01/10/2026
Cleaning is a skilled trade. It’s time we treat it like one.
The cleaning industry is a $472 billion dollar trade - projected to hit $700 billion by 2030.
Since starting my business, I’ve noticed a fascinating double standard. I’ve had people tell me they "feel bad" watching me work, or they hesitate to hire me because of our personal connection. It’s an interesting observation because it rarely happens with other trades. We don't usually feel "bad" when a friend who is an electrician fixes our wiring or a friend who is a nail tech does our manicure.
The truth is, our society’s view of cleaning is still heavily influenced by outdated stigmas.
Historically, cleaning was framed through the lens of servitude - a view rooted in classism and racism. We’ve been conditioned to see it as "low-status" work rather than what it actually is: A high-stakes professional trade.
Us in the cleaning trades navigate:
• Business Management: Scaling outreach, building tracking systems, and designing SOPs.
• Material Science: Understanding chemical reactions—what products to use and, more importantly, what will ruin a $20k surface.
• Public Health: Mastering sanitization and proper safety protocols.
• Technical Knowledge: Understanding dust behavior—crucial for the Post-Construction remediation I’m moving into.
• Specialized Equipment: Operating floor scrubbers, air scrubbers, HEPA filtration gear, pressure washers, air filtration systems, etc.
The exhaustive list goes on and on...
This is a massive, growing economic engine, yet the labor is often treated as a lower-level service. This view is not just held by individuals, but business-to-business as well.
Whether its janitorial, house keeping, or niche cleaning trades - let’s stop looking at cleaning as a "lower-level" service and start seeing it as an essential, skilled profession.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
