Who does these $90 housecleanings?

[Anonymous]

I keep reading on here about people who pay $90 every other week or something like that, to have someone come in and do the deep clean. I checked with a couple services in my area, and they quoted $400 for the first time, and $200-250 for each subsequent visit. (I think it was $200 if bi-weekly, $250 if monthly.) I live in DC in a 4-bedroom rowhouse, so we're not talking about a 4000 sf mcmansion or anything.

Where are you finding your $90 housecleaners? How good a job do you get for that price? How many hours, and what quality work?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

They're not cleaning services, their independent housekeepers working on their own. I would ask friends who they use and whether those housekeepers have any openings in their schedules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep reading on here about people who pay $90 every other week or something like that, to have someone come in and do the deep clean. I checked with a couple services in my area, and they quoted $400 for the first time, and $200-250 for each subsequent visit. (I think it was $200 if bi-weekly, $250 if monthly.) I live in DC in a 4-bedroom rowhouse, so we're not talking about a 4000 sf mcmansion or anything.

Where are you finding your $90 housecleaners? How good a job do you get for that price? How many hours, and what quality work?

Thanks.

Wow, what a scam! I live in NoVa and you can find (PLENTY) of housecleaners for $90.00 on craigslist, here on DCUrbanMom, and word of mouth - small companies. To me is a little bit more challenging because I NEED someone that is legal to work in the US since my husband works for the government, but I still could find plenty.

If you go with a company, the cleaning will be only superficial (mop, vacuum, wipe countertops, clean bathroom) - no moving of furniture, no cleaning windows, etc. I had better luck with individuals (and of course I don't want them to do all that in every visit)

[Anonymous]

Ummmm, hello, are you a privileged clueless?

A 4 bedroom townhouse in DC is large. How many bathrooms do you have? How many square feet? How many floors?

All these things will factor into the price, as well as whether or not you have pets.

[Anonymous]

These are not really "deep cleanings" (at least mine aren't). Our house looks nice and clean after they finish, but it is by no means spotless.

[Anonymous]

If anyone would like to recommend their housecleaner, preferably one with whom they have worked for a good length of time, I would love to try out a bi-weekly cleaning arrangement. I'm in CH/PW.

[Anonymous]

Ask your neighbors. That's how I found my wonderful, inexpensive cleaner (an independent worker, not with a service).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ummmm, hello, are you a privileged clueless?

A 4 bedroom townhouse in DC is large. How many bathrooms do you have? How many square feet? How many floors?

All these things will factor into the price, as well as whether or not you have pets.

Preceeding your post with "ummm" makes you sound really stupid. Adding "hello" to that reinforces the point. I'm just saying. Also, if you're going to throw around derogatory adjectives, perhaps tack on an object, so that we know what kind of "a privileged clueless" you're on about.

And no, a 4 bedroom rowhouse (townhouses are new construction in suburbia-- rowhouses are what line the residential streets of DC) is not out of the ordinary in DC. Typically, one of those bedrooms will be so tiny that it's only suitable for a closet.

[Anonymous]

our housekeeper is bolivian and charges $90 if weekly, more if every other week.

with an independent contractor such as a weekly housekeeper (such as lawncare or painter, etc.), I don't think you need to worry about immigration or taxes - not my area of expertise. different rules obviously for nannies and childcare.

[Anonymous]

We have a cleaning service that charges $80, but our home is a 2-bedroom, 1 bath, 1 floor apartment.

As PP noted, if you have multiple floors, multiple bathrooms, and more than 1500sq and want to hire someone legal, insured, etc., then I think that you should expect to play at least $150.

A lot of these other posters with inexpensive cleaners I'm sure are not checking for documentation or proof of insurance

[Anonymous]

I use a small cleaning service and pay $80 bi-weekly for a 3bdrm house. Not sure the square footage, but it's got to be at least 1800. If you use an independent person and pay them more than whatever the IRS thresshold is (something around $1600 a year?), then yes, you do have to worry about taxes, work status, etc. That's why I use a service, but I agree the cleaning is not as good - very superficial. I'm considering switching to an independent person who will also do some laundry and iron (and I would expect to pay upwards of $100 for this).

[Anonymous]

I pay under $80 for a 1400 sq. ft. 2br/2ba+den in NWDC. She does it in about 3 hrs, so its $25 per hr.
I found her on here. Name is Maria - her email is [e-mail]

[Anonymous]

I pay $20 per person per hour for two people to clean about 2400 square feet of DC rowhouse, once every four weeks. It takes about 3.5 hours to clean three bedrooms (one a not heavily used guest room) and two and a half baths. My DC is only one, so the kid/guest bathroom is not a disaster either. It runs $140 and they do a great job: clean the baseboards, blinds, the inside of the fridge etc. I found them through a colleague.

[Anonymous]

What is the dollar amount in utilizing an independant contractor, before IRS payments become an issue? TIA

[Anonymous]

I use Lilly's Cleaning Service - it's about $125 every other week - but the cleaning area is over 3000 sf. They do a good job, but it's not a "deep cleaning" - it doesn't really need to be because they clean every other week. I am happy with it.