“In the battle against grime, we’re undefeated.” So says Stevie Dustmore in her book What the Cleaner Found.

Stevie, aka Claire Jones, runs Via Us Property Services from Farnham and Bordon. It specialises in property cleaning, refurbishment and inventory services. This may sound dry but her book is an entertaining romp, a lesson in cleaning, a call for greater respect for cleaners and a guide to establishing a successful business.

“I didn’t plan to go into the cleaning business but during the pandemic I lost my corporate work,” said Claire. “I would also check the standards of cleaning companies I used and they were often disappointing. I’m really houseproud too, so maybe I was destined to be a cleaner!”

Cleaning, she explained, is a skill and cleaners are hugely undervalued. She would even welcome cleaning being a recognised career with qualifications.

“We are picky about how things are done and anyone who works with us needs to forget everything they thought they knew about cleaning.” The book gives cleaning tips but key to the business is a good team. “There are four of us and to cope we laugh our way through the day.”

They laugh because they often face extremely challenging tasks. There is no judgement however and she finds huge satisfaction in transforming a property. In fact: “It’s hard to clean an already clean house”.

In a tone which belies the difficulty of the tasks, she tells stories of kitchens which fought back; discoveries of hidden filth; dodgy DIY-jobs (including a shower head made of a milk carton); and the satisfaction of a job well done.

The most satisfactory one involved baths which the landlord thought he would have to throw out. “We made them look like new,” she said. “We use a combination of sweat, tears and determination.” She is also uses tried-and-tested equipment and products.

“We have learned which work best and we have a signature fragrance – Ecover lemon and lemon. We use eco products because they are good for the environment and good for us – no nasty fumes.”

They have also learned what to request from potential new clients, such as floor plans and exact requirements. “We used to turn up blind and lost out a lot at the start. People forget they have bathrooms for example! I manage expectations about how long cleaning takes.”

The company has a long list of tasks they will do, clear terms and conditions, contractors for jobs such as windows and ovens, and an attitude that they will tackle (almost) anything.

“There’s only one job we wouldn’t do where there were bags of rubbish buzzing with flies. It needed special hazmat gear and training.”

Ever the entrepreneurs, Claire and husband Steve also run Ralph James, a small estate agency.

Writing books is the latest string to the bow and Claire is planning a second book: Clean Like a Pro – the Stevie Dustmore Way.

Meanwhile, What the Cleaner Found is available on Amazon.

For further information visit ww.viauspropertyservices.com/