Maid Service

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What exactly is the difference between a house cleaning service and a maid service?

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So you’ve recently got a promotion at work and along with that came more responsibility and longer work hours.  It’s only been a month and you’ve noticed the house is just not as clean as it used to be. The floor feels stickier than normal, the laundry is up to your waist by the weekend and dust is accumulating on the furniture and other items. You’re not certain if a house cleaning company will do the laundry or make the bed, and not sure if a maid service will actually scrub the toilets and thoroughly mop the floors. So what do you search for on the internet?  Some people use the two terms interchangeably but they are not the same. Some of the services provided by the two are almost the same, while others are quite different. This is our explanation of the differences and similarities between the two service sectors, based on observations from our own unique perspective. 

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Neither the house cleaning industry or maid service companies are regulated to the same level as, let’s say, the real estate industry or other service related types of business. As of 2018 there is not a government regulated body that stipulates the specific differences between a house cleaning company and a maid service company.  There is also no general consensus among either type of company on what services they do and do not provide. That is one of the reasons why some cleaning companies will do what maid service companies will normally do and vice versa.

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Generally Exclusive Maid Services

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• Washing, drying, folding clothes

• Washing, drying, putting dishes away

• Iron clothes

• Taking trash out

• Run personal errands; buy groceries, pick up and drop off kids from schools

• Prepping and cooking meals

• Light cleaning and dusting around the house

• Most of these activities are generally done under the supervision, guidance and training by the client.

 

Generally Exclusive House Cleaning Services

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• Dusting all furniture and surfaces

• Washing, scrubbing and disinfecting restroom toilets, showers, and sink

• Sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping ALL the household floors

• Changing bed sheets

• Taking out all the rash

• Wiping baseboards, window sills, and shutters

• Degreasing oven

• Cleaning inside of refrigerator and kitchen cabinets

• Most of the time, if not always, a house cleaning service provider will have the experience necessary to perform all the listed activities without any client input, other than general guidance of what areas may need more attention.

 

Some of the activities that are generally shared with the two

 

• Dusting

• Washing and drying clothes

• Light dusting

• Cleaning floors

 

It is evident that a house cleaning person will usually be involved in more intense cleaning activities than a maid service company. Generally speaking, most privately hired maids will stick to light housekeeping duties and most house cleaners will shy away from some of the more time consuming activities such as ironing clothes or cooking meals. If what you need help with around the house involves a combination of the two, you will have more flexibility with a privately hired employee. In that case, you are more likely to have control over what the persons duties while on the job. It is much easier to dictate a personal employee on the specific duties than it is a company.

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Most cleaning service companies will have many of the listed maid service duties as items their staff will not perform. In many cases it has nothing to do with a person’s ability to do something, let’s say cook food. It has more to do with the legal ramifications of offering certain services. If they offer to buy groceries as a service to one client, they may need to make that as part of every client’s service as well. This will add to the confusion of an already difficult pricing system in place for most cleaning companies. Other activities have to do with risk. These higher risk activities may include ironing clothes, transporting kids to and from school, and hand washing dishes.

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This is a simplification of these two service sectors and it can get quite complicated. As a guide, the heavy cleaning should be reserved to a cleaning company and the lighter more personal help to a maid service. With such a competitive industry, we are more than certain that the right service provider is within your own city or nearby.