Thinking about hiring a house cleaner? Having trouble deciding how to choose the best one?
Whether you’re thinking about hiring an individual housekeeper or a cleaning company, you need to make sure you know what to expect. It’s important to discuss the services with whoever you hire and to ask plenty of questions before you enlist their help.
Below are the top 7 questions you’ll want to ask a housekeeper before hiring them to clean your home.
Table of Contents
- 1 1. How Are Service Costs Calculated?
- 2 2. What Does the Cleaning Service Include?
- 3 3. What Kind of Insurance Do You Carry?
- 4 4. What is the Hiring Process For Housekeepers?
- 5 5. What Should I Do About My Pets?
- 6 6. How Will Housekeepers Access the House?
- 7 7. Will You Sign an Agreement?
- 8 Choosing the Perfect House Cleaner For Your Needs
1. How Are Service Costs Calculated?
The first thing you should ask a housekeeper is how much their services cost and exactly how they set their rates.
Housekeepers will often work on an hourly basis so you’ll need to find out if this is the case. In some circumstances, however, a housekeeper may charge per project instead. Additionally, if you plan on having your home serviced on a regular basis you may be able to get a flat rate for the services or a lower price.
Be sure that you discuss different service charges and rates in detail early on so that you don’t have issues later on.
2. What Does the Cleaning Service Include?
Another question you should ask a housekeeper you’re thinking about hiring is exactly what services are included as part of the price they’re charging.
There may be different rates and add-on costs that come up. Rates may vary based on whether you only need basic daily cleaning tasks performed or if you want your housekeeper to do deep cleaning tasks instead.
Be sure to discuss exactly what the housekeeper’s duties will be and what type of cleaning they’ll do. Ensure you know what the cost will be for any extras or add-on services as well.
3. What Kind of Insurance Do You Carry?
Another important piece of information you’ll want to find out from your housekeeper is whether they’re insured and bonded. Professional housekeepers should back up their services and have everything that’s necessary to protect themselves and to protect you.
Generally, housekeepers will carry liability insurance so that you’ll be compensated in the case that something is broken or damaged during cleaning.
Additionally, it’s also important for the cleaning service to have worker’s compensation coverage as well. If the employees of a cleaning service get injured while cleaning your home, this will help ensure that you won’t be liable.
4. What is the Hiring Process For Housekeepers?
When hiring a house cleaning company to clean your home you should also find out what kind of people work for the company.
You should consider asking what the hiring process is like for housekeepers and whether the company performs background checks as part of the hiring process. If you hire a maid service, they’ll typically perform background checks on their employees but you’ll want to confirm this to make sure.
By asking about background checks, you’ll have much more peace of mind and will feel confident that the people who are entering your home can be trusted. Of course, using a nanny cam is often a good idea as well if you want to make sure that your home is well-protected.
5. What Should I Do About My Pets?
One practical thing to think about when hiring a house cleaner is what you’ll need to do with your pets when they’re cleaning your home.
If you have pets, you should be prepared for the housekeeper’s arrival. You may need to place your pets in a crate or let them go outside if you know that a housekeeper will be coming.
Additionally, there may also be extra charges for cleaning services if you have a home with pets, so make sure you know what to expect beforehand.
6. How Will Housekeepers Access the House?
If you’re thinking about hiring a housecleaner, chances are that you won’t always be present when they come to clean your home. If this is the case, you’ll need to decide how a housekeeper will access your home when you’re not there.
One of the best ways to grant access to a housekeeper is to leave a key for them under a mat or in a hidden spot when you know that they’ll be coming by. You may also want to consider providing key code access for your home.
Make sure that you’ve worked out the details for access before you hire a housecleaner so that you’ll both know what to expect and you won’t experience any problems later on.
7. Will You Sign an Agreement?
When hiring a house cleaner, it’s best that you’re as clear as possible with all expectations and conditions related to your agreement.
It’s always best to get everything in writing so that you can refer back to your agreement later on if anything ever goes wrong or if expectations aren’t met. By having your agreement with a housekeeper in writing, you’ll be able to protect yourself and will ensure that the housekeeper is held accountable for their duties and services.
Make sure you discuss all of the details of your housekeeping needs before hiring anyone and then make sure that it’s all set in stone by getting a paper copy of these details as well.
Choosing the Perfect House Cleaner For Your Needs
If you’re thinking about hiring a house cleaner for your home, make sure that you do your due diligence first. You’ll want to ensure that any housekeeper that you hire is the real deal. Luckily, by asking these questions before you hire house cleaning services, you’ll much more likely to be satisfied with your final decision.
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