Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cleaning and maid

I really hate dusting. Like, A LOT.

Kimberly — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:34:12 -0800

Does anyone in the Denver Metro area (or even better: Aurora) have a recommendation for a house cleaner for bi-weekly cleanings? We prefer not to use Merry or Molly maids, someone who has their own business is preferred. I'm checking out Craigslist and following a few other leads, but personal recommendations would be great. If you can tell me about how much you spend either in this thread or via mefi mail it would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I want to eat off my floors AND my ceiling fan, please.

curiositykilledthelemur — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:36:40 -0800

When cleaning, what nooks & crannies might the maid accidentally miss? I'm hiring a maid service for a deep cleaning tomorrow morning and really don't want to be disappointed again afterwards due to my lack of due diligence in checking everything before they leave.

I recognize that we're all human, but the last couple of times I've gotten cleaning services that were highly recommended, I always have found so many spots that were missed!

Can the hive mind remind me of oft-forgotten places like ceiling fans, behind the shelves, underneath knicknacks, etc. that I should check before the service leaves? It's a small one bedroom, one bath apartment. Thanks!

How clean is your house (or small apartment)

kmtiszen — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:36:33 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good one-time maid/cleaning service in Manhattan? I want to give my soon-to-be-for-sale apartment a VERY thorough scrub down before I start showing it to prospective buyers. I was hoping someone could recommend a maid or cleaning service that will do an excellent one-time cleaning. My place is far from a disaster, but I want it to be SPARKLING!

I know some people might not want the secret of their very excellent cleaning person to get out, so if you just want to send me a message, I won't tell a soul!

If you could include a price range, or just a ballpark figure, that would be helpful too!

Thanks!

Recommendations for a Seattle cleaning service

grouse — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:29:58 -0800

Looking for a service to clean my Seattle apartment. Any recommendations? General recommendations on how to pick a cleaner or service are welcome. I don't have a vacuum cleaner or a lot of cleaning equipment and chemicals yet, so a service that would bring all of these things would be best for now. But I'd also be happy with recommendations for services or cleaners where I supply the equipment and chemicals, for later on.

The only Seattle recommendation I saw in searching previous AskMes was for Dana's. Of course, I can't use them since I don't have my own equipment yet. I searched on Yelp, but didn't find many services with multiple reviews, and I'm not sure I trust a single anonymous Yelper. I've heard all about the evils of Merrie Maids, so if I go with a service it will probably be a more local one.

If you don't have specific Seattle references, feel free to chime in with general advice. I've read through some of the older general questions on this. If I go with an individual, what is a good way to check references? There is an incredible variance in prices for individuals seen on Craigslist, ranging from $13 to $30/hour, and services go up to $40. I suppose for a service I can check with the BBB.

Cleaning in New York

AnyGuelmann — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:11:15 -0800

Please recommend/warn me about cleaning services and independent housekeepers in New York City I need your recommendations and warnings about cleaning companies or persons you have hired before. (Manhattan here.)

Please be as specific as possible! I'm not looking to learn more about the inner workings of the housekeeping industry. I want to hire a person or company with the help of your personal review about their performance. What's the company you hired or the name of the person? Did they clean under the bed? Did they leave the shower mat in place and just cleaned around it? Did they meet your expectations or were not as thorough as you wished? How much did you pay, and was it worth it?

If you're not comfortable posting the phone number of an independent housekeeper, please e-mail it to me. Really, I want to call them.

(I have read the previous threads on housekeeping and cleaning services. I know about big cleaning companies underpaying their employees. I know they are more interested in making stuff look clean (smear furniture polish, rearrange objects) as opposed to actually cleaning everything with real products down to every corner. I know I should look for independent housekeepers because they'll get all the money I pay for the service and I can have more control over what and how things get done - they'll listen to me rather than their management's instructions on how to clean my house. I know that if I have more serious problems (stuff getting broken, lost, stolen) I'm better off dealing with an established company rather than a person. That's not really what my question is about, as I have considered all of this and I'm up for trying either kind of service. I want to know about specific companies/persons and how they performed.)

Need a cleaning service in Chicago

MeetMegan — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:02:22 -0800

Can you recommend a cleaning company or individual in downtown Chicago? I need someone to clean my 900 sf condo (1 br/1.5 ba) every other week. I live in River North. I would be willing to provide cleaning supplies and perhaps pay for parking (depending on the cleaning charge). I currently use Sparkle Queen, and while I haven't been thrilled with the job they do, I have been appalled at the amount they charge me to clean my place, in comparison to what some of my friends pay (unfortunately they work with individual cleaning ladies who are all booked up). I am currently paying $80 plus tip, which makes it about $105. In light of what my friends are paying (about $50 including tip), I feel like I am getting ripped off.

Cleaning service in Brooklyn?

chinese_fashion — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:53:22 -0800

Can any of you recommend a good, reliable cleaning service in Williamsburg/Brooklyn? I share an apartment with a patient, understanding, laid-back guy. He's messy, but I'm a total slob. Lately, he's been tightening up on the cleaning, spurred on by his boyfriend. And I'm having guilt about this -- but am utterly incapable of keeping up. I'm rarely home and when I am, I don't want to spend that time cleaning. I just got a large raise, and I promised to cover maid service costs ... but am not sure where to start. We both rely on our computers and cameras, and I am a little gunshy about getting my laptop jacked, etc.

Can any of you recommend either a good, reputable service that will come to Williamsburg, Brooklyn -- or an independent person? Any cost guidelines, expectations are much appreciated as well.

Thanks!

DC Maid Service?

ASM — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 10:18:27 -0800

Can anyone recommend a reputable maid/cleaning service in Washington, DC? I'm single, I live by myself and I work, a lot.

As much as I like living in a clean place I only have time to give my place the through cleaning it needs once every few weeks. I've asked a few friends for recommendations. Unfortunately, this hasn't worked out for a variety of reasons. So I turn to you, Hivemind...

My number one concern is finding someone I can trust. Unless the cleaning is occurring at 9pm, which I doubt, it isn't likely that I'll be around.

Bonus points for a service that does laundry and the dishes.

Thanks, AskMeFi.

How can I help my boyfriend face his serious, long-term roach problem?

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 08:05:21 -0800

How can I help my boyfriend face his serious, long-term roach problem? I'm not asking how to kill roaches (which has been well covered here and elsewhere); I'm asking how to help someone get past his denial and shame about a roach problem so he can do something about it.

This is a totally odd situation because this person is otherwise extremely capable, responsible and mature. He holds down a demanding tech job, accomplishes cool things outside his job, and is a stellar partner for me in human terms (not to mention in bed). But he seems to have some hangups that have made for a crazy long-term roach problem.

For example, while he certainly makes enough money to hire a professional cleaning person to give his kitchen and bathroom the deep cleaning they desperately need, he says he is really uncomfortable hiring someone to do what he should be doing. But he won't do it himself. He'll spend a weekend "cleaning" his place, but that doesn't mean scrubbing the kitchen countertops or sealing up the food sources -- it means arranging his large collections of tech stuff in different ways, or carefully designing and building new shelves to display said stuff, or something else unrelated to the roach problem.

As another example, when I'm there and we see the bugs around us (they have at least some presence in every room), he acknowledges them and seems really upset about them, but doesn't want to talk about practical solutions, or says something counterintuitive like "I don't know where they're coming from!" (this while we're sitting 15 feet from a kitchen where every surface of every countertop and appliance is decorated in layers of roach shit). If I say, "They're here because they can find food here," he's back into his loop of shame around cleaning and not wanting someone else to have to do it for him. And if I take any stab at, say, starting to clean out the fridge or washing the dishes myself, he asks me not to because it's seriously nasty in there (which is true) and he wants to do it himself.

The roach problem has been getting slowly, steadily worse for a long time. I feel like every attempt to discuss it rationally touches some strong sensitivity in him that so far I can't get past or understand.

I have my own (bug-free) apartment for him to come visit, which definitely isn't ideal because his place is MUCH quieter, is in a nicer area, has internet, and is an easier commute to his job. But sticking to only my place might be the only solution left for the moment, because I'm just not sleeping in his apartment any more until it gets much better. (I already sleep in his second bedroom when I'm at his place, because it has the fewest roaches of any of his rooms. Actually I was moved to ask this question because at his point, even this second bedroom has enough roaches that I can't sleep there without them occasionally crawling on me.)

I'm not sure where to go with this. I obviously need to communicate more clearly than I have. I have been consistently clear about my opinion that the roaches are in his apartment because they can find food there, and he's been consistently contrite, saying he "needs to clean," but it never happens. When he says he doesn't have time to clean, I bring up the idea of a pro cleaning person and he always says that's not something he can make someone else do. And he doesn't want me doing it (and neither do I, for a number of reasons -- not least because I don't want to be the dutiful girlfriend swooping in to clean up and make everything okay when it's this far past logic). What do you think?

How do I convince my roommate that we need a maid?

santry — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 09:29:36 -0800

Jimmy (my friend/roommate/landlord) and I both like to have a sparkling clean apartment. He thinks it's lazy and morally objectionable to hire a maid. I think my free time is valuable so I don't want to spend it cleaning bathrooms. Since cost isn't a concern, how do I convince my roommate that we should just leave the cleaning to the professionals and hire a maid? I live in an apartment with 2 other guys and we're all in our very late 20s. One roommate (let's call him Jimmy) is my best friend from college. He also owns the (whole) house. We'll call the other roommate Bradington.

None of us are very good about cleaning. The place isn't a sty, but real cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, washing the hardwood floors, etc.) happens only every couple of months. The kitchen stays pretty clean since we use it all the time. I'll admit that I'm the worst about cleaning. I don't enjoy it, so I 'm the last one to do it.

I've found a maid who will come for 3 hours every two weeks and, for $75 per visit, will make the place cleaner than it ever has been. She came once as a sort of trial visit and we all agreed the results were fantastic. Much better than we could ever do.

Jimmy (the friend/roommate/landlord) has a moral objection to hiring a cleaning service. He thinks it means we're lazy good for nothings and that we should just do the cleaning ourselves. The money isn't the issue. He also says that he enjoys cleaning, and that, for him, it's a good stress reliever.

My philosophy is that my time away from work is valuable and so spending hours out of every month vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms has a huge opportunity cost (i.e., I could be doing things that I enjoy, working on new projects, etc.). Couple that with the fact that professionals do a *much* better job and I think the maid service is a pretty compelling option.

Bradington, our other roommate, is on "my" side and thinks we should hire the maid.

So how do I convince Jimmy? Is there no convincing him? Since he enjoys it so much, should we work out some deal where he does some portion of the cleaning himself, and the maids do the rest?

Big dust bunnies in Toronto

typewriter — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 21:15:44 -0800

Can anyone recommend a a good non-agency house cleaner in Toronto? (Also bonus points: out of curiousity, does anyone know the maid service that Globe and Mail reporter Jan Wong worked for in her series, "Maid for a Month"? Okay, I'm mostly over my lefty guilt over needing/wanting someone to clean my house. But it's time. And guess what? I don't have time. Deadlines left and right, dusty house and Japanese students on their way to stay with me. Don't want to cause an international incident with my dirty house. I've read the other threads about maids etc. but would like a good recommendation preferably with references in Toronto. I'm not rich, but know I probably need to pay for a decent job. Thanks.

Tell me about your maid service?

arimathea — Sat, 02 Apr 2005 09:35:55 -0800

So i'm a young professional who doesn't have the {time,energy} to keep my house clean. I've been thinking about getting a maid or cleaning service, but the house is such a pigsty that I'm worried about them just throwing up their hands and going home. Do you keep your place in very bad shape? I mean, i'm talking a serious problem. Like dishes on shelves, cat poop when i'm not at home for several days, clothes thrown all over the place, you know the drill. -- and that's in addition to all the normal mildew/dust/toilet bowls/kitchen counters/etc. I mean, if I have to do a lot of precleaning, I don't see the point of getting a maid service. The pig sty nature of the house is usually due to me being out of town for several days at a time. What is the maid service honestly expected to do, and has yours cleaned up from this kind of situation before?

Cleaning services

swank6 — Sun, 04 Apr 2004 23:05:32 -0800

Has anyone ever tried a hired maid/home cleaning service before? I live in an apartment of 3 male college students... you can guess how clean we are. I took a look at the MaidPro and Merry Maids websites... anyone ever tried using something like this before?