Home Cleaning Vs. Housekeeping: How to Know Which One You Need and What to Expect When Getting Your Home Cleaned.

Maintaining your home can be a tall task, with a million different details to keep track of, things that need to be fixed, and chores to complete. Thankfully, there are a slew of home service companies ready to help. The catch is that it can sometimes be confusing and overwhelming when deciding what kind of help you need and who to call for it. One area of confusion we have experienced from some of our customers is understanding the difference between home cleaning and housekeeping. This is why we have decided to make the following guide to make it easy to understand what each of these types of services is, and what they offer.

What to expect when hiring a home cleaning company

One of the areas we've encountered the most confusion from our customers is what to expect when hiring a home cleaning company. For instance, folding laundry, organizing children's toys, and making the bed are not a part of our standard cleaning packages. These are, however, tasks that would fit neatly into the realm of housekeeping. The bottom line here is that home cleaning does not tend to deal with general household tasks or organization. The question is then: What exactly is home cleaning for?  

Home cleaning deals exclusively with cleaning and sanitizing your home. This can include both light maintenance cleaning, and more detailed deep cleaning. That is not to say that some home cleaning companies offer additional housekeeping tasks around the home, but these are generally considered add-ons that are not part of the standard home cleaning process. Here is a list of some of the things that are generally included as part of a home cleaning package: 

• Sweeping and mopping of floors.
• Dusting of surfaces, light fixtures, shelves, and nick-nacks.
• Wiping counters, coffeetables, and tabletops.
• Vacuuming and spot cleaning rugs and carpets.
• Scrubbing showers, sinks, tubs, and toilets.
• Cleaning tile and grout.
• Overall deep cleaning and sanitizing of living spaces, kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms.

Common home cleaning add-ons include: 

• Cleaning appliances such as microwaves and refrigerators.
• Scrubbing baseboards and walls.
• Emptying out trash cans and recycling bins.
• Polishing furniture.
• Stain removal from rugs and carpets.
• Hardwater/calcium removal from glass showers.
• Cleaning windows, tracks, blinds, and screens.

What to expect when hiring a housekeeper

Similar to home cleaning, housekeeping often does include light cleaning duties (vacuuming, wiping counters, dusting, etc), but is much broader in scope and deals more with overall organization and tidiness around the home. While there are several areas of overlap, housekeepers tend to visit more frequently than home cleaners and have a larger role in the larger operations and organization of your home. Here are some of the things you can expect when hiring a housekeeper or maid service: 

• Light cleaning of kitchens, bathrooms, and living spaces.
• Vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping floors.
• Dusting surfaces, and wiping counters.
• Emptying out trash cans and recycling bins.
• Changing linens, fluffing pillows, folding blankets, and making beds.
• Washing dishes.
• Washing and folding laundry.
• Putting away toys and other household items.
• Tidying, decluttering, and overall organizing around the home. 
   

Conclusion
The take-away here is that home cleaning is simply cleaning and sanitizing your home; and housekeeping, which may encompass elements of home cleaning, has more to do with overall organization and tidiness. Knowing which service  to hire for your needs is an important step in maintaining your home and restoring some sanity to your schedule. 

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For your home or window cleaning needs, feel free to give your friends at Transparent Cleaning Co. a call at 719-428-0255, or book online at transparentcleaningcompany.com/book-online.