MCB HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hi -- Some servicemembers in base housing look forward to their final housing inspection before a permanent change of station about as much as a root canal in the gas chamber.
The family housing department here is about to make life a little easier for those Marines and Sailors who don't enjoy five days of scrubbing every inch of their house only to find they failed inspection and have to pay for someone else to re-clean their house.
"You don't have the equipment to do a really good cleaning job," said J.O. Park, director of the Family Housing Department.
Some of the equipment needed, such as floor buffers, aren't economical for families, so many residents would have to pay commercial cleaners to do it for them.
"Right now it's up to $400 (for a professional cleaner) to do the whole thing," Park added.
Marines and Sailors weren't the only ones to take a hit in the wallet.
During the five days of cleaning, the base has to fork out a temporary lodging allowance that costs, on average, $250 a day for a family of four collecting off base temporary lodging, he said.
To make matters worse, Park said because of Hawaii's cost of living, the TLA didn't always cover all the costs to servicemembers. To improve the current system, Family Housing and TLA looked to their sister services.
The other Armed Forces only authorize one day of TLA, but to compensate, the servicemember is only responsible for minor cleaning.
"There's a total savings to the government," Park said. "The savings have been documented."
Starting Oct. 1, base housing residents will only be required to clean 16 areas, all of which can be done with normal household cleaning supplies, Park said.
Once those areas are clean, a civilian-contracted cleaning company takes over.
"The bottom line is the house has to be clean for the next family to move in," Park said. "This is a win-win situation."
The 16 checkpoints that residents are responsible for include cleaning major appliances and sweeping the floors in the house.
Park said they are also trying to negotiate a contract where base residents could opt to have the entire house cleaned professionally for less than $100.
The Family Housing Department is also making temporary furniture available once a resident has shipped their furniture and adding another perk. Instead of having to return the furniture, the servicemember can leave it in the house for the next occupants, Park said.
"This eliminates out-of-pocket expenses and worries," he said. "It takes a lot of hassles out of trying to leave."