Heather Rowley's worst cleaning job was a cabin near Taos that had so many rodent droppings, it took head-to-toe body covering and several cleaning cycles to make it livable again.

But when you clean for a living, you have to be prepared for everything. And when you're cleaning all naturally, well, at least you know your work is not in vain, Rowley said.

"This business, well it's meditative for me," said Rowley, owner of Eco-Clean Albuquerque. "I want to help people live a more natural lifestyle. I've been doing this for 20 years. Nothing is that terribly gross to me."

Rowley, a native of Eastern Long Island, N.Y., has been a fan of nature since she was a youngster.

"I've been gardening every year since I was 7," she said. "My grandparents were into natural health and natural gardening."

Their love of nature rubbed off on Rowley. In turn, she's hoping her children, ages 9 and 13, will grow up with a love of nature as well.

When she moved to Taos 15 years ago, Rowley started a cleaning business focused on homes, vacation properties and some construction properties.

She also started a garden business on three and a quarter acres, becoming one of the largest producers of organic herbs in the state.

Her success in Taos inspired Rowley to head south.

From her employees' green polo shirts to her trademark process for cleaning a home, Rowley is hoping her green business is something she can sell to Albuquerque homeowners.

And beyond that, she's hoping she can sell the idea of living more naturally.

"It's the whole natural lifestyle," she said. "I'm trying to help the environment and teach people how to use natural products."

Running a green business isn't cheap, however.

She estimates she spends up to 15 percent more for the eco-friendly products she uses.

She charges $36 per man hour, with a minimum two-hour charge. But, Rowley said, the quality work homeowners receive is worth it.

Besides the costs of buying green products she uses, Rowley invests a lot of time and money toward hiring honest and capable people and training them in the "art" of cleaning a home.

"In the office training, I teach employees how to dress, how to behave, how to talk professionally.

"I do extensive background checks, and employees undergo ongoing drug tests," she said. "The cleaning process is my intellectual property. The process is trademarked.

"There's a specific order with a specific product that my employees use," Rowley said.

Mingled into the Rowley process is the art of feng shui.

"I tell clients when they get home, they should make sure everything is balanced," Rowley said. "The pillows should be sitting perfectly. The drapes should be hanging perfectly. . . . It should be so perfect that it can be photographed."

And what natural products does Rowley lean toward?

Life Tree and Ecover cleaning products, rubbing alcohol, baking soda, Bon Ami, mild detergents, hot water and vinegar ("There's nothing better at killing germs," she said).

When she gets a wrinkled nose at the mention of vinegar, Rowley insists her clean homes don't smell bad.

"You can add detergent with a cyprus or lemon scent to vinegar," she said. "You can add thyme oil, or eucalyptus oil (found at natural food stores) to make it smell nice."