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When was the last time you deep cleaned your house? If you’re scratching your head trying to remember, you’re not alone. An intensive deep clean requires a ton of time and energy that most people just don’t have these days. Emptying the pantry to wipe down the shelves, scaling ladders to clean ceiling fan blades, pushing the couch out of the way to tackle the enormous dust bunnies beneath it—it’s overwhelming at the best of times and can feel next to impossible when you’re dealing with tight deadlines at work or a calendar full of your kid’s extracurriculars.
Even regular chores like vacuuming, washing dishes, and wiping counters can take up a good chunk of time each week, leaving people with less energy to focus on work, studying, or just enjoying their hobbies, even when the chores are divided up between family members.
For that reason, a lot of families are turning to cleaning pros to pick up the slack (and the dirty laundry). If you’ve been thinking about doing the same, this guide will break down when it makes sense to book a one-time deep clean, the benefits of hiring a recurring service, what to look for when choosing a cleaner, and where to find one.
When to Book a Deep Clean
Daily upkeep like wiping surfaces and sweeping the floor is one thing. Vacuuming the fridge coils, cleaning window and patio door tracks, and scrubbing down the blinds is another. Even households that prefer not to book regular cleaning appointments are increasingly turning to one-off deep cleans as a way to stay on top of dirt and grime build-up over time.
If degreasing the range hood and descaling the faucets isn’t your idea of a good time, booking a deep-cleaning appointment a few times a year is a great idea. Here are a few situations where a one-off deep clean may be a perfect solution.
Before a Big Holiday Get-Together
If you’re hosting for the holidays this year, booking a deep clean can take a huge helping of stress off your plate, especially if you’re planning for overnight guests. A good pre-holiday scrub will leave your home looking its best for nitpicky in-laws and minimize any allergens that could aggravate sensitive immune systems.
After a Renovation
No matter how careful you are, household renovations can leave their mark on a home: Drywall dust, compound crumbs, sawdust, splinters, tape residue, caulk smears, and grout grime can build up as you work, leaving your house in need of some serious deep cleaning. Once the renovation is over, calling in a cleaning professional can give you a welcome respite and let you fully enjoy the fruits of your labor.
After an Illness
If you or a loved one is doing poorly, cleaning may be the very last thing on your mind. In times like this, getting a healthy amount of rest trumps chores every time. Once you’re on your feet again, a one-time deep-cleaning appointment can get your house back to square one and help keep your chores feeling more manageable as you get back into the swing of things.
When Selling Your Home
A deep clean is the natural first step before you bring in a photographer to take photos of your home and start getting ready for an open house. This will help your house shine in pictures and stand up to the heaviest scrutiny from potential buyers. It’ll also reduce the amount of cleaning you’ll need to do while moving out in order to leave the house in good condition for the new owners.
For a Good Spring (or Fall) Cleaning
“Spring cleaning” gets a lot of hype for good reason. It gives you a great psychological reset after the cold, dark winter months, and deeply cleaning your carpets, washing drapes and upholstery, wiping down vents and fans, and vacuuming beneath furniture and large appliances helps get rid of any pet dander, dust, grime, and bacteria that have built up while everyone has been stuck inside.
Doing the same thing in the fall helps you remove any built-up allergens, dust, and dander before the windows are shut for the winter and gets the house looking spic-and-span for the holiday season.
Why You Might Want a Recurring Cleaning Service
A maintenance cleaning service can look wildly different, depending on your needs. It could be a weekly visit to handle all the regular chores, or it could be a monthly pop-in to give you a much-needed break at the end of the month. Either way, there are a lot of reasons why you might want to book a regular cleaning service. Here are a few.
You Have a Busy Schedule
If you work long days and spend your evenings shuffling the kids back and forth from their extracurriculars, you likely don’t want to spend your precious downtime pushing the vacuum around or wiping down your sinks. Hiring a weekly cleaning service can help hectic households keep their living spaces hygienic and tidy without taking too much time away from homework and other evening routines.
Someone in Your Home Has Asthma, Allergies, or Sensitivities
House cleaning isn’t just about making a home look more presentable; it’s also about keeping your family healthy. Professional weekly or biweekly cleaning can drastically reduce the amount of dust, dander, and other allergens in your home, alongside reducing bacteria and mold growth in bathrooms and kitchens. Improved air quality and sanitized surfaces can both reduce the symptoms of existing conditions and help prevent new health issues from popping up.
You’re a Caregiver
If you’re caring for an elderly or ill loved one, you know that caregiver burnout is very real and very serious. If you’re able to hire a cleaner every week or two just to take care of the bigger stuff, that can be a huge help in reducing your fatigue and giving you some much-needed time for yourself.
You Just Don’t Like Cleaning
Maybe you just don’t like cleaning, and that’s completely valid. If you have the budget for it, a weekly cleaner can be a great option for families, couples, and single people who would rather spend their time on creative projects, recreational activities, studying, or just spending quality time with loved ones.
Recurring Appointments Are Cost-Effective
Professional cleaners can be scheduled to come by your home every one, two, three, or four weeks. The more frequent the schedule, the less time each appointment takes, and the less opportunity dirt, grime, dust, bacteria, and allergens have to build up in your home. Even if you still book a seasonal deep cleaning, weekly or even monthly services can reduce the amount of time they take and may save you some money.
Considerations When Hiring a Cleaner
Whether you’re hiring for an occasional deep cleaning or weekly maintenance cleans, you’ll want to make sure you’re hiring the right person for the job. Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for a cleaner.
- Background check: Inviting a stranger into your home isn’t something to be taken lightly, especially if you’ll be giving them a key. Whether you found your cleaner through a professional cleaning company, an online marketplace, or a referral, a background check is a must.
- Liability insurance: Your cleaner should carry general liability insurance in case of any accidental property damage or injury in your home.
- Clear expectations: Your cleaner should be very clear about what is and isn’t included in their service. Some cleaners are open to providing extras (like laundry) for an added fee, but others aren’t. Be aware of what you’re getting. You should also be clear about your expectations for how your house should be treated. If you don’t want certain products used on your marble countertops or your home office shouldn’t be entered, have that conversation up front.
- Frequency: If you’re booking recurring appointments, figure out what schedule will work best for you. Biweekly or monthly schedules can be great for smaller homes and homes with fewer occupants. A weekly schedule might be better for homes with more occupants or homeowners with especially busy schedules. And if you have furry pets or small kids, more frequent service is probably a good idea.
- Substitutions: If your cleaner isn’t available, what happens? Many cleaning companies will send an alternate if your regular cleaner calls in. If you’re using a marketplace, you may be able to book a different cleaner for the same day. But if you’re working with a solo cleaner, you may be out of luck for the week.
- Supplies: Will your cleaner be bringing their own supplies? Will they need to use your vacuum cleaner? If your family prefers all-natural or pet-safe cleaning products, can your cleaner accommodate, or will you need to buy your own supplies? It’s important to figure this out during the initial consultation, so you know exactly what you’re responsible for and what they’ll cover.
- Pricing: This is generally simple when you’re working with a solo cleaner, but it can get a little complicated when you get into membership models or promotional offers. Before signing a contract, get a breakdown of all costs and terms, including any monthly fees, service fees, and cancellation fees, and whether rates are based on hours worked or other factors, like number of rooms.
- Reviews: Last but not least, put in the time to research your cleaner candidates. Look up reviews and ask for testimonials. Get a feel for how well they do the job and how much past clients trust them with their homes.
How to Find a Cleaner
These days, there are several ways and places to find a good house cleaner (thank you, internet). Let’s review two common ones.
Independent/Solo Cleaners
Independent cleaners can be found through local search, on NextDoor or Facebook, or through referrals. Generally speaking, solo cleaners are often more flexible about the services they offer and are more willing to negotiate bespoke packages for their clients. Where a cleaning membership might consider folding laundry to be an add-on service, a solo cleaner might build it into your weekly package. Solo cleaners also tend to have lower prices overall, as opposed to corporate cleaning companies with more overhead.
On the other hand, working with a solo cleaner means just that: You work with one person. That means if they need to take a sick day or an unexpected leave, you might be left to pick up the mop yourself. Depending on your schedule or energy levels, that might be an inconvenience you don’t want to deal with.
Cleaning Memberships
Signing up for a cleaning membership has a few advantages over hiring a solo cleaner. For one thing, they tend to be very flexible. For example, a service like Homeaglow’s ForeverClean membership gives you the ability to choose your schedule, change up your frequency whenever you like, switch cleaners if necessary, and book a new cleaner if your regular cleaner isn’t able to make it to an appointment. And you can do it all conveniently online.
Because Homeaglow uses a marketplace model, you can browse a wide range of cleaners in your area and make your decision based on their availability, rates, and customer reviews and ratings. While you do pay a monthly membership fee, your membership grants you access to dramatically lower hourly rates and a free first cleaning from a group of qualified local cleaners.
One thing to note is that many cleaning memberships are strict about the specific services cleaners can provide during appointments, with set fees for additional services and some services off the table completely. Cancellation and rescheduling policies can also be strict, so be sure to read up before you commit.
Final Thoughts
You may not land on the perfect cleaner right away, and it may take you some time to figure out the right appointment schedule. But don’t get discouraged. Whether you go with a solo hire or a cleaning membership, just one time or repeatedly, take the time to find the right person and the right frequency.
The goal is to reduce your stress, save you time, protect your family’s health, and keep your house looking beautiful—and that’s worth a little extra effort!
