Our family business cleans Franklin homes

Older Franklin houses need careful cleaning

The streets around Main Street in downtown Franklin have plenty of old houses, and some of them were standing before the Civil War. They have tall ceilings, wide wood trim, fireplaces and original wood floors that are hard to replace. That is a lovely house to live in. It is also a house where a fast, sloppy clean does real damage over the years.

Old wood floors are the big one. Too much water soaks into the seams between boards and raises the grain, and some cleaners leave a film that dulls the finish. We damp mop them with a wood-safe cleaner and dry them as we go. The trim is the other one. Wide baseboards and door casings in an old house catch dust on every flat edge. A quick swipe with a wet rag just turns it into a gray smear in the corners.

Tall ceilings bring their own work. Ceiling fans and the tops of door frames sit out of reach, so dust builds up there for months. Then it drifts down onto the furniture every time the fan kicks on. We dust high first and floors last, so nothing we knock loose lands on a surface we already cleaned. Got something fragile, like old glass or a family heirloom? Tell Lauren when you book so the crew knows before they walk in.

• Wood floors damp mopped and dried, never soaked
• Baseboards and door trim wiped by hand
• Ceiling fans and high ledges dusted first
• Kitchens and bathrooms cleaned to your list
• Fragile pieces noted before the crew starts

Newer Franklin neighborhoods have bigger houses

Most Franklin families live outside the old downtown. Neighborhoods like Westhaven and Fieldstone Farms are full of newer houses, and a lot of them are big. Many have an open kitchen that runs straight into the family room, plus a bonus room over the garage. The materials are newer, so they need less special care. The trouble is the size, because every extra room and bathroom adds time to the visit.

An open floor plan shows everything. Light from big windows lands on the kitchen island and the wood floors, and every crumb and paw print shows by afternoon. Stainless appliances pick up fingerprints a few hours after you wipe them. Stair rails and the ledges in a tall foyer collect dust that nobody notices until company is coming. In a house this size we clean in the same order every visit, so nothing on the far side of the stairs gets skipped.

Franklin keeps growing, and families are always moving in and out. A move-out or move-in cleaning gets an empty house ready for whoever comes next. An empty house is also the easiest time to reach the inside of cabinets and the floor behind the fridge. The town draws plenty of visitors to its downtown and its Civil War sites, and we clean vacation rentals as well. Large luxury homes are on our service list too.

Franklin weather adds to the housework

Spring in Franklin leaves a coat of yellow pollen on every car and porch rail. It does not stay outside. It rides in on shoes and on the dog, then settles on window sills and table tops. For anyone with allergies this is the hardest stretch of the year. In pollen season we give extra attention to entry floors and anything flat near a door, because that is where it lands first.

Summers in Middle Tennessee are hot and sticky, and that damp air ends up in the bathrooms. Showers stay wet longer, and a pink or black film starts along the bottom of the glass and around the drain. Left alone for a few weeks, it works into the caulk and will not scrub out. A shower that gets cleaned on a regular schedule never gets that far. That is a good reason to book a visit every two weeks instead of waiting until it looks bad.

Rain turns the clay soil around here into mud, and all the new construction in Franklin puts extra dust in the air. Most of it comes in at the back door and the garage entry, so those floors get the hardest scrub. Our customer Karen Bryan put it this way. “Having them clean our home every two weeks makes our lives run smoother and helps our whole family stay in order.”

Getting a price in Franklin

Call Lauren at (615) 436-2560 to book a cleaning in Franklin, or send your details through this page. We do not post prices online, since the price depends on the house. Tell her about yours, whether it is an older place downtown or a big newer build. Then say if you want a one-off cleaning or a visit every two weeks. She will work out a quote so you know the price before the crew comes out.