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Maine Maid to Clean: 'We know what clean is'

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By Steve Fuller
May 07, 2009

Frankfort — Tired of seeing cobwebs in the corner of the living room? Bothered by the layer of dust on top of the refrigerator? Keep forgetting to wipe the fingerprints off the picture window?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, but find yourself with too little time or energy to take care of these tasks, then you may want to give Julie and Joseph Watkins a call.

The husband-and-wife duo own and operate Maine Maid to Clean, Inc. Based in Frankfort, the company provides residential and commercial cleaning services over a wide swath of the Midcoast.

Julie Watkins explained she first got involved cleaning houses years ago while working with the woman who is now her sister-in-law.

While Julie and Joseph were building up their computer business last fall, Julie's sister-in-law suggested looking at getting back into house cleaning as well.

The couple soon realized the cleaning business "would grow faster than anything else," according to Julie, and in February Maine Maid to Clean was incorporated.

Maine Maid's first customer signed up after discovering the company's Web site, and others soon followed after a press release appeared in a local paper and other people discovered the Web site, too.

When it comes to cleaning services offered by Maine Maid to Clean, Watkins said it varies depending on the customer.

"Everybody's totally customized," she said. "Some people have certain things they need cleaned, and others want us to come on a certain schedule because they're working on a budget. So it's customized to an individual's needs."

The company's Web site — mainemaidtoclean.com — gives general guidelines of the services offered.

The list starts with a one-time cleaning and expands to recurring cleanings, then includes more specialized or specific services. These include cleanings for people moving into or out of a house, for people who have put their house up for sale ("to make your home sparkle for the prospective buyer," the Web site explains) or cleaning up after renovation or repair work at a person's home.

Maine Maid to Clean also offers business cleanings.

Julie and Joseph also customize services when it comes to cleaning supplies. Depending on a customer's preferences, they will use either traditional cleaning supplies or green, more eco-friendly supplies, or some combination of the two.

Julie Watkins said one concern people sometimes have is whether green cleaning products are as effective as the more well-known, traditional supplies.

For Watkins, the answer is simple and comes from experience. "Green cleaners clean," she said. "They're very effective."

Watkins said she uses Green Works products by Clorox. Maine Maid to Clean's Web site explains these products are nonallergenic and biodegradable, and come in bottles that can be recycled.

The company's Web site states it offers services in four counties — Somerset, Penobscot, Kennebec, and Waldo — and as Watkins lists some places she's been recently, it's clear that's no exaggeration.

She said she was cleaning in Old Town one day, and another day she was working in Thomaston. Being based out of Frankfort makes the company rather centrally located to many surrounding communities.

Watkins said Maine Maid to Clean is a fully insured and bonded company. To contact her for more information about cleaning services, call her work cell phone at 355-5345 or e-mail her at julie at mainemaidtoclean.com.

Copyright 2009 VillageSoup

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