Windsor Home Cleaning, an Ottawa-based home cleaning service, started back in 1978 as a response to the growing number of homes where both adults worked all day.

A local business couple, Patrick and Lillian Irwin, recognized that households needed more support, when no one worked full time as a homemaker.

The Irwins discovered that, although private house cleaning services had been around for generations in Ottawa, no one had set up residential cleaning as a structured service.

Windsor became the first organized service to offer regular cleaning to homes, not just in Ottawa, but in all of Canada.

From the outset,

  • Windsor matched one cleaner per household.
  • The customer set the routine.
  • The cleaner left a record of the start and finish times.
  • The cleaner left a check list of what was done.

By the end of the first year in business, after a period of very rapid growth, the company realized that house cleaning was a real trade, involving a complex set of skills.

A stable, well-trained staff would be essential to maintain growth and success.

Lillian Irwin had a background in Domestic Science from her schooling in England. Patrick Irwin taught with the Carleton Board of Education for several years, before going into business.

Together, they devised a comprehensive training and certification program for Ottawa-based house cleaners.

It has been primarily Windsor’s recruitment and training programs that have made the company the largest residential cleaning service in Metro Ottawa.

When compared to other services across Canada, Windsor’s success stands out as a singular achievement, both in terms of dollar volume and customer retention.

In addition to regular service, we offer light & Heavy Duty Cleaning on a one time or occasional basis, as well as an excellent HandyMan Service.

OVER 2,000,000 HOURS OF QUALITY HOME CLEANING SERVICES HAVE BEEN DELIVERED TO OTTAWA AREA HOMES SINCE 1978