Cheltenham’s Mrs Hinches in demand as everybody rushes for a post covid clean house

July 4, 2020

Published in Gloucestershire Live on 4th July 2020

‘Why are people going nuts over a weird sponge?’ asks Cheltenham woman who cleans for a living

She’s the woman that has made the smell of Zoflora as sought after as Chanel No. 5.

Instagrammer Mrs Hinch, whose real name is Sophie Hinchliffe, and her 3.5 million followers have made cleaning and housework popular again.

But not everybody has the time, inclination or know-how to make sure their worktops are gleaming, their floors are spotless and their cushions permanently, perfectly plumped.

And it seems that many of us are now looking for some real Mrs Hinches to help us get our homes ship-shape and post Covid-clean.

Professional cleaning company Molly Maid has seen a large increase in interest in its services in recent weeks with online searches almost doubling.

Cheltenham franchise owner Imogen Fawcett says she has noticed growing demand for deep cleans as everyone emerges from lockdown with sticky finger marks everywhere.

“It was a really tough decision – especially to our older and vulnerable customers,” she said of the decision to furlough staff.

“Most can’t properly clean their home themselves so it’s an issue of health and safety. But it is also about the health and safety of our employees too

“It has taken a bit of time to work through these new procedures but it’s important that local businesses like mine help our community get back on its feet.”

Yorkshire born Imogen and her late husband studied and worked as a landscape architects in Gloucestershire before moving to New Zealand with their two children and setting up a five star B&B.

“When my husband died of cancer nine years ago, the children were just four and seven so I decided to come back to Cheltenham, but I had to pretty much leave everything behind and start again,” she said.

“I wanted to find something flexible that fitted my skill set and after a while I saw the franchise.. Although I hadn’t cleaned myself, I do have a real eye for detail and know how to deliver a high quality service and give people what they want.”

She has built it up into an award winning business and Harriet Hall, 27, and Debbie Wadley, 51, are two of the first cleaners going back in to get their customers’ houses back to the way they left them before lockdown.

“It’s nice to be back and see our customers but we are being very careful,” said Debbie.

“A lot of the wartime generation are completely unfazed because they have seen it all before, but then you get others who are really nervous and open the door and stand way back.”

Both admit bathrooms are the worse and best aspects of the job because they are the dirtiest to clean but give shiny tap freaks like Debbie great satisfaction when she leaves them gleaming.

Another perk of the job is peaking behind the doors of multi-million pound houses, but although they fancy staying for a week or two as a kind of luxury holiday, they always want to go home to their humble abodes.

The internet is full of cleaning hacks but neither follow Mrs Hinch who endorses a wide range of products.

“I don’t really get it, “ said Harriet. “I don’t why, she just annoys me.

“Why are people going nuts over a weird sponge?”

So what do Cheltenham’s professional Mrs Hinches recommend instead?

“Molly Maid do their own products and our favourite is a degreaser called Power,” insists Harriet enthusiastically as Debbie tells you it’s the best thing she has ever used.

“You just have to spray a little bit on and wipe it off and everything comes off on your cloth. It’s really good stuff because it just melts any grime and slime. You don’t even have to rinse. It’s streak free and easy to buff to a nice shine.”

It sounds like they are doing a sales pitch worthy of a top influencer until they say it’s not available in the shops. So what can they recommend.

“A lot of older people use bars of soap that can make the sink really grubby and as as long as they agree, we put a little Cif on the sponge because that seems to cut through soap really well,” suggests Harriet.

Debbie adds: “All the products we use are environmentally friendly and unfragranced but sometimes the customers ask if we can leave the house smelling nice so we do a last mop of the floor with a little bit of Flash Cotton Fresh.”

Imogen tells new starters that if they haven’t lost weight in the first few weeks, they are doing something wrong and both admit they go home exhausted and fall asleep in the chair.

But Debbie knew she was cut out to be a cleaner from an early age.

“My mum was always really houseproud and even though she’s in her 80s she still keeps her home spotless so I probably got it from her,” she said.

“I think I’m a bit OCD about my routine. Every morning I get up, have a cup of tea and then put the hoover round and do my jobs.” Harriet discovered her love of cleaning a little later.

“I always worked in cafes and retail but noticed that wherever I worked I would end up cleaning everything,” she said. “It’s funny because I was really messy when I was younger.

“I live with my mum and although I do keep everything clean, I’m not perfect. l leave my clothes on a chair.”

And in a little message of hope to those who are not natural Mrs Hinches she said: “I find it easier to clean other peoples’ houses than my own because I don’t get distracted.”