What to Expect When You Hire a Maid Service

If this is the first time you're hiring a maid service, it may be difficult to know quite what to expect. There are still those who see hiring such a service as something reserved for the rich. Actually, "rich" people typically have fulltime maids working exclusively for them. The popularity of services that send out teams to clean homes puts lie to that theory. No, these services are for the middle class and even those who don't quite meet even that definition. Working families who don't have time to keep up with banal cleaning chores. If you want to know what to expect, here's an overview.

Before beginning this overview, it's worth noting that every maid service is different. Therefore, it's impossible to say, "This is exactly what will happen," and have it be true in every case. This is a broad look at the things you can expect to see, but there will be differences—some minor and some substantial—depending upon who you choose. A major company with branches in every state will handle things differently than an individual with an ad in your local classifieds.

First, there will be the hiring process. You'll want to be careful during this process. Watch for signs of unprofessionalism. While there's nothing wrong with hiring an individual, you'll want to perform a serious and substantial background check as well as demand references. Don't just trust someone because they "seem nice". Some of the smoothest criminals in the world seem like they would be anything but. In fact, that's why they are so successful. People don't always wear their criminality on their sleeves. On the other hand, don't be quick to judge a book by its cover. Tattoos and funky hair aren't necessarily signs of a derelict.

Of course, you can avoid some of these problems by going through an established maid service. These services perform their own rigid background checks, meaning you can relax with the assurance that you aren't letting thieves into your home. An added bonus is that these people will be trained in the most efficient and effective methods of cleaning. If you hire some random person out of the newspaper, you could spend most of your time going behind them and cleaning where they missed.

As far as what you can expect from the cleaning process itself? This is something you need to discuss before making a hire. Some maid services do light cleaning and will leave mopping and window washing to you. Others will clean everything from the ceiling to the floor and every item in between. Still others offer various packages depending on their customers' needs. Determine what you want and you should be able to get exactly that.