How To Find A Cleaning Lady You Can Trust

Anyone who has ever used a professional house cleaning company knows that it can be complicated finding cleaning professionals you can trust, and it’s even more challenging to hold onto them once you’ve found one. I owned my own cleaning company for 15 years, so from a cleaners point of view, I will tell you how to find a cleaning lady you or house cleaning company you can trust! I will give you all the trade secrets about how to keep your cleaner happy so she will be with you for years!

Firstly let me just explain that I am using the term cleaning lady for ease, you may have a cleaning company, a solo cleaner, a cleaning lady, or a team of cleaners but for ease, I’m going to refer to your cleaner as the cleaning lady to avoid any confusion!

Who needs a cleaning lady?

cleaning lady vacuuming.
  • Elderly customers who struggle to keep up with daily tasks
  • Professionals who work full time
  • People who have chronic pain or depression
  • People who have just compleated building work
  • New mums who struggle to find time to clean
  • People who dislike cleaning
  • People who are moving into or out of a property.
  • Landlords and end of tenancy.
  • Offices, shops and other commercial buildings.
  • The medical profession

Different types of cleaners.

Professional house cleaners are people who are paid to come and clean your house as often as you require.

  • They may be a  house cleaning professional run by an individual cleaning lady who cleans solo with no team members or staff, often referred to as a cleaning lady or cleaner.
  •  They may be a house cleaning company who employs various team members who rotate your house clean often referred to as a crew.
  • They may offer end of tenancy cleans, post-construction cleans, move out cleans,  move in cleans, weekly, bi-weekly and monthly cleans.
  • There is a  difference between a cleaning service and a housekeeper so be sure you know which service you require before hiring! Housekeepers often live in and do jobs such as meals, laundry, beds, childcare and many other jobs a professional cleaner does not.

The benefits of having a solo cleaning lady.

It can be difficult to know how to find a cleaning lady but when you find a cleaner you can trust the benefit are huge:

  • The routine of having the same person cleaning your home is attractive to the elderly, people who have small children, and dogs, as the family get used to seeing a familiar face each week.
  • Working relationships between house cleaner and client often get stronger the longer, the cleaner works for the client.
  • Often clients say how they enjoy the convenience of having someone they are familiar with in their home as it allows them to feel relaxed.
  • Continuity of cleaning increases, the more times a cleaner cleans your property.
  • Flexibility from both client and  house cleaner increases as the solo cleaner becomes a valued member of the client’s circle
  • Solo cleaners often come via word of mouth and with personal recommendations.

The benefits of having a team of cleaners

  • Less time is spent in your house, as there are twice as many cleaning professionals,  which may be better for busy households.
  • Because the house cleaning company employ lots of staff, there should be someone to cover sick days, school holidays, and illness, therefore, there should be fewer cancellations to affect your home cleaning schedule.
  • Weekend and evening cleaning services are often available if there is a crew to cover these hours.

How to find a cleaning lady you can trust.

Knowing how to find a cleaning lady you can trust around your family pets and possessions can be somewhat overwhelming. It’s essential to follow specific procedures before you let anyone into your home, primarily if they are working with children and vulnerable adults.

  1. Decide which type of housekeeping service you would prefer.

    Would you prefer a team of cleaners or a solo cleaner in your home?

  2. Think about how many man-hours you need per week

    How long would you prefer the team to be at your house? This will depend on how much work you would like them to do and what type of work you expect to be done

  3. Arrange for the company to do a walkthrough.

    Before agreeing to hire a cleaning company so you can tell them what you require from them, they will be able to give you a more accurate quote after they have seen your home.

  4. Ask for references

    CRB security checks are essential when working in a home where there are children and vulnerable adults.  Don’t skip this step; you need to know who you are letting into your home and that they’ve had the correct background security checks, especially if you are expecting them to be a key holder and enter your home when you are not there!

  5. Check insurance details

    When looking for a cleaner always ask them for proof of insurance details, because no matter how good your house cleaner is,  accidents will happen and you need to make sure the company is covered for any breakages or spills! all cleaning companies and solo cleaners should be able to provide insurance details before you let them loose in your home!

  6. Double-check the rates of pay

    Some cleaners charge per hour, some have a flat rate per job. A professional cleaner paid hourly should never leave early if they say they’ve  “done all the work”. If you’ve paid them for two hours, they should stay for the full two hours.

  7. Ask if they have a checklist.

    Most cleaning companies offer a deep cleaning service and a maintenance cleaning service, and both priced very differently. It is essential to study this thoroughly, so you know precisely what you’re paying for and to eliminate any misunderstandings. Hiring a cleaning lady is a lot simpler if you both understand what the other expects before you start.

  8. Discuss cleaning supplies

    Agree with your house cleaning lady beforehand whether they will be using their products or if you will be providing the products yourself. Personally, I  prefer to bring my own products as I know what works and what doesn’t work, however, it is ok for you to ask your cleaner to use your products if that’s what you prefer.  Many house cleaners, don’t like to use bleach,  so it’s always good to check beforehand.

  9. Allow plenty of time for the work to be done

    The cleaning team should be able to tell during the walkthrough how much they can clean in a specific time. If you want more to be cleaned, you will need to book for extra hours. It’s common to assume, that a professional would be able to whizz through your house in no time, but remember, housecleaning is hard work. They are cleaning professionals, and they will thoroughly clean the places you wouldn’t clean each week. To enable the job to be done to a high standard, you will have to allow them plenty of time!

  10. Run through any items in your house which need special care

    let them know beforehand if they need to bring any special equipment for polishing floors or reaching high ceilings or high window cleaning etc.
    Explain to them about items in your house which need special care taken when cleaning such as granite surfaces or family heirlooms.

  11. Try to be flexible

    If you are hiring a solo lady for cleaning, you may need to be flexible with your days around school holidays. If you are kind to your cleaner they will be kind to you too. The clients I kept for the longest were the ones who had been kind to me. When I started to wind my business down the first clients I let go were the awkward ones and the ones who didn’t treat me well! when you are self-employed you can cherry-pick your clients, it’s nice to be nice!

  12. Tidy up!

    Oh my goodness guys, tidy up and pick up your stuff! If your house cleaner is having to spend precious time moving your clutter from one place to another or pick stuff up off the floor, she is also losing lots of cleaning time! Clear surfaces, a tidy floor and a clutter-free home are a professional house cleaners dream!

  13. Wash the dishes!

    Another huge gripe of mine! We are house cleaning services, not a maid service!
    My clients would prefer me to clean under the bed or wiped down the woodwork rather than spend half an hour washing last nights dinner plates!  Utilize your cleaner so they can spend the time doing the spring cleaning for you instead of the dishes!

  14. Keep all surfaces clutter-free

    Keep kitchen and bathroom surfaces free from clutter so they can be sanitized quickly and effectively.

  15. Put away the laundry pile!

    Clear and put away any laundry you have hanging around this can make a huge difference to keeping your home tidy. For tips on how to keep up with the laundry click here

    cleaning lady picking up laundry

  16. Make your bed!

    Don’t waste your house cleaner’s time on making beds, that’s a job for a maid! Some cleaning ladies will, however, change your bed linen if it is agreed beforehand, but remember changing beds is time-consuming!

  17. Put away personal items

    We see everything in this line of work but believe me we’d rather not see adult toys, dirty underwear or sanitary products, or drug paraphernalia thank you!

  18. Try to go by recommendation

    Recommendations are another great way to find a cleaner and be sure to you get trustworthy cleaning lady services. It’s always good to go by word of mouth when knowing how to find a cleaning lady you can trust.

  19. Discuss your pets

    Not everyone likes animals. discuss with your cleaner where your pets will be when they clean and make sure they know not to let your animals out!

How much does a cleaning lady cost?

Cleaning lady rates vary drastically depending on which country and state you live in.

Do some research in your area for an average price before you commit to a company and get several different quotes.

Move out, and post-construction cleans are notoriously challenging, often require specialised equipment and take up a considerable amount of time so be prepared for a hefty bill if that’s the service you are looking for.

carpet cleaning.

A deep clean may be required the first time you hire a cleaning company, so that they can get it to a standard that only needs a maintenance clean each week, discuss these details at the walkthrough.

If you decide to book a monthly clean, it will probably cost you more than a weekly or bi-weekly clean; this is because the clean is no longer a maintenance clean as it will get dirtier than if it was scheduled to be cleaned each week!

In my next post, I  will be talking about what to expect from a house cleaner and how to prepare your home for them coming,  don’t miss out, subscribe to our updates today and you’ll get access to our exclusive secret resources library!

Do you have any questions you’d like to ask before hiring a professional cleaning company, drop us a line in the comments!

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4 thoughts on “How To Find A Cleaning Lady You Can Trust

  1. thara says:

    This is great. However since my cleaner is never left alone with my son or daughter, I only asked her once if she had a basic check which was current. Literally my cleaner only comes one day a week and I supervise her carefully.

  2. Dawn christy says:

    I have been having endless problems over eight years now with untrustworthy and impotent cleaners . I’ve tried everything .. tried agencies ,, etc, nobody seems to want to do the work or do the work right .. wanting to leave early wanting to chat . Not cleaning things right and things left dirty ,, on and on . I’m so exasparated now with it all and getting nowhere fast , what can I do .

    • Clare Davison says:

      Hi Dawn, I’m so sorry you’ve had this experience, does anyone you know use someone that they can recommend? I found most of my clients by word of mouth. If you are on any local Facebook groups or school groups you could try asking there. once you have found a cleaner I would start off by giving them a list of thing you expect to be done every week, then another list that they can work through if they have time left. I would also state that you are paying them by the hour and expect them to work the full hours. I would also ask them to do a walk through your house before you employ them that way you should be able to determine how professional they are. A house cleaner should behave as professionally as any other tradesman you let in your house and should not be delivering shoddy work or leaving early. Good luck!

  3. Thara says:

    Heya.

    I had a hard time finding a decent cleaner. I sat and did a ton of research and made some brief summary notes too. I at once decided to see if I could train as a cleaner. Eventually after exhausting other options I hired a part time cleaner in order to start with. I recommend using a number of methods in addition to find someone. One classic way is to advertise in a few publications. Another such way is to engage someone orally that is based on recommendation. Best wishes. I made a lot of inquiries. List the key qualities and skills that are needed.

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