A few years ago, Burlington resident Misty Cale unexpectedly found her calling — cleaning, and more specifically, house cleaning. She is so exact and proficient, some of her clients started calling her “Misty Clean.”
“I decided I absolutely loved what I did. I was good at it,” Cale said.
Cale was working for somebody else at the time, and she knew she wanted to take her cleaning expertise further. So, for the first time in her life, the single mother of one quit her job. Then, she waited out a non-compete clause for a year before starting her own cleaning service.
Cale opened MagiClean Cleaning Service out of her home in 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She worried the worldwide disaster would ruin her business before it got started.
Instead, MagiClean thrived. Cale now has 12 employees, and they are always busy.
“People would just rather leave their house for a little while and have us come over and clean,” Cale said.
Cale used to have her cleaning team meet at her house every morning and evening. But now, she has a new office in the former Fun Wash Laundry at 1901 Madison Street.
It’s not just an office. Cale has spent the past two months renovating the formerly defunct laundry, fixing ceiling leaks, making repairs, and repeatedly doing deep cleanings. It has been a hectic sprint toward an opening date with plenty of setbacks.
“I hired some people (to make repairs), and they never came back to finish the job,” she said.
So, Cale finished it herself. The MagiClean laundry will open for business for the first time today.
“If you know me, you know that’s how I roll,” she said.
The MagiClean laundry is not a walk-in operation. Instead, customers are asked to bring their laundry and drop it off. They can make any requests they like for detergents and cleaning materials or just leave it up to the laundry. Then they simply come back to pick up their clothes.
“We customize to the customer,” Cale said. “It’s a completely contactless service.”
Cale lives a couple of blocks from the laundry, and its closure a few months ago had an immediate impact on her neighbors. She initially considered using the laundry to clean her own supplies and the odd laundry load from one of her cleaning clients.
But Cale’s ambition pushed her toward something more.
“One night, I had a dream about having a laundromat,” she said, noting the dream came after she saw Fun Wash was closed. “I was able to find the owner and contact him a week later.”
Cale will spend most of her waking hours in the laundry and has shaped the interior to fit her personality. Folksy signage created by Pinned It Creations adorns the walls, usually hanging over baskets of cleaning supplies and other knick-knacks featuring positive messages.
“It is so me,” she said. “I like to stay motivated.”
Though customers won’t be coming inside to get their laundry done, Cale said anyone who wants to meet or check it out is welcome during regular hours.
But she asks that people not walk in after business hours — especially in the middle of the night. That is why Cale has installed security cameras in nearly every corner.
“We’ve actually had quite a few people coming in the middle of the night. It was scary, but they were pretty gentle,” she said. “Someone tried to break in through a window.”
The laundry will be running most hours of the day, and business hours could expand in the future. For now, the laundry is open from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.
“We will have an online booking as well. You might not even have to see us,” Cale said with a grin.
For more information, call MagiClean Cleaning Service at 319-759-4864.
A few years ago, Burlington resident Misty Cale unexpectedly found her calling — cleaning, and more specifically, house cleaning. She is so exact and proficient, some of her clients started calling her “Misty Clean.”
“I decided I absolutely loved what I did. I was good at it,” Cale said.
Cale was working for somebody else at the time, and she knew she wanted to take her cleaning expertise further. So, for the first time in her life, the single mother of one quit her job. Then, she waited out a non-compete clause for a year before starting her own cleaning service.
Cale opened MagiClean Cleaning Service out of her home in 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She worried the worldwide disaster would ruin her business before it got started.
Instead, MagiClean thrived. Cale now has 12 employees, and they are always busy.
“People would just rather leave their house for a little while and have us come over and clean,” Cale said.
Cale used to have her cleaning team meet at her house every morning and evening. But now, she has a new office in the former Fun Wash Laundry at 1901 Madison Street.
It’s not just an office. Cale has spent the past two months renovating the formerly defunct laundry, fixing ceiling leaks, making repairs, and repeatedly doing deep cleanings. It has been a hectic sprint toward an opening date with plenty of setbacks.
“I hired some people (to make repairs), and they never came back to finish the job,” she said.
So, Cale finished it herself. The MagiClean laundry will open for business for the first time today.
“If you know me, you know that’s how I roll,” she said.
The MagiClean laundry is not a walk-in operation. Instead, customers are asked to bring their laundry and drop it off. They can make any requests they like for detergents and cleaning materials or just leave it up to the laundry. Then they simply come back to pick up their clothes.
“We customize to the customer,” Cale said. “It’s a completely contactless service.”
Cale lives a couple of blocks from the laundry, and its closure a few months ago had an immediate impact on her neighbors. She initially considered using the laundry to clean her own supplies and the odd laundry load from one of her cleaning clients.
But Cale’s ambition pushed her toward something more.
“One night, I had a dream about having a laundromat,” she said, noting the dream came after she saw Fun Wash was closed. “I was able to find the owner and contact him a week later.”
Cale will spend most of her waking hours in the laundry and has shaped the interior to fit her personality. Folksy signage created by Pinned It Creations adorns the walls, usually hanging over baskets of cleaning supplies and other knick-knacks featuring positive messages.
“It is so me,” she said. “I like to stay motivated.”
Though customers won’t be coming inside to get their laundry done, Cale said anyone who wants to meet or check it out is welcome during regular hours.
But she asks that people not walk in after business hours — especially in the middle of the night. That is why Cale has installed security cameras in nearly every corner.
“We’ve actually had quite a few people coming in the middle of the night. It was scary, but they were pretty gentle,” she said. “Someone tried to break in through a window.”
The laundry will be running most hours of the day, and business hours could expand in the future. For now, the laundry is open from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.
“We will have an online booking as well. You might not even have to see us,” Cale said with a grin.
For more information, call MagiClean Cleaning Service at 319-759-4864.
A few years ago, Burlington resident Misty Cale unexpectedly found her calling — cleaning, and more specifically, house cleaning. She is so exact and proficient, some of her clients started calling her “Misty Clean.”
“I decided I absolutely loved what I did. I was good at it,” Cale said.
Cale was working for somebody else at the time, and she knew she wanted to take her cleaning expertise further. So, for the first time in her life, the single mother of one quit her job. Then, she waited out a non-compete clause for a year before starting her own cleaning service.
Cale opened MagiClean Cleaning Service out of her home in 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She worried the worldwide disaster would ruin her business before it got started.
Instead, MagiClean thrived. Cale now has 12 employees, and they are always busy.
“People would just rather leave their house for a little while and have us come over and clean,” Cale said.
Cale used to have her cleaning team meet at her house every morning and evening. But now, she has a new office in the former Fun Wash Laundry at 1901 Madison Street.
It’s not just an office. Cale has spent the past two months renovating the formerly defunct laundry, fixing ceiling leaks, making repairs, and repeatedly doing deep cleanings. It has been a hectic sprint toward an opening date with plenty of setbacks.
“I hired some people (to make repairs), and they never came back to finish the job,” she said.
So, Cale finished it herself. The MagiClean laundry will open for business for the first time today.
“If you know me, you know that’s how I roll,” she said.
The MagiClean laundry is not a walk-in operation. Instead, customers are asked to bring their laundry and drop it off. They can make any requests they like for detergents and cleaning materials or just leave it up to the laundry. Then they simply come back to pick up their clothes.
“We customize to the customer,” Cale said. “It’s a completely contactless service.”
Cale lives a couple of blocks from the laundry, and its closure a few months ago had an immediate impact on her neighbors. She initially considered using the laundry to clean her own supplies and the odd laundry load from one of her cleaning clients.
But Cale’s ambition pushed her toward something more.
“One night, I had a dream about having a laundromat,” she said, noting the dream came after she saw Fun Wash was closed. “I was able to find the owner and contact him a week later.”
Cale will spend most of her waking hours in the laundry and has shaped the interior to fit her personality. Folksy signage created by Pinned It Creations adorns the walls, usually hanging over baskets of cleaning supplies and other knick-knacks featuring positive messages.
“It is so me,” she said. “I like to stay motivated.”
Though customers won’t be coming inside to get their laundry done, Cale said anyone who wants to meet or check it out is welcome during regular hours.
But she asks that people not walk in after business hours — especially in the middle of the night. That is why Cale has installed security cameras in nearly every corner.
“We’ve actually had quite a few people coming in the middle of the night. It was scary, but they were pretty gentle,” she said. “Someone tried to break in through a window.”
The laundry will be running most hours of the day, and business hours could expand in the future. For now, the laundry is open from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.
“We will have an online booking as well. You might not even have to see us,” Cale said with a grin.
For more information, call MagiClean Cleaning Service at 319-759-4864.