Deodorant for house cleaners and maids should be part of your house cleaner training. Nobody should have to tell you two wear deodorant with an antiperspirant.
But you Ask a House Cleaner what hygiene tips to tell your employees when they don’t wear deodorant, reek of stench, and have bad breath.
Angela Brown, The House Cleaner Guru breaks it down. You stink. Cleaning advice includes taking a shower to get rid of the offensive smell. Smelling clean is part of your company brand and makes you a savvy cleaner.
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Listen: Deodorant – Hygiene for House Cleaners
Watch: Deodorant – Hygiene for House Cleaners
Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer.
Question: How Do I Tell My Employees They Need Deodorant?
Today’s question is a good one. I have been putting this particular topic off for a long time because of the nature of it. It is an awkward issue. Should house cleaners wear deodorant?
Answer: House Cleaners Need Hygiene and Deodorant
It’s a question that comes back many times a week in my office. And like you, I just keep assuming that good hygiene is part of your company business and brand.
First Things First: Personal Hygiene Is Part of Your Company Brand
“What? The business is about cleaning.”
Yes, it is, but you and your employees are the faces of your business.
You and your employees show up at the customer’s house. The image that you are presenting is the image of your business.
Personal Hygiene Can Affect Getting Referrals
I got a call the other day from a woman who said, “I’m in a bind. I have the most excellent house cleaner in the world. And she asks me for references and ratings for her website. She keeps asking me, and I keep not giving her one.”
I said, “By all means, give her a rating and review. This is how she grows her business. I’m on the house cleaner’s side. I’m rooting for her.”
The customer says, “I can’t. I can’t because she stinks. She doesn’t wear deodorant because she’s nontoxic and earth-friendly.
I leave while she’s there because she stinks so bad. When I come home to my house, my house wreaks. I’ve got this aura of body odor in my house, and she tries to mask it by using essential oils.
The reality is she’s amazing at cleaning houses, but her hygiene is so bad. If you try to have a conversation with her, her breath is so bad that it’s deplorable.
I cannot give her a reference because I don’t want to send her to anyone else’s house.”
I’m rooting for the house cleaner. We’re having this conversation today because I need you to understand this.
Sometimes Chemicals Are Necessary
The world is full of toxic chemicals. And there are things that are not natural.
So, you may have to switch from being organic to using some chemicals to ward off things like body odor.
Body Odor Producers
Now, if you’re 100% natural, 100% green, that will also transfer over into your diet. And you will have fewer things that are producing horrible body odors.
Having said that, there are two kinds of glands in your body. There’s one that forces out water and salt. And there’s another one that forces out odor, and they work together.
Deodorant and Antiperspirant
Science has created something called “deodorant” and “antiperspirant.” These force those two glands to work together to avoid perspiration and body odor.
Now, the difference between deodorant and antiperspirant are in the names. The deodorant reduces the odor, and the antiperspirant reduces the perspiration.
When you get up in the morning, you got to take a shower.
I know. You’re going to sweat anyway, why take a shower? Because that is your business brand.
Look (and Smell) Like a Million Bucks!
When you show up at a customer’s house, you need to look like a million bucks. You are representing your company.
And the referrals you’re receiving from your customers are based on that brand. Also, the tips that you receive come from what they think about that brand.
You might do an excellent job! But if you stink and the customer doesn’t want to be around you, they’re not going to be there to give you extra tips. And if they don’t want to be associated with you, they are not going to give you referrals. It’s just the way of doing things.
Should House Cleaners Wear Deodorant?
Yes. Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
It should be a deodorant and an antiperspirant.
Now, I get this all the time from house cleaners.
They’re like, “Well, I’m crunchy. I’m earth-friendly. I don’t wear deodorant because there are chemicals in it, and it causes cancer.”
Studies Are Inconclusive
There are studies that say yes, and there are studies that say no. They are inconclusive. We don’t have proof that deodorant causes cancer.
What we do have proof of is this.
There is aluminum in deodorant. High doses of aluminum can affect your kidneys if you have kidney problems.
That is the biggest warning that we have about deodorant and antiperspirant.
You Will Sweat, You Need Deodorant
Should you wear deodorant? Yes, you should. And you should not stink up your customers’ houses with your body odor because you will sweat. You will sweat.
That is just a natural phenomenon that comes with moving around and keeping busy.
It’s like going to a sporting event. When you get out there and you’re actually working out, you will sweat.
Don’t Do This
Please don’t show up at a customer’s house looking like you rolled out of bed and threw your hair up.
Don’t look like you are wearing pajamas.
And don’t have bad breath, body odor, and messy hair.
Daily Routine
All right, so having said that, when you get up in the morning, take a shower. That is rule number one.
Then number two, brush your teeth. There are all kinds of toothpaste that are out there that can help reduce the breath in your mouth.
If you wear makeup, put makeup on. And put deodorant on. Make sure that it is deodorant and antiperspirant.
Pull Your Hair Back
I also recommend gluing your hair back for a variety of reasons. Number one, it’s a tidy look, and number two, you don’t drop lots of hair that you then have to go and clean up after.
You don’t want to go to a customer’s house and have to clean up after yourself. With all kinds of wisps of hair and the hair is not well-kept and whatever, yeah, you lose hair all over the place. It’s a tidy look. Glue it back.
There are things that are natural like cholesterol that you can put in your hair, and you can glue your hair back.
You Can Shower Your Deodorant Off After Cleaning
All right, so when you get home, you can shower and wash off the deodorant if you’re worried it will cause cancer. Because you will need a shower when you get home from your cleaning anyway.
There are people who have extra skin, and the skin overlaps other parts of the skin.
If you have overlapping skin, skin touching skin, you are going to sweat. And that is going to produce bacteria. This creates the stink.
When putting on deodorant-antiperspirant, lift up the overlapping flaps of skin.
Apply deodorant inside cracks and underneath flaps of your body. And that will prevent you from sweating in those areas. And will help prevent the stink.
Hygiene Taking Pride In Your Personal Appearance
I recommend all the above for the sake of your business. Also for the sake of your employers, your coworkers, and your clients. As house cleaners, you should show up for a job well presented. Your hygiene should top notch, and you should have antiperspirant-deodorant on.
Alrighty. That’s my two cents for today, and until we meet again, leave the world a cleaner place than when you found it.
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About the Show
Learn how the show came to be, interesting facts about the show host, and other frequently asked questions about the show.
Resources For This Episode
Personal Hygiene – https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/personal-hygiene
Cleaning vs. Hygiene – https://www.myhousecleaningbiz.com/public/The-Great-Debate-Cleaning-vs-Hygiene-384.cfm
Personal Hygiene Quiz – https://www.brainpop.com/health/personalhealth/personalhygiene/quiz/
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