Smart solutions can keep homes clean, problems at bay

Liu Guihua used to work three hours every Sunday afternoon to help clean my home for a payment of 80 yuan ($13), but last week Liu told me she was going to return to her hometown in Anhui province early next month for the coming Spring Festival holiday.

Liu was the helper that my mother recommended to me early last year after her hard work had won our trust. I hate to do chores at home during the weekend, especially after five days of office work, so looking for Liu's successor became an urgent matter for me.

Since I had little contact with housekeeping companies it was really a headache for me until I thought of seeking applications via my smartphone. I browsed my software application store and was surprised to find that there were so many apps devoted to providing door-to-door home cleaning services.