Merry Maids Cleaning Service
Odor Challenge
Merry Maids, North America’s leading provider of cleaning service, saw the opportunity to create a competitive advantage and reinforce its solid reputation by adopting Fresh Wave IAQ’s proven science for eliminating odors. In partnering with Fresh Wave IAQ, Merry Maids discovered a completely effective and safe solution for eliminating household odors in their customers’ homes.
It’s a given that most homes have unpleasant odors from many sources, including pets, kids, musty basements, cooking odors – the list goes on and on. For far too long, traditional cleaning solutions have simply masked these odors with a fragrant deodorizer.
For most customers part of the perception of clean is smell. When they open the door, they want to know that there home has been cleaned visually, but they also want it to be odor-free. Just as the definition of clean is different for many people, the same could be said about the subjective definition of a “clean smell.”
Since so many people have grown accustomed to solutions that mask odors, Fresh Wave IAQ is a new concept for most. However, with a segment of the population being sensitive to smell, it offers a nice alternative.
Solution
“We [found Fresh Wave IAQ] appealing for two reasons,” says Karen Hastings, Manager of Merry Maids Distribution, “First, its natural ingredients, and, second, it neutralizes odor rather than masking it.”
“Odor-masking solutions often do not work and they can actually make the odor worse,” Hastings adds. “It is nice to be able to eliminate odors and not have a lingering chemical scent in the air. Many customers find this to be a major advantage.”
Merry Maids employees found that most home odors come from pets. Fresh Wave products help eliminate those odors, by spraying dog beds or even sofas. In addition, garbage disposals are also a source of foul odors, which Fresh Wave IAQ easily removes.
And, then of course there are the diaper odors that linger in babies’ rooms even after the soiled diapers have been thrown out.
Results
Merry Maids strives to educate our customers about the value of using non-toxic odor eliminator by using Fresh Wave products in the cleaning process.
Gina Kamler, Director of Merry Maids Franchise Communications, tells the story of one customer and a very smelly fridge.
“We recently had one franchise owner who received a call from a customer who had a dirty refrigerator in storage for three months. The customer assumed that the refrigerator had been cleaned prior to being put in storage, which was not the case.
“The refrigerator was so foul that the customer wanted to see if their insurance would pay for a new refrigerator, but it was not covered under their plan Merry Maids cleaned the fridge by removing items, washing out the interior with spray and then left Fresh Wave IAQ Gel in the fridge overnight.
“The customer was amazed that the smell had been completely removed!”
Consumers as a whole are continually being educated about natural cleaning products. While many seem to gravitate towards the use of scented candles for eliminating odors, there is a large segment of Merry Maid customers who prefer us to use natural odor management solutions.
“Using natural solutions like Fresh Wave IAQ is always the right choice for our associates and our customers,” adds Kamler. “We do give our customers options when it comes to the cleaning products that we use and we let them determine if a non-toxic solution is right for them.”
Odors Controlled
- Pets
- Trash
- Food
- Kids and baby
