Mrs István Jávorcsik gets on the bus almost at the front of her house and sets out on her ride to work at a quarter to 3. If the traffic is not heavy, she gets to Budapest by half past 4 already. She puts on her white uniform, the closed shoes according to the safety protocol and starts cleaning at 5. She has been doing this for 22 years and she is proud of being responsible for the cleanliness.
‘Today I work as a team leader but when I got here, I popped in for only half a day to see for myself what this job was like. It’s nothing like cleaning at home, here everything is professional. Not only because we use modern machines or complex detergents, but also because here you do have to clean all the time outside of your break time. At home you can put it off, leave it to the weekend, and cherry pick which day you do the kitchen and which day the living room. Here everything has to be in order by the end of the shift. I finish work by 1 in the morning, then I get a lift back home. What changed in the past weeks is that I use more of the various detergents and beside the regular cleaning, I disinfect the door handles and railing as well.’
Advice on efficient work
We mostly learn how to clean from our mother or grandmother, usually just by copying their movements. But according to Mrs Marika István Jávorcsik, if we keep a few rules, we can become much more efficient.
‘But of course these are not big issues: always work your way from the top to the bottom, from the inside to the outside. In bathrooms and restrooms first use the detergents and let them set for a while. After the wet cleaning, always finish the process with a dry wipe too, this way the tap will never have patches. Pouring a lot of detergents on something won’t make it cleaner, the secret is the clean water. If the water is even a little bit dirty, you got to change it. In time of viruses, air the rooms regularly, use sanitizers and wash your hands very often! When we are cleaning, we will inevitably get in contact with contaminations. It’s important to use rubber gloves at home too.’
MRS ISTVÁN JÁVORCSIK
