Community Chat

[SloopJohnB]

@Just Bling A little straying from the point of the original post, but I just wanted to say, I love your last sentence.  I echo that sentiment completely.  Hence, my signature line.  💔

[ECBG]

@Summer Shine 

A full time career and a family!  I was killing myself using my only day off to clean.

I used a local cleaning group until the pandemic killed the business and they became unreliable.

I went to my local Angie's List and read all kinds of group's reviews in my area.  I asked that they call me.  It's been heaven sense then. 

I went with Maid Pro which is a national group.  They leave their checklist behind for you, you can leave a check or your account is debited.

They will spray your oven and wipe it down as well as wipe out your refrigerator, services I asked not be done.

LOVE THEM!!!!!!

[Mz iMac]

@ECBG  Maid Pro & Merry Maids are the top 2 & in compitition w/each other in my neck of the woods.

FWIW:  Maid Pro in my area have their own vehicles if their employees do not want to use their own vehicles.

[ECBG]

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@Mz iMac wrote:

@ECBG  Maid Pro & Merry Maids are the top 2 & in compitition w/each other in my neck of the woods.

FWIW:  Maid Pro in my area have their own vehicles if their employees do not want to use their own vehicles.

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@Mz iMac 

The side of our driveway is a 15 foot drop over the edge.  All three girls came in their own cars!  We played musical cars to get them out!  It was funny!  With DH and I, there were 5!

[drizzellla]

OK - I admit I am addicted to the show Hoarders. Please do not think that your Father's house is remotely resembling a house that would appear on Hoarders.

But I must say, I am impressed how nice most of the houses clean up and in a short period of time. No sooner is the debris cleared out, the people come in to scrub and clean the house.

The two companies that I see most frequently are Service Pro and Merry Maids. I always think when they are done cleaning. If they can make a hoarded house look that good imagine what they can do to make a "normal" person's house clean.

[Melzie]

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@Love my grandkids wrote:

@Summer Shine Years ago when my late DH was very ill, I hired a company (this was in Southern Calif.) called Merry Maids.

They did only the things I requested and did a fabulous job. I had framed pieces of cross stitch on the wall and said specifically "do not touch or dust them."  They didn't. We were both home at the time.

I used them 3 times and requested the same team each time. We tipped them generously as they did chores I was just too exhausted to take care of.

I was more than pleased with them.

I would suggest you go on nextdoor . com (it's easy to join) and post there for references too. Our local ND and local only FB sites are a wealth of good advice.

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I noticed that you said you tipped the cleaning people.  Is this something that is the accepted norm for this kind of service or was it just something you chose to do because you were pleased with the service?  It seems to me that you're already paying for the service so why tip?  I don't tip the guys who cut my lawn so why would I tip a cleaning person?  Just wondering as I've been thinking about hiring someone too. 

[Mz iMac]

@Melzie  For the record, the ONLY time I tip my cleaning crew is Christmas (very generous) even if I have them do something not mentioned in the contract.  Have done that for over 20+ yrs.

[PreKteacher]

I think you've already received some excellent advice. I used a cleaning service for about a year right after I had my third child and returned to working outside of the home shortly after. The one thing I would suggest is to remember that sometimes the cleaners might forget something, or not do something well, since they are only human. If that happens, call them right away and let them know very nicely so they can come back out and make it right. It's much better to handle it this way than to start complaining or give them a bad review (unless they are consistently doing a poor job). Good luck! 

[conniekl]

I worked for a cleaning service about 20 years ago. We would work with 2 or more cleaners . We supplied all cleaning rags, soaps etc. We would clean one house and put the dirty rags in a plastic pail. We would go to the next house and bring the pail of dirty rags. I couldn't believe that we had to use the dirty rags from the first house to clean the second house! So, the rag we cleaned the first house bathroom, may be used on the second house kitchen counter!! The vacuums were so old and dirty. This was part time and I lasted a few days before I quit. These houses were beautifil. One house was worth about $700,000 and we cleaned it with dirty rags. Some houses were more normal price range. Some questions to ask ,may be if they supply their own supplies and will your house have clean rags- towels. Maybe you should supply your own cleaning towels. I would ask if they are insured if they break something. My co-worker broke a glass piece that was in a china cabinet. I don't know how that turned out as far a reimbersing them for the cost. I had a neighboe who used Merry Maids and was happy with them.

[jannabelle1]

I used one of the major big-name cleaning services some years ago and it was not a good experience. My ex and I would give them the garage opener code each time they came (3 times) - we changed it every time. We were both working and I was young and naive thinking that they were all trustworthy. After the 3rd time I knew I had things missing, but I couldn't prove it.

I agree with the suggestion to use Next Door recommendations for local people. I've had good luck with that.   I've never signed a contract, and was never asked to do that. I'm in the Midwest and paid the last person $65 for 2 hours. She cleaned the bathrooms, vacuumed and dusted. She would occasionally do a few extra things, but I had to ask her. She did the basics - and nothing more.