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After 35 years painting cars, Tony Jillings of Arkles Bay was ready for a change. As well as wanting to run his own business, he was keen to get out of the enclosed spaces he worked in and into the fresh air.
Last month, together with 27-year-old daughter Ashleigh, he launched Monster Housewash & Gutters, specialising in cleaning residential and commercial exteriors – everything from the deck and driveway to the roof and guttering.
Ashleigh had returned home to Arkles Bay with two-year-old Hadley and after several years working for telecommunications companies, has taken on Monster Housewash & Gutters’ administrative and marketing work.
She says a two-person team makes things better for customers, providing prompt service and a reliable point of contact while leaving Tony free to get the job done with the water blaster.
The work is varied – as well as house exteriors and gutters, the company cleans anything that can be reached with a water blaster including decks, fences and driveways; Tony has even found himself washing solar panels, which is needed to keep them working well. He says clean gutters are especially important at this time of year – particularly for those on tank water.
Tony says with Spring now here, people are coming outside and realising that their houses, decks, steps and driveways are in need of a good clean after all that winter rain. Cleaning away the moss, mould and other material is not just cosmetic – it also improves safety, making surfaces less slippery underfoot. A before and after photo of the area is sent to every customer.
Tony admits that his years of car painting has made him “quite fussy”, so a good quality clean is assured.
With quite a bit of work coming in from property managers and home and business owners Auckland-wide (and as far north as Omaha), Tony says there hasn’t been a dull moment.
Best of all, he’s out and about – able to enjoy the outdoors while Ashleigh takes care of the paperwork.
