Those of you with housecleaners, what do you think?

[maestramommy]

I am looking for a housecleaner to come every other week. Today two people came to look at the house, tell me what they would do, and for how much. First person was a woman who works by herself. She told me she would clean the whole house every other week for $75. That includes pretty much all surfaces. Second person was from a small business. Him, his wife, and 3 other women. He would clean the whole house for the first time $105, and every other week after that for $85. He also said the first time would take 3 people about 1hr45min, but after that would probably take closer to 1.5 hours. His business is registered with the state, he is insured, and is sending me a copy of his insurance docs, he has his own tax number, etc. So basically I don't have to worry about doing the taxes myself.

The first person didn't say anything about insurance, registration, or anything else really. I talked to the mom who rec'd her, and she said it takes her around 1.5 hours to clean her house, which looks a little smaller than mine, but not much. My house is just under 2500 sq feet, and on my fastest most efficient day I could not clean it that quickly. In CA my old cleaning lady took 2.5 hours to clean our apt, which was about 1/4 of the size. Dh insists this is because we had more stuff to clean around, but still.

Also, the other mom said she pays with cash or check, and doesn't do anything with taxes, as the cleaning lady claims it herself. Is that possible? Our first cleaning lady we paid in cash, she preferred it that way. When we asked if she had a tax number, she couldn't give one, which made me wonder if she was even legal. The cleaner who came from the small business said that only 30% of the cleaning services in NH are registered with the state, which doesn't surprise me. I was assuming the first cleaning lady is legal, she's just not registered.

So, for those of you who've had a cleaner for a while, is it usual to expect that they are registered, insured, and do their own taxes? Also, do you think it's possible to thoroughly clean a house in 1.5 hours doing it alone?

[dukie41181]

Great questions! We are looking into having someone clean the house and have never even thought about these things!

[hillview]

I've never had a cleaning person who I asked if they were insured/gave me a tax ID/registered with the state. I think 1.5 hrs is doable but it depends on the state of the place :) My place would be hard to clean in 1.5 hrs. It taks my cleaning person about 1.5 with 2 people. I pay 120 every week. It is about 2500 sq feet with 2.5 bathrooms.
/hillary

[daphne]

I've never had a cleaning person who I asked if they were insured/gave me a tax ID/registered with the state. I think 1.5 hrs is doable but it depends on the state of the place :) My place would be hard to clean in 1.5 hrs. It taks my cleaning person about 1.5 with 2 people. I pay 120 every week. It is about 2500 sq feet with 2.5 bathrooms.
/hillary

:yeahthat: Almost exactly, except I pay $100 every other week.

[JenaW]

Never even considered registration, taxes, etc. Something to think about. We pay ours (2 women) $80 every other week to clean our 4bed 2 1/2 bath house. It takes the 2 of them about 2 - 2.5 hours minimum. They vacuum the entire house, including the stairs. Broom and mop the kitchen, dining room, and laundry area. Clean the kitchen - wipe counters down, scrub sinks, clean microwave, outside of fridge, stove, etc. scrub all sinks, toilets, showers. Windex mirrors in bathroom, above fireplace, and on front closet doors. Dust all dustable surfaces. Make beds (I usually leave out clean sheets and already strip them before they come, unless they have recently been changed - i.e. if one of the kids had an accident). The only thing I have noticed they don't do is cobwebs :( Not sure what all is included in yours, but I would be suspect that one person could achieve everything in 1.5 hours! You could give her a try and see how it works out. Unless you sign a contract, I don't think you are obligated to stay with her. I too interviewed a few people. I went with the ladies I felt the most comfortable with. All three I met with were self-employed, and not with any service. I have never used a service (like Merry Maids) so I don't know how they compare.

[wellyes]

I've never asked about taxes or registration or, to be frank, the immigration status of my Brazilian-born cleaning lady. She was referred by a friend & her references were great. Good enough for me. I'm glad to have her. $90 every two weeks. 1.5-2 hours, crew of 3 and my house is less than 1500 sq feet. They wet-wash all the floors (we have all hardwood) each time which I think it crucial with a toddler around.

But I do like the second guy. He seems very professional and prepared. Paying a higher rate for a first-time deep clean is very very standard. As is bringing a small crew along.

The other thing to ask is if they supply the chemicals or if you do. Mine asks me to buy the items but tells me specifically what she wants in terms of brands. I think that is fair, and it also gives me a measure of control over what she uses (for example, when she requested Tilex we asked that she NOT use it -- too corrosive).

[maestramommy]

The first person has her own cleaning products, but is willing to use mine. The small business requires you to have your own. They used to have their own, but too many customers wanted different things, so now they have the customers provide it. Which is fine because I wanted stuff like vinegar/water, and Merlins Magic.

Our house is 4 bdrm 2.5 bath, and they would clean all floors, counters, windows, mirrors, dust everything, clean the microwave, whatever of the fridge that wasn't covered, outside of the oven, stovetop, etc.

So it sounds like both cleaners charge a very reasonable amount of money. It's just a question if who will provide a better service, and if the small business is going to lead to less headache with taxes down the road.

Wellyes, you don't live in S. NH do you? Cause the man from the small business is married to a Brazillian born woman. In fact, it is her business:p

[Tondi G]

the woman who cleans our apartment is the same person who used to care for my elderly grandmother and clean for my mom (she's like family). She comes every other week. She does dishes, cleans the stove/oven, laundry, scrubs the toilet/shower/bath, sweeps and mops floors, vacuums the rug, changes bed linens. Sometimes we (I work with her) clean out the fridge, clean windows, remove and wash all the curtains, organize a closet etc.

She comes at around 9am and leaves around 2pm. I provide all the cleaning supplies but she brings along her own rags for cleaning and takes them with her. We pay her $75 per visit. I usually always pay her cash.

Good Luck

[spanannie]

So, for those of you who've had a cleaner for a while, is it usual to expect that they are registered, insured, and do their own taxes? Also, do you think it's possible to thoroughly clean a house in 1.5 hours doing it alone?

Around here, most people don't hire registered/insured people or pay their taxes. You have to get a cleaning service to have that, and cleaning service usually means much higher prices (think double for our house). I don't think one person can do a good job cleaning a 2500 sq ft house in 1.5 hours, especially if it's every other week. I'd say more like 3-4 hours. I think the price the man with the employees gave you is right on for your house and that they would do a thorough job with that many people in that amount of time.

[baymom]

I've never had a cleaning person who I asked if they were insured/gave me a tax ID/registered with the state. I think 1.5 hrs is doable but it depends on the state of the place :) My place would be hard to clean in 1.5 hrs. It taks my cleaning person about 1.5 with 2 people. I pay 120 every week. It is about 2500 sq feet with 2.5 bathrooms.
/hillary

:yeahthat: Our house is just over 2100, 3bdrm, 2 1/2 bath and our current cleaner comes with 3-4 other women and they are done in under an hour. I pay $70 every other week. We used to have a single woman come alone and it would take her about 4 hours. Still, I do think it would be possible to clean it a lot faster for cleaners then for us, since most of us already "pre-clean/straighten up" before the cleaners come, anyway. That is the time-consuming part--at least in my case.

Personally, I am not particularly concerned about how 'legal' the cleaner's business is.

[sansdieu]

My house is about 2200 sq ft, 2 bathrooms, and 2 sets of stairs (major PITA). I'm pretty anal-retentive, so it takes me several hours just to get the house ready for the cleaners (stash away all toys, all the stuff from the counters, and just put everything in its place, etc.), and THEN it takes 2 people 2 hours to clean it. And, remember, they only do the cleaning -- they don't change linens or move anything around (other than furniture, when they do the floors).

So if one person claims she can do your house in 1.5 hrs, I'd expect some serious shortcuts.

I supply all the cleaners, too; I prefer it that way. She does insist that I buy her the Swiffer dusters, which seems wasteful and expensive to me, but I do indulge her.

[maestramommy]

Okay, thanks everybody for the feedback. I guess if I really wanted to know whether person 1 could clean my place in 1.5 hours, I just have to hire her and see. The problem is, if she doesn't work out I have to fire her. It's taken me forever to finally hire a cleaning lady. I would feel like such a jerk firing one.

[Naranjadia]

We pay $50 every other week, which comes to less than the $1700 payment threshold, so we wouldn't do a W2 if I had even thought of that.

I have done both a local family-run service and an independent cleaning woman. My experience with the service was dreadful, but probably idiosyncratic. One the initial "deep-clean" was done, it all went down-hill - mainly because of constant personal turnover. It was a small business - 2 owners and 3 cleaners, but the cleaners kept quitting. They also were proud that they only did floors on their hands and knees, which turns out translated into "you're never getting your floors cleaned." But like I said, your mileage would probably vary.

[happymom]

Okay, thanks everybody for the feedback. I guess if I really wanted to know whether person 1 could clean my place in 1.5 hours, I just have to hire her and see. The problem is, if she doesn't work out I have to fire her. It's taken me forever to finally hire a cleaning lady. I would feel like such a jerk firing one.

Why can't you hire her for just one week and see how it goes? If you're happy with the job, then hire for the long term. That way you don't actually have to fire her if you're not happy. Just don't call her back, and look for someone else.

[randomkid]

I think for $10 more, I'd go with the registered and insured business. I know a lot of people hire individuals to clean their homes, but liability is my biggest concern. If they are insured and break something, they will pay for it. If one of them is injured in your home, you would not be liable as their company should cover it. I would definitely ask that question of the small business owner.

I hired an individual one time to come clean our house - $65 every other week, but that was for just part of the house, not all the bedrooms. She just stopped coming and when I called her, she said she had fallen down the stairs in someone's home and couldn't come for a while. I never heard from her again. That made me very nervous about hiring someone who is not registered and insured - just my .02.

FWIW, I have used companies and individuals. They all have cleaned the house much faster than I ever could, but they never cleaned as thoroughly as I do. I have never been happy with the cleaning services I have hired, so I just do it myself now. However, I only have one child, so that's an entirely different ball game than yours!

[niccig]

Pay taxes for the cleaner?? Eek...then everyone I know here in SoCal is in trouble. The only people I know that pay taxes are those that have part-time or full-time nannies.

[citymama]

I would go with the registered, legit company in a heartbeat. It took us forever to find a cleaner than had legal work papers, insurance, etc, but wasn't a faceless cleaning corporation like Merry Maids. I think the rates you're being quoted are great - our cleaning team charges $85 every two weeks for our 850 sq ft 2BR/1 BA apartment! And they take a couple of hours to clean it, so the time the other person is quoting you seems awfully short. We also supply the cleaning supplies, which is fine with us because we can ensure we get the eco-friendly kinds we like.

[jayali]

I live in the NE and pay $85/week to have our 2 bedroom 2ba apartment. It is 1200 square feet. I pay by check - made out to the cleaning service. We also have a house that we use quite a bit in the summer and I have someone come every 2 weeks down there. I pay a woman $90 to clean there. The house is 3 bedrooms 2.5 ba. I am not sure of the square footage. I leave her cash, not because she requested it, but because that is what I started to do (I think I probably didn't have a check down there at the time).

I insist they use my own cleaning products and vacuum. In both cases that was a bit of an issue at first, but it was my rule - especially the vacuum. I didn't want them bringing in something from someone elses house into mine. The thought of that creeped me out a bit. Plus I am addicted to the Method cleaning products - so I wanted them to be used.

It never occured to me to ask them about tax ID numbers, but I did ask about insurance -they both have it. I don't feel that it is my responsibility to see if someone is paying their taxes. I just assume they are. I don't check that for most people we hire. Our exterminator is a guy that owns his own business and so is the guy that cuts our grass. Again I just assume they pay taxes. Is it really my responsibility to check that? I hope not because I can't imagine 1 more thing or phone call to have to do this week!

I did pay more for the first cleaning with both services and it was worth it. Be warned that the beginning will be a love affair and then as you become a regular client you will have to be more on top of what you expect them to do. I find that most times they start to slack off and I gently have to remind them that they need to move furniture and clean base boards.

[wellyes]

Wellyes, you don't live in S. NH do you? Cause the man from the small business is married to a Brazillian born woman. In fact, it is her business:p

Mine housecleaner's husband works for her! But I do know that many Brazilian women have started their own small businesses via housecleaning which is cool. I personally don't have that kind of drive, I'm just an office employee.


I know a lot of people hire individuals to clean their homes, but liability is my biggest concern. If they are insured and break something, they will pay for it. If one of them is injured in your home, you would not be liable as their company should cover it. I would definitely ask that question of the small business owner.

It's a fair point, but I'll add that my housekeeper did break something and immediately offered to pay for it. (It was a trinket I didn't care about ; accidents happen). Any business owner with solid references should carefully protect her reputation.


FWIW, I have used companies and individuals. They all have cleaned the house much faster than I ever could, but they never cleaned as thoroughly as I do. I have never been happy with the cleaning services I have hired, so I just do it myself now. However, I only have one child, so that's an entirely different ball game than yours!

LOL will you be my housecleaner? My house is so much more sparkly than it used to be & I'm not ashamed to admit it. The only problem is that if I do have to cut off the cleaning service for $$ reasons, I'd not only have to do it myself, I have higher standards now!

[egoldber]

Wow. I found one thing that is cheaper in the DC metro area. :ROTFLMAO:

I pay $80 every other week. I pay cash, and I assume it is under the table, but I have never asked. It is one woman and she has 3 relatives who come with her. The 4 of them clean my house top to bottom in about 1.5 hours. They do occasionally miss something, but all I have to do is mention it and they fix it. I supply all the cleaning supplies.

In the past I have always had a service, but this time I went with an individual/small business on word of mouth recommendation from a VERY fastidious friend LOL! I have had this woman now for almost 8 years and have not been disappointed. They have broken things a couple times and they have always replaced things promptly. The only time I have ever had an issue with cleaners giving me a hard time about paying for something broken was, ironically enough, with a service that I used in California.

My concern with your situation, is I don't think that one person can thoroughly clean 2400 SF in 1.5 hours. I just don't see how it can be done. It takes four people almost 1.5 hours to thoroughly clean my 3400 SF house.

ETA: If it were me, I might tell the single woman that you will trial her for one time to see how it goes.

[ThreeofUs]

I've never had a cleaning person who even *talked* about taxes. Guess that means I can't run for public office, eh?

Btw, my house is near 4K sq ft, 4 br, 4+2 baths, and it takes a cleaning crew about 1.5-2 hours to clean.

That said, given all the renovating, I think we're actually living in about 2.5K sq ft and I only have cleaning folk in for 3+2 bathrooms (and that only 1/month). It still takes 2 of them over an hour to clean. I think bathrooms are just labor intensive, because goodness knows they aren't too dirty.

The difference between $75 and $85 is not that great, but for the $85 you'd be getting a lot more hands for about the same time. For you, that sounds like a winner. For his cleaners, it sounds like they're not getting paid very well.

Also, I wonder about his calculation. The first, most thorough clean is going to take only 15 minutes more than the second? Is he going to have less people there normally than for the first? Something's odd there.


Okay, thanks everybody for the feedback. I guess if I really wanted to know whether person 1 could clean my place in 1.5 hours, I just have to hire her and see. The problem is, if she doesn't work out I have to fire her. It's taken me forever to finally hire a cleaning lady. I would feel like such a jerk firing one.

Just be really clear with her about what you want done, and make sure you talk about a trial period - to see if both of you think things are working out well. IME, the more I don't talk to your cleaning help, the more unhappy I am. Communication and relationship building are your friend, in this case!


But good luck with them, whomever you choose!