You’ve made the decision to hire a cleaner for your home. Good! There are a lot of perks that come with having a home cleaner (i.e. more time, less allergy issues, healthier home, etc.), but you have to hire the right home cleaner first.
Difference between an independent home cleaner & cleaning service
The first decision you need to make is whether to hire a home cleaner or cleaning service. There are a few questions to ask yourself to determine whether an independent home cleaner or cleaning service is right for you:
- Do I want the same home cleaner every time? Many home cleaning services do not send the same cleaner every time, but you may be able to request a specific home cleaner from a cleaning service.
- Is a back-up cleaner important? An independent home cleaner does not usually have a plan B when they are sick or on vacation. If a regular cleaning is important to you, a home cleaning service has many different home cleaners when to fill in when needed.
- What kind of availability do I need from my home cleaner? If you need an impromptu home cleaning from time to time, ask your home cleaner if they can provide additional hours. Otherwise, a home cleaning service usually has enough cleaners that they can fill in with needed.
Questions to ask when hiring a home cleaner or cleaning service
We’ve detailed the steps to hiring a home cleaning service. One of the most important steps is interviewing each service or cleaner (either via phone or in-person) to determine which is right for you. Use these questions to vet your options during the interview:
- “How long have you been in business? Can you provide references from past clients?”
- “Do you have insurance? Who should I contact if my home or belongings are damaged?”
- “Are your cleaners background checked?”
- “Do I need to supply cleaning supplies and equipment or do you?”
- “How do I usually schedule home cleanings?”
- “How will you get into my home?”
- “What should I do with my cat or dog while the cleaner is here?”
- “What is the cost of your cleaning services? Is it an hourly or set amount? Are there any additional fees?”
- “What cleaning services can you cleaner do?”
- “Who should I contact if the cleaning work was not done to my satisfaction?”
- “Do you provide a contract with all the terms and conditions on paper?”
If you have any other questions about home cleaning, contact us.
