What do you need to know about hiring a house cleaning service?

In this Guide, we will learn the following insights:

1. 5 Qualifying Questions to ask
2. 3 Ways cleaners charge for their services
3. 5 Tips for Budgeting for a house cleaner
4. 5 Steps for scheduling your first cleaning

This Guide is more extensive than our previous articles. If needed, feel free to read parts of it and reference the rest later. Let's jump in!

5 Qualifying Questions to ask

You need to make sure the house cleaner you hire is trustworthy and cares about your home.

Unfortunately not everyone who calls themselves a "house cleaner" has the real experience or credibility for cleaning. It's important to filter out the "fly by night" companies and only focus on the legitimate ones.

To do this, here are five crucial questions to ask when you're searching for potential cleaning services:

1. Are they fully insured?
Professional cleaners - even if they're ran by just one person - needs to have insurance.

Without proper insurance, a cleaner could cause the following issues and not be liable for them:

• Broken items like display figures or TV electronics

• Damaged areas like floors, walls or furniture

• Stolen items from an employee

Carrying full coverage liability insurance means that if a cleaning service accidentally incurs any of these, they can cover repairs or replacements. If not, they may ghost you or disappear if you try holding them responsible.

2. Do they have valid references?
Valid references are actual paying customers that the cleaner has served before.

Being able to get referrals from the cleaner's past or current clients helps you decide whether they're qualified or not.

If they don't have references on their website, ask them if they would be willing to share three or more with you. Call their references and ask questions like:

• Whenever there's been an issue, how has your cleaner handled it with you?

• On a scale of 1-10, what level of customer service have they provided?

• What have you appreciated the most about them?

• What areas of improvement would you recommend for your cleaner?

Of course no house cleaner is 100% perfect, but don't hire someone with any major red flags. Make sure their referrals can provide positive answers to all of these questions.

3. Do they guarantee their work?
Credible cleaners should guarantee their services.

This simply means that if they miss a detail that they agreed to clean, they will make it right.

Some cleaners may agree to refund a small amount of the cost you paid if they can't make it right. But most will come back and clean it within a specific time frame (example, 24 hours to 2 days).

Beware of cleaners who don't offer this. Ideally, if a house cleaner is confident in their work and completes the tasks right, they won't have to worry about using their satisfaction guarantee. If a cleaner is unwilling to do this, that's a red flag that their work is probably shotty.

4. Are the using hired help?
Sometimes house cleaners will use paid help. If so, you need to know how they screen these people.

For example, the primary cleaner (the owner) may carry the correct insurance for themselves, but hasn't covered their hired help. Credible companies either cover their hired help or request them to carry it for themselves (in the case of an independent contractor).

It's also important to know if they run any background checks or drug tests on them. Whether you're comfortable letting someone with a criminal background in your home is up to you. But your house cleaner should at least be transparent on who they hire.

If it's just one person cleaning for you, you may choose to ask them to submit to your own background check that you pay for. While this isn't common, you still have the right to request this.

5. Do they use their own products?
While this isn't a deal breaker, it's still important to know whether you'll provide the products or them.

Some clients have particular products they may want to use for different reasons (for example, they're sensitive to strong chemicals, so they have natural products).

Most cleaners bring their own supplies though, including their own products, mop and vacuum. This can be convenient for the client because they don't have to worry about preparing anything.

Ask your house cleaner about what products they use and whether you should provide any or not.

3 Ways Cleaners Charge For Their Services

House cleaners charge for their services using a few different ways.

In this next part of our guide, we'll look at the three primary ways all house cleaners charge their clients.

1. By the Hour
Most house cleaners will charge an hourly rate. This rate can range anywhere from $20 to $80 per hour in Colorado.

Most of the time they also require a two hour minimum. This means you'll probably end up paying $40 to $160 for a cleaner to book an appointment for you.

2. Flat Rate Based on Rooms
A small amount of cleaners will charge for their services based on the number of rooms.

So for example, for a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom home that include a living room and kitchen, they may charge $85 for a maintenance cleaning, or, $200 for a deep cleaning.

3. Flat Rate Based Square Footage
A rare amount of cleaners will charge based on the square footage of area being cleaned.

They will either determine the size by using an electronic measurer, or, if they're cleaning the entire home they can find the square footage online using sites like Zillow.

A 1,000 S.Q. home can cost anywhere from $100-$120 for a maintenance cleaning, or $250 to $300 for a deep cleaning.

5 Tips for Budgeting for a house cleaner

If you haven't paid for house cleaning before, finding the income to do so may feel challenging.

The good news is that you can adjust parts of your budget and income in order to pay for monthly house cleaning. In this part of our Guide, we'll show you the proven ways people afford their house cleaners, and how you can too!

1. Cut back on subscriptions
Cutting back on unnecessary subscriptions can save you up to $20 or more per month.

Some of the most common subscriptions include a movie streaming platform (most people have more than one, so consider only having one).

Other apps like Instacart or Uber Eats charge monthly or yearly fees to use (in order to get a discount on deliveries). If you don't want to get rid of the membership with these apps, consider cutting back on deliveries by 50%. You'll save money on tips.

It will add up over time!

2. Reduce eating out
Reducing the amount of times you eat out can easily save you $50 to $100 per month.

One meal with a spouse at an average restaurant like Applebee's or Red Robin can easily cost $40 - $50 including the tip. If you eat out once per week (four times each month) consider skipping just one week.

If you have to eat out somewhere because of work or busy schedules, consider eating somewhere less expensive and that doesn't require tipping. Places like Chipotle, Chick-Fil-A or Subway offer healthier food options that don't cost as much as eating at a restaurant.

3. Switch Insurance Companies
Getting a better rate on your auto, renters or life insurance polices can save you $50 to $100 per month.

If you haven't already, contact a local insurance broker and compare prices with your current insurance company. You'll be surprised how much you might be able to save using a broker!

4. Donate Plasma
A local plasma center in Colorado Springs can provide you around $200 to $400 per month in extra income.

Most plasma centers will pay about $50 for one donation in a week, and $60 for a second donation in the same week.

You'll have to have a medical exam at the plasma center to see if you qualify to donate. But if you do, this will be a great supplement to your income.

If you decide to hire a house cleaner...

The Ultimate Free Guide for Finding the Right House Cleaner in Colorado Springs

Whether this is your first time hiring someone or you're looking to make a change, this free online guide will equip you with everything you need to know about the hiring process, including:

1. 5 Qualifying Questions to ask
2. 3 Ways cleaners charge for their services
3. 5 Tips for Budgeting for a house cleaner
4. 5 Steps for scheduling your first cleaning

Click "read for free" now to instantly read your free guide - no email or signup required!