Hiring a cleaner
Questions to ask before hiring a cleaning company
Most people ask about price and availability and stop there. These are the questions that actually predict whether you will still be happy in six months.
Hygiene Maids of Fort Worth7 min readUpdated
How to use this list
You do not need to ask all twelve. Pick the five or six that matter most for your situation, and pay attention to how the answers come — hesitation and vagueness are as informative as the content.
Under each question is what a good answer sounds like, and what should make you keep looking.
Questions
Insurance, screening and accountability
- Are you insured and bonded, and can I see documentation?
- Good answer: yes to both, with documentation provided without hesitation. Bonding covers theft by a worker; liability insurance covers accidental damage. They are different things. Keep looking if: the answer is a vague "we're covered" with no paperwork.
- Are your cleaners background-checked?
- Good answer: yes, before a first visit, as a matter of policy. Keep looking if: the answer is about how long they have known someone rather than about a process.
- Are cleaners employees or subcontractors?
- Good answer: a clear one either way, with an explanation of who carries insurance and employment obligations. Keep looking if: the answer is evasive, because it usually means the liability sits somewhere you would not expect.
- What happens if something is damaged?
- Good answer: a process — report it, it is assessed, it is covered under insurance. Keep looking if: the answer is "that has never happened."
Questions
Scope and consistency
- Can I see a written checklist of what is included?
- Good answer: yes, room by room, with exclusions named. Keep looking if: the scope only exists verbally. Almost every future disagreement about cleaning is a disagreement about scope.
- What is explicitly not included?
- Good answer: a specific list — inside the oven, inside the refrigerator, interior windows, carpet steam cleaning, wall washing, work above step-stool height. Keep looking if: they say everything is included. Nothing is everything.
- Will I get the same cleaners each time?
- Good answer: yes on a recurring schedule wherever routing allows, with an honest caveat about illness and vacation. Keep looking if: the answer is an unqualified guarantee, which nobody can make.
- What happens if a cleaner is unavailable on my day?
- Good answer: another crew covers, using the notes on your property. Or, from an independent cleaner, an honest "the visit does not happen" — which may be fine as long as you know in advance.
Questions
Products, practicalities and money
- What do you use on stone, hardwood and glass?
- Good answer: surface-specific products, pH-appropriate on natural stone, low moisture on wood. Keep looking if: one product is used on everything. That is how counters get etched and old finishes get ruined.
- How do you price, and what makes the number change?
- Good answer: hours, driven by size, bathroom count, condition, clutter, pets and frequency. Keep looking if: a flat rate is quoted with no questions asked.
- Do you offer recurring discounts, and are they permanent?
- Good answer: a clear structure that holds — with Hygiene Maids of Fort Worth, 20% weekly, 15% biweekly, 10% monthly, applied for as long as the schedule runs. Keep looking if: the discount is introductory and steps up later.
- What is your policy if something is missed?
- Good answer: a defined window and a specific remedy — with us, tell us within 24 hours and we return to address that area at no additional cleaning charge, subject to the terms of the guarantee. Keep looking if: there is no policy, or the guarantee is described in terms too broad to be real.
Extra questions if it is a business
Can you provide a certificate of insurance to our landlord? Does your scope assign a frequency to each task or just to the contract? Who supplies paper, soap and liners? What are your exclusions — hood cleaning, clinical disinfection, floor refinishing? What access and after-hours arrangements do you need?
See how to choose a commercial cleaning company for the longer version.
Ask us any of these
Call or text and put the list to us. We would rather answer twelve questions now than have a conversation about scope in month three.