CLEANING UP: HOUSE CLEANING SERVICES BOON TO WORKING COUPLES

Debbie Wills, right, cleaned a kitchen range as Janet Craig mopped the floor. Both work with Peerless Cleaning Service.

Carol Coomer applied some elbow grease to the bathtub shower.

It's a note most husbands are familiar with:

-- Change sheets.

-- Put dishes up.

-- Do a load of laundry.

-- Vacuum the basement.

-- Clean downstairs bathroom.

Nothing surprising. The husband half of a working couple team, expects the note every Friday.

Usually, he gets the chores done ... although sometimes, with less than gentle prodding.

The wife has her list, too.

-- Shop for groceries.

-- Take mother to the beauty shop.

-- Pick up cleaning.

-- Dust.

-- Call for reservations for dinner.

These are busy times for many couples.

But, there is a way out -- household cleaning services, which perform home chores ranging from laundry, dusting, running errands. The whole gamut is but a telephone call away.

Check the yellow pages of almost any telephone directory.

Helpers, Clean Team, Little Housekeepers, Maid to Please, Lovingly Yours, Dutch Clean, Nitty-Gritty Dirt Team, and many more provide complete house and/or commercial cleaning services..

The prices vary, depending on services needed, and range from $7.50 to $15 an hour.

Terri Brown, owner of Peerless Cleaning Services, likes her work.

"With more and more couples working, there is a big demand out there for good cleaning services," said Brown. "Couples in the work force just don't have time to clean houses themselves.," she said. "They want just the basic stuff done -- vacuuming, dusting, some laundry. ..."

Laura Henry and Debbie Wicks agree.

Henry, who operates The Clean Team, also offers a couple of additional services -- mowing the lawn and/or washing the family car.

"We do all types of cleaning," she said.

Wicks, owner of Helpers, also provides additional services.

"We'll run errands, take people to the doctor," said Wicks. "We'll even help people move."

Some cleaning services provide only business cleaning services.

"Once in a while, we do a household job," says Susan Elayer and Connie Litzelfelner, partners of Nitty-Gritty. "But our hours are mostly limited to weekend and evening hours."

Brown has a degree in international travel and tourism and worked in that industry for a while.

"I didn't like sitting in an office," she said. "So, I started moonlighting cleaning houses."

The cleaning service became a career in 1990 when she left her job to start a new cleaning company -- Peerless Cleaning Service."

Brown's cleaning service got off the ground by word of mouth -- the same way she gets many of her clients today. A listing in the yellow pages of the phone book put her over the top.

"We keep busy," said Brown, who has also taken on some commercial accounts.

She has 11 employees, four full-time for house cleaning services.

Brown said the bulk of her clients are working people who do not have time for upkeep of their homes.

It's funny, but most people will "pick up" their homes before the cleaning crew arrives,

"We really try and do things their way," said Brown. "Sometimes people like a certain cleaner or type of mop."

There are some things Brown's crew does not do.

"We don't do steam cleaning of carpets, and I don't do linen service," she said. "But we can refer people to services who do that."

Like most cleaning services, Brown's employees are bonded and have liability insurance.

People working with Brown include Debbie Wills, a supervisor, and Janet Craig, Carol Coomer and Erma Seabaugh.

The Clean Team provides housecleaning and other chores.

"We do all types of cleaning," said Henry, owner of the business. "We also mow lawns, wash cars and clean windows."

That's in addition to laundry, ironing, dusting and other household chores.

Henry said her service was just beginning to take on a few commercial accounts.

Working with Henry are Stefanie Halter, Marcia Lunsford, Sara Hess, Carla Jackson and Laura Niswonger.

"We all work together," said Henry.

Some Services provide a number of other services.

"We'll run errands, take people to the doctor, and even do minor grocery shopping for senior citizens and disabled people," said Debbie Wicks of Helpers.

"We offer a complete service," said Wicks.

Other chores on the Helpers list include limited child care, general home cleaning -- inside and outside -- some shopping, set-up and cleanup before and after a party, and home watching, when the family is out of town.