When you live in an apartment, even the smallest messes can feel stifling. A pile of paper here, some dirty clothes there and boom, the whole place feels in disarray. Enlisting professionals can help.
“Hiring a professional cleaning service is a great way to ensure that your home is taken care of thoroughly and efficiently,” notes Marla Mock, president of Molly Maid. “Particularly during busy times of the year, like the holidays and flu season, professional cleaners take the weight off your shoulders of having to keep your home clean and sanitized and frees up your time to focus on other priorities.”
Before pulling the trigger, though, it’s worth weighing the pros and cons and determining what you should look for in a professional cleaner. Here, Mock and other cleaning experts talk the ins and outs of apartment house cleaning, including the benefits, potential drawbacks and cost.
Factors to consider before hiring an apartment cleaning service
Hire a house cleaner
According to Mock, the three main factors to consider before hiring someone to clean your apartment are:
- Your budget.
- Your schedule.
- Your cleaning preferences.
“Also consider whether you will need to let the cleaners in or provide them with a spare key or code to your home,” she adds.
Your budget
Cleaning services aren’t free, but “if you can swing it, the convenience is priceless,” notes Webber. And something else to keep in mind, according to Ken Doty, chief operating officer and cleaning expert at The Maids, is that “smaller apartments may require less frequent cleaning, potentially making professional services more affordable.”
Your schedule
“If your lifestyle has you frequently busy or has you often entertaining guests, a professional cleaning experience can alleviate the pressure of having your apartment space clean,” says Doty.
And the truth is, even if your calendar isn’t full, professional apartment cleaning can be worth it. “Are you spending your weekends trying to make the floors shine?” says Forrest Webber, founder of Bear Brothers Cleaning in Alabama. “A professional cleaner may allow you simply to watch TV without guilt. Time is money, and cleaning services buy you some of yours back.”
Your cleaning preferences
This, according to Webber, is two-fold. On the one hand, it’s important to consider your relationship with chores. “If cleaning is therapeutic for you,” he says, “more power to you!” If you’re not particularly fond of cleaning and you have a hard time staying on top of it (i.e., “your living room is a habitat for clutter”), it probably “makes sense to hire a cleaner,” he adds.
How much does apartment cleaning cost?
House cleaning costs vary, based on a number of factors, including location, frequency and size of the space. As Doty pointed out, professional cleaners may charge less for smaller apartments than they do for houses, but it’s important to check in with them directly about their rates.
Every cleaner has their own unique billing system (i.e., some charge hourly, some a flat rate, some monthly, etc.), but the average hourly rate range house cleaners in the U.S. are posting on Care is between $19.82-$28.66.
To learn more about house cleaning costs in your area, check out our Cost of Care Calculator.
How often do you need apartment cleaning?
Ultimately, it’s personal. While apartments are typically smaller than single-family homes, it all comes down to lifestyle (as well as budget).
“Depending on your budget, needs and how often you clean your own apartment, you may choose to hire cleaners on a weekly basis, every other week, once a month or for special occasions such as moving in or out,” Mock explains. “If you hire a cleaning company that operates on a no-contract basis, you can update or change your cleaning plan to fit your busy schedule, budget and cleaning needs.”
Taking another approach, Doty notes that “a basic clean every 2-3 weeks should be sufficient.” However, he adds, if you live with pets or have a lot of foot traffic, “a weekly cleaning” may be beneficial.
The pros and cons of apartment house cleaning
Professional apartment cleaning comes with some obvious benefits, as well as some not-so-obvious drawbacks. Here are a few.
Pros
It gives you time back. “The time saved [from hiring a professional cleaner] can be used to focus on family, work, hobbies or just taking some time to relax,” notes Doty.
It’s going to get done right. You’re not getting a perfunctory wipe-down when you hire cleaners; you’re getting a job that’s done right. “The years of expertise that cleaning professionals have will result in a more thorough and efficient clean,” says Doty.
“Professional cleaners typically have the best tools, products and experience to tackle both basic cleaning jobs and specific spots that you may not have thought of,” adds Mock.
It can improve air quality. “A hidden benefit customers might not think of are professional cleaners being trained to improve the air quality in homes by eliminating allergens, dust and pollutants,” notes Doty.
Cons
Cost. Mock, Doty and Webber all agree that the biggest drawback to hiring professionals to clean your apartment is cost.
Privacy concerns. Another con can be privacy concerns from having a “stranger” in your home, Doty notes. This can also make scheduling difficult, if you want to be present during cleaning.
That said, most cleaning companies run background checks on their employees, in addition to taking other precautions. (All caregivers, cleaners, tutors, etc. on Care are background checked.)
“We try to send the same cleaning pros to your place each time, which helps establish trust,” Webber says. “We also do thorough background checks and ensure all employees have proper training in both cleaning and in respecting spaces.”
The “pre-clean tidy-up.” Should you clean before the cleaner comes? Kind of. After all, cleaners can’t scrub hard-to-reach places if they’re covered in papers. “Somehow, you might still find yourself tidying up before the cleaner arrives,” Webber notes, adding that the result, however, is ultimately worth it.
The bottom line
While cost is a factor, the benefits of hiring a cleaner are hard to ignore — particularly if you live in an apartment, which oftentimes is designed around a low-maintenance lifestyle.
“Living in an apartment is all about convenience and perks like on-site maintenance, repair, and landscaping services,” Mock says. “Regular apartment cleaning is one more way to make apartment living even more convenient.”