Spokane-based Armitage Cleaning LLC has launched a commercial “security-minded cleaning service” that’s designed to benefit clients who have work environments where protecting sensitive information is important.

Christopher Armitage, who co-owns the business with partner Geno Barnept, says the business started last month and has five employees, including its owners.

“We don’t have an office yet, although we are interested in moving operations to one in the next few months,” he says.  “We’re just starting, but we plan to take it slow and find clients that are the right fit for us.”

Originally from New York, Armitage is a U.S. Air Force veteran who has been stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, located just west of Spokane, for the past six years.  

“My service ends in another couple of months, so I’ve been working with various organizations that assist veterans in finding employment,” he says. “I decided I wanted to start a company and begin setting roots down here in Spokane.” 

Armitage says he’s a few months away from earning a master’s degree in homeland security via online courses taken through Trenton, N.J.-based Thomas Edison University.

“Within the military, I was responsible for various security, equipment, and maintenance responsibilities,” he says. “In creating this business, I saw an opportunity to use those skills to create a cleaning service for clients with security concerns.”

Armitage says the company is looking to work with banks, legal offices, and other professional spaces that deal with sensitive information and security requirements.

The company offers both basic packages for general cleaning, and more comprehensive packages for specialized cleaning jobs, such as carpet cleaning, floor waxing, stripping and sealing, and window cleaning.

Armitage says cleaning services will vary depending on client needs. 

Armitage says he’s also a proponent of cryptocurrency and plans to allow the company’s clients to use it as a form of payment for services. 

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are digital currencies in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency, and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank.

“Many large companies are starting to accept this type of currency,” says Armitage. “It’s a secure and effective form of payment that’s projected to continue gaining value. By accepting cryptocurrency as payment, I’m hoping to provide clients with more opportunities to integrate the use of this currency into their business.”

While the company is still just getting its start, Armitage says his first goal is to begin demonstrating the value of this type of cleaning service here.  

“Security and cleaning are connected in a big way,” he says. “Neither will gain you customers, but both will lose you customers if done improperly.”