When cleaning companies decide their house cleaning cost and what to charge their clients, they take a lot of things into consideration, like the size of the house, the number of rooms, the frequency of the cleaning job, the current state of the home, and the specific tasks that the homeowner wants them to complete.
Then there are factors like the competitive rate in their geographic area and whether or not they’re going to be sending in a crew of cleaners or just one person to take care of the task.
While we’re doing our calculations about our house cleaning cost, which we often have simplified down to an easy formula, homeowners can be left wondering: how much is this house cleaning cost me?
And if a homeowner has never hired a cleaning service in Washington DC before, they may not know what to expect. Is it prohibitively expensive to have someone in your house on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis?
Is the quote you get from the first company you talk to reasonable or not?
Here’s a quick rundown on what you can expect to pay when you hire a cleaning service.
How Much Does House Cleaning Cost?
Cleaning Services in Virginia, Maryland & DC areas | Happy Maids Green Cleaning
Cheaper Isn’t Always Cheaper
The first thing you should know is that going with the cheapest quote you get isn’t necessarily a great strategy!
Amateur cleaners may charge less, but they also have less experience, probably aren’t insured and bonded, and will require you to provide more of the cleaning supplies.
You will also lose your valuable time if you have to train a new cleaner to complete the tasks like you expect them to be done, and even more if they need to return to re-do the job.
That’s why we recommend that you always look at more than just the bottom dollar quote. Your time, your effort, and your peace of mind should all be valued as much as your dollar!
The Average Hourly Rate for Cleaners in a House Cleaning Cost
Care.com estimates that the average house cleaning cost is about $160, with high-end cleaning topping out at over $300. The average, of course, is affected by location, size of the home, frequency, tasks, and quality of services.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, house cleaners are generally paid between $8.50-17.00 an hour. Regardless of whether you hire an individual or a team, the house cleaning cost of a house is typically determined less by the number of workers and more by other contributing factors.
Here is what information you’ll need to provide when getting a cleaning quote:
- How many bedrooms, bathrooms, and additional rooms are in your home that will be cleaned
- Which standard services you would like to have taken care of for you (vacuuming, dusting, tidying, toilets and tubs, etc)
- Any additional tasks you want help with (wipe down baseboards, deep cleaning, windows, laundry, etc)
- Frequency of service (one-time, weekly, biweekly, or monthly are standard options)
- Any special instructions you’ll need the cleaners to follow, including using specialized cleaning materials, managing allergy concerns, dealing with pets, etc
What Are You Paying for When You Hire Cleaners?
When you hire a cleaning service in Washington DC, you are paying for a number of services. Your total includes labor, transportation, and cleaning supplies.
When you hire a reputable and ethical company to manage your cleaning needs, you also get peace of mind knowing that their workers are insured and bonded, they are paying their workers a competitive wage, and they are abiding by all local, state, and federal employment laws.
At Happy Maids Green Cleaning, we provide general cleaning services and more detailed cleaning.
General cleaning includes:
- Dusting of everything that needs dusted, including ceiling fans, light fixtures, blinds, window sills, lock ledges, moldings, woodwork, baseboards, lamps and lampshades, pictures and knick-knacks, furniture, top of the refrigerator, and any wooden stairs
- Removal of cobwebs from corners and ceilings
- Furniture polishing
- Cleaning of the outside of appliances
- Emptying and re-lining of wastebaskets
- Sanitizing and disinfecting all sinks, bathroom counters, toilets tubs, and tiles
- Cleaning all mirrors
- Making all beds
- Vacuuming, dusting, or cleaning stairs
- Vacuuming and/or mopping all floors
Detail cleaning takes your cleaning to the next level. When we do a detail clean of a home, we include:
- Hand washing or wiping down ceiling fan blades
- Hand wash light fixtures (in place–we don’t remove them)
- Vacuuming or wiping all blinds and shutters
- Vacuuming curtain tops
- Hand washing or wiping down all moldings, woodwork, window sills, and ledges
- Wiping picture frames
- Hand wiping all baseboards that are accessible without moving furniture
- Polishing the fronts, sides, and legs of furniture
- Wiping the top of the refrigerator
- Thoroughly cleaning the outside of all appliances and the interior of the microwave
- Cleaning cabinet fronts
- Hand wiping all doors and door frames
- Hand wiping all light switch plates
- Hand wiping countertops and backsplashes
- Cleaning and disinfecting all sinks
- Cleaning mirrors
- Cleaning tub and shower tiles, or steam cleaning if requested
- Emptying wastebaskets
- Vacuuming the crevices of carpet edges
- Vacuuming and/or mopping all floors and stairs
- Paying special attention to areas with heavy dust build up, build up in the kitchen and bathroom
In vacant homes, we also wipe out cabinets, drawers, and closet shelves.
Cleaning Services in Virginia, Maryland & DC areas | Happy Maids Green Cleaning
What If You’re Working with a Tight Budget?
If you’re working with a tight budget, we recommend the following steps to make the most of your cleaning service:
- A tidy home takes less time to clean, so doing some prep work in advance can help reduce the number of hours you’re paying for.
- Remember that choosing the lowest house cleaning cost quote can end up costing you more in the long run.
- Ask for a general cleaning service rather than a super deep, detailed cleaning.
- You can have portions of your house cleaned instead of the whole thing. Consider having just a few rooms done.
Are You Ready to Get a Quote?
At Happy Maids Green Cleaning, we provide all sorts of cleaning services to our clients in Virginia, Maryland & DC areas. We have many years of experience satisfying customers by providing them with their cleaning needs, including deep cleans, routine cleaning, one-time cleaning appointments, and special cleaning tasks in their homes.
Contact us today for a free, no-obligation quote based on the factors we’ve described here!
We take pride in hiring the best people to do the best job in your home. Our cleaners love working for us, and we have low turnover because we treat everyone in our company with respect.
That includes you, our clients!
Don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can help you experience the cleanest home you’ve had in ages. We look forward to getting to know you!