How much should a cleaning lady cost?

[skyvue]

I have got to the point where I really despise cleaning even though it really is pretty simple in my case. I am single and live in a 1,600 sq ft, 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath condo. Carpeting upstairs in the bedrooms. Hardwood floors in the main living room and ceramic tile in the bathrooms and kitchens.

I would like to look to hire somebody to come in and clean the place. Once per week seems a bit excessive as I don't create much mess. Is it routine or normal to have somebody come each week or would bi-weekly also be something fairly standard?

Anybody have experience or thoughts on what I should expect to pay an hour to have the placed cleaned?

 

[ziggy29]

Are you looking at hiring a private party directly to do it or use a bonded and insured company to provide the service? Obviously, the latter will cost more. And just as obviously, it depends on where one lives; it will cost a lot more Manhattan (NYC) than in Manhattan (Kansas), for example.

 

[skyvue]

Are you looking at hiring a private party directly to do it or use a bonded and insured company to provide the service? Obviously, the latter will cost more. And just as obviously, it depends on where one lives; it will cost a lot more Manhattan (NYC) than in Manhattan (Kansas), for example.

Private party, Cleveland Ohio area.

 

[MichaelB]

How much does it cost or how much should one pay? It depends on what needs to be done. If it is just simple cleaning it could be a 5 hour job and you might want to pay $75. If it includes furniture care, extensive kitchen or laundry, it might be a full day and cost $100 - $125 plus lunch.

Once every two weeks is fine. Gotta have current references. Breakage is high - valuable or sentimental things need to be protected.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Ask your neighbors. Or if you have a local weekly paper, look in the classifieds. You could have a "Merry Maids" type of service come and give you a quote (they might even do it over the phone ball-park wise). You can probably have them come as often as you want--once a month, biweekly, weekly--but around here the less frequently they come, the more it costs per visit.

 

[Ally]

I have a lady who comes every 2 weeks for about 3.5-4 hours for $60. She does a great job. It's just the two of us and I make sure I pick up the night before she comes, so she doesn't have to spend her time straightening things, but instead cleaning. She cleans about 2000 sq ft, but two of the bedrooms hardly ever have anyone in them, so they are very easy.

 

[ziggy29]

I'd think something like $30 for the first hour plus $15-20 for each extra hour would be in the ballpark. Be careful about damages and legal liability, obviously; if you hire someone that breaks a valuable item or if they fall and suffer major injuries on your property, you could be very much on the hook.

 

[MasterBlaster]

On the high end...

The cleaning lady for Dominique Staruss-Kahn will cost him millions. And probably his freedom as well.

 

[eytonxav]

Now if you asked Arnold that question, it would be very costly

 

[W2R]

I don't have anyone to help with cleaning.

Breakage is high - valuable or sentimental things need to be protected.

If any of my nice stuff were to be broken, that would KILL me. I knew there was a good reason why I don't have a housekeeper.

I think that instead of hiring someone I'll turn down the lights so that dirt is harder to see. Oh, I know! I'll darken my rooms by replacing incandescent lightbulbs with those dim CFL bulbs. That should do the trick.

 

[REWahoo]

We have a lady come in every other week and pay her $75 to clean ~2,750 sf. It takes her approx 4 hours, she has a one-hour round trip drive to get here and what we pay takes that into consideration.

BTW, she drives a late model Cadillac. Her excuse is her husband is the parts manager for a local Caddy dealer.

 

[Texas Proud]

My mom pays $50 every two weeks for a one bedroom condo...

they strip the bed and put on new sheets which she can not do at her age.. they start the wash, clean everything... from what I understand it is two or three people from a family (dad, mom, older kids, cousins etc.).. they can do it all in an hour or so...

Well worth the money for her...

 

[MichaelB]

Your local church may also know people looking for work.

 

[rescueme]

It depends if you are married to her - or not ...

 

[califdreamer]

Funny you should ask as two housekeepers are cleaning my home right now. I pay them $100 per visit, which usually takes 2.5 - 3 hours for 2600 sf home. Usually a cleaning once every three weeks is sufficient. I found out about them, a woman and her mother, from a friend who spoke highly of them. They do a great job.

 

[Keim]

$35 for two hours, twice a month.

 

[Katsmeow]

Before we sold our house while it was on the market we had a cleaning service come in and it was $146 (4500 SF). If you have them come every other week it was the same charge but if it was less frequent than that it was more. In the past we cut down on cost by not having them clean certain lightly used rooms.

Theoretically I like the idea of having an individual rather than a service. As a practical matter I didn't find it all that easy to find someone when we moved to that area so we used a service.

I did have a friend give me some advice about how to find a private person to clean. She had a thriving part time income from doing house cleaning and suggested we call the local Jehovah's Witness church. She said that a lot of Witnesses (such as her) homeschool their kids and do house cleaning as a flexible way to bring in extra money so she knew people people in addition to herself who did that. She said that usually they tell the church who can give out referrals. I never actually ending up trying it but kept it in the back of my mind.

 

[ChadR]

I pay $50 per visit (Sotherna California) to have the house cleaned twice a month. That is for a tiny 2 bedroom house with 1 bathroom. They will wash any dishes and put them away if out (no dishwasher) and change the sheets on the bed if I leave out the clean pair on top to signal it. And of course the usual stuff.

Its a husband and wife duo who do the cleaning and they get it down in 1.5-2.5 hours each visit.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Most people I know who have cleaning help have it done every other week. The cost seems to be fairly standard at $15.00-$20.00 an hour in these parts. Usually a prospective cleaner will come and give you an estimate after you tell them what you want done and at what frequency. I think the best hires come recommended by friends but you still should do a background check. My boss had tens of thousands of dollars in Treasury bonds stolen by a woman who had worked for her aunt for 10 years prior to coming to work at her house. The woman faked an ID and cashed them at various banks. The FBI even got involved!
I do my own cleaning at present. Or should I say, I am motivated to clean when I notice that the place is going to hell in a hand basket and guests are expected.
It is best to entertain on gloomy overcast days or in the evening.

 

[Blackwoodt]

The cost should depend on where you live, and of course the size of your abode.
I’ve currently pay 65$ every other week, but have also paid 120$ for the same 2600 SF house located just North of Kansas City Missouri.
Needless to say, I found out I was paying to much. I’ve always found individuals though word of mouth, or by local ads.
I no longer travel all of the time for work, but did years ago and started using a housekeeper 10-15 years back. I contribute my happy marriage to my DH to having a housekeeper. When I retire next year, my housekeeper is already in my budget. Life is too short to clean _________ (fill in the blank!)

 

[FreeAtLast]

I pay $80 for 4 hours to clean a 2500 SF home in the S. Florida area. This is one of my reasons for still working PT. I rather program computers than clean house.

 

[Buckeye]

We have always used private people found through word-of-mouth. Our cleaning lady in Orlando was so in-demand we had to get on a waiting list but it was worth it. She charged $20 per hour for 3 hours every other week to clean (more like detailing) a 2000 sq ft 4/2.5. We sold the house after 3 years and it still looked brand new. She was amazing!

Our 55+ apartment complex has excellent housekeepers. The charge for our 2/2, 1000 sq ft is $55 for about 2 hours of cleaning. I haven't had to pitch in with the housekeeping for the last 8 years because I was working full time and DH was the domestic diva. Now that I'm not working, I'm supposed to share the housekeeping duties. Still working on the transition!

 

[Walt34]

I think that instead of hiring someone I'll turn down the lights so that dirt is harder to see. Oh, I know! I'll darken my rooms by replacing incandescent lightbulbs with those dim CFL bulbs. That should do the trick.

That's my line of thinking. When DW and I were picking carpet color I wanted the speckled brown so it wouldn't show dirt.

That just earned another eyeroll look from DW.

She insisted on the light tan "sandy beach" color, which as I predicted shows every speck. Over 20+ years of marriage I have learned to shut up about some things.

 

[rescueme]

Over 20+ years of marriage I have learned to shut up about some things.

After 40+ years of marriage, I have learned to shut up about everything ...

You still have some lessons to be learned (I'm sure you will do well...)

 

[jayc]

SW Ohio, $55 for 4 hours every 2 weeks, 1 person self employed