How to choose a service

Youve got options.

You could hire a solo cleaner over Craigslist or through a personal referral, or through a service likeHandy.

Or you could hire an agency, which might send different cleaners to your home at different times.

Youll also know exactly who is coming to your house each time.

How to set the cost

Most cleaning services prefer to settle on a flat rate per visit.

(That could be anywhere from $20 to $90 an hour, or more.)

The problem, Rojas says, is if you break your end of the deal.

Get it out of the way so the cleaners can do actual cleaning.

Shoes are a big one, says Rojas.

Toss them in the closet where they wont screw up the vacuuming process.

Put away your valuables, says Rojas.

This is partly to prevent theft, but most cleaners dont want to jeopardize a steady job.

you’ve got the option to lock up the valuables; Rojas isnt insulted by that.

Or you’ve got the option to just put them in a drawer.

I dont want to see any money in your house, Rojas says.

you could expect me not to open your furniture.

But its very uncomfortable when something goes missing and the client suspects the cleaner.

So do what it takes to prevent that suspicion.

When Rojas moves anything valuable, she tells the client, just to avoid this kind of discomfort.

Rojas also asks clients to lock up any guns and other weapons.

Put away your sex toys too, and anything else that might make a cleaner uncomfortable.

(Rojas hates seeing a room full of taxidermy.)

If its important to you to leave these out, again,talk about itat that initial meeting.

How to treat the cleaner right

Get out of the house.

Your home is my workplace, says Rojas.

If you expect to be home during a cleaning, you might be best off with a solo cleaner.

Like a lot of these rules, it depends on the cleaners personality and work habits.

If you have security cameras, put those away too.

They make cleaners feel untrusted, invaded, and abused.

Hidden cameras are, of course, out of the question, and in many places theyre illegal.

Your cleaner will find them.

Dont invite a lawsuit.

Sexual harassment from clients is a big problem in the industry, says Rojas.

Your cleaner cant afford to giveyoua background check, so they rely on what they can observe directly.

Again, your home is your cleaners workplace, and labor laws apply.

How to communicate

Too many unpleasant surprises and your cleaner will drop you.

(Or expose your gross habits intheir memoir.)

So like we keep saying, bring up everything in the initial visit.

Be professional but open, and be ready to keep searching.

And of course payment details.

Then if anything changes, address it.

If you need more work done, bring up whether it affects the rate.

Cleaning is a very personal business, and good clients get treated best.

But it still beats vacuuming.