Before you hire a cleaning company, you should find out if they are worth paying money for. Not all cleaning companies are going to do a good job. They are as susceptible to cutting corners and getting away with as little work as possible as any other industry is. There are plenty of great cleaning companies out there, but there are also a number of them that are mostly in it for the money and that don’t have your best interests at heart.

No one wants to come home to a house they expected to see cleaned and find things swept under the rug, both figuratively and literally. You want to know that you can count on your cleaning company to do a good job every time they are at your house. You are trusting them in and around your belongings. You are also trusting them with the health of your family, to an extent, as a clean house can make a huge difference in how healthy its occupants are.

That’s why we want to give you some ideas of what you should be asking a cleaning company before you hire them. You want to be sure that you are picking a worthwhile company and that they will do everything they can to produce great results and a clean house for you.

What Accreditation Do You Have?

It’s true that anyone could start their own cleaning company and do a good job at it, but you can tell how serious a company is about providing cleaning services by finding out what affiliations they have and what training they have gone through. You can ask about any awards the company has received for their services, which organizations they are a part of and what kind of certification their company and employees have received. If they cannot produce anything in any of these categories, then that is a good indication that they have either not been around for very long or have not produced the kind of quality work necessary for any awards or accreditation.

Can Your Former Customers Recommend You?

This is related to the last question in a way, but it needs to be asked on its own. You can ask to be put in contact with former customers or to see customer testimonials. You may not have to ask this question if there are customer testimonials on the company’s website or if there are customer reviews related to their services online. Just be aware that reviews and testimonials on the company’s own website could be manufactured, and you are better off looking at reviews outside their site. If you find that their site reviews and reviews on other sites don’t really match up and that they paint two entirely different pictures of the company, then you can be fairly sure they are hiding something.

What Services Do You Offer?

Not all cleaning companies will offer the same cleaning services. Some of them won’t do laundry, others won’t do exterior work. Some companies do cleaning for offices while others do not. You should have an idea of what you want them to do and then make sure that they are able to do it. Prepare a checklist ahead of time to give you an idea of what you need to ask about. You can just request a list of services they provide, if you have not decided what you want them to do yet. Then you can tell if what they are offering is really what you are looking for or if you need to go elsewhere.

For any intensive services, such as degreasing, bathroom cleaning, mold removal and others, you may want to ask about their cleaning process. Find out how they do their work and if they have a plan for tackling the issues at your home. If they can tell you exactly how they are going to do the work without first looking at your home, then you probably want to look elsewhere for a cleaning company. A professional cleaning service will need to examine your home to see how best to work there before they can give you too many concrete answers.

How Much Do You Charge?

Once you find out which services are offered by the cleaning company and you determine which ones you want to use, then you can ask about pricing. The cleaning company will likely give you an hourly rate but not be able to tell you upfront how many hours they will need to be working until they have assessed your home in person or done their first cleaning. They should be able to give you exact pricing on all the different services they offer, though. You should never agree to any services or schedule a cleaning with a company until you learn how much it will cost. Then once you have that estimate, you should write it down and check some other cleaning companies to see how the prices compare. If you find drastically different prices elsewhere, you can always bring the lower quote to the original cleaning company and see if they will give you a better price, if you decide you want them to do the cleaning for you.

When Can You Start?

Then you need to schedule a cleaning. Find a time that is convenient for you and determine whether you want to be there to oversee the work or if you feel comfortable enough just letting them into the house and letting them do their thing. You should discuss an estimated completion time with the company, and if they go very far past that time, then you need to call them out on it and consider using someone else that is more punctual.

With these questions, you will be able to find the right cleaning company for your needs. These questions and the answers the company gives will allow you to make a smart choice and keep you from being taken advantage of or having to deal with an untidy house after the work is completed.