History of Cleaners – kleana.co.uk

🧼 The Unsung Backbone: The History and Heart of Cleaning

🟢 Kleana’s Mission

At Kleana, we believe cleaners are more than service providers — they are the quiet backbone of every community. Whether in homes, hospitals, offices, or public spaces, cleaners play a vital role in creating the environments where life happens.
They don’t just make things look nice — they create spaces of safety, dignity, and wellbeing.

Cleaners are found in every corner of life, on every street, in every country — often invisible, yet absolutely essential.
We created Kleana to amplify their visibility, connect them to opportunity, and give them the recognition they have always deserved.

✨ A Brief History of Cleaning: A Legacy of Care, Often Overlooked

Cleaning is one of the oldest forms of work in the world — and one of the most essential. As long as humans have had shelter, we’ve had the need to keep it clean. But cleaning has always been more than just wiping dirt away. It’s about creating order from chaos, health from risk, and comfort from discomfort.

🏛️ Ancient Civilisations

In ancient Egypt, cleanliness was closely linked to spiritual purity. Wealthy households employed servants who were responsible for sweeping floors, polishing surfaces with oils, and keeping ceremonial spaces pristine. Temples and tombs were maintained with care, as cleanliness was seen as a sign of respect to the gods.

In ancient Rome, large villas and public bathhouses employed enslaved workers and servants to maintain cleanliness. Their tools were basic — brushes, cloths, sand, and vinegar — but their roles were fundamental in maintaining the grandeur and hygiene of Roman life. Romans even had designated public “fullers,” who specialised in cleaning clothes with a mixture of clay and urine — one of the earliest recorded examples of a specialised cleaning service.

🏰 The Middle Ages

During the medieval period, cleaning practices were inconsistent, often depending on class and culture. Wealthier homes had staff — sometimes referred to as “scullery maids” or “chamberlains” — responsible for keeping floors clean with straw or herbs, and boiling water for laundry and bathing.

However, without modern sanitation systems, cities were plagued by disease. Cleaning wasn’t just a personal concern — it was a matter of public health. In many towns, early versions of sanitation workers existed: gong farmers who emptied latrines, street sweepers, and caretakers of public wells and bathhouses.

🔧 The Industrial Revolution

The 18th and 19th centuries saw an explosion of population growth and urbanisation. Factories, railways, and densely packed housing created a perfect storm for dirt, smoke, and disease.

It was during this time that cleaning became an essential part of both the home and the emerging public health system. Streets were swept, factories employed caretakers, and hospitals began to implement rigorous hygiene standards thanks to pioneers like Florence Nightingale, who recognised the link between sanitation and survival.

In middle- and upper-class homes, cleaning staff became common. Roles like maid, housekeeper, laundress, and charwoman (a part-time domestic cleaner) became recognised, gendered professions — mostly filled by working-class women and girls.

🧹 The 20th Century: Cleaning as Labour and Industry

With the invention of electricity came vacuums, steam cleaners, and synthetic cleaning products. This transformed cleaning from purely physical labour into a combination of labour and technique.

Cleaning became more professionalised:

Hotels and office buildings had full-time janitorial staff
Schools employed caretakers and site managers
Large estates had entire teams dedicated to maintaining standards
Women working as cleaners gained some financial independence, often juggling work with child-rearing

Still, despite its importance, cleaning remained undervalued, underpaid, and invisible in many sectors.

😷 Pandemic Era and Beyond: Cleaning Re-Emerges as Essential

When COVID-19 struck the world in 2020, the cleaning profession was thrust back into the spotlight. Suddenly, the world recognised what cleaners had always known:
That cleaning isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s about health, survival, and safety.

Sanitation teams became frontline workers. Domestic cleaners became essential lifelines for people unable to manage their homes. Hospitals, schools, and care homes relied on deep cleaning protocols to keep staff and patients safe.

Even now, long after lockdowns lifted, the increased respect for hygiene and cleanliness remains — and cleaners are, once again, central to how we live, work, and recover.

🧽 The Modern Cleaner: Who They Are Today

Fast forward to today, and the world still runs on cleaning — but now, cleaners are often entrepreneurs, caregivers, and specialists in their own right.

Cleaners are:

Self-employed women juggling school runs and scrubbing bathrooms to build their own income.
Migrant workers building a future for their families, often underpaid and underprotected.
Former carers, retail workers, or support staff who found freedom and flexibility through cleaning.
People with ADHD or autism who find purpose in routine and transformation.
Professionals in trauma cleanup, end-of-tenancy deep cleans, after-build care, or infection control.

They are not “just” cleaners.
They are problem solvers. Listeners.
Supporters of people’s most private and vulnerable moments.
And at times — lifesavers.

🌍 Without Cleaners, the World Doesn’t Work

Imagine the world without cleaners.

There are no sterile hospital rooms.
No welcoming hotel beds.
No safe nurseries.
No fresh offices or calming therapy rooms.
No relief for a person overwhelmed by grief, illness, or burnout.

In so many cases, cleaners are the first step in someone’s healing, recovery, or return to stability.

They help families stay afloat.
They restore dignity to chaotic homes.
They bring order when everything else feels broken.

💬 Why We Started Kleana

The cleaning industry is massive — yet millions of cleaners remain unseen, unsupported, and undervalued.

Too many struggle to start their business because they can’t afford basic tools.
Too many rely on word-of-mouth and outdated platforms to find work.
Too many are overworked and underpaid by companies that profit from their hard labour.

We knew something had to change.

Kleana was built as a platform for them — a free, accessible, and human-focused directory where self-employed cleaners can:

List their services, reviews, prices, and contact info
Be found by people looking for trusted, local professionals
Get help starting or growing their business
Access future funding, support, and visibility

And most importantly:
Be treated with the respect they deserve.

🙌 Join the Movement

This isn’t just a website. Kleana is a movement to recognise the real workers who keep the world going.

If you’re a cleaner — this space is yours.
If you’re looking for one — you’ll find dedicated, hardworking people who care.
And if you believe in fairness, dignity, and community — we invite you to support us.

This is just the beginning.