Weekly housecleaners (merrymaids etc)

[twinklebug]

As a single mom who will have a long commute to/from work & a 9 hour day I think having one come in each week for a little help might be a good value & blessing if I know more about it. Things like:

How much do they cost?
What do they do besides vacume & scrub down the bathrooms?!?
Do you trust them with a key!?!

Any and all info from current or recent experience would be appreciated!

 

[snomofinn]

I don't know so much about merry maids, but there are alot of individuals in our area the do housecleaning on a weekly basis. My cousin has a wonderful lady thats been cleaning her house for 5 years now, and I used her in the fall when I had surgery. She charged 75.00 per week to clean my home. She used all my cleaning supplies and my vacuum. She cleaned each room beautifully. I never left the house, I would be careful on leaving a key for someone like Merry Maids, they have different people all the time. Also, I don't like that they bring there own vacuums, you never know what they were picking up at the house before yours! I don't want anyones dirt or fleas, or bugs coming into my home via the vacuum. You could probably look at there website and see what they do as far as cleaning, they'll come out and give you price on your home as well. Good luck finding a good house cleaner!

 

[carpetride]

We've never hired from a service due to being in a rural area. Ours mops, dusts, vacs, scrubs, kitchen, and changes the sheets. We try to have the kids toys picked up before she comes so that she doesn't spend time doing that. 4 bedroom 2.5 bath for $50 a visit--comes weekly.

Finding one that you trust is another thing, I fired one just because she gossiped about her other clients. Didn't want her doing the same about us. Another stole an emarald from my wife's jewelry box that I had bought on a trip to Brazil, never did get it back. Current one has been with us quite a while and we hope she stays.

Good luck.

 

[vsimeone]

We use Maid to Order. I like having a service. I trust them with my key. They are bonded and insured. Everything in life has SOME risk! If my "regular" girl can't come, the service sends someone else. I'm glad to know that my house gets cleaned no matter what!

We have them come every other week. We also have a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house but the service doesn't clean my son's room. They vacuum, dust, scrub kitchen and bathroom floors, toilets, showers, baths, etc. They also "deep" clean one area each time. That involves moving furniture, baseboards and even light fixtures. We pay $75 per visit.

To me, it is worth the peace of mind to know that my house gets a GOOD scrubbing twice a month and I don't have to give up time on the weekends to do it. When my daughter was home (she's off at college now) and was playing soccer year-round, it was difficult to even FIND an hour on the weekends to dust and vacuum let alone scrub floors and toilets! Now, I have some time but I'm spoiled and won't give up the service as long as I can afford it.

Best of luck with your decision!

 

[KelNottAt]

We use The Cleaning Authority. It's a franchise, bonded and insured, they have a key and come every-other Tuesday. They charge by the room, which allows us to keep the costs managable. For example, they don't do the formal dining room or the guest room b/c those places are seldom used/dirty.

 

[pigget74]

We are looking at this and have one coming next week. I guess where I live is different. My house is 4 bed, 3 bath, living, dining, study, kitchen with breakfast area. They charge $110 per hour and said that my size house takes about 2-3 hours to clean. That is everythng--all tile is hand scrubbed--that is in kitchen, nbreakfast and bathrooms. Everything is dusted and cleaned--baseboards, windows, fans, ... They send 4 people to clean. My church is paying for this--since I hosted the youth in my home for the weekend for a retreat (the girls only) the guys went to another home. I could not afford to do this often. I am looking at least $250 for one cleaning. I am sure that if they were coming on a regular basis-- I could rotate some of it out and cut the cost that way. Just not sre.

 

[meandtheguys2]

If you hire a service, find out how they clean. What cleansers they use, do they switch rags (or use the same one for counters and floors), do they clean the sink, or merely wipe it down with baby oil. (A cousin owned one of these franchises, and I would never hire them!)

We had a lovely lady, for years. She used our supplies, charged $6 an hour, and did the floors by hand. Unfortunately, she retired, and we can't find anyone for twice the price!

 

[Andrea from PA]

We had a cleaning service. Cost $125 for every other week. We have 2 bedrooms & 1 1/2 baths done.

I didn't like it because we spent too much time "straightening" & picking up before they came. The pressure of straightening mid-week was too much for me.

If anyone knows of somewhere in my area (PA/NJ) that would straighten up kids stuff & do good cleaning I would love it!

 

[Coll0610]

We used Molly Maids for years and then switched to Merry Maids. Both were about $70 each time and they came every other week. They vacuumed and dusted and cleaned the bathrooms and the kitchen. Although Merry Maids advertised that they do the kitchen floor on their hands and knees, all they really did was wipe at it with a cloth.

I switched from Molly Maids and then cancelled Merry Maids because it seemed like they weren't even doing as good a job as I would do (and I'm not a very picky housekeeper). They seem to get lazy the longer they come. Plus, DS is 11 now and he can help more around the house.

They did have a key and although I wasn't crazy about it, I just tried not to think about it. I know other people just leave a door unlocked but I wouldn't recommend that. We never had a problem. They are bonded and insured, but you should probably ask for recommendations anyway.

I think you probably get the best cleaning from an individual but it can be hard to find one who's taking new clients.

 

[sasmmb]

We started with an individual who was referred to us by a co-worker. She was good and we paid $50 and she cleaned for 3 hours (3 bedroom, 3 bath but often we had her skip 1 bedroom and 1 bath). When she moved out of the country she had her friend fill in who started off great then started slacking off so we fired her and went with Mighty Maids. This service charged $20 per hour for 1 person using all our supplies and vaccuum. I think it's $22 per hour if they need to bring supplies. Some maids were great, most of them were not. And we felt like we should tip since they worked for a service. So I got a referral for another individual from another co-worker and she is FANTASTIC! We are now in a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath place. We pay $100 and she usually stays about 5 hours.

I'm not comfortable giving any of the maid or maid services a key so we usually let them in, but then have no problems leaving them in the house alone and ask them to use the push button handle lock when they leave.

 

[twinklebug]

OK, I'm getting a message here: Every service is different If i had stopped to think before I posted I would have realized this.

Really, everything everyone has said is helpful. It seems costs are all over the board, and just like service it'll depend on whom I'm talking to. I have a 4br/3bath townhouse. Vacuming the stairs, I assume would increase their cost as would having 3 baths (we only use 2, the third is for the spoiled cats) Speaking of which, I'd have to be sure they were aware the cats are not to be let out. He always tries to dart out when the weather is nice, but Shadow is not street smart and would be a wreck out there.

I like the idea of having an insured company do the cleaning. I don't want to be liable if, God forbid, they fell vacuming the stairs.

So what are some good questions to ask them if I call or they come over to give me an estimate?

Brainstorm! Maybe I can just get DD to do the housecleaning and pay her!!! Maybe not.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

When I first starting hiring a cleaning service I used Merry Maids. I dropped them in favor of a private husband and wife team. I thought Merry Maids cleaning was more "surface" cleaning than deep cleaning. I'm paying less for the private cleaning service than I paid Merry Maids and they do a much better job!