House cleaning is one of life’s little luxuries, and here at Summit Maids, we love hearing stories of how this small indulgence brings joy and peace to the lives of our clients. After all, are there many better feelings than seeing your home in its truly clean state? As clients ourselves, we don’t think so.
If you’re new to the idea of hiring a house cleaner, you might have some questions – specifically, you might wonder: how does it all work? What does a house cleaner do? What do *I* need to do, to help my house cleaner?
Below, you’ll find all the answers. This guide breaks down what house cleaners do and what house cleaning includes, with specific information about the services we provide here at Summit Maids. Even if you chose to go with another company after reading this, you’ll better understand and be prepared to let your house cleaner work their magic and give you those oh-so-good tidy home feelings.
What Does House Cleaning Include?
Let’s answer the first question, what does house cleaning include? Well, it depends on the company, but there are a few basics that most house cleaning services offer.
Most house cleaning services will cover your bathroom(s), kitchen, common rooms (like the living room, dining room, and/or family room, home offices, and bedroom(s). As for the tasks performed, you can expect them to include dusting and washing reachable surfaces, making the bed, mopping the floors, sanitizing the toilet, and wiping mirrors and glass fixtures. Below we wrote a section detailing what items we clean in each room.
It’s worth noting that cleaning companies have different services in their portfolio based on the type of property you own and your cleaning needs. Some companies also have add-ons you can ask for, like laundry or fridge cleaning.
What Does a House Cleaner Do?
When trying to define what a house cleaner does, it depends based on the company you hire – this is a theme of this entire post, as you’ll see.
At Summit Maids, we have designed seven types of services you can check in detail. They all share a core checklist, but we’ll pay more attention to certain details based on the cleaning needs. Below are our most popular ones:
Standard Cleaning
Our Standard Cleaning is perfect for homeowners who crave the feeling of a clean and tidy home. The service basically includes the tasks you’d do yourself on a daily and weekly basis. That is, cleaning the bathroom, making the bed, or taking out the trash.
Deep Cleaning
The Deep Cleaning service covers the same items as our Standard cleaning service. But, as the name suggests, it goes deep into every nook and cranny of your house. This is the perfect option when you’re expecting visits or you notice the sneakiest parts of your home are collecting a little bit too much dust.
Cleaning After Special Occasions
Having to clean the day after a party is a surefire way to kill the joy of a lovely celebration spent with friends and family. That’s precisely what the Cleaning After Special Occasions service deals with. This service will take care of the piled dishes, scattered napkins, and sticky stains.
Move-in/Move-Out Cleaning
Moving in and out of your home is as exciting as it is exhausting. The move in/out cleaning service is designed to take out at least one worry off your mind: cleaning the house. We’ll ensure you arrive at a sparkling and sanitized home, and leave the other one looking so good no picky landlord will stand a chance.
Where Will A House Cleaner Clean?
As we stated above, a house cleaning service will cover your bathroom, kitchen, common room, and bedrooms. In each room, our cleaners will tackle all the basics as well as the nooks and crannies.
Kitchen
- Wash and scrub sink
- Wash cabinet faces and appliances
- Clean inside and outside of microwave
- Clean countertops
- Swiffer all floors
- Dust and wipe all reachable surfaces
- Wipe door handles and light switches
- Wipe mirrors and glass fixtures
- Take out trash and recyclables
Bedroom(s)
- Make beds and change linens
- Dust and wipe all reachable surfaces
- Wipe door handles and light switches
- Wipe mirrors and glass fixtures
- Swiffer all floors
- Take out trash and recyclables
Other Rooms
- Make beds and change linens
- Dust and wipe all reachable surfaces
- Wipe door handles and light switches
- Wipe mirrors and glass fixtures
- Swiffer all floors
- Take out trash and recyclables
Living Room
- Make beds and change linens
- Dust and wipe all reachable surfaces
- Wipe door handles and light switches
- Wipe mirrors and glass fixtures
- Swiffer all floors
- Take out trash and recyclables
Bathroom(s)
- Wash and sanitize toilet, shower and sink
- Dust and wipe all reachable surfaces
- Wipe door handles and light switches
- Wipe mirrors and glass fixtures
- Swiffer all floors
- Take out trash and recyclables
What Doesn’t a House Cleaner Do?
Now that you know what to expect from a house cleaner, it’s equally important that you know what a house cleaner doesn’t do. Again, every company differs – but here are the things that Summit Maids doesn’t include in our services:
- Feces of any kind
- Blood or chemicals
- Homes with bugs, pests, or rodents
- Trash removal (more than typical household generation)
- Walls
- Dishes, pots, pans (We may load them into a dishwasher if you request)
- Folding Laundry
- Rust removal / Rust cleaning
- Industrial cleaning
- Grout
- Moving furniture or appliances
- Surfaces above arms reach
- Unfinished basements
- Blinds
- Mold or rotten food
- Exteriors
- Attics
- High ceiling fans
Other FAQ About the Work House Cleaners Do
In case you have more doubts along the lines of what a house cleaner does, below we’ve provided answers to the most common questions homeowners have when booking a house cleaning service.
Does a house cleaner provide their own supplies?
It may sound repetitive, but whether a cleaner arrives with the needed supplies or you must have them ready will depend on the cleaning company. Most companies typically provide the supplies for a house cleaning service. However, this is a question you must ask before hiring any company, so you know what to expect and prepare.
At Summit Maids, our cleaners bring their own supplies. That’s why you’ll see them sometimes go to the car and bring an extra bucket or cloth. For their first cleaning, our cleaners typically bring all of their cleaning supplies, and then may adjust to exactly what they need for your home in future cleans.
Is a house cleaner the same as a housekeeper?
This is a common question among clients. No, a house cleaner is not the same as a housekeeper.
To explain the difference, a house cleaner is someone you hire with less frequency and performs deep cleaning services, whereas a housekeeper is someone who visits the house multiple times a week and keeps the house tidy with light cleaning tasks.
Here at Summit Maids, we offer house cleaners, not house keepers.
How often does a house cleaner visit?
It all depends on your home and your needs. If you live on your own in a small apartment, scheduling a cleaner every other week or once a month should cover your needs. A home with a family will need more frequent cleaning such as a weekly service.
If you’re sold on the value that a house cleaner will bring to your life and home, click below to get a quote for your first cleaning with Summit Maids.
