What does your cleaning person do?

[Cruise]

Inspired by another thread that I didn't want to hijack....

I've been working part-time for the past 5 years, so I've been doing all of the housecleaning on my own. Now that I'm considering going back to work full-time, DH has said that he'd want us to hire a cleaning person. Mostly because he doesn't want to pitch in the extra time himself to help out if I'm not doing it all anymore.

For those of you who have someone come in to clean (and I was surprised by how many it was on the other thread), what do they do on a regular basis? What is considered the "basic" package? I know that some services advertise a "basic cleaning with one deep cleaning project" every two weeks.

I'm just not sure what I consider to be basic to be the same as what they would. Laundry doesn't bother me, so I don't expect that to be done. But I would want the floors in all the rooms cleaned (carpeting vacuumed and bathrooms and kitchen mopped). I'd also want the tub scrubbed and the toilet cleaned, of course. To me, the kitchen and bathrooms are the big deal. Do they clean out the microwave? As long as the other rooms are dusted and vacuumed, I don't actually expect someone to put away any mess that we make.

Do you request "deep cleaning projects?" What would that include? Moving the furniture for vacuuming? Would they do something like move the fridge and clean under/behind it? Actually clean out and wipe down the inside of the fridge? Those are things that I feel like I'd be able to do myself if I didn't have to spend all day Saturday doing the basics. But, hey, if they're included, why not?

One last question... are you home with your cleaning people come? I don't want anyone to feel like I'm trying to look over their shoulder and supervise, but at the same time, I'm not really comfortable letting someone into our home when we're not there.

Thanks!

 

[wbn36]

Hi, I pay $100 once a month to have my house cleaned. They clean the first and second floor. They do everything you asked less the laundry and moving the fridge etc. The clean the microwave, toaster over, move small to medium sized furniture etc. THey will make the bed. I do not leave them in the house mostly because I work from home. I do trust them but I wouldn't leave jewelry of cash laying around. I guess they found $5 in the house last week under a cushion and they left it on the counter for me. I live outside of boston. There are 2 women her for approx 2.5 hours. They do a nice job. THis is the going rate for around here.

 

[disneydreamer98]

EVERYTHING and I can tell you that I'm way underpaid and underappreciated!

 

[katybugsmom]

I have a dear lady that cleans for me every two weeks-she vacuums, sweeps, mops, dusts the furniture, and cleans the bathrooms. She has a key to my house. I trust her completely! We go to the same church and she has cleaned for me for 5 years and I've never had any problems! Good luck!

 

[powelweb]

We just started to have our house cleaned last week! We actually hired our neighbors who don't work and who provide pet care when we vacation, so they already have access to our house.

We've focused on kitchen and bathrooms, plus vacuuming the living room and bedrooms (again, we have pets!), and they will also do laundry, too.

It was wonderful to come home to a clean house last week, and we've set up every other week as our schedule.

Similar to OP, DH just went back to work after being stay at home dad for 6 years, and we decided we wanted to focus on family time on the weekends and not cleaning.

 

[vsimeone]

I have a lady that comes every other Friday. She's here for about 2 1/2 hours and I pay $60. She vacuums (I have pets) scrubs my kitchen and bathroom floors (2 1/2 baths) toilets, showers, sinks, dry dusts my hardwood floor and dusts all my furniture. She does not do laundry or beds and she doesn't step foot in my kids' rooms (my request - she can't wade through the garbage to vacuum and/or dust).

She does one "deep cleaning" project each time she is here. It might be to clean behind furniture, wipe down the baseboards or some other item that she doesn't do each time.

She has a key. She used to own a service and everyone was licensed and bonded. Basically, all her employees quit on her and took a lot of her clients. The lady that was her employee who had been cleaning for us didn't want us because she hated my dog (and he hated her!) Tonya took what clients she had left and just does the cleaning herself. We had been with her service for 7 years so by this time, I'm not too worried about legalities.

I'm very happy. The time that I DON'T have to spend on my bathrooms alone is worth EVERY penny!!!

 

[DMickey28]

Since the baby was born and I let go of the control and realized I couldn't do it all right now we "hired" my MIL to come and clean for us once every 2 weeks. She also watches the kids sometimes during that time too so DH and I can go out. Since my house is an un-organized mess since we moved in and never really organized she is also helping me set up a plan for organization. We haven't gotten to the upstairs yet but so far she cleans the whole downstairs including the kitchen, playroom, dinning room, hallways, family room and the deck. She cleans the floors, dusts, washes all surfaces, cleans the bathrooms and all the nooks in the kitchen. She also helps catch me up on laundry and folds it and leaves on the dinning room table for me. Once we get the bedrooms in more order she will put them away as well as vacuum/touch up those rooms. She does DS's now but I don't want her in mine!

 

[vhartwell]

Our lady comes in every two weeks and we pay her $60. She does the bathrooms, floors, appliances and she strips our bed. She washes the sheets and blanket on the bed. Her choice not mine...I told her she didn't have to but she does it anyway. Once a month she does the ceiling fans and every other month she does the baseboards. One special thing is she washes the sliding glass door where the dogs press their noses so they can see in the kitchen and then she gives them a treat!

 

[camlace]

I have a cleaning service every other week. Its $96 each cleaning... I work from home so I am home when they are here, but I would let them have a key if I worked outside the home. "Cleaning Lady" day is the happiest day in my house Also, they most definitely should not be expected to pick up your mess/clutter in order to clean. That is not what they are paid for. If I leave a pile of junk on the counter, they will ask if I want to tidy up first or if they should skip that area. I have them do a deep clean every few months that runs me about $200. As the woman says its a much "wetter" version of what they do every other week and every nook/cranny/crevice is exposed.

their services:

•Kitchen
Clean countertops, Clean small kitchen appliances, Microwave inside and out, Stove exterior & inside oven window, Refridgerator exteriors, Cabinet exteriors, Dishwasher & trash compactor exteriors, Sink, faucet & drain, Dust window sills, patio doors cleaned, Vacuum and wash floors by hand, Dust exposed heat registers & baseboards, Washer & dryer exteriors.
•Bedroom
All Furniture dusted, (polished upon request), rugs vacuumed, window sills, Dust exposed heat registers & baseboards, Dust light fixtures, artwork and lampshades.
•Bathroom
showers scrubbed, bathtub cleaned and sanitized, glass doors streak free, vanity and sink cleaned, cabinets wiped down, mirrors and chrome shined, baseboards, commode inside and out, heat registers, doors, door frames wiped down, ceiling vents cleaned of dust and debris. Floors vacuumed and washed by hand. wastebaskets emptied.
•General Cleaning
All floors vacuumed and mopped, furniture dusted and/or polished, cobwebs removed, windowsills and ledges dusted, picture frames, louvered doors, ceiling fans, lampshades, mini-blinds, and knick-knacks dusted. Upholstery and stairs vacuumed.

Tasks that are done on a rotational basis: Polish furniture, Move and clean under furniture, Edge carpets, clean unexposed heat registers/baseboards, Wash artwork, light fixtures, wash door frames and doors, polish kitchen cabinets, Wash kitchen baseboards/splash boards, polish bathroom cabinets.



Extra Assignements are services that are available with prior advance notice and at an additional charge. These items are not considered everytime cleaning tasks.

Wash windows inside (with the exception of patio windows) wash walls & ceilings, Empty, wipe and replace books and items on shelves, Empty wipe, and replace items inside cabinets and or hutches, remove shoes, etc from closets and vacuum and replace, Clean inside of medicine cabinets, vacuum drapes, clean ornate chandeliers, remove ashes from fireplace, Clean inside of oven, inside of refridgerator. If you would like us to clean inside your oven, we ask that you run the self cleaner the night before we are coming.

 

[XYSRUS]

I have a young lady (27) who comes every other week. Pay is $90. She does everything. Dusts and vacuums every room. Washes bathroom floors, toilets, sinks, tubs, showers. Sweeps and washes kitchen floor, dishes that are in the sink and on the counter put away, cleans and tidies all junk and toys left out, does whatever laundry there is, does windows and baseboards as she goes along, oh just everything. Love her! Trust her too as much of the time I'm at work while she's here. Be specific when you're looking for someone to clean. Get it in writing. It's difficult to find someone you can trust. Good luck.

 

[jmb120]

Must be the area I live in, but I have never met anyone with a cleaning person around here. I don't even know where I would find someone to clean my house if I wanted.

I've always wondered if any of you feel the need to clean-up before the cleaning person gets there?? I think I would at least need to quickly sweep the floors.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

My cleaning people do everything and I love them. They have a key and let themselves into the condo.

 

[NCRedding]

We had a cleaning lady for many years who had also cleaned for years for my husband's family. She was more like a friend than a cleaning service. She had a key to our house, and worked while we were away. The main thing she did was keep the bathrooms very clean, and did all our floors. She dusted, etc. She didn't clear away clutter though. She cleaned once a week. She did what you are calling the basics. She didn't do our laundry or clean out the fridge.

We let her go about a year ago as money was getting tight, and we have a daughter who is getting ready to go to college, so less to clean up after also. I miss her because I get stuck doing everything that she did. I especially miss the nice clean bathrooms, but I am working on those.

 

[bicker]

What is considered the "basic" package? I know that some services advertise a "basic cleaning with one deep cleaning project" every two weeks.

Generally, they've started with a deep cleaning, just to establish a baseline. I suppose they do that because they're often brought in when someone gets fed up with how dirty the house has become, so it is in very bad shape to start. We've typically been charged double for that first cleaning.

Then, as long as there is no gap in service, they just do a basic cleaning every other week. Note that, IMHO, that's not enough. I think either we need to ask for another deep cleaning, at some point, perhaps once a year, or we need to keep on them to focus on something specific every other week, do it deeper than normal, so over the course of a few months, they've effectively deep cleaned everything. However, I don't find that especially effective, with even the best cleaners. There are some things that I wonder if anyone else will ever care enough, within someone else's home, to clean deeply enough for my total satisfaction. I'm pretty picky about the corners of the wood floors being not only dust free (no problem there) but cleaned with wood cleaner, and buffed so they're as shiny and film-free as the rest of the wood floors. That would require some hand-and-knees work, that "regular" cleaners generally don't do, in my experience.

I'm just not sure what I consider to be basic to be the same as what they would.

All the services we've used outline what is "basic" in the written materials they have given us.

But I would want the floors in all the rooms cleaned (carpeting vacuumed and bathrooms and kitchen mopped). I'd also want the tub scrubbed and the toilet cleaned, of course.

We've sometimes had to swap cleaning teams, with one service or another, but we've always been able to, on the second or third try, at the latest, get cleaners who do those things you've listed as well or better than my wife and I would do. For those things, specifically, I doubt you'll have much difficulty getting reasonable work done.

Do they clean out the microwave?

Ours do.

As long as the other rooms are dusted and vacuumed, I don't actually expect someone to put away any mess that we make.

Put-away isn't a cleaner's job.

Related to that.... Our current cleaners do tend to move most things around and dust under them, even the breakables. And to be honest, sometimes I get nervous about that. There has been breakage of sentimental items, and suitable apologies, but I suspect I would have treated those often-cheap-but-fragile items more carefully, because of how they sit in my heart.

Every so often, I do clean off the kitchen counters, putting all the counter-top appliances in a box, to prompt the cleaners to do a better job on the counters that time. While they do move small items around, I think they're not so consistent moving big things around, choosing instead to clean around them. A few minutes of work on my part to clear things off for them results in a mini-deep-cleaning which is a good thing.

We have had cleaners in the past, though, that wouldn't move anything around to dust under them, not even the non-breakables. That's bad. While I can understand not wanting to risk breaking expensive or sentimental items, or moving bulky or heavy items around, I don't see justification for trying to dust around a small lamp, instead of under it.

Do you request "deep cleaning projects?"

We haven't.

What would that include? Moving the furniture for vacuuming?

Our cleaners do push their vacuum wand under practically all the furniture, so the only advantage there would be with regard to some of the bulkier items, under the corners of those items, or under the middle of beds. And generally, I think "regular" cleaners are never going to move any of those things. There's just too much risk. They're cleaners, not movers. I don't expect them to move dressers.

By the same token, they should move chairs and perhaps lighter tables, if doing so is necessary to reach some portions of the floor.

Actually clean out and wipe down the inside of the fridge?

I'd love to know if we could ask for this.

Those are things that I feel like I'd be able to do myself if I didn't have to spend all day Saturday doing the basics. But, hey, if they're included, why not?

I don't think extras are ever "included". They'll do extras either for an additional charge, or at the expense of doing "regular" things as well as normal.

One last question... are you home with your cleaning people come?

I always am. I just feel better that way. I don't supervise. I'm working (rather intently, typically).

 

[Kitzka]

My clenaing lady comes once everyother week and it's the best 2 days of the month! She has been cleaning for me for about 7 years and ebfore that she cleaned for riends of ours for 10 so we trust her. She has a key to the house.

When she comes her regular cleaning is:

Vacuuming the living room rug and the bedrooms upstairs, sweeping the hardwood floors, the kitchen floors, cleaning the counters, dusting/cleaning the dining room table , living room table and the tv stand. she takes the sheets and pillow cases off of the beds and washes those. cleans the bathroom throughly and cleans out the microwave.

everyother time she does 1 'deep' project. Last time it was cleaning out the hurricane chades on my dining room chandelier and next time it will be the downstairs windows.

We love her and really could not live without her.

Lara

 

[lovesmurfs]

Included with Regular Cleaning Service:

· Clean and Sanitize all Kitchen Sinks and Countertops
· Clean Outside Appliances
· Clean Inside of Microwave
· Sweep and Hand Wash all Hardwood Floors
· Disinfect Kitchen and Bathroom Floors
· Clean and Disinfect Bathroom Showers, Tubs, Toilets and Sinks
· Clean Ceiling Fans and Baseboards
· Dust Windowsills, Ledges, Mini-Blinds, Pictures and Electronics
· Clean Television and Computer Screens
· Polish / Dust all Furniture
· Inspect / Clean Doors and Switch plates
· Vacuum all Carpeted Floors including Stairs
· Spot Check and Clean Glass Doors
· Clean all Mirrors
· Remove all Cobwebs
· Change Linens and Towels
· Remove Trash and Replace Bags

$65 every two weeks. I can tell you that ours doesn't use a checklist, though. There's often stuff missed, but I'm just pleased about having the bathrooms and kitchen done!

 

[lori123]

Included with Regular Cleaning Service:

· Clean and Sanitize all Kitchen Sinks and Countertops
· Clean Outside Appliances
· Clean Inside of Microwave
· Sweep and Hand Wash all Hardwood Floors
· Disinfect Kitchen and Bathroom Floors
· Clean and Disinfect Bathroom Showers, Tubs, Toilets and Sinks
· Clean Ceiling Fans and Baseboards
· Dust Windowsills, Ledges, Mini-Blinds, Pictures and Electronics
· Clean Television and Computer Screens
· Polish / Dust all Furniture
· Inspect / Clean Doors and Switch plates
· Vacuum all Carpeted Floors including Stairs
· Spot Check and Clean Glass Doors
· Clean all Mirrors
· Remove all Cobwebs
· Change Linens and Towels
· Remove Trash and Replace Bags

$65 every two weeks. I can tell you that ours doesn't use a checklist, though. There's often stuff missed, but I'm just pleased about having the bathrooms and kitchen done!

WOW - if I could get all of that done for $65 I would sign up right now!

 

[prncess674]

I've always wondered if any of you feel the need to clean-up before the cleaning person gets there?? I think I would at least need to quickly sweep the floors.

I don't clean or sweep anything, but I pick up my "junk" that is thrown about (mail on the counter, dirty clothes on the floor, etc.) Her job is to clean not pick up the junk.

My personal belief is if they spend there time picking up my junk they spend less time cleaning. Also she tends to not know where stuff goes and then I can't find it.

 

[katied]

Routine/Basic cleaning for us is the following:

Bathrooms - clean mirrors, toilets, counters, tub, shower doors, showers, hand scrub floors, dust any furniture

Kitchen - microwave, stove top, counters, wipe down cabinets, hand scrub floor (tile)

General - dust all furniture, wall art, nick nack that are out, vacuum all floors (sweep and mop tile floors), remove all trash from each room and replace bags, dust/wipe window blinds (we have lots of wooden blinds in the house).

Deep cleaning - for us, this includes moving furnutre and vacuuming under. Removing and vacuuming cushions on furniture, cleaning windows (inside/outside) maybe helping with other projects - like removing and dusting everything in a china cabinet (which would only be done when I'm around to help/supervise)

For us, this is $100 every other week (for 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms).

 

[Cruise]

OP here.

Thanks for all the responses. It looks like most do include at least the basics of what I'd want and then varies greatly from there.

One last question... where did you find your cleaning person? Without a personal recommendation from a friend, is it better to go with one of the national services like Merry Maids or something similar? I'm assuming "licensed and bonded" would be a good place to start. We're in Los Angeles, so none of that home-town-known-her-for-years stuff here for me.

Thanks again!