03/18/2020
Dear current and future clients,
I hope you are staying safe and healthy! I’m writing in regards to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) and the newly implemented “Shelter in Place” ordinance that will be going into effect at midnight today until Tuesday April 7th, and how they will both affect our business. I’ve spent the entire day thus far fielding calls and emails, so I feel it’s better that everyone is on the same page, with so much uncertainty right now.
Let’s start with the good news. Based on my research (and according to every source I come across), we are actually considered an “essential” business, and thus will be allowed to function during the 3 weeks while the Shelter in Place ordinance is in place. My research consists of reading any information I can find on the internet, as well as talking with officials in city government and at the county level as well (Alameda). I have spoken with “Raquelle”, Badge number 10 from the Livermore Sherrif’s office and she assisted my in the interpretation of the law. I was also pointed to sfgate.com by someone at the county office as the most reliable source of information on the Shelter in Place ordinance. Here is the link to the article, which lists all types of businesses that are essential:
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/shelter-in-place-San-Francisco-Mayor-London-Breed-15135075.php -19161264
The specific line from the ordinance you want to focus on is this one (in bold below):
“Exemptions. Individuals may leave their place of residence to operate an essential business, including:
Hardware stores, plumbers, electricians, and other service providers necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences and other essential businesses;”
If things change however and restrictions become even tighter, I will send another update, but for now we will continue to operate. We will certainly comply with the laws as they go into effect. At the same time, we want to be very careful and precautionary when it comes to the service moving forward (more on that below).
Ultimately, it is completely up to you as an individual, if you feel that you’d like to continue with the service as normal, or if you’d like to skip a cleaning or two. I completely understand if you or someone you live with may be in the high risk category, and you wish to postpone for a bit, but if at all possible I would implore you to keep your cleanings going as scheduled. You have no idea how much your support means to us right now, and how much it is needed for us to survive through this ordeal. Clearly I’m biased, but I truly believe our service, now more than ever, is needed to help clean and sanitize your home. The main point I want to drive home is that, due to some changes we are making in the way we clean, we are actually very active about reducing germs and contaminants in your home rather than spreading germs around, simply because of more people in your household. Here are the steps we are taking to improve our overall process during this time:
1.) Asking anyone who is sick or even anyone who has come into contact with someone they know to be sick, to stay at home (regardless of the type of illness). This means some days we are short staffed, but so be it.
2.) I personally monitor everyone’s health each and every morning, and if someone appears sick, I will send them home. Fortunately, all of our staff seem to be very healthy at the moment.
3.) Staff are required to wear gloves at all times in our clients homes, from start to finish
4.) We are having staff use more bleach and disinfectant in general while cleaning surfaces throughout your home.
5.) We are washing and disinfecting our towels and cleaning materials (sponges, etc.) very thoroughly each day using bleach and detergent to ensure everything is sterilized completely
If there is anything not listed here that you feel we can do for you, please let me know, and we are absolutely willing to work with you. We truly value your business and will do everything in our power to make sure the service works for you during this time!
We are heavily ramping up the use of disinfectant through each cleaning, and we have actually ordered a hospital grade disinfectant which is approved by the EPA for killing the corona virus (and most other viruses as well), and we expect to start implementing usage by Wednesday – the order should arrive tomorrow (The EPA registration numbers are: 1839-215 and 1839-168). The nice thing is this cleaner has essentially no odor (no fumes) unlike most and yet is extremely effective at cleaning and sanitizing. In the meantime, we are using more bleach and other “temporary” disinfectant multipurpose cleaning solutions for the various surfaces in your home (also approved by the EPA for coronavirus, but only needed until our order arrives). Basically, we are implementing more “scorched earth” style cleaning than in the past. We are actually here to eliminate germs on the surfaces of your home, not spread it around.
The bottom line is we are here to help you out, but we need your support! There has been a significant rate of postponements among our clients due to this virus, and again I completely understand if you feel it’s necessary, but these postponements/cancellations are already having a severe impact on us, and particularly our staff. I am currently having to ask about 30% of our staff to stay home any given day simply because they don’t have work, and have already had to permanently lay off 2 individuals. I’m trying to avoid things from getting worse.
Lastly, I’ve never asked for a handout in my entire life, but many of our clients who are cancelling a cleaning or two have also offered to pay for the cancelled services, and I have gladly accepted. This is of course not mandatory, but will be incredibly helpful in keeping us afloat during this crisis, and I am eternally grateful for the support. Again, it is not an obligation and we certainly won’t hold it against you if you are unable to assist, but if it is within your financial means, and you are able to assist with a payment for a cancelled service (even if you cancel two cleanings, payment for just one would be immensely helpful), we would be extremely grateful. The vast majority of your payment will mainly go to providing pay for our staff members who are not able to work full days and hours, and the rest will go towards essential business expenses. Without this kind of support, we will have no way to pay them for the days and hours that they are not able to work. Most of our staff are living paycheck to paycheck and this kind of aid will be absolutely critical during this time. If they cannot get paid, unfortunately they will eventually find other work (whether cleaning or not) and we will lose some incredible employees that we have. I am trying to avoid this situation at all costs.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope everyone stays healthy and safe during this time. If you have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate to ask. I want to ensure the service continues to work well for you, and I will do everything in my power to make that happen.
Thank you again so very much for all of your support. I’m confident we will all get through this together!
Ken Bailey
ElimiDirt
San Francisco Mayor London Breed is telling city residents to stay in their homes as a shelter in place order is issued. "Effective at midnight, San Francisco will require people to stay home except for essential needs," Breed tweeted at noon Monday. "Necessary government functions & essential store...
