House Cleaning Services - Average Prices & Costs

What to Expect

With professional house cleaning, get a detailed quote. The average price to hire a cleaning service is between $90 and $150. Rates vary depending on the size of your home and what services you want. Frequency is also a factor; many service providers offer lower rates for weekly cleanings compared to monthly or bimonthly ones. Additional charges often apply for:

• Windows
• Fireplaces
• Oven
• Refrigerator
• High shelves or ceilings

If your home is outside the provider's regular service area, they may also charge a fee for travel. Ask questions about all of these services and how they'll factor into your total.

Average House Cleaning Rates

There are various chores you can have a professional do around your home. To ensure a good deal, get quotes from several services, as some might offer package deals or special rates depending on the season and other factors. As a baseline, here are average prices for common services offered by house cleaning companies:

• Single-family homes: $120 to $150
• Window treatments: $100 to $200
• Walls & ceilings: $150 to $300
• Furniture/upholstery: $100 to $150

Average Hourly Rates

If you hire a professional service or individual to clean your house on an hourly basis rather than by square footage, then you're looking at different prices depending on a few factors. First, are you hiring one person or a service? Two, how often are you hiring them to clean your house? Once a week? Every other week? Once a month? While you can calculate an average hourly rate, it's good know what you might be paying on a weekly or monthly basis, just in case.

Prices and considerations for an individual versus a service vary widely. Some rates you could be looking at are:

• $50 to $70 for an individual for two hours
• $80 to $150 for a professional cleaning service for two hours

Note these could change depending on how large your house is as well. If you have a small apartment or condo, it could be towards the lower end. If your home has many rooms or stories, it could be towards the high end, if not higher than this estimate. Research shows that the average hourly cleaning rate for U.S. maid services is between $25 and $45 per hour, so keep that in mind when getting quotes. However, housekeepers and individuals have to work alone and can't get to as many houses in a day as a service, so they will charge above that average.

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How Residential Cleaning Rates are Determined

When you hire a professional cleaning service, they will either charge you by the hour or square foot. If you are having one room cleaned, it's usually more cost-effective to charge by the hour. If you are having your whole home cleaned, they will typically charge by the square foot. Some other factors that may affect your rate include:

• Cleaning frequency
• Pets in the house
• Variety of surfaces to clean
• Specialty cleaning (windows, furniture)
• Number of people cleaning

You can negotiate with residential cleaning agencies to reach a fair price. But don't focus so much on money that you sacrifice service. If, for example, a company charges by the hour and you're unwilling to pay for sufficient time to get all of the tasks done, you may be dissatisfied with the end result.

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How to Save Money on Home Cleaning

If you want to save money on professional cleaning services, here are some steps you can take:

Stay on Budget

Choose a company that provides all the services you need at the right price. Don't get the cheapest service you can find, nor the most expensive. Check online reviews and speak with past clients to get an idea of what to expect. You're likely to find a cleaning company that falls within your budget.

Do Small Cleaning Tasks Yourself

If you hire a cleaning service that comes on a weekly basis, you can do things around the house to cut down on cleaning time. Do small tasks like quickly dusting open surfaces or taking out the trash. The more small jobs you do, the less they have to do on a weekly or monthly basis.

Choose What They Clean

Although you can hire a professional cleaning service to do almost anything, you don't have to. Choose certain rooms for them to clean instead. Pick the rooms that need the most work or get a lot of foot traffic. That way, you save money and still have a mostly clean home.

Have Supplies Handy

You should always have cleaning supplies available for the professionals. There's no reason to pay extra for their supplies when it's cheaper to provide your own. As an added benefit, when you need to clean a room or tidy up a mess, you'll have what you need on hand.

Hire a Company or Individual?

There can be significant differences when you hire an individual rather than a professional cleaning company. These include the cost to hire, potential legal issues, and availability. In either case, it's important to ask a lot of questions, so you know exactly what you're getting for your money.

Individual housekeepers can offer specific services beyond just cleaning, like folding clothes, cooking meals, childcare and so on. However, if they get sick or have to go on vacation, you won't have a replacement. There may also be legal issues involved, so if you're not working with a licensed and bonded company, it's best to take a few extra steps to protect yourself:

• Contact the IRS for an employer ID
• Verify that they can work in the United States
• Verify that your insurance covers people working in your home
• Pay additional costs -- insurance, for example -- if you pay them more than $1,700 per year

Cleaning services have advantages and drawbacks as well. A cleaning service has a whole team of people at its disposal, so there are usually backups available. They can be more thorough because they may send a team rather than an individual. However, they try to cover many homes in a day, so they may be in a hurry and offer less individualized service.

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Other Popular Cleaning Services

In addition to house cleaning, there are other types of cleaning services available to homeowners. Depending on how much work you want to give to a professional, you can potentially save time on a lot of home cleaning projects. Here are some popular cleaning services professionals handle.

Carpet Cleaning

Average cost: $150

Vacuuming is a great short-term solution to keeping your carpet in shape. However, it also needs periodic deep cleaning for longevity. It's recommended that you have your carpet deep-cleaned every year to 18 months, depending on its warranty and the amount of foot traffic. You can either have your carpet steam cleaned or dry cleaned, though steam cleaning is the most common method.

If you hire a carpet cleaning service, some questions to ask are:

• How long have you been in business?
• How will I be charged for the cleaning?
• What is the cost?
• Are you certified?
• Should I move the furniture ahead of time?

Before the carpet cleaners arrive, mark out problem areas like pet stains, coffee spots and blotches with tape. Remove anything that's fragile in case the cleaners need to move furniture. Carpet cleaning is an efficient way to get out those stains and keep your warranty in tact.

Chimney Care

Average cost: $150

To prevent fires and carbon monoxide poisoning, you need to have your chimney cleaned on a regular basis. It needs to have leaves, debris and creosote removed before you spark a fire in the fireplace. Be sure to ask a chimney cleaner:

• How long they've been in business
• If they have references from past clients
• If they have a liability policy in case of damages

There's going to be a lot of soot and debris that comes out during a chimney cleaning, so be sure to ask about mats and sheets to cover your furniture and flooring. You'll want to be out of the room during this process. If you have pets or children, you'll want them out of the room as well, so they don't inhale the soot or spread it with their feet.

Siding Cleanup

Average cost: $200 to $400

Your siding needs regular maintenance and care, especially following major inclement weather. Check for heavy stains like rust, mildew or grime on the surface. You can sometimes take this off with a scrubber, while more stubborn stains may require a power washer.

Be aware that power washers can damage doors and windows. You can hire a professional to operate a power washer for anywhere between $200 and $400. They will need to use an extension wand to get to the higher parts of your home. You should also be sure to close all of your windows and doors so water doesn't blast through and damage the interior.

Window Cleaning

Average cost: $200

Your windows build up a lot of dust, debris and grime. By bringing in a professional at least twice a year, you'll enjoy clean windows without scratches, streaks or marks. A window-cleaning service will charge depending on factors like:

• Number of windows
• Equipment required
• Special circumstances, like if there are stains or marks that require extra attention

Window cleaners use some of the same cleaning supplies you would use to get your windows looking sparkling bright. It's when they have a lot of mineral deposits or grease that specialized chemicals are needed. If you want to keep your windows in good shape and cut down on costs, you can regularly wash your windows with a sponge or soft cloth.

Gutter & Roof Cleanup

Average cost: $150

Over time, especially in the fall and winter, your gutters and downspouts gather a lot of leaves and debris that prevent them from draining moisture away from the roof. Also, certain types of trees — locust, oaks and maples, for example — drop a lot of leaves in the spring and summer, which build up even more debris. While homeowners could risk climbing a ladder and removing the debris themselves, this is too dangerous for many.

Gutter and downspout cleaning professionals can come in and do this job without putting their lives at risk, and it's not very expensive. They can also check for any cracks or holes in the gutters that may contribute to drainage problems, and install netting over the gutters to prevent debris from building up.

Ducts & Vents

Average cost: $325

Your heating and cooling system relies on a series of metal ducts to deliver hot and cool air into your home. Over time, these ducts can get clogged with dust and debris. Left unchecked, this could encourage mold, attract pests and rodents and affect your health.

Duct and vent cleaning involves strong vacuum suction to remove debris. But don't try this with your regular household vacuum. Vacuum systems designed for duct cleaning are considerably more powerful and can remove dust and debris that is trapped far down into your duct work. The cost of duct cleaning depends on the size of your home. A cleaning professional should be able to give you an accurate bid by knowing the size of your home and HVAC system.

Hiring a home cleaning service is a great way to take some everyday chores off your to-do list and give yourself a stress-saving gift. By doing your homework ahead of time, you'll know what to expect and how to make sure you get what you want from the service you work with. Once you try it, you'll find that a thorough, professional home cleaning is an investment well worth the time and money you put into it.