Tell the cleaning company the type of clean you need, plus pets, parking, supplies, access, rooms to leave alone and your priority areas. I find calling works best, because it clears everything up before the cleaner arrives.
Most disappointing cleans have nothing to do with bad cleaning. They happen because what the client expected and what the client booked were two different things.
I own and run Northfields Clean, a cleaning company based in west London. Pretty much every single week I’m hiring cleaners, talking to cleaners, working out whether they’ll fit into the company and do a good job, and talking to clients. So I see both sides of every misunderstanding. What a client says on the phone and what a cleaner hears at the door aren’t always the same thing.
The good news is that nearly all of it can be avoided. Here’s how to tell a cleaning company exactly what you need, so you get the result you’re paying for.
Know Which Clean You’re Actually Booking
The most common miscommunication I deal with is about the type of clean. A lot of clients expect a clean to make their home look brand new, and they want to pay as little as possible for it. Those two things don’t go together, and managing that expectation is a big part of my job.
Here’s how the main types of clean differ:
- Deep or first-time clean: this brings the property up to spec. It’s the right starting point for a home that hasn’t been professionally cleaned in the last month.
- Standard or maintenance clean: this keeps a clean home clean. It isn’t designed to undo months of build-up in one visit.
- End-of-tenancy clean: this is a deep clean of an empty property. No furniture and no belongings, so you’re cleaning the empty shell. That’s a completely different job from cleaning a home someone is living in.
A Real Example From Last Week
I had a client the other day who insisted on a standard clean. They’d read everything that goes into our standard cleaning service. Even so, they expected the whole apartment to be perfect after that first visit.
It just doesn’t work that way, especially when you’re living in the property. A standard clean in a lived-in home won’t get every corner perfect in one session. That’s exactly why we ask some clients to start with a deep or first-time clean.
Think of Your First Clean as a Reset
If your home hasn’t been professionally cleaned in the last month, the first clean should be a deep clean that brings it up to spec. After that, your regular cleans are maintenance. By the second or third clean, you’ll start to see the whole home looking the way you’d expect.
A lot of clients choose the standard clean because it’s cheaper, then complain when the house doesn’t look brand new. If you skip the reset, you’re asking a maintenance service to do a restoration job. Be honest about the condition of your home and book the clean that matches it.
Before You Book, Read the FAQs
My ideal client goes on the website and reads the frequently asked questions before they book. That’s because about 90% of what clients ask us is already covered there.
If they’ve got a question the FAQs don’t answer, they send an email or give us a call. Calling is always best. It means everything is cleared up before the cleaner shows up.
What to Tell Your Cleaning Company Up Front
When we speak to a new client for the first time, these are the things we need to know. Have them ready and the whole process goes a lot more smoothly.
- The type of clean you need, and whether it’s a one-off or the start of a regular service
- Pets, and whether they’ll be at home during the clean
- Parking, and whether there’s somewhere for the cleaner to park
- Cleaning supplies: whether you want the cleaner to use yours, whether you prefer organic products, or whether you’re happy for us to bring ours
- Access: if the cleaner needs a gate code, keys or concierge details to get in, tell us beforehand
- Any no-go areas in the property
Don’t Forget the Rooms You Want Left Alone
Some clients don’t want cleaners in certain parts of their home. I have a client who doesn’t want their room cleaned, for their own reasons, and that’s absolutely fine. The important thing is to tell us before the cleaner arrives. Even better, close off that part of the property so the cleaner doesn’t have access to it at all. Then there’s no room for confusion.
Tell Your Cleaner What Matters Most
If time is limited, identify your priority areas. If you’d really like the bathroom or the kitchen focused on, say so.
Here’s why it matters. Every cleaner has their own system for getting through a property. If they’re cleaning the whole home, a lot of them will start by putting bleach or other products down in the bathrooms and toilets. Then they’ll clean the rest of the apartment and come back to the bathroom at the end, once the products have had time to do their work.
That’s a smart way to clean a whole home. But if the bathroom was your top priority and the time is tight, it might not be the order you’d have chosen. Give your cleaner a priority list and they can work through the property in your order instead.
Brief Before, Step Back During, Give Feedback After
When you communicate matters just as much as what you communicate.
Before the Clean
Ask your questions and share your preferences on a call before the cleaner gets there. Keep it within reason. We hire professional cleaners, and they know what they’re doing. But if there’s something specific that’s really important to you, this is the time to mention it.
During the Clean
Once the cleaner arrives, the best thing you can do is get out of their way. You might think they’re missing things, when actually they’re just working through their system. Interrupting them mid-clean is the least helpful thing a client can do.
After the Clean
When the clean is finished, give your feedback to whoever calls you, or leave it if you’re asked to. More often than not, you’ll find that the thing you were about to complain about had already been covered as part of their process.
Regular Cleans: Know Who to Talk To
Once a specific cleaner has been with you for a while, you build a rapport and a relationship. At that point it’s perfectly fine to talk to your cleaner about what you need. If it’s something small, either when they show up or for next week, like “can we focus on this part of the house?”, just tell them.
If it’s anything to do with timing, reach out to the cleaning company instead. We can talk to the cleaner and sort it out on our end.
Two Myths That Need to Go
Clear communication also means being realistic. There are two myths I’d love every client to drop.
Myth One: Cleaning Should Cost Next to Nothing
There’s an idea that cleaners should be paid rock-bottom prices, and it needs to be dispelled. Cleaners are like anybody else. They live in the same economy everybody else is living in, and they need to make a living. A professional clean that costs almost nothing, especially one that pays below minimum wage, isn’t a bargain. It’s a problem.
Myth Two: Your First Clean Will Make Your Home Look Brand New
It won’t, and an honest cleaning company won’t promise that it will. We clean. We do not refurbish or renovate a property.
The Short Version
- Book the clean that matches your home’s condition, with a deep clean first if it hasn’t been professionally cleaned in the last month.
- Read the FAQs first, then call about anything they don’t cover.
- Tell the company about pets, parking, supplies, access and any no-go areas before the visit.
- Name your priority areas, especially if time is limited.
- Brief before the clean, step back during it, and give feedback after.
- Expect to pay a fair price, and expect a realistic result.
Get those right and you’ll rarely be disappointed with a clean.
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