Your Family Never Has to "Outgrow" A Home You Love

Making The Most Of Your Cleaning Service

by Zack Gilbert

At one time, hiring a cleaning service was considered a luxury. Now, with the busy lives everyone leads, it is almost a necessity if you want to live in a clean house. If you work, have kids, and lead an active lifestyle, then paying for a cleaning service is just like paying for lawn or pool service. It's a beneficial expense that makes your life easier. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your experience.

Pick Up Clutter Yourself

There's an old joke about cleaning the house before the cleaning service arrives. Although you don't want to go to extremes, it is actually a good idea to pick up as much clutter as you can. When things like dirty laundry, newspapers, and dirty dishes are all collected and put where they belong, it saves valuable time once the cleaner arrives. If you're paying by the hour, you don't want to pay someone to gather up clutter and figure out where to put it since that is something you and your family members should be doing every day anyway. Instead, let the cleaning service concentrate on deep cleaning places like baseboards, ceiling fans, and behind the toilet. That way your home always looks clean and smells fresh, even if there is some clutter strewn around.

Choose Your Own Cleaning Products

If you're like a lot of people, you probably have your favorite brand of cleaning products based on how they smell or the type of chemicals they contain. If you love the smell of lemon or the faint smell of bleach, then let the cleaning service know which products you want them to use in your home. A professional already knows what type of products to use on stone, wood, and other surfaces in your home, but if you are brand loyal or if you want environmentally friendly cleaners used, then let your wants be known. It may seem like a small thing, but the odor left by cleaning products affects the perception of cleanliness in your home. If you hate the strong smell of harsh chemicals, then you probably won't be happy about the overall job, even if your home is spotless.

Understand The Limits

If your home has been neglected for a long time, it may have a lot of grime built up on it. There may even be mold or biological contamination from pets. Don't expect miracles from a short cleaning session. The first time a cleaning service comes to your home, they may need to bring a crew and spend several hours getting your home in shape. The following visits will be shorter, since it is easier to maintain cleanliness than it is to remove grime. Also, certain things are usually off limits for a cleaning service. For instance, you'll probably need to hire a professional for removing mold and cleaning things like ducts and your furnace. The service may not do windows or clean pet bedding or litter boxes.

Be sure you understand the duties of the service you hire so you know what to expect. You may be given an overview or checklist of things that will be done during a deep cleaning session. A checklist is handy because it gives you a way to review the work once it is done, and it keeps the cleaners focused on what they need to do. Hiring a cleaning service for the first time requires a learning curve, but once you find a company you're happy with, you'll wonder how you ever managed without them. Best of all, your home will always be ready for unannounced guests, and you'll never be stressed about all the work you need to do around the house that you never have time for.

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