We left our jobs to launch a cleaning business – our hacks are so popular that we’ve been able to open our own store
TWO mums who left their jobs to launch their own cleaning business have been able to open their own store thanks to their viral success.
Claire Jenkins, 50, started cleaning houses and holiday lets after she was made redundant 12 years ago.
Then four years later Hazel Mckinniel, 44, was looking to earn extra money while working as a carer and reached out to Claire.
But she quickly gave that up to work with Claire full time and they threw everything into their business - working nearly 12 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week.
And their hard work paid off when they were able to open their own laundrette and shop in Moffat, Dumfriesshire, called The Laundry Room, in February in 2020.
Claire and Hazel, who each have two sons, quickly rose to fame after going viral with their top cleaning hacks on TikTok ().
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Their handy tips earned them millions of views with fans flocking to the comments begging them to clean their homes all over the country.
Mum-of-two Claire, originally from Kirkintilloch, told the Scottish Sun that all their hard work is now paying off.
She said: "I've been in the cleaning business for 12 years - I was made redundant and I started off just cleaning houses and cleaning holiday lets."
Hazel, also a mum-of-two, added: "I was a level 4 carer and I ended up needing a bit of extra money, so I messaged Claire.
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"I used to do a lot of private care work and I lost it because of various reasons and I was looking for a bit of extra money so I messaged Claire and I realised I could make more money doing that than what I could do doing what I was doing.
";So I gave up that and came on board with Claire and we just worked away.
"Claire had a washhouse at the side of her house and I started helping her with laundry so I had a bit of a washhouse at the side of my house and then we went from there.
"After lockdown, I said to Claire, 'We need to go further with this'.
"We needed a shop where we can have a laundrette and hang out our bedding and stuff like that so we decided to do that and open the shop and it's just went from there."
Claire, who has two sons aged 18 and 25, explained that they were just having a bit of fun when they uploaded their first TikTok clip and were stunned when it turned them into overnight sensations.
She said: "We did a TikTok and went viral. We posted it the first time and it did nothing.
"Then my daughter-in-law-to-be resent it with some hashtags and then when it went viral we were like what the hell?!
"It was just... we knew everyone was on TikTok and everyone was doing TikToks... So, come on let's do a Tiktok.
"And we've now got such a big audience and it's actually growing every day because they're liking what they're seeing."
Hazel, originally from Larkhall, added: "We don't edit, we don't do anything, it's just us."
"If there's a mistake or a word in it, it just goes," Claire said.
"And I think that's what people like about it - it's just raw and so genuine."
And their fame has led to their thousands of fans reaching out from across the country asking them to clean their homes.
Hazel, whose two sons are 17 and 21, said: "We get asked all the time to clean for other people and stuff (from TikTok).
"We get asked to clean all over the country. But we don't have time for that right now."
She added that the pair are even getting recognised when they are out in their local town.
She said: "Everyone is starting to say to us now like when we're going out in public 'Aww you're the Wee Scotty Cleaner!', 'You're the Tiktoker!'
"I'm like 'Oh my God' - so it's a bit surreal now.
"Claire was in the co-op the other day and people are coming up to her saying 'shining like a shilling' from one of our videos!
"Twice I've been out with my partner and people have come up to me and he's been like 'Oh my God you're famous!'
"We're just overwhelmed by it all."
Looking back on their journey, Claire explained: "It's like all our hard work has paid off. All the hours and work to get to where we are."
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Hazel chimed in: "We've gone from being just two cleaners to owning our own business - and we were out cleaning one day and just thought 'Let's do a Tiktok', and then it just blew up."
Claire added: "We've been so busy but sometimes it's like 'Is this real?' - it's like this amazing dream."
