# So what do house cleaners do?



## Jackie (Jun 20, 2008)

So a very recent thread got me thinking....

I currently clean a bank (been cleaning since august), and I started cleaning a park office April 1st. I have also cleaned other offices part time in the past. And just about every restaurant/store job I have ever had involved cleaning. 

A dear friend of mine is a hoarder. A BAD hoarder. His house burned down about a year ago and he is about to get a new one. A brand new one. I told him he is NOT going to let his new house get like that and I agreed to be his housekeeper and basically force him to keep it clean. We were just talking about it and he told me I could make a mint cleaning for other people too. 

So yesterday I posted an ad saying I would clean houses/cabins for $15 an hour. Figured it was worth a shot. I had also recently decided to start cleaning peoples rugs (just bought a rug cleaner). 

So, ya...I know how to clean my own house. But someone elses house is different. I just got hired to clean a 7 bedroom, 3 story, 3000 sq foot house on Monday. I was told their cleaning lady quit months ago and its BAD. I told the guy he is my first job and he was fine with that. Said everyone has to start somewhere. 

Ok so what exactly is normal?? Do I do laundry? Dishes? I assume I do floors, make beds, clean counters etc. Do I strip sheets? Wash windows? Clean out fridge? I asked him and he was kinda like "well, just do whatever" Uhhhh..... No one is going to be home. Just told to clean and spend at least 8-10 hours.


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## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

It depends....some housecleaners do laundry and dishes and all that. Some don't.

You need to discuss it with the clients and ask them what they expect. They have to understand that they are paying you by the hour, so the more they want you to do, the longer it will take and thus the more $ it will cost them.

You might want to come up with a checklist of offered services and have the home owner check off what he/she wants to do. Then if it is more expensive than they want to pay for, they can revisit the list and remove things, etc.


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## Jackie (Jun 20, 2008)

bluemoonluck said:


> You might want to come up with a checklist of offered services and have the home owner check off what he/she wants to do. Then if it is more expensive than they want to pay for, they can revisit the list and remove things, etc.


That is an excellent idea! I think this first job sounds so bad its going to take the 8 hours just to get the floors, walls, counters, tables, chairs, bathroom, etc cleaned. He wants me to come back regularly I wont see him again until after the job is done, but I will indeed come up with a check list.

He said something about making the beds and putting all the dirty laundry in garbage bags in the laundry room. But I'll call him to make sure he wants me to change the sheets. I wont even bother calling if they are gross, ill just do it.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Before I clean someones house I ask what they want done- do you want the general dusting,vacuuming cleaning bathrooms... just normal stuff?
I have helped friends clean for no cost- hoarders- but that is just fun for me- I know I am nuts- I love organizing stuff... ask if they want help organizing and simplifying- it might be more time- but that is more money if they want help with that?


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## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

In this case, sounds like you should start with the obvious stuff (vacuuming, mopping, scrubbing bathrooms, etc) ....then if you finish that and still have time left, move on to the "question mark" stuff (washing dishes, doing laundry, etc).


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Ask what cleaners they want you to use, and who will provide them. Ask if you are supposed to bring your own vacuum, mop, broom, dust cloths, etc.

Clean bathrooms - floor, shower, tub, toilet, sink, dust anything as necessary. Clean baseboards and door frame.

Clean kitchen - countertops, cabinet fronts, floor, sinks, stove top

Dust everything in the house at least once a month.

Floors - clean as appropriate to the flooring. Vacuum carpet, sweep, mop, etc. If they have hardwood, find out what they want used on it.

Clean ceiling fan blades at least twice a year.

Ask about:
Windows
Laundry

If it's bad, address that it may take several trips/sessions to get through every room for the first pass.

Ask about what they want you to leave alone, i.e. stacks of mail, paperwork, hubby's office, etc.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

I used to have a lady come in once a week when I worked full time. She vaccumed, swept, mopped, cleaned bathrooms and changed sheets. Did a little dusting and wiped the counters. She told me up front no folding clothes, dishes, laundry etc. She also didn't do the deep cleaning stuff like baseboards and windows. I paid her $75 a week, it took her about 3-4 hours a week. I had 4 bedrooms--around 5500 sq. feet of house to clean. I provided all cleaning supplies. I like the idea of the checklist.


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## Jackie (Jun 20, 2008)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Ask what cleaners they want you to use, and who will provide them. Ask if you are supposed to bring your own vacuum, mop, broom, dust cloths, etc.
> 
> Clean bathrooms - floor, shower, tub, toilet, sink, dust anything as necessary. Clean baseboards and door frame.
> 
> ...


Thanks! I did ask about cleaning supplies. Going to bring a few scrub brushes, rags (I prefer to clean toilets with a rag and then throw them out), and a few cleaning supplies I KNOW I want to use and basically they have everything else. They said they have a vacuum, a swifer, windex, paper towels, bathroom cleaner, etc.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

When you are your own boss, you do get to make your own rules, somewhat.
You can draw the line at folding their underpants if you want to.

Each house is different. Some people have pets. Areas where litter boxes are, and furniture/rugs that have pet hair on them. 

I cleaned for one woman who had longhaired cats and a velvet loveseat. 
At first, she wanted me to use her (crappy) vaccuum to get the hair off that thing.
I finally had to say, "Look, it is taking me almost an hour to do that, which cuts into polishing the chrome on your shower." 
As soon as I told her, she started keeping a sheet over it. LOL. 

So, after you get an idea of what is possible and what is realistic for you in the time-frame you have, go ahead and set some boundaries.

I also cleaned for another lady who wanted me to trap and release every spider I found in her house. LOL.
Yeah, right. What she didn't know never hurt her as far as I can tell. 

Good luck with your new business! It can be an eyeopener, seeing how other people live.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I had it set up so I would do the main things, dust all horiszontal surfaces, vaccuum and mop, kitchen counters and stove-top, bathrooms...the basic stuff every week. Then with the last couple hours I would focus on a 'deeper' thing. 

Like the windows in the sunroom. Or the ornately carved pipeorgan. Or a curio shelf. Or hand-washing the wooden bannister. None of those things got attention every week, but they ended up finding an 'order' of their own.


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Sounds like $15.00 an hour is really cheap.

House cleaning is hard, hard work.

Is it too late to price yourself a little higher, or is that the going rate in your area?


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## Jackie (Jun 20, 2008)

Stef said:


> Sounds like $15.00 an hour is really cheap.
> 
> House cleaning is hard, hard work.
> 
> Is it too late to price yourself a little higher, or is that the going rate in your area?


I dont think its too crazy. I get paid $13.50 an hour right now to clean a park office which includes dishes, windows, floors, toilets, dusting etc. Takes me 2 hours a day, 4 days a week. 

I get paid $20 each time I clean the bank. Its supposed to take me 1.5 hours, but it doesn't really.

I have no idea what the going rate is...actually there is no going rate because no one else does it. I was told today (by coffee row) to plan on being VERY VERY busy the moment i put the word out that I am doing it.


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## mom2accjk (Jul 12, 2010)

I took three cleaning jobs from a friend when we lived in Florida. She didn't do any beds, dishes, or put up anything like stuff lying around.

House 1 was once a week and I was paid $55.00. It took 2 hours to clean. I brought my own vacuum and cleaning products. I went in and dusted, vacuumed, used my lambs wool duster to wipe baseboards and door grooves, cleaned the bath, mopped, took out trash, and I put on new sheets that the homeowner put out (previous girl didn't do that. Homeowner would come home randomly and "caught" me cleaning the lid to pop up trash can one time, and standing on stool to get to the top of a built in bookshelf another so he was very happy with me.

House 2 was once every two weeks and I was paid $65 per visit. These people had papers, knick knacks, and stuff on every surface, pilled in corners, etc. It was horrible and although a smaller home took 2.5 hours to clean. Every week the loveseat was piled as high as the top of the back of it with their clean laundry. I don't think they folded clothes, just went to the pile to get clothes. I didn't fold them. I stacked papers and rearranged to dust, stacked coins into a pile, etc. Horrible, horrible, horrible, and not worth my time. I didn't do this house long because it was not worth it at all.

House 3 I did once a month and was paid $85. It took me 2.5 hours. It was an 80-plus year old woman that had broken her hip and used a walker. Her house was about 4000 square feet, but she was immaculate and most rooms were not used. I changed her sheets and put them into wash for her first thing so by the end I had them folded and put up. Previous girl did not do that, but I knew she couldn't get around the bed well enough to do that. My last 6 months I started cleaning out a cabinet each month with her standing there telling me what to toss and what to keep. 

My routine was: Go in and take off sheets and put them in washing machine. Dust kitchen, wipe baseboards and blinds, wipe counters, clean microwave, stovetop, clean sink, sweep. Go onto her living room and dining room and dust, baseboards, vacuum. Clean hallway as I went down doing baseboards, dust objects, and sweep tile flooring. Clean master bedroom- put on new sheets, dust, baseboards, vacuum. Master bath shower, tub (powder EVERYWHERE!), dust objects, baseboards, sinks, toilet, wipe down cabinets, mirror, sweep- save mopping until ready to do other bath. Dust and vacuum two bedrooms. Wipe down guest bath- not used so I just took a rag with some cleaner and wiped across shower tops, vanity and sink and toilet to make sure no dust had settled. Sweep and mop both bathrooms. I then folded clean sheets from the dryer and put them away. I took out trash from each room with a can as I went. 

The girl I took the jobs from had cleaned houses for 20 years. Her pricing was not done without seeing the home. A home with more knick knacks you have to work around takes longer. Her general way to price a home was $55 a week for an average home (about 2000-2500 square foot home) $65 bi-weekly, $75 monthly. If you are doing a home bi-weekly or monthly it is dirtier and takes longer. She did military move outs for $85- cleaning an empty home. In those you did refrigerator, oven, deep clean stove, etc. Charge about $10 more for a home with a lot of knick knacks/papers around, a larger home, etc .


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## mama2littleman (Nov 8, 2004)

I envy those of you that have the skill/organizational ability to be house cleaners.

Some things people just suck at. House cleaning happens to be one of them for me. 

If I could pay someone $15 an hour to come in once a week and do stuff like mop, vacuum, clean bathrooms it would be money well spent in my opinion.

Right before I left Texas I did have someone come in every two weeks to do that stuff. Best money I ever spent. INstead of spending 1/2 my weekend off doing housework, I actually got to enjoy it with my son.

Nikki


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## Nette (Aug 17, 2003)

I have someone that comes in every other week. I don't expect her to wash clothes, wash windows, or do dishes. DH fusses at me because he says I CLEAN before the cleaning lady gets there, LOL! I'm not cleaning--I'm just straightening and putting things away. Knowing that she's coming forces me to maintain a neat house and keep clutter at bay. When she gets here, she can focus on cleaning rather than straightening. That's a personal preference thing anyway and best handled by the homeowner. I've never been dissatisfied with her work. Sometimes after she comes, I look around and say "Oh, things look real good." And then sometimes I come in the house and she has absolutely knocked my socks off.


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## sticky_burr (Dec 10, 2010)

once a week atleast yea change the sheets.
laundry atleast to a point yes IMO

i could do it but 2 things i hate with a passion is hand washing dishes and folding clothes the first more so, i'd rather scrub a floor on my hands and knees than hand wash dishes.

basically if you do it to your house i'd say do it and charge as much as possible. windows are atleast weekly routine not heavy cleaning like washing the ceiling and walls.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

None has mentioned-cleaning brand new houses. If you can get with a Builder, these houses are nice to clean and they pay well. You will have to remove stickers from windows, tubs ect. Lots of dust, but hey it's Clean dirt!


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

I get overwhelmed occasionly with a too-large house, a farm and running Kevin's business and a local lady comes in and deals with the things that I don't get around to.

I do not expect her to pick up our mess because we can't put things back where we found them. She doesn't empty the rubbish, clean the toilet or bathroom, do the laundry, change the sheets or do the dishes. She does dust, vacuum and wash the floors, wash the windows and paintwork when needed. Once a year she will do the ceilings and walls. I provide the vacuum cleaner, buckets, mops and cleaners. It's a loose arrangement which works out to about 3 hours a weeks and she comes when family and other committments allow. I pay her $15.00 an hour and because she's a solo mum, I also add eggs, milk, a bit of meat and garden produce.

This is an arrangement that suits both of us and I think the business of housekeeping can be a very flexible one. I personally, don't expect people to deal with our more personal living requirements, others don't worry about it. I think the check-list is a good idea.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

A few things you will need (trust me on this one):

A Swiffer duster with the 3 ft. handle

Magic erasers and Tilex in the green bottle (GREAT for getting the scum out of bathtubs and shower stalls!

Sprayway stainless steel cleaner (if they have a stainless kitchen)

Here is what I consider my basic cleaning:

Vacuum all floors, mop hard surfaces.
Dust and/or wipe all horizontal surfaces and the things on them, using polish as needed or requested by homeowner.
Dust ceiling fans, molding, window sills, door panels, tops of draperies.
Make beds (change sheets if fresh ones are set out).
Bathrooms: clean tub/shower thoroughly, toilet, vanity, polish faucets.
Kitchen: countertops (moving everything to get under and behind), exteriors of all appliances, top of refrigerator, microwave inside and out. Cabinets as needed (can vary from cleaning entire surface to just spot-wiping around handles). Polish sink. (Wash dishes if necessary.) Clean table and chairs (make sure to get the bottoms of the chair legs! Especially if there are furry pets in the house.) 
Clean highchair, booster seats, etc. if needed.
Empty all trash cans and replace bags.
Wash windows, storm door glass and mirrors as needed. (I will do sliding glass doors and sidelights inside and out if the weather permits.)


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

$15 an hour? thats cheap, I guess texas would be too far for you though.
Our housecleaner get $110 for 3.5-4 hours once every two weeks. No laundry or dishes - although some housekeepers do dishes. None that we've ever talked to do laundry.


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

I will do just about anything a client asks, providing it's not illegal or immoral!

I've been asked to bathe a dog ... another elderly lady (while recuperating from surgery) asked me to trim up the back of her hair, since it would have been a major production for her to get out to the beauty parlor.

Not a problem, Ma'am.


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## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

Jackie said:


> So a very recent thread got me thinking....
> 
> I currently clean a bank (been cleaning since august), and I started cleaning a park office April 1st. I have also cleaned other offices part time in the past. And just about every restaurant/store job I have ever had involved cleaning.
> 
> ...


...................Call the Better business bureau and check this person out , do your DO Diligence before leaving a job with the person owing you $90 for 8 hours of UNpaid work ! Try and match this person's name they gave too you with any White pages listing in the phone book . 
....................$15 an hour is very cheap labor , I'd price my work atleast $25 or more ! , fordy


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## Chris in PA (May 13, 2002)

I think what you do should be directed by the person who hired you - what do they want you to do. I wouldn't want you to do my laundry but I would want you to do the dishes and clean the kitchen. Because I am disabled, when you first started it would be different than when we got into a system. If that house is that BAD, you would not be able to everything the first day.


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## Jackie (Jun 20, 2008)

fordy said:


> ...................Call the Better business bureau and check this person out , do your DO Diligence before leaving a job with the person owing you $90 for 8 hours of UNpaid work ! Try and match this person's name they gave too you with any White pages listing in the phone book .
> ....................$15 an hour is very cheap labor , I'd price my work atleast $25 or more ! , fordy


I know exactly who this person is. He owns/manages a business in a nearby town and EVERYONE knows him. I have been assured by the masses that getting paid by him wont be an issue. He knows me, I know him. He is comfortable and I am comfortable. 

That's the nice thing about house cleaning in a small small area. All I have to do is ask coffee row about the person.  I waitress 15 hours a week and most days I see coffee row. They are great guys. I can ask them anything.  

Right now I am not comfortable asking more because I honestly don't know what I am doing. He was kind enough to hire me when I am totally new at this.


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## Nette (Aug 17, 2003)

willow_girl said:


> I will do just about anything a client asks, providing it's not illegal or immoral!



Willow Girl, you sound like my lady! A few years ago, when it was L's day to clean, this man walks into my office at work and introduces himself as L's husband. L had forgotten my work phone number and she was concerned about one of my DOGS that was acting strangely and she feared was sick. So, she called her husband, who worked in the same town as me, and made him come over to tell me! Now THAT's service!


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## fellini123 (Feb 2, 2003)

What I want to know is which one of you housecleaner types lives near Lynchburg VA??????? I need help!! LOL

Alice in Virginia


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

When I worked full time in the city and was going to school full time on top of it I had a cleaning lady come in every two weeks. It started out as a one time thing. I called her around Thanksgiving, I was swamped at work plus had finals and had 30+ people coming for dinner Thanksgiving day. I asked her if she could just come mop, vacuum behind furniture, dust, etc. Stuff I just didn't have time for. She knocked my socks off and after that she came twice each month until life calmed down a bit. I miss her dearly. The fact of the matter is, she's just a far better housekeeper than I so even when my life is not too busy to allow me to clean I don't do nearly the job she did. The woman washed my floors with rags on her hands and knees!!! 

The way I saw it she was here to clean, not pick up after us. So she didn't do dishes or laundry and I had everything picked up before she got here (most of the time). She vacuumed, mopped, dusted, washed windows and mirrors, cleaned toilets and tubs and sinks, that sort of stuff. I paid her $75 every time she came and I have no idea how long it took her. Probably a couple hours? Worth every last penny. I've been trying to justify rehiring her for quite some time. LOL!


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## Jackie (Jun 20, 2008)

Thanks guys!! It was awesome! 4 of the 7 bedrooms were not even used so I just vacuumed in there a bit and left them. It took me 5 hours but it was crazy! Really was 3 stories and just kept going up and up! Took an hour and a half just to vacuum the whole place. All I had to do was vacuum, wash the floors, bathrooms (my specialty! I love making them sparkle), clean the kitchen (not the dishes but I would have if I had of had time), I washed the three high traffic windows inside and out, cleaned out the microwave, dusted quite a bit of stuff, made the master bed, stuff like that. The wife was home so she just told me exactly what she wanted and how she wanted it done. Then she just worked in her office and was available for questions, although I didn't really have any. I know how to clean. I just got moving! I didn't even stop to eat lol. They had all the cleaning supplies and they told me if there was anything I wanted to use that they didn't have they would buy it for me. 


Honestly, that was the easiest $75 bucks I ever made....now to find some more houses.


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## Jan Doling (May 21, 2004)

Once the word-of-mouth network sets in motion, you'll have more homes than you can clean! Hopefully you can alternate some of the every-other-week folks. 

Have two sections on your check list: standard and electives. Some people might not mind cleaning thier own fridge but hate to do the oven, so have your clients number their electives in order of their priority so you know which extras to do the first few weeks.


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

You should make the list of chores YOU'RE willing to do. Customers can check off the list of what they want done. The problem I've most often heard is when people have all kinds of "clutter". Be sure to ask them what they want you to do with it. Me? I'd never throw papers and stuff away. IMO that is the client's job. I'd not want to be blamed for disposing of something they later regret. I'd of course throw away old toilet paper tubes and Kleenex etc. but not mail or cards or letters unless they were already in a trash can. Also be sure you wear rubber /latex gloves anytime you're cleaning a bathroom...you don't want to get hepatitis or staph infections. Good luck with your new venture!


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

You should call before you go to clarify his expectations. If the house is bad you're not going to get it clean in one day. I've never heard of a cleaning lady changing sheets. They usually vacuum, dust, etc. They usually don't pick up as much as they clean. It's mighty difficult to really clean if you have to pick up clutter, especially since you don't know where they want things to go. If you spend your time with clutter the house won't really be clean by the time you're gone.

One thing I'd be careful about is your choice of clients. Try to get referrals instead of finding them through ads. You're taking a bigger chance with strangers. You could be harmed. You could be accused of theft. 

I like the idea of making a list of the things you are willing to do regularly, occasionally (windows, walls, etc.), and optional items. Consider if you want to use your cleaning products or theirs. Charge more if you bring the cleaning supplies. If a house has multiple floors and it takes a long time to clean you might suggest cleaning one floor one week and the other floor the next. You could vacuum each week. I would not bring my own vacuum. Bugs can be spread from home to home or brought back to your home if you do so. Bed bugs and roaches are not something that you want to spread.


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## Rose (Dec 30, 2010)

I love to clean not sure if I could do someone elses house though. I'd be afraid I might accidently break something,...


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