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We have a clean house. It is NOT a museum, though. Dirty dishes don't linger in the sink, counters and bathrooms get wiped down daily, crumbs swept up, stuff is never piled up, etc. But we aren't freaks about it.
We are lucky to have someone come in weekly to do a full vacuum and mop and a fuller clean of the kitchens and baths. That's always nice, and she does a nice job but the house is not what I would call deep-cleaned.
From time to time I will deep-clean a room For me, that means a bunch of microfiber cloths, mild cleaning products, moving furniture a little to get the dust bunnies, wiping down moldings and all frames, light fixtures, etc.
Recently we had to hire one of those whole-home deep cleaning companies and I have to say I was underwhelmed. It just wasn't on their radar to do floor moldings, light fixtures, dust up to ceiling corners, etc. We really had to direct most of their work. This was a highly-rated company too.
I used to work for a veterinarian who said some people just can't see dirt.
For years, we had cleaners come very two weeks. Last October they moved away, and due to the pandemic, we decided not to try to find new cleaners. Thus far, my DH and I are keeping up the house just fine, and it's actually considerably cleaner than when we had people come in to do it.
Like you, I like to deep clean each room every so often. I'm not crazy about having to spend the time doing it, but our house is so much cleaner than when we paid to have it done, there's just no comparison. They never deep cleaned anything. The first time we cleaned after they quit, I was grossed out to see all the grunge they had missed, that we had been living with, because I had thought they were doing a thorough job.
I think it is possible to get a really good cleaner, but they are few and far between.
I think there are a lot fewer homemakers who are fanatic cleaners. I’m a boomer and when I first got married, how someone kept a house was very important, and most of my friends had clean, organized houses. But most of us stayed home. Now, usually both parents work, and there are only so many hours in the day.
I had a house cleaner for a few years and they did a nice job on the bathrooms and floors, but the more difficult things were not done very well. Things like baseboards, kitchen cupboards, and light fixtures were ignored. Finally, I decided that I could do a half-assed job myself, so why waste the money.
Im a relaxed housekeeper now. It’s just the two of us, and we don’t mess things up very much. I get the obvious things done, like dusting and vacuuming, but only every few months do I really hit a room hard. I cannot stand clutter at all, so if there’s no clutter, a house stays pretty good.
I hardly ever clean baseboards and light fixtures, or move things to get the dust.
Just not important to me.
Other than the toilet and the kitchen counters.....everything else is a very distant third place.
I will make more effort for when company comes.
Other than that I just don't feel the need.
A friend once told me she literally couldn't sleep if there were dishes in the sink.
I said, "Oh, that's a shame." I sleep very well, with dishes in the sink and dirty clothes over the chair.
I have no intention of giving inanimate objects to power to make me lose sleep.
(This is at home, though. I do think commercial kitchens, nursing homes, hospitals, stores, school, etc. should be as spotless and pristine as possible.)
It might make a difference if you have a long term housecleaner you hire as an independent, not through a service company. My parents often had someone like this. There were weekly routine tasks and longer term chores they'd hit on a rotating schedule. My memory of each of them was that they arrived like a single-minded, self-contained tsunami...you made yourself scarce and didn't dare get in their way. Pets bolted under the beds. On their scheduled day you didn't leave anything that might be mistaken for disposables lying around and if you didn't want them to size you up as a lazy slob, you picked up your clutter before they caught sight of it. They left the house spotless.
Recently we had to hire one of those whole-home deep cleaning companies and I have to say I was underwhelmed. It just wasn't on their radar to do floor moldings, light fixtures, dust up to ceiling corners, etc. We really had to direct most of their work. This was a highly-rated company too.
Is cleaning a lost art?
Maybe not, but lots of people are pleased with mediocre services, happy to have any service at all.
If you want this kind of cleaning (which is very much reasonable and expected) you probably need to make a detailed list what's and how supposed to be cleaned. When you make a list, then you can easily check mark it after service is done, then voice your displeasure.
Lots of people pay for a surface cleaning thinking that's all to be expected. So, yes - this is what's done, and maid/cleaning services are getting away with it.
Find a list, like this (there are many on the net) then customize it to your needs. https://www.mollymaid.com/cleaning-t...ome-checklist/
Next time you order cleaning crew, make upfront sure they know what you want to be done.
I used to keep a very clean house. What some here are calling "deep cleaning", every Friday night. I called it my Friday night cleaning party. It was instant gratification and I thought it was fun.
Then for about 6 years in my 40s I had to clean professionally to make ends meet as my other jobs didn't pay enough to live on. I kept a roster of 4 or 5 houses, most weekly, some every 2 weeks, and an office building.
I did everything. I didn't leave a speck of dust, or dirt, when I'd been, they knew it. You could check the top of a door frame or a corner baseboard under a cabinet, it would be clean.
Now, I have a job that pays enough to live on, I'm older and tired, and I hate to clean. I scrub the toilet once a week and sanitize the kitchen counters every time I feed the cats and sweep the kitchen floor every couple of days. If I see a dust bunny floating across the floor I snag it. That's about it.
If I'm having someone over I get the vacuum cleaner out. I loathe vacuuming, so that is the only time I do it. I have company about once every 6-8 weeks.
I used to keep a very clean house. What some here are calling "deep cleaning", every Friday night. I called it my Friday night cleaning party. It was instant gratification and I thought it was fun.
Then for about 6 years in my 40s I had to clean professionally to make ends meet as my other jobs didn't pay enough to live on. I kept a roster of 4 or 5 houses, most weekly, some every 2 weeks, and an office building.
I did everything. I didn't leave a speck of dust, or dirt, when I'd been, they knew it. You could check the top of a door frame or a corner baseboard under a cabinet, it would be clean.
Now, I have a job that pays enough to live on, I'm older and tired, and I hate to clean. I scrub the toilet once a week and sanitize the kitchen counters every time I feed the cats and sweep the kitchen floor every couple of days. If I see a dust bunny floating across the floor I snag it. That's about it.
If I'm having someone over I get the vacuum cleaner out. I loathe vacuuming, so that is the only time I do it. I have company about once every 6-8 weeks.
I took some housecleaning jobs while I was in college.
I had one home I just loved. Two old guys, a couple of dogs, big mess everywhere. I'd strip the beds, start the laundry, get dishes soaking, and start gathering garbage. Four hours later, dog hair was vacuumed. Kitchen was clean. Clean towels hanging in clean bathrooms. It was like ny own little version of a makeover.
I like a clean home, I have robot vacs and they vacuum everyday, every other day the floors are mopped. Bathrooms are thoroughly cleaned weekly, touched up daily. We pick up after ourselves, so we don’t have things laying around. I dust the living-room daily. If you keep up it’s easy to have a clean house. I do laundry daily , clean the laundry room at the same time. Kitchen gets wiped down daily but I normally microwave something so no big mess. There is only two of us and we are both neat. We dont hoard or have a lot of junk. If we don’t use it , we get rid of it. This helps to keep things organized. I don’t use cleaners. I once had to hire cleaners for a move out of a house. The lady came in and said clean what it’s already clean. I told her I know but the landlord requires it. Lol
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