House cleaning. If reading that phrase made you cringe, you are not alone. If you’re anything like me, house cleaning day is often the most dreaded time of the week. Thankfully, though, it is one of those tasks that you don’t need to do alone!
If you’re in the market for a house cleaner, you may have noticed that there are widely different ways cleaning companies charge for their services. If you’ve received a quote, you might be curious as to how they determine the amount they charge!
Factors That Contribute To House Cleaning Costs
Some of the main factors that contribute to how a cleaning company will charge are tasks requested, state of the home, frequency of the visits, and home location. Obviously, if your home is very dirty, or if it’s a first time clean, you can expect to pay double the regular rates, or more.
Also, if you’re wanting beds stripped, dishes cleaned, oven or fridge cleaning, or any other “extras”, the price will go up as well. What is “house cleaning” to you? Does it involve regular wiping of the baseboards, taking out the garbage, and cleaning the tops of your cabinets? Or are you simply wanting someone to stay on top of the bathrooms and floors?
Before determining what house cleaning services to go for, make sure you sit down and list all the things you want done, and what isn’t as important for you. This can have a huge effect on the amount you will pay for your cleaning services.
Most cleaning companies offer discounts for weekly cleans vs monthly cleans since a house that is professionally cleaned every week requires less work to keep maintained.
So, how do cleaning companies determine what to charge for their services?
How Cleaning Companies Charge Clients
If you’re looking for a cleaning quote, there are many different ways they might charge: a per hour rate, room rate, square footage rate, etc.
For a per hour rate, you can expect to pay upwards of $50 or more per hour for a professional cleaner. Remember, if you’re hiring a large company with many employees, your cost as the customer needs to not only pay for the worker’s hourly wages, but also for taxes, benefits, and other personnel costs the company has.
Because hourly rates can change so much (for example, the same job could take a certain cleaner 2 hours to do but another cleaner 3 hours to do), many companies will charge a flat rate after calculating for themselves how long the job should take, or how large the space is.
Some cleaning companies charge an extra flat rate for any space that is especially dirty, or if it’s a move out clean.
When you’re paying for someone to clean your space, remember that you aren’t only paying for the service of cleaning. Companies need to purchase supplies, and they might have overhead costs like office space and marketing to pay for.
There is no “one size fits all” way to determine house cleaning prices. Individual cleaners and professional cleaning companies have different rates, and they offer different options and services too. Thankfully, there are many options to choose from, so you can be sure to get the cleaning services that are right for your needs.