Hiring a housekeeper--best practices?

[Anonymous]

I have finally broken down and decided to hire a housekeeper/cleaning service. I've never had one before so I'd love some best practices and tips from DCUMers.

Here are some of my questions:

-- Service vs. individual person?
-- Background check individuals, even if recommended by friends?
-- Is every 3 weeks enough?
-- Can I interview them first?
-- Do you do a walk-thru of your house to identify what you want to do?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I use a small local service, not a large national chain. This means no high advertising costs to absorb, no uniforms, company vehicles, etc. They are bonded, make sure if you go with a small company that they are indeed bonded. I also like that I am supporting a local business. I prefer a service vs an individual because I can work through their boss and I don't speak spanish, which is just the reality of dealing with household help of this nature in the DC area. The biggest benefit of having an individual vs a service I think would be laundry. I would think a single person would be more likely to do your laundry if you desired.

I did not do a background check as the company I use was referred to me by my former boss and he has used them for at least 5 years. I have left money & jewelry all over the place and nothing has disappeared. I even had some old cookbooks in the trash and they asked if they could have them before taking them out of the trash. Again, if you select a bonded company, ideally you are protected against any sort of loss.

The owner came to my house with a checklist of what I wanted done and what they normally do. I pointed out specific areas I wanted addressed and we discussed what would and would not be covered. There are some areas of the house that are off limits.

I suggest every 2 weeks. Do you have children? Do you have multiple bathrooms? 2 weeks is just about enough time for nasty, grimy water rings to form in the toilet of a rarely used bathroom and the perfect amount of time for an awesome soap scum ring to form on the bathtub if you're bathing children, even if you do rinse out the tub each time.

The first 3 or 4 times they came to the house, DH or I were there while they cleaned. Only after a couple months did we give them a set of keys. The owner gives the crew the key the morning of the cleaning and gets it back from them that evening so they do not keep them in the interim.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP. Would you mind posting the name of the company? Sounds like a good compromise between big service vs. individual. We live in NW DC.

[Anonymous]

I would second two weeks versus three weeks, depending on your circumstances (if you have more than two people in the house, 2 weeks!).

The biggest thing I had to adjust to was the difference between cleaning and decluttering. So the cleaning service CLEANS. They do not put things away.

The night before they come, we're always busy busy busy clearing all surfaces of clutter, putting toys away, organizing , etc. If a surface is covered with papers, for example, they may pile all those papers together to clean the surface, but then you still have that pile of papers.

Two weeks is just enough time for things not to spiral completely out of control before the cleaners come. Three weeks would mean the night before would be a real nightmare.

Man I wish I could afford every week!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks PP. Would you mind posting the name of the company? Sounds like a good compromise between big service vs. individual. We live in NW DC.

Sadly I'm in VA and they don't service DC.

[Anonymous]

11:26 here again - the PP nailed it. Every other Thursday I am hustling around my house to find a home for everything because they clean the house, not organize your crap. If you don't pick up your stuff or the kids stuff, they will just clean around it. I find that when my sink is empty of dishes and the counters have been organized that my ceiling fan is always dusted, the toaster oven crumb tray is emptied and the top of the fridge is cleaned. It's the little things, right?

[Anonymous]

I've always gone with an individual -- not a service. Have been lucky because the two housekeepers I've had I knew well at a personal level. Need to be cautious here though -- I recall as a child we were stolen from by the housekeeper. But I was just speaking with a friend who owns a service and his says the bonding gives a false sense of security -- that you still have to PROVE that the housekeeper was the culprit, which is hard.

Nevertheless, I like the flexibility, personal touch, and LAUNDRY LAUNDRY that an individual offers.