Cleaning Business Today

08/21/2026

The residential cleaning industry lost one of its most important voices on August 17, 2026.

Jeff Campbell — founder of The Clean Team in San Francisco, creator of the Speed Cleaning method, and author of five books that shaped how a generation of cleaning professionals learned to work — passed away peacefully at home.

His impact is hard to overstate. He cleaned more than 300,000 homes. He codified a system from that work. And then he handed it to an industry that still uses it every day — often without realizing it came from him.

Work top to bottom. Make every move count. Use an apron like a tool belt. Clean one room at a time, in one pass.

That's Jeff Campbell.

Debbie Sardone, who purchased the Speed Cleaning brand from Campbell in 2011 and called him her "dear friend and mentor of over 20 years," shared the news with the community.

We've published a full tribute at the link below. Our condolences go to his family, his partner Jesus, his daughter Shawna, and all who knew him.

🔗 https://app.maidcentral.com/3Ub0JDk

Jeff Campbell, who created the Speed Cleaning system and wrote five books that shaped how professionals clean, passed away August 17, 2026. A tribute to a pioneering figure. - Cleaning Business Today

08/20/2026

What if your next hire never calls in sick, never asks for a raise, and delivers finished work in minutes?

Debbie Sardone has been doing exactly that — and in her new CBT article, she breaks down how AI agents (not chatbots — there's a difference) audited four of her competitors in 15 minutes and built her an instant quote tool without a single line of code.

What she found during that audit should make every cleaning business owner a little uncomfortable: in 2026, not one company in her market — including hers — was offering instant online pricing. Everyone was still asking customers to wait for a callback.

Andy Grove said "only the paranoid survive." Debbie explains why that's never been more true for our industry.

She'll walk through the full playbook at her ISSA Residential session in November. In the meantime, the article gives you two things you can do this week — right now, with what you already have.

👉 https://app.maidcentral.com/4gHm1RG

🎟️ Use code 26JOINUS548106 for 10% off your ISSA All Access Pass.

Most cleaning business owners are buried in tasks that don't grow their company. Debbie Sardone explains how AI agents — not chatbots — audited her competitors and built her an instant quote tool in one afternoon. - Cleaning Business Today

08/13/2026

New on CBT: The economy isn't confusing — it's split. And your client list is proof.

If some customers are booking add-ons while others are quietly moving from weekly to biweekly, you're not reading your business wrong. You're seeing a K-shaped economy in action — two groups experiencing two completely different financial realities at the same time.

Tom Stewart breaks down what that means for your cleaning company: how to read the signals in your own client data, why your team may be feeling the same pressure as your budget-sensitive clients, and how to approach pricing when blanket logic won't work.

One reframe from Liz Trotter that anchors the whole piece:
"Your competition is not another cleaning company. Your competition is shrinking discretionary cash flow."

Worth a read before your next pricing conversation. 👇
https://app.maidcentral.com/4hwM1QQ

A K-shaped economy means your customers — and your staff — aren't all experiencing the same economy. Here's how to read it, and what to do about it inside your business. - Cleaning Business Today

08/12/2026

Join Tom Stewart and Liz Trotter and special guest Martha Woodward for a preview of Martha's session coming up at the ISSA Residential convention - Keep Your People, But With Better Results. And hear them reminisce on the 20+ year history of ISSA Residential, which started as ARCSI, and the evolution of the residential cleaning convention event.

07/29/2026

Every hurricane season in Charleston, Tom Stewart watches the forecast — not because he knows where the storm will land, but because he prepares regardless.

That same logic, he argues in a new piece for Cleaning Business Today, applies to the economy right now.

The signal he's watching: consumer confidence has fallen below the 80 threshold that historically precedes a recession. Inflation is at 3.8% — more than twice the pre-COVID rate. Wages for cleaning technicians have grown 5.9% annually since 2022. And roughly half of cleaning businesses haven't raised their prices to keep pace.

But Tom's point isn't alarm — it's the opposite. Preparing your cleaning business for a possible downturn makes it a better business whether the recession arrives or not. Stronger pricing. Better cash reserves. A more resilient team.

There's nothing to undo if the storm misses you.

Read it here →

You don't need to predict a recession to prepare for one. Here's what the current economy means for your cleaning business — and why you should act now, either way. - Cleaning Business Today

07/23/2026

🎙️ Looking for fresh ideas to grow your cleaning business?

The Smart Business Moves Podcast brings you real conversations with industry experts, proven strategies, and practical tips you can put to work right away. Whether you're looking to boost profits, build a stronger team, or scale smarter, there's an episode for you.

🎧 Start listening today and discover your next smart business move! https://app.maidcentral.com/44Ngen1

07/15/2026

What if you never had to fire another underperformer?

That's not wishful thinking — it's a system.

Martha Woodward ran a residential cleaning business as an absentee owner for 13 years, 90 miles away from her team. She learned something most owners don't talk about: the right reward and recognition culture doesn't just motivate your best people. It quietly creates an environment where the "bad fit" employees choose to leave on their own.

No confrontation. No unemployment claim paperwork. No drama.

In her upcoming ISSA Residential session — and in this new article — Martha breaks down how contests, public recognition, and year-round incentive structures can move the needle on both attendance and quality, without adding management headcount or cost.

If absenteeism and inconsistent quality feel like permanent problems in your business, this is worth 4 minutes of your time. 👇

🔗 https://cleaningbusinesstoday.com/blog/improve-cleaning-staff-attendance-quality/

(Bonus: Martha's speaking at ISSA Residential this year — use code 26JOINUS548106 for 10% off an All Access Pass.)

Struggling with absenteeism and quality issues? These 10 turn-key incentive ideas help you improve cleaning staff performance — without firing anyone. - Cleaning Business Today

07/01/2026

Before Kristen Hadeed had a bestselling book and a TEDx talk with 3 million views, she was writing for Cleaning Business Today.

We're proud to see her taking the keynote stage at CleanCon in Austin this September — and even prouder that her work has been part of this publication since the early days of Student Maid.

If you haven't read her pieces on building culture, managing a millennial workforce, and why the right technology has to fit your business (not the other way around), her full CBT archive is worth your time:

Articles by Kristen Hadeed on Cleaning Business Today - the most relevant resoure for cleaning industry news and trends.