Five Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Cleaning Service

1. Who's cleaning your home or office? Do you know them by sight? The janitorial industry is often one of very fast turnover for employees. Having a constant stream of new people walking through your home or office can only serve to raise your risk of theft and loss. Most people who clean your home or office are hard-working, ethical people, but it is good to at least be able to recognize them and perhaps even know their name.

2. What are they cleaning with? While lots of chemicals clean things like sinks and toilets, many don't disinfect. It is not at all uncommon for a corner-cutting maid or janitor to clean your bathroom or kitchen with glass cleaner rather than disinfectant. When they finish, it may look clean and shiny, but the germs are still there. Quality companies consider this practice to be extremely unethical.

3. Are they vacuuming the carpets and blowing dust right back into the air? Vacuums don't need to be expensive or even new but they do need to have an effective filtration system, preferably HEPA, and a micro-filtration bag.

4. Do they have liability insurance and worker's compensation? If they don't, you're taking a huge risk by having them. If they get hurt on the job, they can come back and sue you; if they break your window or ruin your carpet, you may have to pay the bill. Many cleaning companies like to tell prospective clients that they are "bonded" as a way of distracting you from the fact that they don't have insurance. Surety bonding in the cleaning business means that the company pays about $100 per year for an insurance policy which is basically useless, especially to you. If one of their employees steals from you, is caught and found guilty in a court of law, the surety bond then kicks in to reimburse you for your loss -- but not a moment before a conviction is in place. That can be a long time to have to wait around for your computer or other expensive item to be replaced. Reputable companies carry insurance and guarantee that their employees won't steal from you. Though they may carry a bond, it is for their safety, not yours, as they will reimburse you immediately so that you don't have to wait for the conviction.

5. Do you know where your trash is going? Shred your financial documents and credit cards, especially if you are trusting someone else with your trash. If you have sensitive company documents, shred those as well as janitors in very competitive industries may find that they can make far more money by selling your company secrets than by dumping your trash. Many, many home and office cleaners will pick through your trash and take things they like, so be sure that the things in your trash are really trash. Also, to curtail their curiosity, don't put large or interesting items in the trash, such as clothes, tools, appliances or electronics. Instead, throw them away yourself at another time.