What to Expect from A Professional Cleaner

Hiring professional cleaners London has never been easier. Or more difficult. Easy because there are more London house cleaning services available today than ever before and the internet makes finding them and contacting them easier than ever. Difficult for the same reason: because there are more than ever before. So sifting through the also-rans and wannabes to find the real deal can take time and patience. Once you find the company you believe is going to best serve your residential needs it then becomes a matter of what you can reasonably expect from them.

Finding and Hiring a Professional Cleaner

Before you can sit down and discuss expectations with a London professional cleaner you have to find one first. We cover the process in depth in another part of this Cleaning Guide Hub titled “10 Tips for Hiring a Cleaner in London”. But we’ll provide the crib notes version here as a refresher. In a nutshell you ask about…

References – No references, no deal.
Insurance – No insurance, again, no deal.
Experience – How long have they been in business. No newbies.
Employee screening – You don’t want convicted burglars cleaning your home.
Employee training – The cleaners need to act like pros and know what they’re doing.
Dedicated cleaners – Having the same individual or group do the cleaning is important.
Supplies and equipment – Do they provide their own?
Pets – As in, will your dog be a problem?
A written estimate – Get it in writing or get someone else.
The point person – Who do you contact in the event of a problem?

That is the process of hiring a cleaning service in a nutshell. Once you find a company that answers all these questions to your satisfaction you can then sit down with them and discuss specifics. It’s during these discussions that you’ll state what you want and need done, how often you want various things done, when is a good time to have someone in the home conducting the cleaning and what is the process for addressing grievances.

Services to Expect

Expecting the cleaner to sort out the mess in your closet is asking too much. The potential for discarding something important is simply too great. Likewise, it is unrealistic to ask the cleaner to effect repairs or do any type of installation work, no matter how seemingly mundane. Dog walking, babysitting, running errands or acting as a driver are also beyond the scope of what to expect from a cleaning service. As a general rule London house cleaning services will:

Vacuum the carpets and rugs.
Sweep and mop the floors.
Empty the rubbish.
Dust furniture, baseboard, picture frames.
Clean all kitchen surfaces.
Clean the toilet, shower and tidy up in the WC.
Wipe down table tops.
Straighten up magazines.
Wash the dishes.
Wash and iron clothes.

The last two items on that list are options many London house cleaning services will charge extra for since they can be time consuming and tedious. Exactly which services you wish to take advantage of from that list will be up to you. There may be other things specific to your home that you want the cleaner to address. You can take them up with the company representative who will determine if they are doable. View our cleaners’ detailed house cleaning checklist here.

Scheduling London House Cleaning Services

The cleaning service will send the cleaner or cleaners to your home as often as you would like. You can choose daily service, every other day, every three days, weekly, fortnightly, monthly or a one-off service. It is entirely up to you. You can also choose which part of the house will be addressed on which day. For instance: you may want the kitchen to be cleaned each Monday because you frequently entertain on the weekend. Or you may decide to have it cleaned every day. You might choose to have the kitchen cleaned Monday, the loo cleaned Wednesday and the living room cleaned Fridays. Again, the choice is yours. The rates will be determined by what you want done and how often you wish to have it done.

Preparing for the House Cleaner

Preparing the house for the arrival of the cleaner may seem like a strange idea. After all, you are hiring a cleaning service to pop in and straighten things up because you don’t have time to do it yourself. So spending time preparing your home for the cleaner’s arrival seems a bit counterintuitive. But it’s actually vital to ensuring things go smoothly and you get the service you expect. Here are the steps we recommend to prepare your house for London house cleaning services.

Ensure safe and speedy access – If it’s the first time the cleaner will be coming to your home make sure in advance that they have hassle free access. That means keys and/or door codes if necessary.
Secure your pets – Even if it has been established that the cleaner has no issues regarding pets (especially dogs) it’s in everyone’s interest if the dog is secured before the cleaner arrives.
Communicate any special requests – If you want the cleaner to do something different on this visit make sure you communicate your request in advance to the cleaning company and get their approval. The cleaner cannot add services on the spot without company authorisation.
Pick up the clutter – The cleaner’s job is not to scrub the house top to bottom after a raucous party or to bring order to piles of work-related papers scattered about the kitchen table. By picking up the clutter prior to the cleaner’s arrival you ensure they can do their job in a smooth and efficient manner.

Judging Performance and Providing Feedback

Providing feedback to the professional cleaner or cleaning company is vital to their ability to continue to provide you with a first class service. As such there will be mechanisms in place for you to provide such feedback, regardless of whether you wish to praise the cleaner or discuss a problem. Before you sign a contract with London house cleaning services make sure you understand exactly what the feedback mechanisms are so that things can be handled in an expeditious fashion should the need arise.