Shoe covers for housekeepers?
Has anyone had success asking house cleaning services to wear shoe covers when they come into your home? We are a no-shoes home and while I obviously can't ask a house cleaner to remove their shoes to work, I also don't love the idea of them tracking stuff into my home. The last time I had a cleaning service come in, they left black streaks all over my bathtub from standing in it. Having to re-clean after they're gone is a little disappointing, so I'd like to just provide shoe covers next time, but is this a reasonable ask? If you have made similar special requests for the particulars of your home, do you find that larger companies or self-employed individuals are more likely to accept them? I'm new to this, so I'm not sure of the best way to find the right person/team who will go along with this and not think I'm being too demanding...I am otherwise not very picky about cleaning, but the shoe thing does gross me out. (If you have a person/team to recommend, I'd love to hear recs, too!) Thanks, BPN!
Parent Replies
We are also a no-shoes inside household. Our current cleaners have separate shoes they wear indoors only. I told them that not wearing outside shoes in the house is very important for our culture. I offered to buy them shoes that they wear in our house. We have had several cleaners over the years. Some have taken their shoes off. Others wore shoes that we bought. One lady (I miss her so much!) had her own shoes that she wore when cleaning and would clean those shoes, too. We have never used a large company. Our cleaners have always been 1 lady or 2 people team. I don't recommend shoe covers because I think they can be slippery especially working on wet surface.
We are also a no-shoes household. Our cleaners have always been very respectful of this. They bring their own "house slippers" when cleaning. I have tried a few shoe covers from Amazon when we used to use cleaners from a big company (who frankly are more difficult to work with because they just follow their company rules and don't do a great job) but they are not strong enough for outdoor shoes to be worn continuously inside, especially not if they are inside wet surfaces like a tub.
https://www.amazon.com/Disposable-Non-slip-Waterproof-Protectors-Coveri…
Our cleaning team has no problem removing their shoes while in our house. All of our past cleaners have done it too. I don’t think it’s a strange ask. Our current cleaning company is family-based and wonderful: http://greencleanteam.net