How to pay housekeeper

[Anonymous]

Can we define deep cleaning?

I just raised my wonderful cleaner to $30/hr. She does everything and the some. Some days she cleans refrig. Some days changes sheets etc.

[Anonymous]

I have a similarly sized home and pay $150 every other week for approximately 5 hours, so it works out to about $30/hr. My cleaner brings her own supplies and has about 10 clients. She is definitely not an employee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hourly or age flat rate? Duties would include: all bedding stripped (I would wash and dry the sheets they would just have to take them off) vacuum carpeted areas and sweep/mop floors. Clean kitchen and 3 full baths and one half bath. 4 bedrooms and large living rooms. Two story home. I would want a deep clean of whole house once a week. We have one candidate who is asking for $180flat. Another one is asking $25/h. Second candidate says house would take between 6-8 hours total.

That is not a housekeeper, a housekeeper is a household employee. We pay a housekeeper to come daily for 5hrs a day, plus have a cleaning service as you describe come in and do a deep clean once every 2 weeks. Our housekeeper is paid $20/hr for 25hrs a week 52 weeks a year, however she has many stretches where she works less, or not at all (when we are out of town, she just makes sure it is clean when we leave). we pay into her social security as well, so she has at least some benefit later in life.

The rate is usually flat and it depends on how dirty your house is and how big. We only pay $120 every 2 weeks for what seems to be a similarly sized home. However our housekeeper keeps the homes very tidy (daily sweeping, home is not cluttered, kitchen and baths are always wiped down, closets are organized, she runs the vaccuum when needed...ect)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we define deep cleaning?

I just raised my wonderful cleaner to $30/hr. She does everything and the some. Some days she cleans refrig. Some days changes sheets etc.

I'm the PP with the housekeeper and a every 2 week deep cleaner.

-wipes down all baseboards
-wipes down the fridge
-wipes down all cabinets
-scrubs all bathrooms (we have 4.5, but only use 2.5)
-mops all floors
-pulls up rugs and moves furniture to dust/clean under
-dusts all light fixtures/fans
-cleans the inside of the oven when needed
-vaccuums all furniture
-wipes down all handles and knobs and TV remotes/xbox controller/computer keyboard/mouse
-moves all items off surfaces and cleans underneath
- sometimes (when needed) cleans the inside of kitchen drawers/cabinets, especially silverware tray.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hourly or age flat rate? Duties would include: all bedding stripped (I would wash and dry the sheets they would just have to take them off) vacuum carpeted areas and sweep/mop floors. Clean kitchen and 3 full baths and one half bath. 4 bedrooms and large living rooms. Two story home. I would want a deep clean of whole house once a week. We have one candidate who is asking for $180flat. Another one is asking $25/h. Second candidate says house would take between 6-8 hours total.

Our two housekeepers take 3 hours each. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths. They are $150 for what ends up 6 hours. We pay flat fee, but they haven't raised the rate the 6 years I've been with them. So $25 an hour in 2021 is very reasonable and might even be on the low end. You can't expect a deep clean at $180. And of course it takes at least 6 hours. Try doing the deep clean yourself, time it.

[Anonymous]

To me, deep cleaning includes the once-per-month tasks like windows, walls, cleaning the inside of the fridge and freezer, etc. Regular cleaning (for me) is weekly and involves cleaning the microwave, showers, oven, light switches and door handles, etc. To me, light cleaning is the once (or more) per day wipe down for the toilet seat, stove and counter, sinks, etc. Tidying is not the same as cleaning, as I can clean the counter by picking up everything the kids dropped on it, wiping it down, then promptly putting all the papers and projects back. To me, a housekeeper does the normal and light cleaning and maybe some tidying. Cleaners do normal and deep cleaning, no tidying.

[Anonymous]

We have our cleaning lady come once a week for 3-3.5 hours at a time. One week she deep cleans the main floor (includes very large kitchen/powder/living/dining/office), another week is the upstairs (3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms) and the basement (den, mud room, guest room, bathroom). We like the rotation because I find if you have them in the house for 6-8 hours they tend to putter out. Better to have them come as their first job in the AM and then they can go to other jobs. We supply the cleaning supplies. We went through a lot of duds before we found our AMAZING cleaning lady who is quick yet extremely thorough and detailed, reliable, and hard working. She consistently impresses me and takes initiative. This seems to be uncommon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hourly or age flat rate? Duties would include: all bedding stripped (I would wash and dry the sheets they would just have to take them off) vacuum carpeted areas and sweep/mop floors. Clean kitchen and 3 full baths and one half bath. 4 bedrooms and large living rooms. Two story home. I would want a deep clean of whole house once a week. We have one candidate who is asking for $180flat. Another one is asking $25/h. Second candidate says house would take between 6-8 hours total.

I pay what works out to $34/hour. I pay the owner of the company, she sends one of two people to my house. They use my cleaners due to allergies.

She deep cleans one room each time. Last time was the kitchen. She cleaned out the fridge, wiped out some cupboards, and cleaned the oven. Not all cupboards needed it.

In the living room she pulls out all furniture, moves the area rug, dusts the window sills etc. In the summer she will sweep off the front porch and the deck in back.

Etc.

I agree with the poster who said have them both in for a trial. I think that's the only way to know.

[Anonymous]

I pay $200
I’m a nanny and my ex employer housekeeper
Help me once a month

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hourly or age flat rate? Duties would include: all bedding stripped (I would wash and dry the sheets they would just have to take them off) vacuum carpeted areas and sweep/mop floors. Clean kitchen and 3 full baths and one half bath. 4 bedrooms and large living rooms. Two story home. I would want a deep clean of whole house once a week. We have one candidate who is asking for $180flat. Another one is asking $25/h. Second candidate says house would take between 6-8 hours total.

Without exception IRS says ALL domestic employees are HOURLY EMPLOYEES. What don't you understand about this?

[Anonymous]

So they charge about the same. Cheap people who panic over 10-20 bucks and try to get the cheapest service should clean their own houses. We are talking about poor people scrubbing your toilet. If you can afford not to worry about the cost by $20 here or there, do it yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hourly or age flat rate? Duties would include: all bedding stripped (I would wash and dry the sheets they would just have to take them off) vacuum carpeted areas and sweep/mop floors. Clean kitchen and 3 full baths and one half bath. 4 bedrooms and large living rooms. Two story home. I would want a deep clean of whole house once a week. We have one candidate who is asking for $180flat. Another one is asking $25/h. Second candidate says house would take between 6-8 hours total.

Without exception IRS says ALL domestic employees are HOURLY EMPLOYEES. What don't you understand about this?

Actually no.

A housekeeper who can come on their schedule (one time might have a 6 am start, and the next might be noon start), provides and uses their own supplies, and can send someone else in their place can be considered a contractor. You can pay a contractor a flat rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me, deep cleaning includes the once-per-month tasks like windows, walls, cleaning the inside of the fridge and freezer, etc. Regular cleaning (for me) is weekly and involves cleaning the microwave, showers, oven, light switches and door handles, etc. To me, light cleaning is the once (or more) per day wipe down for the toilet seat, stove and counter, sinks, etc. Tidying is not the same as cleaning, as I can clean the counter by picking up everything the kids dropped on it, wiping it down, then promptly putting all the papers and projects back. To me, a housekeeper does the normal and light cleaning and maybe some tidying. Cleaners do normal and deep cleaning, no tidying.

This is super helpful. We currently have a weekly team of two that comes and cleans the whole house. Our nanny will do laundry, tidy kids things, cook and sweep/vacuum high traffic areas, and drive kids around. We have the opportunity to switch to an individual who could come for set hours daily for housekeeping, organizing and laundry, and maybe some food prep. Are these typical responsibilities? What are expected rates for this type of service? Is it a reasonable role for someone else to come and help with getting kids to activities, oversee homework, feed kids, help with bedtime?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hourly or age flat rate? Duties would include: all bedding stripped (I would wash and dry the sheets they would just have to take them off) vacuum carpeted areas and sweep/mop floors. Clean kitchen and 3 full baths and one half bath. 4 bedrooms and large living rooms. Two story home. I would want a deep clean of whole house once a week. We have one candidate who is asking for $180flat. Another one is asking $25/h. Second candidate says house would take between 6-8 hours total.

Without exception IRS says ALL domestic employees are HOURLY EMPLOYEES. What don't you understand about this?

Actually no.

A housekeeper who can come on their schedule (one time might have a 6 am start, and the next might be noon start), provides and uses their own supplies, and can send someone else in their place can be considered a contractor. You can pay a contractor a flat rate.

Yep. This is what our HomePay advisors have told us. You can’t pay a nanny health insurance premiums if you have someone that isn’t a contractor in your house.

[Anonymous]

Is a typical housekeeper (not deep cleaning) hourly around $20/hr? 4 hours per day, 5 days/week - laundry and tidying/wiping/organizing.