How much to pay for household help in central Austin (Dallas: house, neighborhood)

[sanmiguel]

We can't afford to pay for a professional cleaning service but need someone to come in once a week to help in our home. Is anyone willing to share what they pay on an hourly basis for basic cleaning tasks? Spanish-only speaking is OK. Thank you.

[centralaustinite]

Usually cleaning services and people who do the work on their own, price according to the job, not by the hour. So the price varies depending on sq footage, number of bathrooms, types of floor surfaces, as well as whether any laundry is done, linens changed etc.

FWIW: Central Austin, 2000 sq feet, 3/2, hardwoods and carpet is the basic house in my neighborhood. Most folks pay between $90 and $140 a week for cleaning. How long it takes also varies, around 3-4 hours.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Usually cleaning services and people who do the work on their own, price according to the job, not by the hour. So the price varies depending on sq footage, number of bathrooms, types of floor surfaces, as well as whether any laundry is done, linens changed etc.

FWIW: Central Austin, 2000 sq feet, 3/2, hardwoods and carpet is the basic house in my neighborhood. Most folks pay between $90 and $140 a week for cleaning. How long it takes also varies, around 3-4 hours.

wow, that is totally crazy. Our daughter has a great gal, has had her for years, they live in the Dallas suburbs and pay either $60 or $75 a day. She is there 3 hours I think. They have 24 sq ft.

Nita

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by nmnita

wow, that is totally crazy. Our daughter has a great gal, has had her for years, they live in the Dallas suburbs and pay either $60 or $75 a day. She is there 3 hours I think. They have 24 sq ft.

Nita

She is getting a deal. That was a common price 10 years ago and most household workers have no way of raising rates for existing customers but you won't find that rate if you try to start with some now. A fairly standard starting price today is $120. I can't pay that myself but it is the going rate for many services and individuals.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by nmnita

wow, that is totally crazy. Our daughter has a great gal, has had her for years, they live in the Dallas suburbs and pay either $60 or $75 a day. She is there 3 hours I think. They have 24 sq ft.

Nita

THAT must be a really clean house! A bit small perhaps.

I'm afraid we pay around $30/hr as well. We've cut back and are doing much of the cleaning ourselves; but, it is nice to have it 'all' done once in a while. We supply our own 'more natural, less toxic' cleaning chemicals, BTW.

[gpurcell]

Originally Posted by sanmiguel

We can't afford to pay for a professional cleaning service but need someone to come in once a week to help in our home. Is anyone willing to share what they pay on an hourly basis for basic cleaning tasks? Spanish-only speaking is OK. Thank you.

1000 square foot bungalow, one bathroom, $80 every two weeks. I think she generally spends three hours or so.

No laundry or linens, although she'll generally throw a load of towels in when she leaves.

[CptnRn]

2300 SF, 3bdrm, 2 bath, 1 story house, tile floors with area rugs, two cleaning ladies come in once every two weeks for 3 hours, $100. No laundry.

[Dr.Mom]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

THAT must be a really clean house! A bit small perhaps.

I'm afraid we pay around $30/hr as well. We've cut back and are doing much of the cleaning ourselves; but, it is nice to have it 'all' done once in a while. We supply our own 'more natural, less toxic' cleaning chemicals, BTW.

Interesting. We pay $30/hr for our cleaning lady here in PA. For some unknown reason, I thought that it would be cheaper in Texas. She typically doesn't do laundry, dishes or anything like that but she would if I asked. Her attitude is that she works for $30/hr, doesn't matter what you ask her to do. She works on her own - not through a service and doesn't have any helpers, so she sets her own rates. She started with us about a year ago when my third one came along. With having our house on the market, she's been a huge help.

[mimimomx3]

I pay $80 for about 6 hours- four bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, about 2500 sf. No laundry, windows or outside work. I was paying $140 for a service, for 2 people.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

THAT must be a really clean house! A bit small perhaps.

I'm afraid we pay around $30/hr as well. We've cut back and are doing much of the cleaning ourselves; but, it is nice to have it 'all' done once in a while. We supply our own 'more natural, less toxic' cleaning chemicals, BTW.

maybe I had 1 too many glasses of wine? 2400 is a little closer. As for prices, Centralaustinite, no she hasn't had her for years. I think the gal has worked for her about 4 years, before that our daughter lived in Poland for a few years and before that had someone different. I checked with her last night, she pays $80.00. Our daughter in
Fl pays $100 I think. She has about 4000 sq ft. No laundry or linens done in either case. I think $120 must be high most places, Austin could be an exception.

Nita