Dundee cleaner wants to ‘clean up’ industry’s image

A CLEANER from Dundee is on a mission to “clean up” her industry’s reputation.

Kelly Fairweather, owner and founder of At Your Service, has been appointed as associate director of the Domestic Cleaning Business Network (DCBN), a trade association formed late last year to provide advice and resources to domestic cleaning companies across the UK.

Fairweather will help cleaning businesses with risk assessments, employment contracts, terms of service or products.

She wants to arm them with the skills to run profitable businesses while maintaining high standards.

At Your Service – which operates across Dundee, Angus, Fife and Perthshire – primarily looks after family homes, but expanded during lockdown to risk-assess and clean holiday lets and businesses ranging from hairdressers and nail salons through to offices.

Fairweather said: “Cleaners are now permitted to go back into people’s homes and workplaces, which is a huge responsibility, so I firmly believe we should be regulated and trained accordingly.

“Since lockdown, there has been a lack of clear guidance and funding from the government so, despite best intentions, many domestic cleaners were and are putting their clients at risk.

“There are 80,000 domestic cleaners in Scotland, seen as ‘essential’ during lockdown, yet we’re not in the supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE) and expected to buy it.

“Cleaners were confused, struggling with conflicting guidance and unsupported and that’s something we must change to ensure long-term consumer trust and break the chain of infection.”

She added: “Covid-19 might be a new threat but there were always threats such as E-coli and we owe it to our clients to get it right.

“Many domestic cleaners are women juggling part-time work with families – they deserve professional guidance and resources, keeping both themselves and their clients safe.

“Pre-covid, it was important that the standards of the cleaning industry were upheld – now it’s essential.”

Read more stories on Scottish Field’s news pages.