Elite Detail Masters

Elite Detail co-owner Rachelle Townsend wasn't comfortable sending her three children to a school in an affordable but leery area of Colorado. So, she and her husband decided to rent and renovate a place in a nicer area. "I don't think they [the previous owners] ever picked up a wash cloth," she said.
The couple tore through the home, fixing window latches and leaky faucets, power washing, caulking, cleaning appliances and scrubbing floors, furniture and the grout. "I was happy because the house looked brand new," she said.
When the real estate agent saw the refurbished home, she told her, "I know you've only been here two months, but we just got an offer on the house for $32,000 more than we were asking last week."
The agent complimented their detailed cleaning and asked them to do other vacant homes before they hit the market.
In 1998, with training from her late gay friend Tommy, Townsend and her husband/co-owner Kevin took their cleaning magic and formed a business in Michigan called Elite Detail.
"From then on I had tons of work," she said. "I worked with real estate agents – we did move in and moves out." Her friend, who was a neat freak, helped them out. "He hooked us up with some people and it snowballed to where I just couldn't keep up," she said.
Now with three crews, the Townsend's have thoroughly cleaned many homes, including one of Sinbad's, and some businesses.
"Homes are kind of like your best friend cause you're going to live in it," she said.
Elite Detail charges around $200 per 500 sq. feet, and Kevin is quick to mention the difference between other cleaning companies like Molly Maid, who he compares to a fast food establishment. "They're like McDonalds, and we're like a five-star restaurant," he said. "You might pay more but you're getting what you want. As opposed to McDonalds where you get a No. 1 with cheese and they don't do much more on top of that."
Elite Detail handles larger projects as well as smaller details, like cleaning the outside of the cupboards, under and behind toilets and even caulking upon the customer's request. "We get in every nook and cranny," she said.
They also do carpet cleaning, upholstery, wood and deep cleaning, small repairs, lawn care, window washing, landscaping and auto detailing. "A lot of customers are just shocked at how fast we work but at how much we do," Kevin said.
The company guarantees the house or business will look and smell new. Rachelle said the company's motto is, "Do it right, or do it twice."
"That's the motto with my kids and everything else I do," she said.
Elite Detail services southeast Michigan. For more information or for a cleaning call 313-562-0348, email [email protected] or visit http://www.elitedetailmasters.com.