Having someone come in regularly to clean your home is a great way to save time, but those who’ve never hired a home cleaning service before might be wondering how to get the most out of the time your cleaner is in your home.

Different cleaning companies will offer different services, but there are a few ways to maximise the time your cleaner is spending in your home which means the cleaner does a better job and you aren’t wasting money.

Here’s our top five tips on getting the most from your home cleaning service.

  1. Plan before you hire

This is probably one of the most important steps in hiring a home cleaning service – know what you want done. Perhaps you just want someone to come in once a fortnight and do a regular full house clean or someone once a week to come in to ensure basic cleanliness of your home. On the other hand, maybe you’re looking for someone to come in once a month to do those more painful jobs – cleaning the shower, cleaning the oven, washing the windows etc. Spend the time writing down the jobs you would like the cleaner to cover while they are in your home.

  1. Get some recommendations

Letting someone into your home who you don’t know from a bar of soap can be quite stressful, especially if you are planning on having your home cleaned while you aren’t there. One of the best ways to ensure you get a great home cleaning service is to ask for recommendations from family, friends, work colleagues and your general community. If you have a local community Facebook page, you can always ask for recommended cleaning companies for on-going work – you are sure to get responses both on cleaning companies to use and those not to use. Don’t be afraid to ask the cleaning company for reviews from their customers and ensure you check out their social media pages for reviews and comments.

  1. Communicate clearly

If you aren’t planning on being home when your cleaners arrive, make sure you have clearly communicated what your expectations are. If you have something particular for them to focus on, make sure you either let them know in advance or leave a note where they can find it. Similarly, if you have an area of the house you don’t want cleaned for any reason, make sure you let them know. Without good communication, you may be left wondering “why didn’t they clean that?”.

  1. Tidy as you go

One of the benefits of having a home cleaning service is that you can walk in the door after work to a clean home, however to get the best clean possible, make sure you tidy as you go and do a quick whip around to pick up any loose items of clothing, shoes, books, blankets and the like before your cleaner arrives. This ensures your cleaner is spending their time actually cleaning properly and not tidying away your day to day items.

  1. Pay well

People providing a home cleaning service generally aren’t doing it just for the love of cleaning houses, so if you are looking for the cheapest service provider going around, it doesn’t mean you are going to get a great job. The people cleaning your home are either employees of a business or a business owner themselves, and businesses have expenses to cover including insurance, products, wages, fuel and more. If you are looking for someone to clean your entire home for $20/hour you may be best to ask a friend or family member if they would like to make a little extra money. Expect to pay anywhere upwards of $35/hour for a good quality cleaning service.

There is no point in hiring a home cleaning service to do half the job you want them to do – that’s just a waste of your time and money. With a little bit of planning and some good communication, you’ll end up with a trusted cleaner who’ll have your place looking great in no time.