Out with Them Spots! All About House Cleaning Services

Are you a young executive with a messy apartment? A parent with a brood that can easily sweep through your house and destroy everything in sight? A grandparent with more than enough time on their hands, but no strength to clean the old shack from top to bottom? If you have a house that needs cleaning, then you are in need of house cleaning services.

Before you pick up that phone and call for house cleaning services help, take note that there are two kinds of cleaners: private or agency supported. A private cleaner can usually be hired through word-of-mouth or friends of friends who have hired the cleaner before. An agency-supported cleaner, on the other hand, can be contacted through a cleaning agency.

The main advantage of a private cleaner is that you can negotiate prices, whereas agency-supported cleaners up their price to pay the agency a commission. A private cleaner, on the other hand, may not be too trustworthy; and if you suddenly lose something in your house while it is being cleaned, private cleaners may be harder to go after. Agency-supported cleaners are an agency’s frontline: if they mess up, the agency’s reputation is tarnished, so agencies are usually more careful when they select their pool of cleaners.

If you do decide to hire a private cleaner, check out the person’s background thoroughly. If the private cleaner is really spotless, then he or she won’t mind being checked. Do the same for an agency-supported cleaner, but ask the agency itself, and take note of who supplies you with the information.

Whether you hire a private or agency-supported cleaner, make sure you get everything clear first hand. That is, discuss fees, hours for cleaning, and money to pay just in case anything is broken or damaged, or you aren’t satisfied with the cleaning job. Be very clear about what you want untouched, and what you want cleaned. Here are a few tips:

• Keep all your jewelry in a safe place, or near you if you will be in the house while cleaning is done.

• Make an inventory of all the things you want cleaned, and present this as a list to the house cleaning services. Also, write a list of things you do not want touched, and make sure that the cleaner understands and holds this list at all times. You can use this list as a reference when cleaning is over, so you can check how good and thorough your cleaner is

• Do not share any information with your cleaner, especially about where valuable items are kept.

• Make a personal list of all your valuables, so you can check if they are all intact and present when cleaning is done. 

• Ask for your cleaner’s personal contact information, just in case you want to check back with them, refer their services to a friend, or want something cleaned again.

• If you are not very confident in your cleaner, or if you are guarding something important or valuable, then stay in the house while it is being cleaned. If possible, offer to help out with some cleaning: you can befriend the cleaner, and hopefully dissuade the cleaner from doing a less than perfect cleaning job.

• Draw the line between friendship and professionalism. Don’t let your cleaner think that he or she can order you about, or make you think that a haphazard job is better than it looks. Be firm with what you want.

Whether you choose a private cleaner or an agency, make sure you fully and completely trust the person. At the end of the day, you can end up with a clean, spotless house thanks to an expert's help. Happy House Cleaner hunting!