“Do I Need To Be Certified To Clean Houses?”

The Short Answer

The short answer is no. You don’t need certification to start, run and build a thriving house cleaning, housekeeping, maid service or commercial cleaning business.

Plenty of successful cleaning business owners have absolutely no certification at all.

Customers of house cleaners, housekeepers and maid services will not ask about certification or require it to sign up for your cleaning service.

The Long Answer

However, more training and education are necessary if you want to stay on top of changes and best practices in the cleaning business.

For example, when I started my cleaning business, most of the homes I cleaned had ceramic sinks and tubs with chrome fixtures. Most of the floors were wood, tile or vinyl.

Kitchen appliances had “easy wipe” ceramic or plastic coatings.

Related: Stainless Steel Surprise

Most kitchen countertops were made of some type of plastic composite material that you could use any type of cleaning fluid on without damaging the surface.

The equipment and supplies I used were fairly simple. Cotton cloths for most surfaces, scrub sponges, an upright vacuum and a portable vacuum for everything from carpets to cleaning hard floors and knocking out cobwebs on crown molding.

Soft Scrub with Bleach, liquid disinfectant for the bathrooms, glass cleaner, vinegar and ammonia took care of most of the home surfaces in my customers homes.

Then Years Of Learning Curves…

Over the years, my customers remodeled and added new items that required new learning.

Ceramic sinks and tubs gave way to glass, stainless steel and fiberglass. Chrome fixtures were replaced with nickel, brass and metal with special coatings.

More and more, my customers said, “no abrasives” on bathroom and kitchen surfaces.

That meant I couldn’t use most cleansers, scouring powder, non-scratch” scrub tools like Scrub Daddy™ or Dobie Scrub Pads™ on fixtures and some sinks and tubs.

Kitchen and bathroom countertops were replaced with slabs of natural stone (marble, granite, soapstone and travertine) that need special cleaners with the right ph level. Using the wrong cleaner can damage the surface of the countertops.

Related: 3 Insider Secrets To Make Natural Stone Countertops Gleam.

I adapted to the changes in household materials and tools over the years by reading blog posts, listening to podcasts, looking at videos and lots of practice.

I added new tools like microfiber cloths. I dropped old standby’s like vinegar and ammonia and found new uses for glass cleaner.

I managed to roll with those changes without damaging things in my customers homes.

The Value of More Education

It wasn’t until the financial meltdown of 2008 that I went deeper into educating myself about cleaning.

Along the way, I became more aware of specialty cleaning like post construction cleaning, crime scene cleanup, green cleaning and cleaning medical offices.

Certification For Specialty Cleaning

For those specialties, there are certification programs offered by various independent groups and businesses. Some are listed below.

Certification For Residential Cleaners

For residential cleaners, two cleaning industry groups, ARCSI (Association of Residential Cleaning Services, International) and IJCSA (The International Janitorial Cleaning Services Association) offer certification courses.

ARCSI offers a House Cleaning Technician Certification (HCT) Class for members and non-members.

The House Cleaning Technician Certification Class covers:

Some HCT Training graduates tell what they got from the class:

ARCSI Learning also offers a Professional House Cleaning Program (PHC).

This is a year-round online course for house cleaners. Also in Spanish.

The IJCSA Residential Cleaning Specialist Certification (RCS) is an advanced level course for IJCSA members.

The Residential Cleaning Specialist course covers the science of cleaning, cleaning methods, plus safety and hygiene.

Before taking the RCS course, an IJCSA member must complete and pass three short entry level courses:

Customer Service Certification (CSC) 

Chemical Hazards Certification  (CHC) 

Bloodborne Certification (BPC)  

The Answer That Fits You

You don’t need certification to clean houses. Many house cleaners have done quite well without formal training.

However, your customers homes will continue to change and new materials will be added. You will have to learn how to clean those new materials without damaging them.

It’s a good idea to invest in more education and training through blog posts, videos, podcasts, ebooks and courses so you understand how to clean those new materials.

More education helps you win on walkthroughs with prospective customers where you can demonstrate your knowledge and skill in ways that inspire trust⎯⎯⎯and Service Agreement signups.

Specialized training and your ability to properly clean different surfaces and furnishings gives you an edge over your competition.

Whether you choose a certification program or not, it is worth your time and effort to keep up with changing trends in the cleaning industry.

Both you and your customers will benefit from your continued learning, whether you are “certified” or not.