Typical costs for housecleaning in the neighborhood?

[supersojo.livejournal.com]

What are going rates for house cleaning in the Somerville area?  I suppose the real question may be more like, what is common practice in pay per hour, or by square footage... I'm new at this, have mercy on me.

My place is the upstairs condo of a two floor house: LR, DR, K, 1BA, 2BR, approximately 1100 sq feet. The first quote I received was assuming 1.5 to 2 hours per session.

Thanks.

Comments

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

In North Cambridge, I paid $20/hr per worker. (had the whole place deep cleaned, it took 2 of them 9 hours, and cost $360; that was three stories, though.... the cost was by hour, though, totally unrelated to the size of the house)...

[myfatcat.livejournal.com]

About $70- $80 seems about standard - I have similar sized place and have used a couple different people.

[dphilli1.livejournal.com]

We pay $110/session for our 1600 ft^2 house.

Silva Cleaning Service

[lady-ceylonna.livejournal.com]

While sq ft plays a role, so does the frequency you want it cleaned at - every 2 weeks costs less than once a month. Some services do general straightening and dishes along with cleaning, others are the cleaning basics-- floors, bathrooms, countertops. They should come to your place and give you a quote. For a place that's larger than yours by a bath and bed, it ranges from $85-100, depending on above factors.

[teko.livejournal.com]

We have a team of three from Tremendous Maid come once a month and do the whole house -- the first, second, and third floors, as well as all stairways -- for $170. Not sure of the square footage.

[enveri.livejournal.com]

What all are you getting cleaned for that rate? Standard dusting, vacuum, baseboards, or is anything extra included in that? Bathrooms? *hopeful*

We live on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a 2 family with mostly hardwood; we have two cats and a bird, and there are 4 adults living here. I am going nuts with trying to keep the place clean, and this rate seems like it could be extremely reasonable. >.>

[teko.livejournal.com]

They dust, vacuum floors and furniture, clean the bathrooms fully, clean the stovetop in the kitchen, do any dishes in the sink, and mop kitchen/bathroom floors. They can also do windows but we opted not to do that.

Before they came out for any cleaning, a rep came out to walk the house and take notes on our preferences.

Having used a different service before this, I've been impressed by Tremendous Maid -- they're very flexible and responsive.

I think I get some kind of discount for referrals, so let me know :)

[enveri.livejournal.com]

I most certainly will!

[aedifica]

I recommend staying away from Maid Pro if you want anything *cleaned* cleaned. They did my place and all they did was spray stuff and wipe it off, they don't scrub. I was pissed, since I said when I booked them that I needed stuff scrubbed. So now I leave them bad reviews instead. :-)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

I'd recommend staying away from all services unless you confirm they actually pay a fair wage/benefits. it's not too hard to find individuals with good references.

[eustaciavye.livejournal.com]

We pay $90 for once a month cleaning but we don't have the bedrooms cleaned, just the common areas of the house so hallways, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, living room.

[pukku.livejournal.com]

You may find that the first visit will cost more -- my cleaners who come once a month ($70 for ~6 rooms incl bathroom and kitchen) charged $100 for the first visit. Admittedly, the first visit also took longer.

[supersojo.livejournal.com]

Thanks, everyone. Super helpful.