Okay, you convinced me

September 21, 2018 6:01 PM

I have been thoroughly convinced to hire a cleaning service. Which one is REALLY good? Yelp and Google and personal recs aren't helping much.

See my previous question for details, but I have finally come to terms with: yes, I need to have someone help my pained, exhausted, depressed self clean my apartment. It is going to be a fantastic investment for my overall well-being...or so I thought. I hired a place that had many Yelp ratings, but kind of all over the map, mostly because they could come same day, and they did a horrible job. Just moved stuff around, dust and dirt everywhere, etc. Still, even that bad job was an improvement. Yay!

I'd like to try again with someone or someones who can do a real deep clean, especially for specific problems: sink and dishwasher need to be cleaned out thoroughly, AC vents wiped down, cabinets and microwave cleaned out, stuff actually back into the shape it was when I viewed the apartment. I need someone thorough and trustworthy (single person or service), treats their employees well, I'm fine with anyone being in the house while I'm not there during the day. I guess the most important thing is that I want it really, really, really clean. Like, really clean and smelling great.

Personal recs and good experiences to share or warnings of places NOT to go with welcome. I am located in upper Washington Heights close to Inwood, so service area is a concern too.

Thanks!

posted by colorblock sock to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

I will me-mail you, given that you probably live mere blocks from me.
posted by hoyland at 6:09 PM on September 21, 2018

I like Wizard of Homes.
posted by nicwolff at 6:15 PM on September 21, 2018

Response by poster: Won't threadsit, but Wizard of Homes doesn't service that far up in Manhattan.
posted by colorblock sock at 6:17 PM on September 21, 2018

To give a more-useful-to others, but less rambling, answer than the me-mail I just sent, I've been happy with the service I booked through Up & Go. I have them come first thing in the morning, leave for work and they slide the spare key under the door when they leave.
posted by hoyland at 6:20 PM on September 21, 2018

Tidy lets you request specific things on a per-room basis. I've had good luck so far using them for periodic deep cleanings. There's a small upcharge for one-off cleanings vs. signing up for a regular schedule. You get automatically matched with someone based on time-slots but after that you can re-hire cleaners you liked (if they also liked you, presumably). Not sure what their worker-facing policies are like.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:02 AM on September 22, 2018

Is there a Washington Heights/Inwood Nextdoor or Facebook group? This is the perfect application.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:22 AM on September 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

Use your neighborhood Facebook group or Nextdoor and also ask your friends for a personal recommendation. Small business are the best way to go.
posted by matildaben at 8:34 AM on September 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: As a follow up to this, I have been using Wizard of Homes (I asked them if they'd go outside of their normal zone and they were fine with it) and they are AMAZING. Cannot recommend enough.
posted by colorblock sock at 10:23 PM on December 9, 2018 [1 favorite]