What's the difference between a Maid and a House Cleaner?

What's the difference between a Maid and a House Cleaner?

CLEANING LADY (House Cleaner)

Often the terms maid, cleaning lady, and housekeeper are used interchangeably by clients who don't know that there is a difference between the services offered and expected by each one. A housekeeper or a maid typically cleans the house or helps complete a special project. Either when you hire a maid or a house cleaner, you are responsible for all the paraphernalia needed to do the job such as certain supplies, vacuums, or mops.

MAID VS. HOUSEKEEPER VS. CLEANING LADY

The services of a cleaning lady or a house cleaner are very different from a housekeeper or a Maid.

But to make this much easier for all to understand we have divided them in two different categories.

A, The personal level home helpers with 20+ hours a week in your home (Maid or Housekeeper).

B. The "I can't afford a Maid but still need help by a professional" kind (house cleaners or cleaning ladies) (Their visits to your house consists, on no more than 20 hours per month).

As the name suggests, a cleaning lady does all the cleaning. In order for the cleaning lady to do the cleaning, it is recommended that you tidy up your home to make the surfaces available for her to clean. Rarely are cleaning ladies asked to organize or put away items. Those tasks are best reserved for a housekeeper or maid that is more familiar with your preferences and family care.

One of the main differences between a maid and the cleaning lady is that a maid would do more personal chores for you, per example; personal garment laundry, or ironing. Other main difference is that the cleaning lady visits your home more sporadically than the maid. A house cleaner can be scheduled once a week, bi-weekly or once a month vs a maid comes into your home every other day or twice a week to help you more frequently with all the care of your home.

Usually the cleaning lady bring all the cleaning products required for the job - which they take back with them to use on their next appointment - or you have the option to supply the products you prefer to be used for your home. The charges for the job have different rates as well. There is typically a flat rate for a ‘standard’ cleaning session - which is performed on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, and a different rate for a ‘deep cleaning’ session. Deep cleaning sessions are often done on a less frequent basis - think spring cleaning or moving into a new home or office space. 

A house cleaner usually spent an average of 20 hours or less each month in your home.

Customarily, for a first visit, a cleaning lady needs to do a thorough deep cleaning of your home to have it measure up to a maintenance level. Then further visits are simply designed to help maintain your home with the standard cleaning sessions. A standard cleaning session of the house generally involves tidying up your home and straightening up the surface items whereas, a deep cleaning requires moving about the furniture to even clean under surfaces. All surfaces are cleaned thoroughly, leaving everything in your home looking shiny and new!  

Although the goal of any cleaning service is to leave the house looking fresh, clean and comfortable, every cleaning session is customized based on the customer’s requirement and budget. To maintain the integrity of the service, there are duties that are typically included and there are some that may be excluded as well.

TYPICAL DUTIES OF A CLEANING LADY

Sweeping, mopping or washing of the floors, sinks, toilets, tubs, garage entryway, and counters, Vacuuming the house and everything in it - including rugs, upholstery, carpets, and furniture, Dusting of surfaces such as the furniture and window ledges, Cleaning all the surfaces of the bathroom, showers, and kitchen Scrubbing and sanitizing of tubs, sinks, knobs, Cleaning the windows, shining your mirrors, polishing chrome, Plumping up your couch or seating cushions, Making beds - provided you’ve laid out clean sheets out when they visit, Folding your clean laundry, towels, and linens.

A cleaning lady is also highly recommended for carrying out specific tasks. If you require the help of a cleaning lady to perform a more detailed task remember to ask that the extra time be used elsewhere. A cleaning lady can also clean out your fridge and inside the oven surfaces, stoves, or cabinets. These services require deep cleaning and your cleaning lady by need additional cleaning solutions that may not be used in a standard cleaning session.

DUTIES NOT INCLUDED

*No throwing out of garbage

*No laundry although they do fold the clean laundry

*No cleaning out moldy refrigerators or serious filth - on a standard cleaning session. This type of cleaning activity requires a special request.

*No washing the dishes.

*No tidying up the clutter - the customer is expected to do that before the arrival of the cleaning lady to make the best use of their time and skills

*No cleaning or even picking up toys from the floor.

For most customers, making a list of things to be done and setting expectations by effectively communicating that to the service helps both parties. It is ideal that you first ensure you understand what a standard or deep house cleaning services by Magnolia Maids typically includes or excludes.

Challenge: Which kind of help you think she needs?