New Connecticut company sends models in costume to clean your house

A maid from My Model Maid based in Bristol, Conn. A maid from My Model Maid based in Bristol, Conn. Photo: My Model Maid Photo: My Model Maid Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close New Connecticut company sends models in costume to clean your house 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

My Model Maid just launched last Friday and owner Josh Dailey, 31, has already been interviewed by several news outlets. He was even asked to come back for a second radio segment on "Chaz & AJ in the Morning."

Why all the attention? Dailey's Bristol, Conn.-based cleaning service doesn't hire regular house cleaners. The maids are actually models aged 19-30 who clean people's houses in costume.

After a 40 or 50-hour work-week, the last thing Dailey, a Bristol resident, wanted to do was clean his house. That's how the idea was born.

"I wanted a fun alternative to housecleaning," he said.

The My Model Maid website allows customers to choose from 10 models (and counting), four costumes (French maid, cheerleader, school girl or Wonder Woman) and hourly, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly cleaning services. An hour session is $79. The maids make about $30 an hour, Dailey said.

Taglines on the website include:

"Our exquisite model maids will roll out the red carpet for you (after vacuuming it)."

"Hate housecleaning? Start loving it today."

"One visit from one of our lovely ladies and you’ll be looking for ways to make a mess."

"Choose one or have them bring a friend."

Customers pick their top choices for maid and costume, and the final decision is based on which maid lives closest to the house and if she is comfortable wearing the costume selection. Dailey said he picked costumes based on "universal appeal," and the maids have a say in the matter. He hopes to add more soon, especially in the cosplay vein.

Model Maid Katie Weinstein, a 29-year-old actress from Stratford, Conn., is experienced in the cosplay world having worked various ComicCons. She actually has her own closet full of costumes.

She saw a Google ad for the position and applied to the job. "I'm a costume fanatic. I thought it would be fun to cosplay a maid," she said.

For her, the cleaning aspect was not an issue.

An idea like this does not come without backlash. Fox 61 did a story on My Model Maid and reports that one Facebook user wrote "Sick and perverted. What kinda creep would go for this and what kinda woman would lower herself to this?"

"This is demeaning to Women," another user wrote.

Weinstein said she finds the reaction humorous. "I find it a little funny. In Connecticut, it's a little conservative," she said. "This would be wonderful to have in Manhattan."

Dailey said his business, which is a member of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, is a professional environment, and hopes any criticism is directed at him personally and not the maids.

"I have a mother just like everybody else. Despite the business model, I have tremendous respect for everyone I work with. The girls are like family," he said.

All the maids are from Connecticut. Most of them are professional models that Dailey found on modeling sites and some are just "beautiful women." He has 12 women on board and is interviewing more.

Preliminary interviews are conducted via phone or email; from there the women go on to a series of group interviews.

"While cleaning can be taught to most anyone, there was a huge focus on hiring the right personalities for the job. I truly couldn't ask for a better group of ladies to work with," he said.

Weinstein has already done three cleaning appointments: a retired couple in which the wife bought her husband a gift certificate, a retired single man, and a middle-aged man who has a girlfriend. Dailey says he will only accept unmarried people unless the spouse is on board.

"There's potential for a wife to be jealous; I want to avoid that," he said.

She said when she first arrives at appointment, the customers ask her about herself and want to get to know her. She wore the maid outfit to her appointments.

"They're like 'Oh my God, I can't believe you're here,'" she said. "People just love costumes. It's a novelty; it's no different than a singing telegram. It's similar to having a clown at a children's birthday party."

From there, she goes on to clean the house and says the customer did not watch her the whole time.

Every customer that books a maid is required to complete a background check and sign a contract stating that if at any time during a session, the maid feels uncomfortable or unsafe, she is allowed to leave. The maids also wear life alert watches.

Weinstein said there is no physical contact allowed and if anyone touched her or tried to touch her she would leave. So far, she has not had an issue at her appointments.

"Safety always comes before profit," Dailey said.

Weinstein, who travels around for acting jobs, including a recent role as a showgirl in the Netflix series, "The Get Down," likes the flexibility of the job; there is no minimum requirement for appointments and the maids can take on gigs at their availability.

As for the actual house cleaning, Dailey said it's no joke. All the maids get hands-on training on how to clean every room in the house and take video courses from "industry standard" cleaning companies. They also have a 300-page manual and use eco-friendly products and commercial-grade appliances, including a $400 vacuum.

"It's not just some novelty concept having people just come in and push dust around," he said. "At the end of the day, people pay good money and expect the house to be cleaned."

My Model Maid completed seven appointments in its first week and has five more booked. Dailey said six of the seven customers requested repeat sessions.

The maids are also available for private parties and game-day viewing parties where they will serve drinks and food as well as clean up after the party.

As of now, My Model Maid serves all of Connecticut (and one customer in Massachusetts), but with the help of some of his more "business savvy" maids who have connections, Dailey said he hopes to expand to New York City and Boston. Dailey, who works in sales, hopes to make My Model Maid a full-time job in the coming months.