SEATTLE — He's become a social media sensation doing a job most of us don't want to do.
So how did Renton's Sergio Licea get an army of followers watching him clean houses? His journey started nearly a decade ago when he lent a helping, but novice hand to his mom's house-cleaning business.
"She's the one that actually started teaching me, like, 'OK, you're gonna do it like this in this way,'" Licea said.
Years later, Licea has gone from a junior to a Jedi cleaning master at his company, Edge Cleaning Service.
"I've had clients who've had cried," Licea said. "They're like, 'Oh my god, I didn't know my house was gonna get this clean.'"
To help bring in new business, Licea suggested to his mom that they should take a swipe at social media.
"I would tell my mom, I think only hundreds of people know that we exist," Licea said. "What would happen if thousands of people know that we exist?"
Now make that hundreds of thousands. What began as a marketing tool to boost their business has transformed into a viral phenomenon with over 600,000 followers tuning in on Instagram to see Licea share his cleaning tips and tricks.
"When you don't know how to do something it can be frustrating. But then once you get the tools and the how-tos, it's very satisfying," said Licea. "The message that we wanted to put out there is just to show people simple and better ways to clean."
With the help of a social media manager, Licea makes four to five videos a week, each with helpful info – and positive vibes.
"We kind of create the script, and then from there we go and shoot,” Licea said. "It's anywhere from five to eight hours for each video."
Since he's only been creating content for a short time, Licea was shocked that his videos went viral.
"I never realized the impact that the videos were gonna have on people," Licea said. "Like, when people started to post, 'Oh my god, thanks to you! Now I'm motivated to clean my house.'"
Cleaning our homes may never be '"fun," but Licea hopes his videos will make the job a whole lot easier.
"If I can help and connect with people in a positive way, that makes it for me," Licea said.
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