Almost all of our prospective clients ask us: What do you clean? The list is quite long. Over the phone, we usually only hit the high points. Here we can spell it out in detail. As always, if you have any questions about any of this please contact us.
If you are currently shopping for a maid service, you may be interested in reading our article Beware of Checklist Based Marketing (opens in new tab).
What We Clean, By Cleaning Type
Each type of cleaning we do is a little different. For instance, on first time cleanings, our maids clean the outsides of all your cabinets. During a move-out cleaning, the housekeepers will wipe the outsides and the inside shelves. During a recurring house cleaning, they do not clean inside of cabinets and they only wipe the outsides when they see it is needed. Just click below to see the complete listings.
Kitchens
- Dry dust vents, ceiling fans, curtain rods, blinds, baseboards, and light fixtures
- Wet wipe top of refrigerator, outside of cabinets, light switch plates, doors and frames, window sills, light fixtures, and wall hangings
- Remove all cobwebs
- Wet wipe down outside of small appliances on countertop
- Clean, dry, and shine all countertops and back splashes, move small items to clean underneath and behind
- Clean and shine sink basin
- Clean stove (including metal food catchers, under stove top, and all switches and knobs)
- Clean and shine inside and outside of microwave
- Clean and shine outside of all large appliances appliances (we polish stainless steel)
- Clean dining room table and chairs
- Empty trash, wipe and disinfect outside if on display, stainless steel, or has a lid
- Clean kitchen slider inside and out
- Sweep and mop floors and accessible closet floors (move chairs and small objects)
Bath Rooms
- Dry dust vents, ceiling fans, curtain rods, blinds, baseboards, and light fixtures
- Wipe outside of cabinets, covered toilet brushes, towel racks, window sills, doors and door frames, shelves, wall hangings and light switch plates
- Clean and disinfect bathtub, shower, toilet, sinks, and faucets
- Clean and shine all glass, mirrors, and countertop mirrors
- Polish all chrome fixtures
- Empty trash, wipe and disinfect outside if on display, stainless steel, or has a lid
- Remove cobwebs
- Clean floors by hand and accessible closet floors
Laundry Rooms
- Dry dust vents, ceiling fans, curtain rods, blinds, baseboards, and light fixtures
- Wet wipe outside of cabinets, light switch plates, doors and frames, window sills,light fixtures, and wall hangings
- Wipe countertops and washer and dryer
- Clean and shine sink basin (if applicable)
- Empty trash, wipe and disinfect outside if on display, stainless steel, or has a lid
- Sweep and mop floors (move small objects)
Dining Rooms, Living Rooms, Bedrooms, Offices, Hallways, and Stair Cases
- Damp cloth dust wooden furniture, knick-knacks, picture frames, window sills, stair railings, doors and frames, wall hangings, shelves, and any other horizontal surfaces
- Dry dust electronics, vents, ceiling fans, curtain rods, blinds, baseboards, and light fixtures
- Remove cobwebs
- Clean front door windows
- Clean mirrors and glass tables
- Sweep and mop all hard floors and accessible closet floors
- Vacuum carpets including stairs and accessible closet floors
- All items on the recurring cleaning list plus:
- Vacuum couches when needed or requested
- Wet Wiping baseboards
- Wet Wipe wooden and plastic blinds (not aluminum)
- All items listed on the recurring cleaning list plus:
- Starting the self-cleaner in your oven and wiping it out when finished
- Cleaning the inside of the refrigerator & freezer
- Cleaning the top and inside of cabinets and drawers
- Wet wiping baseboards and closet/pantry shelves
- Wet wiping wooden and plastic blinds (not aluminum)
What We Clean, By Room Type
These lists contain the same items as above, just organized by room type. To see how our maid service handles the specifics of different rooms, click on the room type below.
Recurring House Cleaings:
- Dry dust vents, ceiling fans, curtain rods, blinds, baseboards, and light fixtures
- Wet wipe top of refrigerator, outside of cabinets, light switch plates, doors and frames, window sills, light fixtures, and wall hangings
- Remove all cobwebs
- Wet wipe down outside of small appliances on countertop
- Clean, dry, and shine all countertops and back splashes, move small items to clean underneath and behind
- Clean and shine sink basin
- Clean stove (including metal food catchers, under stove top, and all switches and knobs)
- Clean and shine inside and outside of microwave
- Clean and shine outside of all large appliances appliances (we polish stainless steel)
- Clean dining room table and chairs
- Empty trash, wipe and disinfect outside if on display, stainless steel, or has a lid
- Clean kitchen slider inside and out
- Sweep and mop floors and accessible closet floors (move chairs and small objects)
First Time or One Time Maid Service:
- All items listed above plus:
- Wet Wiping baseboards
- Wet Wipe wooden and plastic blinds (not aluminum)
Move-out House Cleanings:
- All items listed above plus:
- Starting the self-cleaner in your oven and wiping it out when finished
- Cleaning the inside of the refrigerator & freezer
- Cleaning the top and inside of cabinets and drawers
- Wet wiping baseboards and closet/pantry shelves
- Wet wiping wooden and plastic blinds (not aluminum)
Recurring House Cleaings:
- Dry dust vents, ceiling fans, curtain rods, blinds, baseboards, and light fixtures
- Wipe outside of cabinets, covered toilet brushes, towel racks, window sills, doors and door frames, shelves, wall hangings, and light switch plates
- Clean and disinfect bathtub, shower, toilet, sinks, and faucets
- Clean and shine all glass, mirrors, and countertop mirrors
- Polish all chrome fixtures
- Empty trash, wipe and disinfect outside if on display, stainless steel, or has a lid
- Remove cobwebs
- Clean floors by hand and accessible closet floors
First Time or One Time Maid Service:
- All items listed above plus:
- Wet wiping baseboards
- Wet wiping wooden and plastic blinds (not aluminum)
Move-out House Cleanings:
- All items listed above plus:
- Cleaning the top and inside of cabinets and drawers
- Wet wiping baseboards and closet/pantry shelves
- Wet wiping wooden and plastic blinds (not aluminum)
Recurring House Cleaings:
- Dry dust vents, ceiling fans, curtain rods, blinds, baseboards, and light fixtures
- Wet wipe outside of cabinets, light switch plates, doors and frames, window sills, light fixtures, and wall hangings
- Wipe countertops and washer and dryer
- Clean and shine sink basin (if applicable)
- Empty trash, wipe and disinfect outside if on display, stainless steel, or has a lid
- Sweep and mop floors (move small objects)
First Time or One Time Maid Service:
- All items listed above plus:
- Wet wiping baseboards
- Wet wiping wooden and plastic blinds (not aluminum)
Move-out House Cleanings:
- All items listed above plus:
- Cleaning the top and inside of cabinets and drawers
- Wet wiping baseboards and closet/pantry shelves
- Wet wiping wooden and plastic blinds (not aluminum)
Any room that is not a bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room is condsidered to be a living area.
Recurring House Cleaings:
- Damp cloth dust wooden furniture, knick-knacks, picture frames, window sills, stair railings, doors and frames, wall hangings, shelves, and any other horizontal surfaces
- Dry dust electronics, vents, ceiling fans, curtain rods, blinds, baseboards, and light fixtures
- Remove cobwebs
- Clean front door windows
- Clean mirrors and glass tables
- Sweep and mop all hard floors and accessible closet floors
- Vacuum carpets including stairs and accessible closet floors
First Time or One Time Maid Service:
- All items listed above plus:
- Wet wiping baseboards
- Wet wiping wooden and plastic blinds (not aluminum)
Move-out House Cleanings:
- All items listed above plus:
- Cleaning the top and inside of cabinets and drawers
- Wet wiping baseboards and closet/pantry shelves
- Wet wiping wooden and plastic blinds (not aluminum)
Special Request Items For an Additional Charge
Some people want a level of service that goes beyond our basic offering. Some of our optional service can be done every time we clean your house but most of them are only needed once in a while. Some of them are included for no additional cost with one-time, first-time, and move-out cleanings. All of them increase the cost of your house cleaning.
If you need any of these options, just tells when you call to schedule.
Optional Cleaning Services
- Hand-wipe Window Blinds
- Hand-wipe Baseboards
- Do a Load of Laundry
- Do the Dishes
- Vacuum Couches
- Clean Inside of Oven
- Clean Inside of Refrigerator
Things We Do Not Clean Ever
Our house cleaning service has some well defined limits. We rarely encouter people who expect us to do these things. But since we have found that it is always better to be explicit rather than implicit, here is the list of what we do not do:
- We do not clean, pick-up, or deal with pet waste of any kind.
In the early days, we went back and forth on this one but finally the policy emerged: Pet waste, litter boxes, fish tanks, and puppy accidents are outside of the scope of our service.
- We do not clean, pick-up, or deal with abnormal amounts human waste or fluids.
Of course we clean toilets and bathrooms, but we do not deal with "accidents" or the results if illness.
- We do not clean any part of your home's exterior or garage.
Sweeping porches, cleaning patio furniture, and other exterior work is not accounted for in our pricing model and is outside the scope of our house service.
- We do not clean under hazardous conditions of any kind.
"Hazardous" is interpreted very broadly here: the safety of our teams comes first. The most common "hazard" we encounter are unknown dogs acting aggressively. For our teams, the policy is if you are doubt about safety, do not proceed.
Other hazards are far more rare but we do bump into them from time to time. They include:
- Certain types of drug paraphenilia
- Fumes or chemicals
- Lecherous or inappropriate behavior from someone in the client's home
- Flood damage or major septic backups
- Ongoing construction operations
- Contagious illness
- Bio-hazardous condtions involving bodily fluids, dead animals, or excessive amounts of pet or human waste
If you have any question as to whether we will deem your home as hazardous, please give us a call.
- We do not clean in conditions of infestation.
We get that some things in life are hard to deal with. However, we not trained or equipped to help you deal with lice, fleas, mites, bed-bugs, or any other type of insidious insect infestations.
Way back when our company was in its infancy, we showed up to clean a house. The owner met us at the door and proceeded to explain how she wanted us to strip all the beds, wash all the sheets, and clean everything because her house had a serious bed-bug infestation.
How did we handle it? It was quite simple: we left the house immediately, stripped naked, burned our clothes in her driveway, shaved our heads, washed ourselves in a bleach solution and then drove to the office to write this policy.
If you have having bug problems, please call an exterminator. We can come clean after they have taken care of the bugs.
- We do not clean extremely disgusting houses.
Once or twice a year we show up to clean a house and are forced to leave because the house is so awfully dirty that "dirty" is not the right word for it. Their floors need to be raked before they can be vacuumed. Maggots are growing in the dirty dishes. More pet waste is outside the litter box than inside it.
We are not talking about your kids' toys or a pile of dirty clothes. We are talking about floors covered with trash, broken glass, car parts, and so much other junk that the floor can't be seen.
When we see houses like this, it makes us sad. We have compassion on anyone living in those kind of conditions, but we cannot clean their home. If a floor is covered by things that should be outside or in the trash, we won't proceed with the house cleaning.
- We do not clean windows or offer professional carpet cleaning.
Professional carpet cleaning and window washing are completely different services. They require different equipment, training, and insurance than house cleaning. They are outside the realm of our capabilities.
If you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to contact us. As usual, we are happy to answer any questions you may have.
