MARIETTA - Not long after Chad Presley opened Precision Cleaning in Marietta in 2007, a friend contacted him about helping his sister, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The man wanted to have his sister's house cleaned once a week, and Presley offered to only charge him every other week, with the company providing the service free in between.
"As I was talking to him, I just thought, 'This really makes sense,'" he said.
Presley has extended the offer to any woman undergoing breast cancer treatment, as well as men, who in rare cases can develop the disease. Precision will provide a free, full-service cleaning every other week, regardless of whether the person is a regular customer or not.
The goal is to provide help to people in need, Presley said, just like others do by participating in activities like the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.
"In our business, we have a specific way to provide boots-on-the-ground service," he said. "It's not meant for promotion at all."
Precision general manager Austin Straub said the cleaning includes high and low dusting, vacuuming, disinfecting and cleaning kitchens and bathrooms, making beds and general tidying up. He noted the company uses green materials and backpack vacuums with triple filters to prevent the release of particles.
Both Presley and Straub said the service touched them on a personal level, as each have family members whose lives were taken by cancer.
"It really hits close to home for just about everyone," Straub said.
Although Precision has offered the service for awhile, Presley said it's only been utilized a handful of times and has been mostly spread by word of mouth.
Lower Salem resident Letha Haas, 37, said that when she was receiving cancer treatment, she had a strong support system who helped out with things like fixing meals and cleaning the house.
"That is one less worry for someone who is battling a health scare because you are already adapting your schedule to your treatment," she said. "That allowed me to rest, and I felt relaxed that my family was being cared for and my house was being cleaned."
Haas wasn't aware of Precision's offer, but said she thinks it would be beneficial to women undergoing treatment.
"I think that is a wonderful, wonderful thing," she said.
