Ask a House Cleaner, Shoes, Shoe Covers, Savvy Cleaner

Shoe Covers or Shoes Off When Cleaning?

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Shoe covers? The customer says “clean my space but no shoes in the house.” Am I supposed to clean in bare feet or stocking feet? Or do I wear shoe covers over my sneakers? 

We Ask a House Cleaner about shoe covers and wearing a shoe with a shock absorber and arch support. 

Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says there are disposable shoe covers, reusable shoe covers and reusable snap on shoe covers for speed cleaning. They even have non-slip weatherproof shoe covers to get you from the car to the client’s home. 

Protect your customer’s carpet while protecting your back. 

Today’s sponsors are My Cleaning Connection where you will find all sorts of athletic sneakers designed for cleaning, and shoe covers to match. Other sponsors are HouseCleaning360, Savvy Perks, and Savvy Cleaner Training.

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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.

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Question: Shoe Covers or Shoes Off When Cleaning?

 Shoes, Shoe Covers, Large Jacuzzi TubShould I wear shoe covers when cleaning a customer house? Or am I supposed to take off my shoes? When I get inside one of those great, big bathtubs, I have to take off my shoes and then my stocking feet is inside the tub and that’s not very sanitary. Then when I get in the shower without my shoes, then my feet get wet and that’s not very sanitary either. What do I do?” 

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Answer: Shoe Covers or Shoes Off When Cleaning?

Lots of house cleaners take off their shoes when they arrive at a customer’s home because the clients don’t wear shoes in the house.

 Yikes. Alright, here’s my personal philosophy on this. I’ve done a lot of research. I’ve trained a lot of house cleaners over the years. And I’ve spent 25 years myself cleaning houses. Here is my experience, tried and true, proven, test. Here’s what works best.

Shoe Covers – You Need the Support of Good Shoes

Shoes, Shoe Covers, Putting On SneakersWhen you go into a customer’s house, you need a really great pair of sneakers. I use a cross-training shoe that’s used for marathons and triathlons. The reason being is they have really great arch support and great shock absorbers.

You will be standing on your feet all day, twisting and moving and lifting and reaching and dusting and vacuuming. All day you will be moving.  And while house cleaning is not a sport, there is a lot of activity that requires the proper gear. 

That’s going to be stress on your back, your neck, your shoulders, your knees, your butt, your quads, your entire body. And a good shoe will provide that for you.

Shoe Covers Solve the No Shoes in the House Problem

SavvyCleaner.com_Shoe_CoversYou need a good shoe support, so when you take your shoes off and you’re using just stocking feet, that’s not going to support you and certainly not going to support your frame for the long haul.

If you go to a customer’s house and the customer does not want you to wear your shoes in the house, I completely understand. 

You may have to sell them on the idea of shoe covers. A quick conversation usually does the trick. 

NOTE: If you take your shoes off and wear only stocking feet – your socks will pick up pet hair that you will transfer back to your shoes when you put your shoes on to leave. Then you are carrying pet hair and dander back to your house. This is just not sanitary.

Shoe Covers for Service Providers in the Home Wearing Shoes

Shoes, Shoe Covers, Hospital Shoe CoversShoe covers are worn in the medical profession. They are also worn by house painters, HVAC repairmen, pest control workers who have to come in and out of your house. 

Shoe covers are a little boot cover. They’re disposable. You open it up. It’s got elastic on the top of it and it slides right over your shoe. Now, on the bottom of it is this skid tread. This skid tread will keep you from slipping on hardwood floors and ceramic tile. 

Shoe covers over sneakersThey are pretty much a one-size-fits-all and work well on small and large shoes alike. 

That way, you have the support from your shoes, and you’re protecting the people’s floors by not tracking stuff in from outside onto their floor.

Take Off the Shoe Covers When Cleaning the Shower

‎Shoes, Shoe Covers, Woman cleans a showerWhile house cleaning, the inside of the shower is going to be wet. And in 99.9% of the showers, you will need to step into the shower to clean it.

You don’t want to get your shoe covers wet because then when you get out of the shower, your wet shoe covers with cleanser or soap will get tracked on the customer’s carpets. 

So, take off the shoe covers when you get in the shower. Place two white cloths on the shower floor and stand on those wearing just your sneakers.

Clean the shower and then when you get out of the shower, use the white cloths to finish cleaning the shower floor. 

Put your shoe covers back on to finish the rest of the bathroom. 

Toss the Shoe Covers as You Exit the Job

Shoes, Shoe Covers, HairA lot of homes have pets, when you take off your shoe covers, they will be coated with pet hair. As you take them off, turn them inside out. This will trap the pet hair inside the shoe cover ready for disposal.

Shoes, Shoe Covers, Throwing Away TrashBecause you are going to throw them away as soon as you leave the property, it’s okay to wear them on your feet until you get outside. You don’t want your shoe treads touching the customer’s floors. 

So, leave the house, and before you toss the trash, take off your shoe sleeves and gloves and leave them in the garbage of the day. There is no need to even put them in your car. You will never re-use the shoe covers to prevent cross-contamination between houses.

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Resources For This Episode

Disposable Boot & Shoe Covers – Non-Slip, Durable, Indoor – https://amzn.to/2pIC2MO

Reusable, Non-Slip Washable Shoe Covers for Household Thickened Boot Covers Coffee/ Blue/ Grey/ Purple/ Sapphire Blue – https://amzn.to/2pGNTL5

Disposable Boot & Shoe Covers Large (US Men’s 11 or less), Dark Blue – https://amzn.to/2Gnq7hr

Tidy Trax J Hands-Free Reusable Shoe Covers – https://amzn.to/2G72BWU

Overshoes Anti Slip Reusable Washable for Household, Office and Machine Room to Keep Clean, Elasticity Convenience Black Shoe Covers – https://amzn.to/2IRKjGI

WEATHERPROOF – Disposable Shoe Covers Extra Thick Waterproof CPE Slip-On to Protect Feet, Shoes and Boots from Rain, Snow and Mud, Non-Slip One Size Fits All with Hand Sewn Elastic Stretch – https://amzn.to/2G4P6Hh

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Savvy Cleaner Training – House Cleaner Training and Certification

HouseCleaning360 – Referral database of the world’s most prominent home service providers and the homeowners they serve. 

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