As a bachelor in a one-bedroom flat, I have attempted to do my own cleaning – but this was not the best idea and the results were poor.

For this reason, I tried the SweepSouth app.

SweepSouth is an online cleaning services platform often referred to as the “Uber for cleaning services”

It has proven so popular in South Africa that Naspers Foundry invested R30 million into the business in June 2019.

My experience using the service was excellent, and I have outlined how it works below.

How it works

To sign up to the service, you can use an email address or your Facebook profile.

Once you have chosen an option and signed in, you will be greeted by the SweepSouth app home screen.

This contains the “Make Booking” option, which requires you to detail the cleaning services your require.

How many bedrooms and bathrooms you have in your home, what additional services you would like, and whether you will be supplying cleaning materials are the main questions you must answer.

There is a list of cleaning services that are included with the base price, such as:

General clean of living room

General clean of kitchen

General clean of bedrooms

General clean of bathroom

Extras that will cost you more include:

Laundry and ironing

Cleaning inside fridge

Cleaning inside oven

Cleaning inside cabinets

Cleaning interior walls

Cleaning interior windows

The price of your service and the number of hours suggested will automatically change in accordance with the options you have selected.

You are also able to choose whether you would like it to be a once-off booking, or whether you would like to book a recurring service.

There are a number of options for a recurring service, including monthly, weekly, or more frequently.

Once you have set up your preferences, you then request a “SweepStar” – and SweepSouth will match you with a domestic cleaner on its platform.

If you have used the platform before, an option is also available to request a previously-matched SweepStar.

Awesome specials

One of my favourite elements of SweepSouth is the regular and significant specials they offer.

For example, SweepSouth recently ran a Valentine’s Day special where using the code VDAYDATE offered an R80 discount for the next clean a user booked for before 21 February.

This is by no means an uncommon occurrence – below are the emails I received from SweepSouth over 10 days.

SweepStar’s are professional

Each of the SweepStars who have been matched to my cleaning requests were an absolute pleasure to work with.

Professionalism, trust, and reliability are three points SweepSouth promotes as part of its service – and these were certainly delivered on.

SweepSouth also includes a rating system, which works in a similar way to services like Uber.

Customers are able to rate their SweepStar using a five-star ranking system once a cleaning job is complete. Additionally, you are able to add a tip from within the app.

“When it comes to your home, we can truly say that our SweepStars give their best and our clients agree. All our SweepStars are experienced and trained, background checked, and in-person interviewed,” said SweepSouth.