How to Hire a House Cleaning Service for the First Time

I’m sure as a homeowner you already know the importance of keeping a clean home, but how to do that when there’s so much more to handle outside of the house?

It happens frequently that we lack the time and/or the energy to get things done and that’s why you need to hire a professional cleaning service. They will get task out of your hands and your home will always be fresh and spotless. Check out you can hire the best maid service!

“If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” - Red Adair

Determine a Budget

First of all, when you’re starting any house project that requires hiring a pro, you need to think of your budget. Not only think about it, of course, but you also need to actually plan it. I know how dealing with finances can be a pain in the neck, but hey, planning a budget will prevent even bigger pain in the future. So, take this first step and find out what your budget is.

What the Service Offers

Once you have your budget, you need to find out what’s the best service offer for what you want. Most maid services offer weekly and monthly cleaning packages or one-time services for more specific needs. Make sure to find a professional cleaning service near you and ask for what type of services they offer. Those can include:

• Scheduled weekly visits
• Scheduled biweekly visits
• Scheduled monthly visits
• One-time assistance (like before and after events)
• Garage or basement cleaning

Discuss Type of Payment

One of the most important things is knowing what type of payment they offer. Some services have an established system, but some are open to negotiations, so check that and decide what’s the best way of paying for your budget - if it’s weekly or monthly payments, for example.

What You Need to Ask

Finally, here are a few questions you need to ask the professional cleaning service before you hire. These are great to give you peace of mind when hiring, making you trust the service better and also because there will be no surprises along the way.

1. What services do you offer?

As I mentioned earlier, professional services can vary with the type of work they do. It’ll pretty much be the same every time, but some companies may offer laundry service while others won’t.

Make sure to write down a list of everything you want to be done and check if the maid service provides it all. Sometimes they may offer a service as optional and charge a bit more, so be sure to have that cleared too - nobody likes unexpected additional charges.

2. What are the rates?

It’s important to do a bit of research and see what are the rates offered by this type of service. If it fits your budget right away, that’s great. Otherwise, you can also try to negotiate something that works for both sides.

3. Do your employees go through a background check?

When a company does background checks, you can feel safer about hiring them. It’s not the most important thing, but it is good to know if they do that and that they show you those background checks if you ask for them. You need to be aware of who’s entering your home, after all.

4. Will it always be the same crew?

More than asking for background checks, make sure to ask if the crew will always be the same. It’s common for this type of service to have many employees and if they do scale work hours, you might end up with a different crew every week.

5. Are you insured or bonded?

Most maid services are fully insured and bonded, but it’s still important to ask to avoid any unnecessary headaches. Make sure to ask about workers compensation insurance too.

6. Who supplies the cleaning products?

Some companies have their own line of products while some have cleaning supplies providers. If you have children or pets around, you may want to ask about eco-friendly options that will not harm the health of your family. There are even some companies that will require you to pick your own cleaning supplies and they will simply provide the labor.

7. Do the pets need to be crated?

If you have pets, be sure to ask in advance if the will need to be kept in their crates or if it’s okay for them to be loose in the house.

8. How will you get into my home?

If they ask for a key to your home, it’s really important that you have a guarantee of who’s entering, when they’re entering and how long will they be staying - especially if you’re not home during the scheduled cleaning. Also remember to ask about the crew, when there are different employees every week, that might not be so comfortable for you as a homeowner.

9. How long have you been in business?

The best cleaning service you can hire is one that also has a physical address. That way you’ll be avoiding scams and making sure there will always be someone at your disposal if anything unusual happens. Asking for how long the company’s been in business is a good way to also ask for references and looking for online reviews of their service.

10. Can you provide a written contract?

There’s nothing that spells a safe service like the one who provides you with a written contract. Make sure to have all terms and everything you talked about and agreed to written down.

Hire a maid service to keep your house spotless! Get a free quote from a local cleaning service!

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