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My wife and I are looking to get a maid to come in and do some cleaning once or twice a month. We've never used a maid before, and we are wondering what we should look for, what we should stay away from, how much we should expect to pay, and anything else you can think of. Our house is about 2000 sq ft, and we have a cat.
We have a local cleaning company come, it is family owned and the woman, her husband, or mother are always on site during the cleanings with the crew. Fantastic people, reasonable price, and great work. I love coming home to a clean house, we have them come bi-weekly.
The best option is to call a few places, have them come in and look at the house. They will provide a price estimate and you can absolutely negotiate a bit. There are rooms we don't need to clean all the time because they are not used as much so once in awhile we request a "whole house" cleaning that costs a little more and during the normal times just have them do the main areas. Our home is almost 3k sq ft and we pay $120 for them to clean about 2000 of it. The other rooms like our wine bar, formal dining, and bonus/play room do not get cleaned as often again due to use. If we go for a while house clean it's $160, and we are getting more use out of those rooms now that the kids are growing up and we entertain more so we may make the change to get the whole house done regularly.
Having two kids under 3, both working, we really don't want to spend our weekends or weekday evenings cleaning the house which can take upwards of 2 hours if we both pitch in. We'd rather be out doing family activities or other things so it has a lot of value to us. Plus the feeling as I mentioned of walking into a home that was just clean makes you all the more willing to keep it that way and not have to worry yourself about doing it.
There are times we vacuum or do minor cleaning in between when necessary but for your scenario I would be sure you do your homework and look for reputable services with reviews and references. We found ours through word of mouth by asking friends and co-workers for recommendations. Then decided what we wanted to have them do based on our budget. Also keep in mind they may charge a little extra the first time because they get the house seriously clean so they have a base to work from and then can schedule what they do and when whether it's fans, banisters, etc.
Unless you can get a recommendation from someone you know for an individual, I would go with a company which offers a team cleaning approach. I have had both, and I like a cleaning company the best.
They spell out exactly what will be done at each visit and the cost. The part I like best is, with a team of two or three cleaners, they're in and out in a few hours. With an individual, they might take all day. I'd rather they got in and out faster.
Also, if for some reason you aren't happy, you can just tell the supervisor to handle it, instead of having to deal with the person yourself.
Prices sure do vary. I was paying $50 every two weeks for basic cleaning of around 3000 sf. I never left dirty dishes, clothes lying around, and didn't want laundry done but did want sheets changed. She spent a little over two hours and did dusting, vacuuming, mopping, bathrooms, etc. and rotated cleaning fans and blinds.
Try to find someone who has been in your area for a long time, someone with roots. That type of person is less likely to steal or do something crazy. When she/he comes to give you a price, see what kind of information she/he is willing to give...kids in school, husband's/wife's job, church, etc.
We have a two-person team come in every two weeks. Our house is about 2500 square feet and it usually takes them between 2.5 and 3 hours, and costs us $125 or $150 each time. For me it's worth it, because I have a physical condition that limits what I can do in a day, so if I cleaned the house myself, that's all I would be doing every day. I keep the house uncluttered, but I don't do much actual cleaning between their visits. We have two large dogs so it gets kind of messed up, but I have trained myself to look elsewhere and not mind the dirt so much in between, because there's literally nothing I can do about it without wearing myself to a nub.
I would definitely advise trying word of mouth first. That's what we did when we moved here, and we are very happy. The team consists of the business owner and either her daughter, daughter in law, or a trusted friend. They are extremely responsive, responsible, and consistent. And just plain nice--which is a consideration since my DH and I stick around for the entire time they're here so that we can mind the dogs while they clean. If you will be out of the house, personalities won't matter.
Before moving to our current home, we lived in a big city, and we tried several of the larger commercial team cleaning services. I hated them all, mainly because it was so impersonal, it would be different people each time, they were always in such a hurry that the cleaning they did was never consistent from one time to the next and it drove me crazy having to repeat myself to each new team that came in. And if I had the temerity to complain, the manager always seemed to have a plethora of excuses that mostly centered on how our house was so hard to clean because it was an older home. (Oh, so that's why the inner sides of the sinks weren't cleaned--not because they were in a hurry and thought I wouldn't be looking there, but because the house was built so long ago?) So if you are using a large commercial service, I would advise emphasizing that you want the same people each time.
Also, having read a book about someone who tried being a Merry Maid for a while, these large services sometimes emphasize speed over hygiene. I much prefer one or two people who may be a bit slower, but who do the same job for me that they would do in their own homes.
Of course, make sure they are bonded and insured. As has been noted, the first time will often cost more. And if you care about such things, find out whether they use a natural, "green" approach to their cleaning supplies. Using toxic cleaning products day after day can take a toll on the health of the cleaning crew, and I don't like feeling that my house being clean comes at the expense of someone else's health.
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