General Cleaning; The Nitty Gritty Details

 

Bathrooms:  The normal routine includes top-to-bottom scrubbing of the shower/tub/doors (doors are more time consuming than a shower curtain due to added detail cleaning), toilet, sink(s), countertop (includes soap dispensers, toothbrush holders, toothpaste, knick-knacks, toiletries, etc.), mirror(s), cabinet doors, dusting of vents/towel holders, and floor (including maintenance of baseboards).

 

   Timing of Bathroom Cleaning:

• Master Bathroom: Generally have a separate shower and larger tub, 1-2 sinks/counters, 1-3 mirrors, and more surface area. An initial or deep cleaning takes about 2 hours, especially with hard water/lime/rust stains. A routine cleaning takes at least 1.5-2 hours to complete.

 

• Non-Master Bathroom: Generally have either a shower, or a tub or shower/tub combination, 1 sink/countertop, only 1-2 mirrors, and a smaller surface area, not connected to a bedroom.  An initial or deep cleaning takes at least 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on whether there is a door or shower curtain and if there is hard water/lime/rust stains. A routine cleaning takes at least 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete.

 

• Half Bathroom: Generally only have a toilet and one sink/countertop and a smaller surface area. An initial or deep cleaning takes about 30-45 minutes depending upon level of usage and hard water/lime/rust stains. A routine cleaning takes about 15-30 minutes to complete.

 

***Paint drops, spots and splatters are my nemesis. They depreciate the aesthetic value of any room or home, but are easily prevented. They are not so easily removed; they are time consuming to scrub off of appliances, showers, sinks, tubs, toilets, and floors. This is a friendly reminder to use drop cloths/sheets prior to painting.

 

Kitchens: The normal routine includes top-to-bottom scrubbing of the microwave (inside and out), stovetop (gas stoves are more time consuming than ceramic cook tops as there is more attention to detail and more separate components to clean), exterior of oven door, exterior of fridge (magnets are more time consuming to remove and replace while cleaning), exterior cleaning of other appliances such as toaster ovens, coffee makers, and dishwashers, countertops, sink(s) (if full of dirty dishes, they must be washed prior to cleaning the rest of the kitchen as use of sinks is required, [***washing dishes takes time from other projects unless that time is added to the session, especially when unloading a dishwasher in kitchens that I am not as familiar with as my own***]), faucets, exterior of cupboard doors/drawers, and floors (dried food that is stuck to the floor takes quite a bit of time to manually scrub compared to just mopping).

 

Deep cleaning includes top-to-bottom scrubbing of the interior of the oven (***advance notice is required for this service as it generally requires oven cleaner and more time***), interior of the fridge; removing all of the food (if checking dates on products and removal of expired items is required, it will take at least 30 minutes beyond the normal extended time), followed by removal of all fridge components and scrubbing each individually, scrubbing the interior of the fridge and door, then drying and putting all of the components back in, followed by replacing the food in an organized manner.                                                                                    

***With everything out of the fridge and utilizing counter space, it is often more difficult to clean the awkward sized components of the fridge, hence the extra charge***

$50-$55/hour~NO Exceptions

 

Organizing while not difficult is still quite time consuming, if it was a quick and easy task, you wouldn’t need or desire someone else to do it. Due to the time required to organize kitchen cupboards and being outside of the normal routine, advance notice and additional time is required.            

$50-$75/hour

 

Timing of Kitchen Cleaning: Any kitchen takes at least 1 to 1.5 hours for routine cleaning; whether it is in a studio apartment or mansion, most kitchens have a stove/oven, microwave, fridge, sink(s), dishwasher, and counter tops with various appliances. Initial or deep cleaning takes at least 1.75 to 2.75 hours (.75 to 1.25 hours beyond the routine cleaning) depending on the level of cleaning required.

***Example: If it takes 1.5 hours to clean your kitchen routinely and it takes an additional 45 minutes (.75 hours) to complete the deep cleaning tasks, it will cost an additional $37.50-$41.25, depending upon the rate applied.

 

Floors: The normal routine includes vacuuming of carpeted floors (edges when needed) and stairs when applicable (homes with pets that shed may require more time for this service). Vacuuming is relatively quick and easy, some clients offer to do the vacuuming to provide me more time for other tasks, however that only gives me an additional 10-15 minutes maximum and is the amount of extra time I actually have to work with. Wood floors are more time consuming than carpeted floors as they require sweeping/vacuuming and mopping. Ceramic/granite/slate floors can be slightly more time consuming to clean with the deep grooves, and having to move slower with mop over certain textured surfaces.

 

Deep cleaning of floors includes the use of any kind of carpet and floor cleaning machine for shampooing surfaces and is time consuming to remove stains, depending of level and amount of stains. ***Floor cleaning machines must be provided by the client*** Paint spots on floors require gentle scraping and hand scrubbing to remove and can become quite time consuming (in addition to general mopping). Waxing and polishing of floors is also outside of the general routine and more time consuming. ***Client must supply Wax/polish/machine***

 

Dusting: The normal routine includes top-to-bottom removal of dust in the living room, dining room, master bedroom, (children’s rooms depend upon client and children’s responsibilities). Surfaces include; furniture (tables, bed, dressers, etc.), televisions, fireplace/mantle, lamps, nick-knacks (the more you have, the longer it takes), pictures/frames, baseboards, vents, and maintenance of ceiling fan blades.  

 

Furniture polishing is outside of the normal routine and is available upon request at the general cleaning rate; this service just requires additional time.