House Cleaning in Rock Island

No — most recurring customers aren't. Be present for the first visit to walk through the task list and access arrangements, then switch to key, lockbox or concierge access. If you work from home, agree a room order so the cleaner works around you.

A 1-2 bedroom apartment usually takes 2-3 hours for one cleaner; a 3-bedroom home takes 3-4 hours. Deep cleans run 4-8 hours or use a two-person team. First visits always take longer than maintenance visits because the cleaner is working through accumulated grime and learning the layout.

Commonly excluded: exterior windows, inside the oven and fridge, laundry and ironing, dishes, wet-wiping walls, mould remediation, cleaning up after pests, biohazards, and anything requiring a ladder. These are add-ons or specialist jobs. Always get the inclusion list in writing so the visit matches your expectations.

Hourly suits open-ended or first-time jobs where scope is unknown, but you carry the risk of a slow cleaner. Flat-rate (per visit or per home size) makes budgeting predictable and puts the efficiency risk on the provider — but confirm exactly what the flat rate includes. For recurring cleans, flat per-visit pricing with a written task list is usually the cleanest arrangement.

Three reasons: insurance and legitimate employment cost real money (the cheapest quotes usually skip both), companies price in supervision and cover for sick days, and scope assumptions differ — one quote's 'clean' may exclude half of what another includes. Compare on a written task list, insurance status and the same visit frequency, not on the headline number.

There's no state occupational license for house cleaning, though some cities require a general business license. That means vetting falls to you: proof of general liability insurance, bonding, and workers' comp (for crews) are the signals that separate professional operators from informal ones.

If you directly employ a household worker and pay above the IRS annual wage threshold (adjusted yearly, in the low thousands of dollars), you owe Social Security and Medicare taxes and may need to file Schedule H. Hiring through a cleaning company avoids this entirely — the company is the employer, not you.