Frequently Asked Questions about House Cleaning Services & Maid Services
You'll find the answers to our most frequently asked questions on house cleaning service and maids.
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What Makes Mrs. Clean the Best in the Northwest?
Questions to Ask Before Hiring House Cleaning or Hiring Maid Service.
Benefits of Hiring a Professional House Cleaning Company
What Is The Risk of Hiring an Individual or Subcontractor?
What is Mrs. Clean's Guarantee?
What Kind of Services Do You Offer?
Is Mrs. Clean Northwest Licensed (does it matter)?
Are Mrs. Clean's Employees Bonded?
Are Mrs. Clean's Employees Insured?
Do you Offer Cleaning Specials, Discounts or Coupons?
Do you Bring the Cleaning Supplies and Equipment?
Will you Send the Same Maids Each Time?
Do I have to be Home When You Clean?
Why Does a One-Time or First Time House Cleaning Take Longer?
I've Never had Maid Service, How do I Start?
I've Never had Maid Service, How do I Get Ready Or Prepare For The House Cleaners?
Do You Send A Team or An Individual To Clean?
Can I Leave a Note for the Team?
What if Something was Missed and I am Unhappy with a Cleaning?
What if Something Valuable was Broken when the Maids Cleaned my Home?
What if I Forget the Team is Coming to Clean my House or Office?
What Makes Mrs. Clean the Best in the Northwest?
Well honestly, it's because of our people, our commitment, and our very high standards. As a house cleaning company that's been around since 1975, we take our job very seriously.
We go to great lengths to hire the right people to clean your home. To insure that we clearly understand all your needs and to have the best communication possible, all of our employees speak and read English. Mrs. Clean Northwest never uses independent subcontractors or vendors. We send trusted, pre-screened employees to clean your home. Each of our employees has had a criminal background check, has been thoroughly trained in the latest house cleaning techniques and is held to very high standards.
Mrs. Clean Northwest cleans your entire home each visit. Many other house cleaning services use a rotational system, meaning one portion of your home gets an in-depth clean on each visit. With Mrs. Clean, your entire home is thoroughly cleaned each and every time we service your home.
We carry insurance that protects you if an accident or injury happens on your property. We pay all federal, state, social security, payroll and workers' compensation taxes. We are very proud of our people and proud of what we do, and it shows in the house and office cleaning you'll get.
We review our competitors house cleaning rates and ensure that we are priced well below theirs. You can be assured that we are providing you with a great house cleaning or office cleaning value.
Did you know that there are many housekeeping companies that do not provide deep cleaning service? (this means lite housework only) Many maid services and house cleaning companies do not wash your dishes, or clean your windows.
Doesn't that seem strange? Well, it did to us. This is why we will customize any cleaning service. How disappointing it would be to come home after paying for house cleaning or maid service and there were dirty dishes in the sink.
We are a new kind of cleaning company. We take care of all your cleaning needs: Heavy duty scrubbing, shine, wash, fold and organize your home. Let us know what your custom cleaning needs are, we will do our best to do it all.
topWhat is Mrs. Clean's Guarantee?
We care about our house cleaning service to you, and we're not satisfied if you're not. We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If something was missed, and you are not satisfied with your house or office cleaning, please notify us within 24 hours of the cleaning and we will send the team back out at our expense to correct the problem.
We ask for performance feedback from all new clients. We want to know if there was even a minor item you noticed. (of course, we love positive feedback too!) Our customer service, and near-obsessive desire to please insures consistent and high quality cleaning.
topDo you have References?
Absolutely. Send us an e-mail and we'll be glad to send you a copy right away.
topWhat Kind of Services Do You Offer?
A routine house cleaning is a thorough common or regular list of services. We clean your home from top to bottom, including bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, main rooms. Vacuum, clean, shine, dust, disinfect, and straighten the appearance in all rooms. Click here to see a list of items that are cleaned in a routine house cleaning.
Detailed deep house cleaning, move-in house cleaning, move-out house cleaning, cleaning service includes everything in a routine house cleaning and then more. Perfect as spring-cleaning or when moving and want everything sanitized, shining and sparkling. The oven, refrigerator, windows and even the window tracks are cleaned. We spot clean the walls and light fixtures.
This is heavy duty, detailed house cleaning from top to bottom. Deep cleaning can be done on your house, office, apt and condo. It's a great way to get your damage deposit back when moving, or to get your home ready to show when you have decided to sell.
Custom house cleaning is just, well, customized. Do you want us to clean your silk plants, fold your laundry and organize the pantry? Only clean the high traffic areas? Only clean the bathroom? Come in to help out the housekeeper? (we've really done this!) Clean to a set cost? Help polish the silver? (we've done this too!) No problem, we'd be happy to!
Just add or subtract any item from the routine and deep house cleaning service list, let us know of any other items you'd like us to assist with, then sit back and count on Mrs. Clean Northwest to get the job done. Click here to see our custom house cleaning information.
Any thing else? We also provide business cleaning services. Detailed office cleaning and janitorial service. Needs obviously vary between an office setting, a hair salon and exercise facility. We do what we need to do to keep the business looking great.
Anything we can't help with? Due to health concerns (toxoplasmosis) we do not clean out cat boxes. Blood, vomit and anything else along these lines (either of human or animal origin) needs to be cleaned though a bio-hazard cleaning service.
topCan I Trust the Maids?
You can trust Mrs. Clean.
Our employees have all been background checked and are covered by an honesty bond. No matter who you hire to clean your home, always insist on a criminal background check.
We've turned down 100's of applications from house cleaners that have current house cleaning experience and a theft or other serious conviction. Mrs. Clean sends screened, trusted, and dependable employees to your door. If we would not trust someone in to clean our own home or office, we're not going to send them to clean yours.
topIs Mrs. Clean Northwest Licensed (does it matter)?
Mrs. Clean IS Licensed and It DOES Matter.
This seems basic, but the house cleaning industry has many unlicensed, uninsured, un-bonded individuals offering services. There are laws, rules, and protection afforded consumers when using a licensed company in the state of Washington. Only licensed companies may carry industrial, liability, Labor and Industries, and bonding insurance protection (though a business license doesn't guarantee that the company carries all these protections)
Checking whether a company is licensed is easy, you can review a copy of the master business license registered with Washington state department of revenue. licensed house cleaning. (This takes you to the WA state DOR web site)
Hiring an unlicensed individual makes the 'client' technically and legally an employer, with all the tax, legal, and liability issues that come with it.
topAre Mrs. Clean's Employees Bonded?
Mrs. Clean Northwest employees are bonded for your protection.
This bond is insurance that protects and compensates you if a Mrs. Clean employee is guilty of theft. Click to review our bond.
topAre Mrs. Clean's Employees Insured?
Yes, Mrs. Clean carries liability insurance. Liability insurance protects you and will cover damage to your home or property that is caused by Mrs. Clean's employees. Click to review our insurance.
topHow do you Determine Rates?
You can be assured that we are providing you with a great house cleaning value. As a house cleaning company that's been around since 1975, we periodically review our house cleaning competitors rates to insure that we are priced below theirs.
Our fees are based on the actual time it takes to clean your home in 1/4 hour increments. We have a 2 person, 1 hour minimum. House cleaning estimates are based on square foot, number of beds, baths, number of occupants, pets, etc.
Our rates, our guarantee and our dedication to you remain the same whether you book us for a one-time cleaning or sign up for weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly service.
House cleaning services have 2 primary ways of charging you, (and paying their employee) for the cleaning; either by the job, or by the hour. When a company is vague about how much time they will spend in your home it is usually because their employees are being paid a percentage of the job rather than on an hourly basis.
This means that the employees are paid more based on how fast they get out of your home. The problem with this business model, is the potential for the employees rushing through the cleaning to get in and out as fast as possible to get the highest possible hourly wage (e.g. surface cleaning). In speaking with other house cleaning company owners, this model results in a constant struggle between the employee's desire to get out of the home as fast as possible, vs. a quality cleaning job, done right the first time.
We pay our employees a fair hourly wage from start to finish, and their wages do not increase if they rush through cleaning your home. We reward our employees based on the quality of the job and the satisfaction of our clients. Employee raises are based on merit.
In our experience, the more frequent your cleaning, and the more familiar the team is with your home the less time it will take to complete, so your charge is less. It does not seem quite right to continue charging you a higher rate for an easier and less time consuming job. Our estimates are competitive, and our goal is to charge a fair price, give you a great cleaning and pay our employees fairly so that they provide you with quality service.
topDo you Offer Cleaning Specials, Discounts or Coupons?
We sure do. Click here to view our house cleaning specials .
topDo You Require Contracts?
Never.
We're happy to earn your business each time we clean, and we have built this company doing just that.
topDo you Bring the Cleaning Supplies and Equipment?
You bet. We arrive with all cleaning supplies and equipment necessary to make your home or office sparkle. We even bring our own freshly laundered soft cotton towels to clean with. You'll be happy to know that many of our products are earth friendly and/or either unscented or low scented. If you'd like us to use your cleaning equipment or any special cleaning supplies, just let us know. We'd be happy to do so.
topWill you Send the Same Maids Each Time?
Of course. Just let us know your preference. We'll even rotate our teams at a clients request so they can be sure they found just the perfect cleaning team for them. Since we send out cleaning teams, if a person is sick or on vacation, you can be assured of seeing a familiar face.
topDo I have to be Home When You Clean?
Not at all. In fact, many clients prefer to give us a key so we can clean when they are away.
All keys are given a code designation and secured when not in use. If you wish to hide a key on your premises, please call the office with the location so we can notify the team prior to their arrival.
topWhy Does a One-Time Or First Time House Cleaning Take Longer Then Maintenance Cleaning?
House cleaning is hard work. The first time we come out to clean your home or office, the job is scrubbing intensive as we get all areas cleaned to sparkling high standards.
Depending on the initial level of grime and clutter, a first-time cleaning can take 1.50-2.0 times longer than subsequent cleanings. We do not charge a higher rate for one-time cleanings, (as do some companies) but it obviously takes longer to clean a tub or shower that has a lot of build up than a tub that's been cleaned frequently. We will clean to whatever style you wish, but left to our own devices, we clean until your home shines.
topI've Never had Maid Service, How do I Get Started?
Submit a quote request so you have an idea of the estimated cleaning time for your home.
Most people prefer an initial deep cleaning to start, then switch to routine cleaning service at a frequency that suits them. House cleaning is hard work, and a first cleaning or one-time is by far the most labor intensive as we are bringing a house up to sparkling clean. After the first deep cleaning, it will take much less time (on an ongoing basis) to maintain that new high level of cleanliness. A first time deep cleaning can be 1.50 to 2.0 times longer than a routine cleaning.
Some people prefer to start using the compressed routine cleaning time and a priority list. Since it can take quite a bit more time to get the entire home up to that first high level of cleaning perfection, we'll hit your priority areas first, and as we continue to come and clean your home, the little 'extras' that make up a deep cleaning will be rotated in, and eventually we will have your entire home sparkling. (Usually within 2-3 cleanings).
Note that we cannot guarantee that we will be able to complete all items you have on your priority list, or get the entire house cleaned if you elect to go with a fixed, compressed time limit for cleaning, but we will do the best job we can and clean as much as possible within your time limits.
Some clients enjoy service on a frequent basis, and have us clean only their high priority, high traffic areas. That's perfectly fine with us! Just tell us the amount of time, give us your list and we're good to go!
The difference between all these options is simply your desires and expectations. We'll start up your service any way you'd like, and we'll work as hard as we can on what ever type of cleaning you prefer. We're here to make your life easier, just let us know how we can start.
Rest assured, no matter how we start, we don't mess around with clean.
topHow do I Get Ready Or Prepare For The Cleaning?
First, discuss your wants and needs with the office to make sure your home specifics are well documented and clear. Make sure you inform us of any pet instructions, keys, alarms or other specifics about your household. If there are any trouble areas, or pet peeves, you should mention at this time so we can bring any special cleaning supplies and be prepared to address these issues on our first visit.
It's fine to leave the cleaners a list, or email us at the office on any issue. We are happy to address very specific items even room by room. Put your list out every time the maids come, especially if your needs or priorities change week to week.
Hand down, clutter is the #1 thing that slows us down. Our house cleaners are ready to go right when we get there, we really want to start that dirty work, but first we have to pick up all the newspapers, magazines, the 500 Lego's your kids left out, bobby pins on the bathroom floor, cups and glasses, dirty dishes, clothing and shoes strewn all over that needs to be picked up and put away, before we even can start to clean.
Knick knacks are closely related to clutter. Now I realize that knick-knacks can be treasured above all else, but knick-knacks are clutter as well, and just the fact that you have all these treasures causes extra dust and grime to built up in the general area. (It takes quite a bit of time to pick up and wipe down those 30 miniature vases on your shelf, so I know you most likely do not clean it very frequently, if at all)
We don't mind picking all the stuff up- hey, don't forget we are getting paid for it. But it is not the most effective use of your money and the time we should be spending on the real reason you hired us to come to your home.
Does this make sense?
What task is more important to you? Picking up little Nicole and Danielle's clothes and the dishes in their rooms, and Tommy's toy cars and lego's, or really scrubbing that bathroom till it sparkles?
Of course, we do pick up all the clutter we find, it's part of our job. But please be aware that it will cause your cleaning to take a bit longer, if the amount of clutter is excessive.
topWhat Days do you Work?
We are available to make your home shine Monday through Friday. Saturday's are available too, though our cleaning rate is slightly higher this day.
Openings are available for either one-time, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly cleaning services.
topWhat Time Will You Arrive?
We place reminder calls the day before your scheduled house or office cleaning. An estimated time of arrival (ETA) will be provided at that time. The ETA will be as accurate as we can possibly make it (e.g. 11ish).
Each of our cleaning team has approximately 4-6 jobs scheduled each day. The clients scheduled before you, as well as our famous Seattle traffic sometimes will impact the accuracy of our arrival time.
We do make every attempt to arrive very close to our scheduled time, but some things are out of our control. We ask for your understanding if we are running behind, each of our teams carry GPS locators. If you would like to see where they are and get an updated ETA, please call the office.
If you have a critical timing issue, please let us know, and we will do our best to try to accommodate it.
topDo You Send an Individual or a Team Of Maids?
Mrs. Clean has about 20 background checked employees. They are broken into 1, 2 and 3 person teams. We most often send a 2 person cleaning team depending on the client's home size and personal preference.
topCan I Leave a Note for the Team?
Definitely yes. It's a good idea to communicate either to the office or the house cleaning team if you want special attention to an area, or if you are pleased with the job or have concerns.
We contact all of our clients after their initial cleaning to ask for feedback. Every client has different wants, needs, and expectations, so the more communication the better.
Our employees strive to provide impeccable service, but we are human and misunderstandings happen occasionally.
We welcome the opportunity to improve our service to you.
topHow Do I Make My Payment?
- Payment is due at the time of service.
- We accept cash, check, Visa, Master card, American Express, and Discover Card.
- Returned checks are subject to a $40.00 processing fee.
- If full payment is not received at the time of service, billing clients are assessed an additional $15.00.
- Late fees accrue at $19 per month for balances under $250, $39 per month for those above $250.
What if Something was Missed and I am Unhappy with a Cleaning?
Please call us within 24 hours if something was missed during your cleaning. We try very hard to please our clients, but sometimes we do make mistakes. We guarantee our services, so we will return to correct the problem at no additional charge.
If something small was missed that you would just like to bring to our attention. Please do call, email, or leave a note for the team the next time they come out. But please do let us know, we would not want to make the same mistake twice. Communication is very important. If we don't hear from you, we will assume everything is well.
We welcome all feedback that helps us improve our service to you.
topWhat if Something Valuable was Broken when the Maids Cleaned my Home?
We treat your home or business with as much care as if is was our own, and of course we carry insurance if there is an unfortunate mishap. If you have any irreplaceable or high value items in your home, please notify the team so we do not risk damaging them.
topWhat if I Forget the Team is Coming to Clean my House or Office?
We call all our clients the day before the scheduled cleaning to remind them of their cleaning appointment. If the team is dispatched, drives to your home, and we can't get in to clean, a $45.00 trip fee will be assessed. This is a minimal fee that is in place to cover the cost of our transportation, and our employee wages as they travel to and from your home.
Please call us to cancel prior to the scheduled cleaning day to avoid this charge.
topCan I get a Gift Certificate?
Of course. House cleaning is a wonderful gift. We provide gift certificates for a house or office, condo, apt. in any amount of time you desire. Just send us an e-mail and we'll get it set up right away.
topLooking For Employment?
Mrs. Clean Application for EmploymentThe Northwest's best house cleaning service:
Hire the Northwest's best cleaning service, maid service, maids, house cleaning service, housekeeping service, or office cleaning service, for the best house cleaning you can get. Whether we are doing routine house cleaning, deep cleaning, spring cleaning, move-in, move-out, or custom house cleaning of your house, home, condo, office or apartment, Mrs. Clean will clean it right!
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