--- title: "About Joe & Shovan | Commercial Cleaning of San Diego" description: "Joe & Shovan Dufresne took over Commercial Cleaning of San Diego in 2019, continuing the work the founder started in 1985. Licensed, insured, family-owned." canonical: https://www.commercialcleaningsd.com/about/ --- About # A family-owned crew that's been cleaning San Diego since 1985 Joe Dufresne started as an employee here, back when the business ran under a different name. When the founder retired in 2019, Joe bought the operation and rebranded it Commercial Cleaning of San Diego — keeping the equipment, the relationships, and the standards that had been working for nearly four decades. The Story ## Employee first, owner second Joe worked alongside the founder for years before owning the business — back when it operated under a different name. He learned the equipment, the accounts, the way San Diego properties actually need to be cleaned — not from a manual but on the truck. When the founder was ready to retire in 2019, Joe bought the operation and rebranded it Commercial Cleaning of San Diego. The equipment stayed. The relationships stayed. The way the work gets done stayed. What changed is the name on the door and who's writing your invoice — and that's Joe. The continuity isn't just a marketing line. **Filippi's Pizza Grotto in Downtown San Diego has been a client since the 1980s**, and they stayed through the 2019 ownership transition because nothing about the work itself changed. That's the kind of account longevity that doesn't survive vendor changes by accident. Shovan, Joe's wife, is the majority owner of the corporation and runs the business side: billing, insurance, contracts, scheduling. Joe runs sales and operations and is the one you'll meet on site. It's a small family operation by design — there isn't a layer of account managers between you and the owners. ![Joe and Shovan Dufresne — owners of Commercial Cleaning of San Diego — on the San Diego waterfront with the downtown skyline behind them](/_astro/family-owned-and-operated-local-business-commercial-cleaning-of-san-diego.B8tpVkK5_1mRrHz.webp) Credentials ## Licensed, insured, and in the field 20+ years What an unlicensed competitor with a $400 Home Depot setup can't claim. We carry the paperwork and we send it. * ### California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) Current. Required for commercial work over $500 in CA — and the single best signal separating a real contractor from a pressure-washing operator with a truck. * ### San Diego, Oceanside & Carlsbad business licenses Jurisdictional cleanliness across the cities where we work the most. * ### Fully insured General liability + workers' compensation. We carry certificates and we send them. * ### 20+ years industry experience Joe's direct hands-on time in commercial cleaning, predating the 2019 ownership change. Memberships ## Healthcare facility support Commercial Cleaning of San Diego, Inc. is proud to be a member of the California Society for Healthcare Engineering. Hospitals are one of our strongest verticals — we work hard to understand what those facilities actually need from an exterior-cleaning partner. ### California Society for Healthcare Engineering CSHE Statewide trade association for healthcare facility engineers, vendors, and service providers. Eleven chapters across California; affiliated with ASHE (American Society for Health Care Engineering) under the American Hospital Association. CSHE serves healthcare facility engineers, facility managers, construction managers, vendors, and service providers throughout California. Eleven chapters statewide, connected to the broader healthcare engineering community through ASHE — the American Society for Health Care Engineering, part of the American Hospital Association — which focuses on hospital maintenance, construction, facility operations, safety, and compliance. For us, CSHE membership reflects our commitment to understanding what hospitals and medical campuses actually need from an exterior cleaning partner. Exterior cleaning in those environments is not just about appearance — it ties into patient safety, infection prevention support, stormwater compliance, wastewater recovery, accessibility, and maintaining a clean first impression for patients, visitors, and staff. Through CSHE, we stay current on what hospitals actually need from services like: * Pressure washing * Soft washing * Sidewalk sanitizing * Solar panel cleaning * EPA-compliant wastewater recovery * Exterior maintenance for high-traffic healthcare environments [See our work at Rady Children's Hospital → ](/case-studies/rady-childrens-hospital-soft-wash/) [Visit CSHE (opens in new tab) → ](https://cshe.org/) Past Credentials ## Certifications that have lapsed Listed for honest credibility — the training and operational experience continue, but we don't currently hold the active certification. If a contract requires it, we'll renew or refer you out. * ### NORMI Certified Sanitization Professional EXPIRED National Organization of Remediators and Mold Inspectors · Lapsed Joe held this credential covering hospital, medical, school, restaurant, and public-space sanitization. The certification has expired; the operational experience continues. If you need a current NORMI-certified provider, ask — we may renew if there's a real recurring account behind it. [ View original certificate (PDF) → (opens in new tab) ](/downloads/NORMI-Certificate-expired.pdf) * ### IICRC Carpet Cleaning Certification EXPIRED Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification · Lapsed The major industry body for carpet, upholstery, and water-damage restoration. Joe held this credential; it has lapsed. Operational technique stays the same. Past Notable Work ## Government and high-discipline contracts Past contracts that required more than the average commercial cleaning job. Listed as context for what we've done before, not as current-client claims. ### U.S. Navy refueling pier · Point Loma Five years For five years we did exterior cleaning work on a U.S. Navy refueling pier in Point Loma. We're not going to tell you what we cleaned, when, what was nearby, or who else was around — it's a Navy refueling pier in Point Loma, you can probably guess why we keep that to ourselves. What we _can_ tell you: five consecutive years of contract renewal at a facility with no tolerance for a contractor who shows up late, leaves loose ends, or asks the wrong questions. The pier got cleaned. The Navy kept us on for a half-decade. The rest of the story stays with us. Equipment ## We don't Home Depot our equipment Real commercial work needs real commercial tools. Here's what we run, and why each one matters. * ### SOLA-TECS C c1000 solar panel rig German-made by Cleantecs GmbH (the industry company; been making high-pressure accessories for 25+ years). Water-driven brush roller spinning at 700 RPM via a specialized telescope lance. Safe enough that the manufacturer rates it for glass-washing. * ### Dedicated soft-wash trailer Sourced from a major industry equipment supplier in 2022\. Real commitment to soft washing as a service line, not a side hustle done with the same wand as everything else. * ### Truck-mounted carpet extraction Truck-mount unit, not the portable extractors residential cleaners run. Higher heat, higher vacuum, faster dry times for commercial floors. * ### Water-reclamation pressure washing We capture the dirty water rather than let it run into storm drains. San Diego County stormwater regulations make runoff the property owner's liability — we take that off your plate. About FAQ ## What people ask How long has Joe been doing this? Joe joined the business as an employee, working alongside the founder for years. When the founder retired in 2019, Joe bought the operation and rebranded it Commercial Cleaning of San Diego. The cleaning business itself has been serving San Diego since 1985 — under different names but the same operational lineage. Who runs the day-to-day? Joe handles sales, operations, and the field work. Shovan, his wife, is the majority owner and runs the business administration side — billing, contracts, insurance, scheduling. The split lets each of them focus where they're strongest. Are you a woman-owned business? Shovan is the majority equity owner of the Inc., yes. We don't carry a WBE (Women's Business Enterprise) certification, so we don't make that claim formally. The arrangement is family ownership, not a procurement-program play. What about the certifications you used to hold? NORMI (sanitization) and IICRC (carpet cleaning) — both lapsed. The training and the operational technique are still part of how we work; we just can't make a current-certification claim on the site. If a contract specifically requires active certification, ask — we'll either renew or refer you out honestly. ## Talk to Joe directly No phone tree, no junior account manager. You'll be talking to the person who shows up to the walkthrough. 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