anybody use a housecleaning service?

[Kali]

(I swear this is not for me, I am WAY too embarrassed to let ANYBODY see my house, especially people that clean for a living!)

1) What the difference between a "deep clean" and a regular clean?

2) Do you tip? How much? Is it based on the total or some other criteria (would you tip more for said "deep clean"?)

3) Any other experience or advice?

[seabeyond]

1. lmao.

i have a huge house and when boys were little i had a woman come in weekly. i would have to clean the damn house, even toilets, before i would let her clean. was a huge ass, pain in the ass with very demanding little ones.

deep cleaning is going to mop instead of just sweep (generally) do baseboard, the fans. a regular cleaning which is what the woman i hired did, was vaccuum, sweep hardwood, dust, clean bathrooms and just minimal in kitchen. she did not do dishes, they were done.

deep cleaning would be what you do when your mother in law comes over.

regular cleaning is what you do for friends.

no, i did not tip.

i paid a lot.

i did have one time where they went over and above and i gave ect with that one.

edit... i used a regular person once a week. let her go a while ago. i will periodically hire a hosekeeping service for an over all clean if i do not have time before guest. so my experience has been with regular, and periodic.

[Kali]

4. oh hell yes, we are doing that for this house!

I am all like - what is wrong here, this place is already so much cleaner than my house, all it really needs is dusting and mopping (and windows, which I guess nobody does)

anyway I am "housesitting" while a bunch of stuff gets done (water heater, new washer, some plumbing repairs, a bit of electrical) and now it has been decided a cleaning service will arrive tomorrow and I was instructed to tip them if they do a good job. crap, I have no idea what to tip or what is considered a good job! but Ima empty the trash and straighten a bunch of stuff up before they get here!

[seabeyond]

6. i made sure the floors were clear, stuff off all surfaces.

i literally cleaned the house before the woman, or service got here cause i wanted them to do the dusting and stuff. cant vacuum with bunch of stuff on the floor.

tip a 20. what three people coming and not your money? they charge a lot. i read someone paid 25 for three hours... *gasp*. i never got that rate. (edit... i take it the 25 was tip. lmao. that makes more sense)

they charge by the hour? if they are chatting ect instead of working, do not tip. that is a good job in my book. i have had some that are on the phone, or chatting with each other, as the clock ticks ticks ticks.

that could be a lot of work for you, with someone just sending the cleaners in before you are ready.

tip yourself. lol

and ya, i havent seen anyone cleaning windows.

[onehandle]

2. Yesterday.

Dunno what a deep clean is, but she did in 3 hours what would take me 9 hours. We only hired the person, because we were busy and my father-in-law is coming to visit.

$25

Just make sure up front where and what you want cleaned.

[Kali]

5. hmm, is that a percentage of the fee?

you can PM me if you want

[csziggy]

3. I've been using Molly Maids for nearly two years

I started before my knee replacements simply because I couldn't do the work and the house was turning into a sty. I have them come once a month to get the floors, bathrooms and counters.

1) Deep clean gets a lot more detail done while a regular clean just gets the visible stuff. Deep clean will clean your oven, refrigerator, all the shelves, most cabinets, etc. Regular does the floors, surfaces, dusts. Most services require a deep clean for the first time they come and some require it once or twice a year even when they come on a schedule.

2) I usually don't tip, mostly because I haven't had money in the house. I did give $20 to each cleaner just before Christmas last year because of the season and because they did a particularly good job.

3) One thing that kind of bugs me - they don't move anything or clean under furniture at all. You kind of need to pick before they come - move stuff off the counters and surfaces or they will clean around it. It is nice to know that they don't mess with our stuff, though, so it cuts both ways.

If you get into a regular schedule, they try to send the same team every time. With my operations, trips, etc, I keep having to change the days so they send different teams.

You can give the office a key and they will clean when you're gone. Since I am here, I just let them in.

Local services may offer lower prices, but I feel that the national company might vet their employees more - I have no evidence either way.

[Kali]

7. I am not sure what will happen after this

I know there are some people coming to stay in December and the cleaners will probably be scheduled to return right before that.

I have no experience with this, and much as I love the idea of somebody else cleaning, I also freak out at the thought of it! This house is so really big and hasn't had a thorough cleaning in a long time, but it also isn't flat out gross like my house gets. hell there are hardly even any spider webs and no pet hair, although there is a lot of gecko poop around. I think they eat the silverfish. I remember those being a real problem in this house when I was a kid - haven't seen any all week and we have been moving boxes and papers and books from room to room like crazy.

So what do you do if you are home while they are working? I would probably be constantly apologizing for the mess. I know I hate to be watched when I work, should I just sit an play on the computer or go outside or what? Lay on the bed and eat bonbons?

[csziggy]

8. Originally I only planned to use them for a few months

But after my knee replacements it was one thing after another. I've always been a bad housekeeper and it's nice to have the house clean at least once a month. I'd rather shovel out stalls than clean house!

If I'm here, I just stay out of their way. When they get to the room I'm in, I step out while they do it. Usually I'm on the computer or doing needlework, so I take a break when they do those areas. Sometimes I go outside, but it just depends on the weather, how I feel, what operation I'm recovering from, etc. A couple of times I was on a walker and they helped me move into a different room.

They're coming Thursday, but I'll be getting the stitches removed from my most recent operation - carpal tunnel repair & ulnar nerve relocation.

[Kali]

10. OMG you are almost bionic now!

I knew about your knees, but missed the other if you posted. I have been gone a lot this fall. I hear ya on cleaning stalls or most anything other than the house! It wouldn't be bad but freaking PEOPLE live there and they/we are always messing up everything. sheesh! bastids!

[csziggy]

14. Oh, I've had lots more rebuilt!

At the orthopedic outpatient surgery center alone, I've had six surgeries - totally rebuilt left shoulder, both knees cleaned out, right shoulder repair, and now carpal tunnel & nerve relocation on both hands/arms. The total knee replacements were done in hospital, as were several other procedures.

It's gotten beyond ridiculous.I'm really hoping that this arm will be the last for a while. And I hope this heals fast. Typing with one hand sucks.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. Hey Kali, I have a cleaning lady who comes every other week.

We have a 2 story house, and it's too much for her to do all at once, so she cleans one floor and the dirty places on the other.

For instance, she'll clean the downstairs, and all the bathrooms upstairs. Or she cleans the upstairs and the bathroom, the kitchen and dining room downstairs.

I pay her $70 each time, with a substantial bonus at Christmas. She has a key. I supply her with cleaning rags and all the appropriate chemicals. She tells me when she's running out.

I've never had her do a "deep clean."

We do pick up the clutter. I make the bed since I don't want her doing housework. I get the dishes done and like that. I want her to clean!

It works for us. I hire the windows washed by a local company. They are GREAT.

[Kali]

11. oh man this house has so many windows

I used to have to do them when I was a kid, I feel sorry for whoever is going to get the job now (because it sure as hell isn't going to be me! )

Thanks for the info, so you don't tip other than the bonus at Christmas? Is she self-employed or work for a company?

the people coming tomorrow supposedly have their own tools and stuff, but I was wondering what if you don't like what they use and want them to use your stuff so I guess I should check and see...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. My lady is self-employed, always has been.

She works for a bunch of us on this block! Word of mouth is wonderful...

We have a lot of windows too, and no way would I ever ask her to do them.

[mrmpa]

13. My sister-in-law has her own cleaning service(s) company.............

She meets with the client and sees what the client wants done. My SIL, then gives them a price for that job, no hourly rates. If it takes my SIL 2 hours one week, and 3 hours the next week to complete the work, you only pay the agreed upon price.

She once had a client, the work took 2 hours to complete and the agreed upon price was $40. Well the client wanted my SIL, to do the work in 4 hours because he thought that "cleaning women" making $20 an hour was wrong. He thought $10 an hour was more just. She dropped him real quick.''

She doesn't get tips, but she does get gifts during the Holiday Season, and her customers who have died have been very generous to her.

[Kali]

16. I think my sister tried this company out on her own house, but I am not sure.

Thanks for the info. I guess I will see how they do. It feels kind of weird but who knows maybe I will like it!

Even if you are cleaning before they come, I suppose it is at least motivation to get the damn job done more often than once or twice a year.

[panader0]

15. My ex wife once declared that my house was "impossible" to clean.

Like you, I am too embarrassed to have someone see my place. There are still parts unfinished (the new kitchen), but mostly the mess is DUST! And more dust. It accumulates so fast. It's like camping out indoors.

[Kali]

18. dust and pet hair at mine

great big drifts of pet hair - always expecting the piles to start moving on their own at any time.

like a lot of people we tend to generate piles of junk on any surface. tools and broke parts that we are to lazy to put or throw away, mail and other papers, crap you have in your hands when you come in the house gets set down and never looked at again for months.

kitchen never gets cleaned because it is always in use. the dishes get washed and the counters and table get wiped off, but nobody wants to clean the grease off the side of the stove or wipe the fridge door, or mop the floor.

the basic dust is a good protective coating from the spider shit, though. and the spiders keep the flies and moths down so I don't get too worried about them anyway.

[magical thyme]

17. My dogs do my floors....

that's about as close to a house cleaning service I've ever been. Oh, and Jakey also licks the sheets on the bed after he's finished cleaning his pee-pee and his feet. I'm hoping to teach them to make the beds, do laundry and maybe wash the windows too.

[Boom Sound 416]

19. It's tough to get over letting people clean for you

But sometimes you just need the help.

They usually make about 10 bucks an hour and usually takes about an hour to clean and so I double their rate and tip 10 per person.

[riderinthestorm]

20. Yup. I've had 2 different services over the years

Both of them billed by the hour for the first visit. After that first visit its a set rate.

I always tip. $10 per person every time.

I'm always there when they arrive. We talk about what needs doing, I pay them etc and then I usually have to get back to the barn. I can't remember the last time I stuck around while they worked. That would be awkward. I'm rarely around when they leave.

I hire out for the house cleaning cause I hate it and do a bad job. I'm physically capable so simply hanging around watching them eork would make me feel pretty lazy - like I should be doing it myself.

Can you keep busy outside while they work? Or sort stuff? Or just leave?