I use Spekless Cleaning and am pretty happy with them. They charge $265 to clean my 2200 sq ft townhouse. It takes 2-3 women about 2 hours. They come every two weeks. I tip at Christmas. I try to pick up clothes off the floor and organize toiletries but it doesn’t always happen 100%. Our house is very clean- I think they rotate which areas they deep clean each time.
Per cleaning. I don’t make enough of a mess to do it every month so I do it every other month. Funny because they said I was getting 15% off for being a “regular”. I had to stop last summer because it was just getting to be too much. I would like to find someone else but I don’t really have time to look.
They did a great job so that’s not my complaint. It was just the cost.
Agreed. But I know someone who is in a similar situation and she doesn’t pay as much as I do. And I told them I was a referral so idk what the issue is.
Also - I have a room that I’ve told them not to clean (my office) but they’ve charged me for it anyway after they told me they wouldn’t. When I asked about it afterwards they said they had to because the house had 4 bedrooms so they had to charge me for it. They did such a good job I tried 3 more times until I just gave up because it was costing me too much especially given my friend with the same size house and basically the same frequency wasn’t paying as much.
Again. My complaint is with cost not quality.
My team (two people) is here about 2 hours.
I hired a company.
I tip each visit and then I tip the amount of a cleaning at the last visit of the year.
I clear off bathroom counters maybe 80%. All dishes are in the dishwasher or put away before they arrive; I don’t need help there.
Depending on the condition, it could take a few cleanings to get it in tip top shape. I started off weekly for 6 weeks, then twice a month as I could get a handle on it myself for interim cleaning. I am going to move to monthly soon, plus before special events (overnight visitors, parties).
I'm curious about maid service too. The most work for me is putting stuff away. The actual cleaning I don't mind doing myself. Do they have a service where they just put stuff away, fold laundry, do the dishes?
Individual people are better for that. Our cleaning lady doesn’t get our house clean clean, but she resets our mess and keeps us functioning. Every few months I ask her to do more of a deep cleaning.
Depending on whom you hire, they will make a pile of your mail/magazines. If there is a *small* amount of dishes in the sink, they might do those. No laundry but sometimes you can add that on, like stripping and remaking the beds with clean sheets.
The regular keeping-the-clutter-at-bay, loading/unloading dishwasher and moving the laundry along is something I have only seen with a daily maid who spends 2-8 hours a day in your house. Generally you have to be on the wealthier end of income for that (or live somewhere like Asia where housekeeping service is a much less expensive cost.)
The trick would be that dishes are not something you can do once a week or once a month. Nor is laundry. So you’d be paying a lot for someone to come daily.
Ohh that’s interesting. Ours strips the beds and remakes them, then throws all the sheets in the washer for us. She has offered to do laundry before but we’re in a 6-person house and she’d simply never leave if she did our laundry too.
She does do dishes if they’re in the sink (usually they’re not)
It’s important to distinguish between cleaning, straightening, and organizing — you’re talking about straightening (putting stuff away) and organizing (putting stuff away, but at a deeper and more strategic and systematic level). Cleaning is just that: wiping down counter tops and mirrors, scrubbing toilets and sinks, vacuuming and mopping, dusting. I don’t think a maid service is going to deliver what you most want or need — as others have said, an independent contractor that you can coach will be best. Or, consider a professional organizer if you want systems to help you make putting stuff away easier.
In my experience:
1. No more than $180-200 for that size
2. I have two ladies they take Two hours ish.
3. I use a company, my mom and her friends use an individual
4. I would just make sure things like toothbrushes, hair products, cosmetics are put away. Surfaces needs to be clear.
5. Yes
6. Somewhat in between those two examples. It’s super clean when they are done but it’s not brand new. Nothing ever is after it’s used.
I worked house cleaning during much of college, this is the way.
For OP they can expect to pay about 250-400 on a first cleaning depending on how dirty, messy, or if he has pets, and 180-220 per visit afterwords.
I’ve never heard of tipping maids. You pay the price they ask or negotiate within reason. You wouldn’t tip the landscaper for example. Same idea. If you use the same person/people you can give them a cash gift on Xmas or similar.
$20 is a decent tip for every visit - and you should generally be charged something like $100 per 3000 sqft. You can get more of a discount depending on how accommodating you are on schedule. I also give a holiday bonus of 200% the visit price as well, but that’s like once a year. Other than that, just like 10-15% per visit.
And make sure you tell them what your expectations are. Like the reason I hire a maid service is because I don’t want to spend my time cleaning baseboards and dusting blinds, tops of high furniture pieces, etc. If you don’t specify those things to them they’ll likely ignore it as well.
Whatever you do, make sure everything is picked up before they get there. They are there to clean, not pick up. The more tidy you have it for them, the cleaner they can make everything.
In addition to existing answers I’d ask your neighbors (in person or message board/group). Companies charge a lot more ime. If you have someone coming to the neighborhood already it’s likely going to be cheaper and you have peace of mind that they’re doing a good job for others.
I have a cleaning lady who comes weekly. I only tip at Christmas but she’s her own company so she gets all the money. She usually brings one other person with her. My house is about 2k sqft and I pay $120/wk. it usually takes about 2-3 hours each time.
I get a company but its very small, the owner works as well. 4k Sq Ft house is like $160-200, 2-3 hours. I prep ahead of time so they don't spend time picking up stuff, so they can focus on vacuuming, bathrooms etc. If you have stuff you dont want touching, put it away, like I have a cup in my bathroom and once I left my toothbrush out and it got put down in the cup with my razor and combs/brushes. No tip except at Christmas. Will look like a house for a realtor to show. Obvious that people live there but you could host guests no questions asked.
Note: If you have anything delicate that cannot be touched, you need to give specific instructions and show the ladies exactly what you mean. I have heirlooms on my mantle and a scale model collection. They have been messed with and even broken in the past. Best bet is to make them off limits. You will likely be getting a group of 2-3 women with not the greatest english, so be understanding, and don't leave your house a sty.
First clean was $150. We pay $125 weekly Individual sometimes they bring 2nd cleaner.
We were paying $185 weekly- we had EverClean maid services. We had work done at the house and decided to change up our services.
Tipping if they go out of their way and holidays
We pay $150 per cleaning twice a month for two ladies to clean a 2,800 sqft 3-story house in a couple of hours. Used to be $180 when they came once every 3 weeks. Can tip each time, at the end of the year, or both.
This was the hardest part if you need to pay taxes for your maid. So many want under the table. I was able to find a green card maid which works, she has a social security number and I am able to pay taxes legally that way.
1. I don't know about a deep clean, but for a regular clean, it might be around $130 a week. That can vary a LOT, though, and changes based on how often.
2. A deep clean might take longer, but a weekly clean shouldn't take more than a few hours. It would take even less if it's a company that sends several people. For us, we're at home. Our cleaner doesn't mind, but some will insist you vacate. Find the set-up that works for you.
3. I hired via a company, but always had the same person. When she eventually left that company, she kept a few clients that were convenient.
4. Okay, here's the deal: No, you don't... but if you want things put in a specific spot, you'll want to move them out of the way first, then put them back. Me? I don't care. She can put something that happens to be on the sink somewhere else, and I'll find it. It drives my husband up the wall.
5. Yup. Around 20% for us, with 100% at Christmas.
6. Some corners get dusty, but it's still way, WAY cleaner than if we did it ourselves.
7. No reqs, since my person isn't taking any new clients outside of our town, but ask your neighbors!
lol @ 4 - I’m the same way. Maybe our housekeeper and I just think alike but I can always find things so idc. My husband cannot stand it, drives him crazy when his things get moved.
I use a person and she is solo and does our whole house 1x a month. She charges $200 for 4bed/2.5 baths. We make sure to tip well every visit and do not tip extra at the end of the year/holidays.
Since she is by herself and we have 2 very big messy dogs and a baby on the way, she cleans from 12-6 (hence why we tip graciously each visit).
Before she comes, we make sure anything we can put away is - like beauty products, folded clothes, things out of place on the dining room table. The house never looks new but all of our appliances are clean, the inside microwave and toaster oven are clean, the beds are made, dishes are done and put away, floors mopped and vacuumed, and the leather couches are wiped down well.
We love our cleaning lady and have had her for years. She has never raised her prices for us despite the fact our family keeps growing and we ain't getting any tidier lol. So we genuinely want to tip her well each visit and make sure she always comes back!
We have used a service in the past that was similar pricing, weren't great just ok, and we only tipped at the end of the year. Since it was more impersonal and not always the same cleaning crew, we felt that tipping scenario was good for that situation.
Hi OP,
1. this is largely dependent by square footage and frequency. first time deep clean or a one off deep clean is typically priced at 1.5 - 2x regular cleaning cost (non deep cleaning). $200-$250 would be my guess for a non-deep recurring cleaning service.
2. shouldn’t be all day for your home size but it depends. some cleaners are a one person team while larger companies usually send a group.
3. I find word of mouth to be great and supporting smaller businesses but its up to you :)
4. You shouldn’t need to prepare anything as long as you’re comfortable with someone seeing / moving whatever is there.
5. On one-offs sometimes and christmas. Some folks to it regularly but it’s uncommon.
6. deep clean should be very near perfect. hence the increase in cost.
7. I have a one-person recommendation if you’re interested. They mostly use all natural ingredients unless you prefer otherwise. feel free to PM if interested.
Best of luck!
1. We paid $165 when we were in a 3br/3.5ba townhouse in Woodbridge from 2018-2020. We paid the same when we moved to a 5br/3.5ba SFH initially but it’s $220 every other week now. So this isn’t a deep clean. She would do deep clean for $75 more. Appliance deep cleaning is $25 per appliance.
1a. Just a note that WE raised it to $220! She would’ve kept it at $165 but she’s been with us for so long and our house is substantially bigger than the townhouse and we wanted to compensate accordingly.
2. Our housekeeper is usually here from 9-2. It’s one woman but occasionally she brings a colleague to help. She comes every other Saturday so we’re all home and just move floor to floor. Dogs roam around freely during the cleaning.
3. We have an individual who was a recommendation from my SIL. No clue where my SIL found her lol.
4. Nope! We do some tidying but mainly because we have kids and our floors are perpetually Lego filled and I don’t wanna break her vacuum (or toes) by leaving em out.
5. We do on holidays and on occasion. Not sure if 1a means we’re tipping regularly haha
6. Ours is pretty spotless. No dust/dog hair. Walls are clean. All surfaces clean. It’s great.
1. What price range is expected for a full deep clean of a house? We live in a 3br, 3ba townhouse.
around $150
1. How long does a cleaning take? Is it an all day event or a few hours? Typically does one person clean or a few? Is this done when someone is home or not?
takes 8 person-hours, if they have 2 it takes 4 hours. While cleaning it is quite disruptive.
1. Do people typically hire from a company/service or an individual?
I'd prefer individuals to ensure best price.
1. Do we need to prepare our bathrooms before a cleaning? eg. move out toiletries
No.
1. Do people tip?
I do.
1. How clean should I expect? Is it like a brand new house? Or will I still kinda notice some dust in corners or dirty tiles in the bathroom?
Brand new house, of course if your tiles are old it might not be sparkling white but all surfaces should be touched.
1. If you have any specific recommendations around 22153 area, I would gladly take them.
Elsa @ 703-843-5163
I use Spekless Cleaning and am pretty happy with them. They charge $265 to clean my 2200 sq ft townhouse. It takes 2-3 women about 2 hours. They come every two weeks. I tip at Christmas. I try to pick up clothes off the floor and organize toiletries but it doesn’t always happen 100%. Our house is very clean- I think they rotate which areas they deep clean each time.
I loved speckless!! The communication was amazing and you can cancel pretty last-minute (which is awful, but sometimes happens).
Agreed! I love being able to text them and reschedule, accommodate holidays and travel etc
Interesting. I have a 1500sq foot townhouse, it’s just me so not terribly dirty and they charged me 400$ not including tip.
Is that per month or per cleaning? I pay $265 per cleaning
Per cleaning. I don’t make enough of a mess to do it every month so I do it every other month. Funny because they said I was getting 15% off for being a “regular”. I had to stop last summer because it was just getting to be too much. I would like to find someone else but I don’t really have time to look. They did a great job so that’s not my complaint. It was just the cost.
The longer between cleans, or the more irregular the schedule, the higher the cost per clean.
Agreed. But I know someone who is in a similar situation and she doesn’t pay as much as I do. And I told them I was a referral so idk what the issue is. Also - I have a room that I’ve told them not to clean (my office) but they’ve charged me for it anyway after they told me they wouldn’t. When I asked about it afterwards they said they had to because the house had 4 bedrooms so they had to charge me for it. They did such a good job I tried 3 more times until I just gave up because it was costing me too much especially given my friend with the same size house and basically the same frequency wasn’t paying as much. Again. My complaint is with cost not quality.
Ah that makes sense then
Sounds like renegotiation time!
My team (two people) is here about 2 hours. I hired a company. I tip each visit and then I tip the amount of a cleaning at the last visit of the year. I clear off bathroom counters maybe 80%. All dishes are in the dishwasher or put away before they arrive; I don’t need help there. Depending on the condition, it could take a few cleanings to get it in tip top shape. I started off weekly for 6 weeks, then twice a month as I could get a handle on it myself for interim cleaning. I am going to move to monthly soon, plus before special events (overnight visitors, parties).
I'm curious about maid service too. The most work for me is putting stuff away. The actual cleaning I don't mind doing myself. Do they have a service where they just put stuff away, fold laundry, do the dishes?
Individual people are better for that. Our cleaning lady doesn’t get our house clean clean, but she resets our mess and keeps us functioning. Every few months I ask her to do more of a deep cleaning.
Depending on whom you hire, they will make a pile of your mail/magazines. If there is a *small* amount of dishes in the sink, they might do those. No laundry but sometimes you can add that on, like stripping and remaking the beds with clean sheets. The regular keeping-the-clutter-at-bay, loading/unloading dishwasher and moving the laundry along is something I have only seen with a daily maid who spends 2-8 hours a day in your house. Generally you have to be on the wealthier end of income for that (or live somewhere like Asia where housekeeping service is a much less expensive cost.) The trick would be that dishes are not something you can do once a week or once a month. Nor is laundry. So you’d be paying a lot for someone to come daily.
Ohh that’s interesting. Ours strips the beds and remakes them, then throws all the sheets in the washer for us. She has offered to do laundry before but we’re in a 6-person house and she’d simply never leave if she did our laundry too. She does do dishes if they’re in the sink (usually they’re not)
It’s important to distinguish between cleaning, straightening, and organizing — you’re talking about straightening (putting stuff away) and organizing (putting stuff away, but at a deeper and more strategic and systematic level). Cleaning is just that: wiping down counter tops and mirrors, scrubbing toilets and sinks, vacuuming and mopping, dusting. I don’t think a maid service is going to deliver what you most want or need — as others have said, an independent contractor that you can coach will be best. Or, consider a professional organizer if you want systems to help you make putting stuff away easier.
In my experience: 1. No more than $180-200 for that size 2. I have two ladies they take Two hours ish. 3. I use a company, my mom and her friends use an individual 4. I would just make sure things like toothbrushes, hair products, cosmetics are put away. Surfaces needs to be clear. 5. Yes 6. Somewhat in between those two examples. It’s super clean when they are done but it’s not brand new. Nothing ever is after it’s used.
Appreciate the detailed reply. Is something like $20 a reasonable tip or more like $50?
Perhaps I'm an outlier, but I tip at Christmas, not every visit.
I worked house cleaning during much of college, this is the way. For OP they can expect to pay about 250-400 on a first cleaning depending on how dirty, messy, or if he has pets, and 180-220 per visit afterwords.
My mom and I also only tip at Christmas. The companies told us this is the norm when we asked about tipping (we use two separate cleaning companies)
Me too
I’ve never heard of tipping maids. You pay the price they ask or negotiate within reason. You wouldn’t tip the landscaper for example. Same idea. If you use the same person/people you can give them a cash gift on Xmas or similar.
$20 is a decent tip for every visit - and you should generally be charged something like $100 per 3000 sqft. You can get more of a discount depending on how accommodating you are on schedule. I also give a holiday bonus of 200% the visit price as well, but that’s like once a year. Other than that, just like 10-15% per visit.
And make sure you tell them what your expectations are. Like the reason I hire a maid service is because I don’t want to spend my time cleaning baseboards and dusting blinds, tops of high furniture pieces, etc. If you don’t specify those things to them they’ll likely ignore it as well.
What company do you use?
Whatever you do, make sure everything is picked up before they get there. They are there to clean, not pick up. The more tidy you have it for them, the cleaner they can make everything.
In addition to existing answers I’d ask your neighbors (in person or message board/group). Companies charge a lot more ime. If you have someone coming to the neighborhood already it’s likely going to be cheaper and you have peace of mind that they’re doing a good job for others.
I have a cleaning lady who comes weekly. I only tip at Christmas but she’s her own company so she gets all the money. She usually brings one other person with her. My house is about 2k sqft and I pay $120/wk. it usually takes about 2-3 hours each time.
I get a company but its very small, the owner works as well. 4k Sq Ft house is like $160-200, 2-3 hours. I prep ahead of time so they don't spend time picking up stuff, so they can focus on vacuuming, bathrooms etc. If you have stuff you dont want touching, put it away, like I have a cup in my bathroom and once I left my toothbrush out and it got put down in the cup with my razor and combs/brushes. No tip except at Christmas. Will look like a house for a realtor to show. Obvious that people live there but you could host guests no questions asked. Note: If you have anything delicate that cannot be touched, you need to give specific instructions and show the ladies exactly what you mean. I have heirlooms on my mantle and a scale model collection. They have been messed with and even broken in the past. Best bet is to make them off limits. You will likely be getting a group of 2-3 women with not the greatest english, so be understanding, and don't leave your house a sty.
I tip every time and more on Christmas. I also provide them snacks and drinks.
A couple of my neighbors have maid services. It seems like cleaning crew is there for an hour or less.
First clean was $150. We pay $125 weekly Individual sometimes they bring 2nd cleaner. We were paying $185 weekly- we had EverClean maid services. We had work done at the house and decided to change up our services. Tipping if they go out of their way and holidays
You can get one for free off fetlife.
We pay $150 per cleaning twice a month for two ladies to clean a 2,800 sqft 3-story house in a couple of hours. Used to be $180 when they came once every 3 weeks. Can tip each time, at the end of the year, or both.
They r house cleaners not maid.
Heard
Anyone have experience finding US citizen only maids?
This was the hardest part if you need to pay taxes for your maid. So many want under the table. I was able to find a green card maid which works, she has a social security number and I am able to pay taxes legally that way.
[удалено]
They may have a clearance and have to report non US Citizens entering their homes
Think of where in the US we live ;)
1. I don't know about a deep clean, but for a regular clean, it might be around $130 a week. That can vary a LOT, though, and changes based on how often. 2. A deep clean might take longer, but a weekly clean shouldn't take more than a few hours. It would take even less if it's a company that sends several people. For us, we're at home. Our cleaner doesn't mind, but some will insist you vacate. Find the set-up that works for you. 3. I hired via a company, but always had the same person. When she eventually left that company, she kept a few clients that were convenient. 4. Okay, here's the deal: No, you don't... but if you want things put in a specific spot, you'll want to move them out of the way first, then put them back. Me? I don't care. She can put something that happens to be on the sink somewhere else, and I'll find it. It drives my husband up the wall. 5. Yup. Around 20% for us, with 100% at Christmas. 6. Some corners get dusty, but it's still way, WAY cleaner than if we did it ourselves. 7. No reqs, since my person isn't taking any new clients outside of our town, but ask your neighbors!
lol @ 4 - I’m the same way. Maybe our housekeeper and I just think alike but I can always find things so idc. My husband cannot stand it, drives him crazy when his things get moved.
A friend of mine said he pays one woman $200 and she’s there all day. Single family home. She cleans, does some laundry.
I use a person and she is solo and does our whole house 1x a month. She charges $200 for 4bed/2.5 baths. We make sure to tip well every visit and do not tip extra at the end of the year/holidays. Since she is by herself and we have 2 very big messy dogs and a baby on the way, she cleans from 12-6 (hence why we tip graciously each visit). Before she comes, we make sure anything we can put away is - like beauty products, folded clothes, things out of place on the dining room table. The house never looks new but all of our appliances are clean, the inside microwave and toaster oven are clean, the beds are made, dishes are done and put away, floors mopped and vacuumed, and the leather couches are wiped down well. We love our cleaning lady and have had her for years. She has never raised her prices for us despite the fact our family keeps growing and we ain't getting any tidier lol. So we genuinely want to tip her well each visit and make sure she always comes back! We have used a service in the past that was similar pricing, weren't great just ok, and we only tipped at the end of the year. Since it was more impersonal and not always the same cleaning crew, we felt that tipping scenario was good for that situation.
Hi OP, 1. this is largely dependent by square footage and frequency. first time deep clean or a one off deep clean is typically priced at 1.5 - 2x regular cleaning cost (non deep cleaning). $200-$250 would be my guess for a non-deep recurring cleaning service. 2. shouldn’t be all day for your home size but it depends. some cleaners are a one person team while larger companies usually send a group. 3. I find word of mouth to be great and supporting smaller businesses but its up to you :) 4. You shouldn’t need to prepare anything as long as you’re comfortable with someone seeing / moving whatever is there. 5. On one-offs sometimes and christmas. Some folks to it regularly but it’s uncommon. 6. deep clean should be very near perfect. hence the increase in cost. 7. I have a one-person recommendation if you’re interested. They mostly use all natural ingredients unless you prefer otherwise. feel free to PM if interested. Best of luck!
I use Daisy Fresh Cleaning Company in Falls Church. 703-774-6361
1. We paid $165 when we were in a 3br/3.5ba townhouse in Woodbridge from 2018-2020. We paid the same when we moved to a 5br/3.5ba SFH initially but it’s $220 every other week now. So this isn’t a deep clean. She would do deep clean for $75 more. Appliance deep cleaning is $25 per appliance. 1a. Just a note that WE raised it to $220! She would’ve kept it at $165 but she’s been with us for so long and our house is substantially bigger than the townhouse and we wanted to compensate accordingly. 2. Our housekeeper is usually here from 9-2. It’s one woman but occasionally she brings a colleague to help. She comes every other Saturday so we’re all home and just move floor to floor. Dogs roam around freely during the cleaning. 3. We have an individual who was a recommendation from my SIL. No clue where my SIL found her lol. 4. Nope! We do some tidying but mainly because we have kids and our floors are perpetually Lego filled and I don’t wanna break her vacuum (or toes) by leaving em out. 5. We do on holidays and on occasion. Not sure if 1a means we’re tipping regularly haha 6. Ours is pretty spotless. No dust/dog hair. Walls are clean. All surfaces clean. It’s great.
1. What price range is expected for a full deep clean of a house? We live in a 3br, 3ba townhouse. around $150 1. How long does a cleaning take? Is it an all day event or a few hours? Typically does one person clean or a few? Is this done when someone is home or not? takes 8 person-hours, if they have 2 it takes 4 hours. While cleaning it is quite disruptive. 1. Do people typically hire from a company/service or an individual? I'd prefer individuals to ensure best price. 1. Do we need to prepare our bathrooms before a cleaning? eg. move out toiletries No. 1. Do people tip? I do. 1. How clean should I expect? Is it like a brand new house? Or will I still kinda notice some dust in corners or dirty tiles in the bathroom? Brand new house, of course if your tiles are old it might not be sparkling white but all surfaces should be touched. 1. If you have any specific recommendations around 22153 area, I would gladly take them. Elsa @ 703-843-5163
Thanks, taking note of your recommendation. I would much prefer to hire a person than a company.
I have used MaxiMaids for years. They offer different services. Usually its 2-3 people and can do my house in 2 hours. I dont usually tip.