. He wanted me to clean his rental unit. Now, he didn't ask to pay me under-the-table. He implied it and I knew it. This was a difficult place to be. First of all, we really needed the money. I didn't want to say no to the cleaning job or offend him. Plus, I didn't want to do something that I knew was wrong. It took me a few seconds to respond. "Yes. I do take cash as well as checks. Just to be clear and you're probably not even asking me this, but I am required to charge sales tax on all cleaning services."

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What Happens when you Break or Damage my Property, Ken?

10/2/2020

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In my article, "5 Tips for Selecting your Next Cleaner", I stress how critical it is to hire an insured cleaning service. You will have tremendous peace of mind knowing that you, your family, and your property are covered if any bodily harm or property damage occurs due to my cleaning. This sounds great when you see it written, but it's vague. I've been cleaning for 15 years. In this article, I will share a few short examples of how I broke or damaged property and how we dealt with it.

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How Much Do you Charge for Cleaning, Ken?

9/18/2020

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I highly encourage you to read my previous article first, "Did you Know Cleaning has a Specialist too?" I was recently asked what level of a cleaning specialist I was and I had to really think about it. In the article, I concluded that I was a Level 3 Cleaning Specialist. However, I have changed my position and now consider myself a Level 4.

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Did You Know Cleaning Has A Specialist Too?

8/14/2020

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We admire and respect doctors as they save lives, especially in 2020! They deserve this admiration. Doctors invest hundreds of thousands of dollars and 11 to 15 years of their life to earn their title as a medical specialist. Within the medical community, there are various levels of specialization. Each additional level requires more time and monetary investment.

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How to Break Up with your Cleaner

7/27/2020

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In my last article, I covered "5 Tips for Selecting Your Next Cleaner". I lay out an analytical and emotional approach to selecting the right cleaning service for your home or office. But what if you have a cleaning service now and they don't exactly meet the criteria of a legit company or they're not COVID prepared & educated? Don't fret! I have this follow-up article for you on how to break up with your current cleaner.

First off, let me make this disclaimer. I don't want any cleaning service to lose their job. We are not competitive with each other as most of us in the industry realize that there are way more houses and offices than cleaning companies. Secondly, if you're happy with your cleaning service, please ignore this advice!

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5 Tips for Selecting Your Next Cleaner

7/17/2020

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As the summer ends, many will start considering a new house or office cleaning company. Use this checklist as a tried & true way to interview potential candidates! I've been in this industry for 15 years and have served as an industry consultant for the last 4 years. This will help you!

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How to Disinfect Properly Introduction

4/10/2020

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Over my 15 years of professional cleaning for home & small business owners, I have seen that 90% of people DO NOT disinfect correctly. This video serves as an introduction to the 5-part FREE video course "How to Disinfect Properly", where I break down the "9 Mistakes of Disinfection".

Click here to access your FREE course!
[You will be directed to subscribe to our newsletter mailing list first.]

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The 15 Germiest Places in YOUR Office as Flu Season Approaches

10/15/2019

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Let's redefine "dirtiest" to the word you actually care most about... "germiest".

You want to avoid sickness and with flu season right around the corner, this is a great time to assess the cleanliness of your office.
In an article published by WebMd on December 23, 2018, Dr. Laura J. Martin, MD shares her professional insights. She sites 15 common office locations that tend to gather the most germs (aka bacteria) and strategies to sanitize and/or avoid them. The article does a great job, so I won't attempt to re-write it. I will simply list the 15 areas, site her takeaways, and add my perspective as a cleaning company owner for 14 years. This article could be a great resource for an upcoming staff meeting as well as a solid checklist for your cleaning service to evaluate in hopes of reducing your sick day call outs this cold & flu season!

Elevator Buttons - I've been in your offices and do not think this will apply to many. Just keep this in mind as you visit other offices. The "L" button for Lobby really stands for Laxative!
Door Handles - Your cleaning service should be sanitizing door handles on a regular basis. Get in the habit of washing your hands with warm water & soap for at least 20 seconds often.
Desktops - Dr. Martin reports that there are 400 times more germs on your desktop than a toilet seat! Sit on that! Make sure your cleaning service is sanitizing your desks on a regular basis. More importantly, you will learn that 80% of prevention of sickness is what YOU do DAILY. The other 20% can be maintained by your cleaning service. However, if your cleaning service is not sanitizing this WebMd list, they should be.
Keyboards - It just sits there as a huge germ collector all day, every day. Have your cleaning service disinfect keyboards on some recurring frequency. Read the WebMd on this one. It's gross!
Telephones - It's worse than your desktop (which is worse than a toilet seat)! Get some clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, and have your cleaning service do it regularly.
Office Equipment - Your hands go from your phone to keyboard to coffee mug to door handle to copier button. Hello sickness! The buttons on your general use office equipment are rarely cleaned. Change that!
Water Cooler - Want some controversy in your office... read Dr. Martin's take on your Water-e-Coli... I mean water cooler. Train your staff how to use the water cooler because they need to be trained. Your cleaning service can sanitize the dispensers on a regular basis, but it may not help as the water cooler is touched hundreds of times per day!
Coffee Maker - Dr. Martin gives a brilliant hack to kill the bacteria growing inside of your coffee maker using white vinegar to clean it out from the inside. The same advice applies from the water cooler here.
Coffee Pot - Many offices use Keurig-type systems now. For the others, don't ignore cleaning & disinfecting the coffee pot handle! Your cleaning service can wash & sanitize during their visits.
Coffee Mugs - I worked in Corporate America for 6 years as an engineer. Bill was a brilliant engineer, but I would nearly dry heave when I saw his grimy, yellow, germ-infested coffee cup that he held ALL DAY LONG!!! Dr. Martin sites a study proving that your coffee cup has "significant germs" including poop!!! Case closed! Your cleaning service can't help here, except to accidentally throw some coffee cups out. Oops! Sorry about that!
Break Room Sink - Your cleaning service is obviously cleaning & sanitizing the sink every visit as it's a major collector of bacteria. Don't neglect the handles as they are the worst!
Kitchen Sponges - Dr. Martin states that "most new sponges will have bacteria like E. coli and salmonella within 3 weeks.". Did you know you could microwave your sponge to kill bacteria. I just learned it from Dr. Martin! Otherwise, replace the sponge weekly or have your cleaning service do it!
Microwave Door - Speaking of the microwave, it's an absolute MUST that your cleaning service cleans & disinfects your unit and especially the handle weekly!
Vending Machines - I don't see many smaller offices with these. If you do, think of it this way. You thought the snacks were unhealthy. You actually get sick from touching the buttons! The snack is the bonus.
Restrooms - This is a vital area for your cleaning service. Obviously, the toilet is dirty. Did you ever think about the flushing & faucet handles? It's the ultimate oxy-moron to think you're getting clean hands as you wash with soap & warm water for 20 seconds and then turn off the water! Make sure your cleaning service is sanitizing weekly and staff is using precautions as Dr. Martin recommends.
Refrigerator - I am adding one to the list. Over the course of my cleaning career, I have offered a quarterly refrigerator deep clean & disinfect as an add-on service. Oh my! People leave all kinds of nasty leftover food and expired condiments. The refrigerator becomes a zoo for bacteria to grow... and then you pull your food from there and eat it every day. Eliminate leftovers by the NEXT DAY. Throw out expired condiments. Have your refrigerator disinfected every 3 months! Side note: I use the words "sanitize" and "disinfect" throughout this article. They are NOT the same. Sanitize brings the levels of bacteria down to a safe level. Disinfection eliminates it!

Simply by following this checklist and training your staff, you can eliminate sick days for a more productive cold & flu season. If you would like to discuss cleaning options for your office, please email or call Ken @ (518) 312-2099.

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"I clean as if my own family was living there!"

9/1/2018

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Hello Philly Area! After 18 years, our family is PHINALLY coming home!

I followed my dream to create things for the world. This lead me to GE engineering away from PA and our family. But the corporate world stuck a dagger in my WHY of FAMILY after completely selling out for 12 months. My hero and VP of Engineering said. “If you want my job, you can't have a personal life. I live in Greenville and my wife lives in Atlanta."

This rocked my world to the core, hitting me right in the WHY. Family. That's not me. Thus, I exchanged the GE logo on my shirt to my own company logo in 2005. During these last 13 years, we've enjoyed incredible flexibility & freedom with our family of 7. And the work itself has been SO rewarding. I've been blessed with the opportunity to be a member of so many families and realtor teams over the years. Yes, I cleaned for them, but it was so much more. They have been my surrogate families as ours was 5 hours away. As hard as it was to leave, the Carfagnos are PHINALLY coming back home to enjoy FAMILY, clean for YOU, and coach other cleaning owners nationally who also want more time with their families.

Here are some quick survey questions to discover if hiring Carfagno Cleaning is right for you:

Would you like to trade your cleaning time for family time or "me" time? This is the #1 reason why families have hired me over the years. They don’t have the time.
Is the upkeep of your home overwhelming and you'd like to just pay someone to do it? Many families have upgraded their homes or their job situation has changed and they get overwhelmed at the thought of cleaning their house on the weekend.
Are you unhappy with your current cleaning service? Unfortunately, accountability and consistent high quality are uncommon in the cleaning world. Just treating people right and having excellence sets me apart as “uncommon”.
Do you miss having a cleaning service and it's time to hire again? Seasons of life change and I have always understood that a family may hire me for 2 years and then let me go, only to return 2 years later. Are you in a season right now where a reliable, high-quality cleaning service would change the dynamic in your home?

WHY would you hire Carfagno Cleaning? That's simple. We share values and that builds trust.
Frequently Asked Questions:

Do you have a team or work alone? I clean solo. Always have, always will. You get me every time.
What services do you offer? I do presentation cleaning for houses & small offices. I also offer window cleaning, real estate & apartment presentation services.
Do you bring your own supplies? Yes, I bring everything with me. I use eco-friendly cleaners and a multiple stage HEPA backpack vac to clean your home. My NY clients have always loved the smell of my products and they loved to tease me about my vacuum, calling me a ghostbuster. But man, does that thing SUCK!
Are you insured? Yes, Carfagno Cleaning, Inc is a NY-based corporation that is registered to do business in PA. I carry $1M per Occurrence / $2M Aggregate of General Liability Insurance. I pay payroll & sales taxes. This question is vital as many cleaning “businesses” are not really businesses at all. They are people cleaning under the table. If you hire one, you take on a lot of risk as any liability can fall onto you.
How do you price? I don’t have a set price list, rather a process to quote your home or job properly. It all starts with a phone call and ends with an in-person estimate and follow up proposal with multiple price options for recurring cleaning. If you are inquiring about a 1-time or real estate presentation cleaning price, I start with a phone call and look to give a ballpark range based on your project. If you like what I have to say and my range, you schedule the work. The job starts after we shake on a final price. In general, my prices are on the upper end as I provide high detail, high value & high reliability.
How far out do you book? If you are looking for a recurring service, I keep a waiting list. I have learned in my 14 years of working solo, it is never wise to over promise. I under promise and over deliver. If you are looking for a 1-time or real estate presentation clean, I typically book out 1-2 weeks.
Do you charge for estimates? Nope. Just contact me if you like my story and we’ll start with a phone call. We can judge whether I’m the right company for you or your family.
Do you have references from NY? Yes, see my REVIEWS page.

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Which Cleaning Services does Carfagno Cleaning Offer?

How Can you Possibly Clean Alone, Ken?

Will You Take Cash?

What Happens when you Break or Damage my Property, Ken?

How Much Do you Charge for Cleaning, Ken?

Did You Know Cleaning Has A Specialist Too?

How to Break Up with your Cleaner

5 Tips for Selecting Your Next Cleaner

How to Disinfect Properly Introduction

The 15 Germiest Places in YOUR Office as Flu Season Approaches

"I clean as if my own family was living there!"

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