Cleaners welcome demand for their services

Valet and cleaning service companies are reporting that they are up to their neck in work as the ash fall continues to affect Barbados.

Following the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent last Friday, owners of several cleaning firms reported to Barbados TODAY that the demand for their services exploded over the past four days as home and business owners seek to get inches of ash from their properties.

At least two of the companies even said that they have had to hire additional staff in order to respond to the demand, while others have reported that they were in the process of putting together quotations to submit to persons who have made inquiries.

Owner of Supreme Domestics Sandra Jean Baptiste said the presence of ash on the island has significantly boosted her workload at this time as she responds to the needs of homeowners wanting their patios and driveways cleaned and realtors requesting her services at rental properties.

“We are cleaning a lot of patios and a lot of people want their whole house washed down; not necessary pressure washed, but washed off. We are doing a few gas stations early in the morning as well and they want the dust swept up and bagged. People started calling basically from Saturday, the same day the dust started. People were calling to say we are going to book, we will let you know,” Jean Baptiste said.

She said because Supreme Domestics is a family business, grandchildren and in laws have also been lending a helping hand at this time. She said persons who usually work with the company on a part-time basis, were also brought in to help meet the demand for the company’s services.

Jean-Baptiste said: “So yes, business has increased to the point that we have had to bring in extra staff. We also do schools as well so we are on standby now to see what schools we will get this year to do the cleaning.”

Meanwhile, her son, Undwye Jean-Baptiste, who owns Clean Freaks Barbados also reported that his workload has increased tremendously in recent days.

Undwye shared that because of the nature of the volcanic ash; he has been providing his clients with researched information on how to effectively approach the situation.

He said his company has put together customer packages to make it more manageable for clients.

“We have been constantly working since Saturday. We have been going to both houses and businesses.  We have been to Sol Warrens and Wildey and as far as clients’ houses in St Peter and on the West Coast I do a lot of villas.

“We have been getting calls from all over and because our two businesses are family, I have found that I have had to use a lot of her staff to supplement mine and vice versa and there are jobs that if they are too big for my company we collaborate and do them together,” Undwye said.

Meanwhile, another owner of a cleaning firm indicated that her phone has been ringing at midnight as Barbadians indicate that they have gotten tired of cleaning around their homes and are in need of professional assistance. The owner said she could hear the frustration in people’s voices, with some of them indicating that because of medical reasons they are unable to clean up the ash on their own, but they have limited funds to pay to get it done.

Barbados TODAY also caught up with Nicolan Phillip of Philly Shines 246 Auto Valet services who indicated that he has been so busy that he and his team cleaned 18 cars on Tuesday. It was around 2 o’clock on Wednesday and Phillip had already made over ten cars ash free and he noted that there were more to come.

“I am a professional so it isn’t hard for me. Two other guys have been working with me,” Phillip said before he rushed off to another job.

Damian Holder of Fresh Cleaning Solutions indicated that several of his customers were finding it difficult to come to terms that their properties had been bombarded with ash. Holder said he has been busy power washing driveways and vehicles, and cleaning ash from guttering.

He said that while people have been requesting his valet service for their vehicle, he has been advising them that this may not be the right time for them to have that done considering that the volcano is still active. He said it is best that vehicle owners give their vehicles a simple wash.

“And a priority too is to make sure the water bottles for the water jets are full because the ash takes up a lot of water. With ash you have to use a lot more water out of the water bottle to actually get a clean vision from the windscreen,” Holder said.

Holder explained that removing ash from rooftops was the most risky part of the job because of the hazardous designs of some roofs.

And the ash makes the roof a lot more slippery. Sometimes more slippery too than if the roof is actually wet,” he said. (anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)