With families pressed for time, professional housecleaners thrive

During Diwali, media professional Pradnya Rao wanted a break from the norm. Instead of asking her domestic help to give her 700-square feet house at Andheri a thorough scrubbing before the festival, she sought out a professional home cleaner.

“When my sister moved into a new house we got a housekeeping firm to clean up the place and that’s when I thought I could do it for my place too,” says the 37-year-old.

She was so happy with the work that not only did she pay the cleaning firm Rs500 more than the agreed-upon Rs2,000, but also decided to avail of the service every three months.

While housekeeping companies focus on offices and retail outlets and homes of the rich and famous, lately they have discovered that salaried folk like Rao too are keen on enlisting their help. Lack of time on their part to be personally involved with the cleaning operations at their homes and a desire to have a comprehensive job neatly done, even if just once a year, are the reasons.

Kamlesh Palo, who runs Sanjeevani Enterprises from Andheri, helped spruce-up 20 apartments before Diwali, including Rao’s. “I got 4-5 enquiries a day but took on just one because I have limited labour,” he says. His boys have worked in apartments ranging from 550 to 2,000 square feet. “It’s mostly working women who prefer this service,” he adds.

Firms like Sanjeevani send two or more labourers and, in some cases, a supervisor, to a house. They work for a day through the length, breadth and height of a house including the floor, walls, windows, bathrooms and even kitchen cabinets and upholstery.

They charge between Rs2.50 and Rs5.50 per square feet.

According to Palo, interest from middle-class households has risen considerably since last year.

Shobita Kumar, director, Silver Broom, concurs with him. “Till three years back, most of my residential clients were from Peddar Road and Napean Sea Road but now half my clientele is in the suburbs,” she says. Silver Broom, which was started seven years back and operates out of Tardeo, has 20-30 home-owners who want their residences cleaned monthly or quarterly.

But most middle-income residents who subscribe to housekeeping services do it for occasions like weddings and festivals, Palo observes.

Experts note that the business is growing at a healthy rate of 30-40%. Moreover, this is a fairly easy venture to start. All one needs are cleaning materials and equipment like vacuum cleaner and scrubbing machine, a phone number and a few hands able enough to scrub hard floors and delicate glassware, all of which should entail an initial investment of not more than Rs50,000.

With such low entry-barriers, competition is intensive in what is largely an unorganised market. As a result, home-cleaners attract potential customers or retain their existing clientele by offering freebies. “We throw in pest-control or a sofa wash for free for some of our regular clients,” Kumar says.

However, despite a surge in demand for their services, some firms are treading cautiously. Kamlesh Sharma, proprietor, Vikhroli-based Executive Paradise Utility Services, which serves largely corporates and real estate developers, says he works on residences only through references. “Though I trust my employees, we want to avoid a situation where the resident says some valuables are missing. That’s why we work only for those we know,” he adds.