How much does a House Cleaning Service cost?
At the end of a busy day, we are usually too tired to clean our homes. And the weekends are much better spent with friends and family than scrubbing away in the bathroom.
A home cleaning service can help a lot, whether it’s a one-time cleaning appointment to get on top of the dirt and dust or a regular cleaning schedule to free up some of your valuable time. But how much should you expect to pay for cleaning services?
What influences the cost of a house cleaning?
The cost of a home cleaning service depends on many factors. Most cleaning services either charge by square footage or by time. But there are many other factors to consider:
1. Location of the home
In Canada, every province has a different minimum wage, and while cleaning staff don’t earn just the minimum wage, this will influence the going rate for a cleaning. Similarly, the prices will likely be higher in areas of high demand, such as big cities.
2. Size of your home
If the cleaning service charges by square footage, the size will decide the price. But even if the cleaning service charges by time, obviously the size of your home matters - a bigger house needs longer to be cleaned.
It’s not just the square footage that matters: a bathroom or kitchen takes longer to clean than a bedroom. So the number of bathrooms and kitchen over bedrooms will also influence the cost of your home cleaning service.
3. Condition of your house
If a cleaning service charges by time, it’s very likely that the condition of your home will go into the final cost of the cleaning. If it hasn’t been cleaned in a long time and needs good scrubbing, this will take longer than if the home is regularly cleaned and just needs a refresher.
Another thing to consider is the amount of clutter in your home. That’s because if the cleaning staff needs to spend a lot of time moving items out of the way to clean, they will need more time to clean your home. Therefore, make sure to go over your home and remove clutter before having a home cleaning service.
4. Occupants
Some cleaning services might ask if you have children or pets living in your home and charge more accordingly. These occupants usually create a bigger mess and more work for the cleaning staff and might require special cleaning products.
For the cleaning staff, it’s also important to know if animals live in the home, in case of any allergies. So if a cleaning service asks you about the occupants in your home before or during your booking, give the details truthfully to ensure they can provide you with a realistic estimate.
5. Type of cleaning service
The cost of and time needed for your cleaning service will vary greatly depending on what type of cleaning you are looking for. If you only need a basic cleaning, that will be cheaper than a deep-clean of your home. If you’ve had construction work done, a post-construction cleaning service will probably also be more expensive, as the cleaning staff need more cleaning products, cloths and time to remove the dust from all surfaces.
A good cleaning service will have checklists for different service types on their websites or be able to assist you over email or phone to find the right service type for you.
6. Additional requests for your cleaners
Most cleaning service providers will give you a list of additional options to choose from. That way, they can fulfill your cleaning service to your satisfaction even if they don’t have an exact checklist for what you had in mind. Since additional cleaning requests take more time, you can expect to pay a little bit more for those tasks.
Add-ons might include cleaning the inside of appliances, windows, doing your laundry or others. If you can’t find any information on the website, ask them for additional tasks they might perform and how much you might expect to pay extra for those.
7. Frequency of the cleaning
Many cleaning services also offer a discount for regular cleaning services over a one-time cleaning. That’s because if the house is regularly maintained, a cleaning doesn’t require as much time as the home’s first-time professional cleaning.
Some cleaning services will also offer a discounted rate to their regular service clients to reward them for their loyalty. Therefore, a regular cleaning schedule might save you from calling in a cleaning service several times a year.
8. Cleaning person vs. cleaning service
When considering a home cleaning service, people often ask whether it’s better to hire a single individual to do the cleaning or hire a company. There are several things to look out for. Cleaning companies are bigger and generally well-organised, so you don’t have to worry about anything else. Ask your cleaning service provider about the following:
Liability insurance
We always want everything to go right when inviting a cleaning service into our homes, but it can happen to anyone that they accidentally knock a picture frame off the wall or break a glass. If you hire a cleaning company, they should have liability insurance covering those accidents, so you don’t need to worry about it.
Liability insurance
We would never want anyone to get injured on the job. If you hire an individual for your home cleaning and injure themselves, you might be responsible for their medical costs and loss of earnings. Your homeowner's insurance doesn’t consider them guests.
An incorporated company has to have worker’s compensation insurance for their employees so that you can rest assured you are not liable to pay for any injuries that might happen during your cleaning service. Of course, an individual might also obtain Workers’ Compensation Insurance for their cleaning business, but they don’t have to - it’s best to check before you hire them.
Bond insurance
Bond insurance, also known as financial guarantee insurance, guarantees that a company has secured deposits to ensure they can finish the job you were hired to by you to your satisfaction. Essentially, a bonded company agrees to the repayment stipulations if they don’t meet their obligations under the contract.
That means that if you are unhappy with the products or services provided by a bonded company, you could file a claim against that company. Therefore, a bonded company will always do its best to satisfy its customers and have the financial resources to do so. A good home cleaning service will be insured and bonded, and offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
A bonded cleaning company will also take special care when hiring their employees. Since these employees are crucial in customer satisfaction, they will undergo a background check to ensure they are good and trustworthy and rigorous training to ensure they can do their job satisfyingly. An individual providing home cleaning services is unlikely to have a bond insurance in place.
9. Cleaning products and supplies
Another difference between hiring self-employed cleaners and a cleaning company is who will provide the necessary supplies. Most individuals will use your cleaning supplies, which can be an advantage because you know which products will be used, but also a disadvantage because you need to buy the products and supplies (for example, dusters, stepladders and different attachments for the vacuum head) and remember to put them out.
Most cleaning services will come to your home fully equipped, so you needn’t provide stepladders, vacuum cleaners or other supplies. If you are worried about harmful chemicals in cleaning products, check the company’s website or ask them about their products. This is doubly important if you have allergies or sensitivities. Look for a cleaning service that uses natural cleaning products with A-ratings by the EWG and green certifications.
10. Cleaning products and supplies
When searching for a home cleaning service, look out for hidden costs! Some individuals or companies charge extra for cleaning supplies (if they provide them), driving time or gas, or other items other than the cleaning itself. When booking your cleaning service, make sure that the person or company does not charge anything other than what you have been quoted!
And if a cleaning service charges by time, make sure that they won’t stay longer and charge you more for it without your approval. A serious business will always ask for approval before charging more than the quote suggested, be able to explain why they need extra time and give you the option to accept or decline.
11. Quality of the service
Last but not least, there are different quality levels among cleaning services. Usually, you can spot an exceptionally great home cleaning service by their reviews on Google, social media or other review platforms. Look for a cleaning service with an excellent overall score, and read some reviews, good or bad, to see what people say and how the company or individual responds to praise and criticism.
Another useful way to find an outstanding cleaning service is to seek independent awards. Many small magazines or newspapers will have “Best In…” polls among their readers and reward the winners.
Search for a cleaning service that values customer satisfaction above everything else. If a company has a 100% satisfaction guarantee, you can rest assured that they will clean your home perfectly.
AspenClean Home Cleaning Services
AspenClean offers outstanding home cleaning services in Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary. We work in teams of three, and we will come to your home fully equipped with all our own green cleaning products and supplies, for your ease of mind. We only use our own all-natural and chemical-free cleaning products, so you don’t need to worry about toxins in your home.
We are fully insured and bonded, and all our staff are professionally trained. We charge based on time, so it’s best to use our online estimate tool to get a quote. This considers the number of rooms, what type of cleaning service you are looking for, and any additional tasks you choose. It will also tell you what you could expect to be charged if you were to take on a regular cleaning service. All one-time or regular services can be modelled exactly to your requirements.
We will only charge you the day after your service, so you don’t have to worry about us charging for a service you haven’t received. Also, if the team needs less time for your home cleaning service than estimated, you will only be charged for the time the team actually spent at your home. Alternatively, suppose the team sees that your cleaning service will take longer than expected. In that case, we will call you to confirm whether you would be okay with the extra time and corresponding and corresponding additional charges.
We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. That means that if you are ever unsatisfied with your cleaning service, you can contact our Customer Care team via email or phone within 24 hours of your service. We will send a team back at your convenience to rework the areas that you are not satisfied with - free of charge to you! But thanks to our feedback-based bonus system, our staff is especially motivated to clean to your fullest satisfaction. That’s why we continuously have great reviews on all platforms and have been awarded “Best Cleaning Service” in Vancouver by Georgia Straight for four years running!
If you have questions or concerns, you can reach out to book our cleaning services in Toronto. If you live in Vancouver, try our Vancouver house cleaning service. We also operate in-house cleaning services in Calgary. Use our estimate tool to get a unique quote for your home and start joining the green cleaning movement!
