A cleaning business with an emphasis on general hygiene and eco-friendliness has served the St. Louis area for over two decades and has found a home locally serving Monroe County residents in recent years.

AO Cleaning was founded by Ryan Overby back in 2003. Overby is originally from Troy, and he recalled that his interest in cleanliness stemmed from his grandfather’s business.

“My grandfather had a dry cleaning business, and he did carpet cleaning in the early 80s,” Overby said. “When I was a young kid, I always took interest in chemisty and pH and always kept things tidy.”

He further described how his interest manifested as a kid, pointing to a science fair project he did which involved testing different detergents and cleaners to see how they performed.

Overby began AO Cleaning in 2003 when he was 21. Though the company now has a fairly substantial social media presence, he noted that getting the business off the ground involved simply “tucking in his shirt” and starting in the yellow pages.

Over the years, the company’s customer focus has shifted between commercial clientele and individuals or families looking to clean their homes.

Overby said a majority of the work he did in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic was for corporate facilities, with a large contract or two contributing greatly to AO Cleaning’s success.

“I would test high-touch surfaces and determine why their facility is toxic and why their employees are sick,” Overby said. “I would also do emergency cleans if there’s been an outbreak of flu or some kind of virus, I would go in there and disinfect it.”

Well before his business truly boomed and just a few years after he got it started – around the time he really started leaning into residential service – Overby recognized he wanted to have a greener, eco-friendly focus.

Overby started – and has continued – making his own range of cleaning supplies meant to be better for the families he does work for, allowing him to fill a niche in the cleaning industry and better set AO Cleaning apart from other services.

Most recently, rather than pursuing further growth with a corporate clientele, Overby and AO Cleaning have pivoted to focusing on residential customers, offering a range of cleaning and maintenance services for folks looking to touch up their flooring or various other spots in their house.

“They wanted me to go global,” Overby said. “I wasn’t able to chew that off, so I decided to pivot and just focus on residential. I backed away from commercial completely and just focused on floorcare maintenance, refinishing and duct cleaning.”

AO Cleaning continues to focus on these specific areas, with Overby and his small team providing services which include hardwood sanding, refinishing, buffing and wax removal.

The business also cares for other floors, with tile and grout cleaning as well as thorough vacuuming and stain removal for carpets and rugs – area rugs can also be brought to the AO Cleaning shop. Upholstered furniture can also get touched up.

Folks concerned about dust or debris in their home’s ductwork can also have their ducts cleaned. AO Cleaning similarly offers a dryer vent cleaning service for the dust and lint that could clog up the machine.

Overby explained that these services all connect to the business’ motto: “From the surfaces you touch to the air you breathe and the floors you walk on, we have you covered.”

“I’ve always been just fascinated with chemistry, pH, cleanliness, hygiene and just a healthy indoor environment,” Overby said. “That has been my cornerstone. It starts in the home, the air you breathe and the floors you walk on.”

AO Cleaning also uses a range of cleaning products, many of which, as previously mentioned, Overby developed himself with safety in mind.

“What most of my clients care about, ‘Is it safe for my kids and pets? Is it safe for my home?’” Overby said. “Is it gonna be something they have to worry about long-term? And the answer is no. It’s biodegradable, it’s safe, it’s good for your pets, eco-friendly.”

Overby has a range of certifications pertaining to his company’s services, and also said he has credentials from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification.

He also works as something of an instructor, with the company’s YouTube and Facebook pages serving as resources for folks looking to maintain their flooring or other parts of their home. This education is a key interest for Overby, who noted that many homeowners simply have, for example, their flooring installed without being informed of how to properly take care of it.

The business has seen fair success locally, with Overby highlighting positive reviews and pointing to AO Cleaning’s customer service as a major reason for the good response from the community.

“It’s not what I want. It’s what they want,” Overby said. “And that’s what’s made me so successful in Monroe County is I hear them, and I do it in a way that it shows love, it shows understanding and it shows commitment to serving them and the surrounding communities that I serve.”

Though the business serves mainly Waterloo, Columbia and other Monroe County communities, Overby said he and his staff also operate in St. Louis and some of St. Clair County.

AO Cleaning is located at 4185 Hanover Road, Suite 6 between Waterloo and Columbia. For more information, call 618-593-8102 or visit aoclean.com.