It’s 5:30 pm— officially time for you to clock out of work. You leave the office at 6 pm and brave the rush hour traffic. It’s 7 pm by the time you get home and the kids are hungry. It’s chaotic, but you’re a responsible parent, so you push through despite the exhaustion.
After dinner, your spouse helps you wash the dishes. By this time, you’re too tired to do anything and want to take a breather. You look around. Toys are strewn everywhere. The curtains need to be washed, and the floor needs to be mopped. You’re taking a break on the couch, but now you’re even more stressed.
Sound familiar?
You’re not the only one. We’ve been there too.
Your home is an extension of yourself. Therefore it’s only natural that you’d want to keep this personal space clean and tidy.
But what if you’re so busy with life that you barely have time to keep the house clean? What if you’d rather spend your precious time for leisure or with your family instead of tidying your home?
Well, it’s about time you get a professional house cleaning. This guide will explain what house cleaning services are available along with their estimated costs.
Common House Cleaning Services – Descriptions and Prices
General clean
A general house cleaning consists of basic tasks such as sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, etc. General cleaning is typically a “surface” cleaning to maintain your home’s hygiene and is recommended to be done weekly. General house cleaning also helps prevent harmful bacteria from growing, which leads to a safe, comfortable, and good-smelling home.
General Cleaning Price
General cleaning in Australia can typically cost anywhere from $130-$250 per week, depending on your home’s complexity, size and scope of the job. It will also vary from location to location, as cleaners in metropolitan areas i.e Sydney and Melbourne will charge more than those in regional areas. Similarly, cleaning costs can vary significantly across the globe from London to New York.
Deep Clean
While general cleaning focuses on your surfaces, deep cleaning focuses on difficult and hard-to-reach areas that are often neglected or ignored. This includes cleaning under furniture, wiping down ceiling fans and light fixtures, cleaning blinds, etc.
Since deep cleaning is more meticulous, it requires more time and is recommended every six months to a year. In some cases, a deep clean is needed when you’ve just moved in or cleaning up after renovations or an event.
Deep Cleaning Price
Homeowners can expect deep cleaning costs to range between $190-$350. While the price may be higher than standard clean, it’s generally a one-time cost (or at least, not as frequent).
End-of-Lease Clean
As its name states, an end-of-lease cleaning is a type of clean that renters must do before vacating their rental unit. Regardless of which Australian suburb you reside in, it’s mandatory that tenants leave their space in immaculate condition before they can retrieve their bonds back.
Bond cleaning usually includes mopping the floors, wiping the kitchen cupboards inside and out, deep cleaning the oven, and more. And because it’s only done once and requires the cleaners to be more extremely thorough, it is more expensive than a general and deep clean.
End of Lease Cleaning Service Price
On average, an end-of-lease cleaning costs about $340-$620, depending on your property’s type, size and condition. Naturally, a larger home in a poorer condition will cost more to clean than a smaller home that’s well-maintained.
Now that we know what home cleaning services offer and their respective price tags, let’s look into what agencies consider when cleaning houses.
Professional House Cleaning Considerations
1. Size
Cleaning bigger homes needs more work hours, resources, energy and patience. Larger homes will have more rooms, furnishings, and appliances that need to be dusted, wiped down, vacuumed, and mopped. In some cases, there may also be high ceilings that need to be cleaned. All of these factors will contribute to a higher cleaning bill.
Some cleaning companies measure their rates per room or square metre. The average cleaning costs per square foot in Australia are between $0.2 to $0.65, depending on your home’s size, condition, and cleaning requirements.
2. Location
While cleaning cost estimates will vary from city to city, the hourly house cleaner rate in Australia ranges from $30-$40 per hour. It’s important to note that hiring a professional cleaner outside your vicinity can cost more since transportation fees aren’t cheap. So when in doubt, always hire a local cleaner!
Here is a list of the average prices around the country:
| State | Average Rate Per Hour |
| Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales | $38-$40 |
| South Australia | $35-$38 |
| Victoria | $31-$33 |
| Western Australia, Queensland | $30-$31 |
3. Other requirements
Most cleaning companies offer a flat-rate fee for their service. However, if your home requires specific services such as carpet cleaning, window cleaning, oven cleaning, etc., chances are you will need to pay extra.
Additional work or special requests like carpet steam cleaning, rubbish bins removal, and roof cleaning may also cost more. Likewise, having pets at home can also impact your service pricing. Always understand your home’s particular needs and confirm if extra charges apply before hiring professional house cleaners.
4. Condition of your home
If you haven’t cleaned your house in months, chances are certain areas like the bathroom or kitchen sink are covered in mould or uninvited pests. Cleaning companies seldom overlook these conditions when calculating costs – after all it will take them extra time and effort to clean a home in poor condition.
Likewise, cleaning companies could offer you a generous discount if your house gets a regular cleaning service. In addition to recurring services being good for business, a cleaner space in general requires less work on their part.
Still on the fence on which house cleaning service is best for you? Let’s dive into how house cleaning service quotes are calculated, so you can make a more informed decision.
House Cleaning Service Quotes – Fat Fee vs Hourly Rate
Flat Rate Service
As the name suggests, a flat-rate service only asks you for a flat fee regardless of how many hours cleaning takes. Often, the cost is calculated on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Some professional house cleaners may also charge per square foot.
If you’re unsure how much a specific service costs, you can use a house cleaning calculator or call the agency you want to hire.
Hourly Rate Service
Hourly rate services are determined on how long it will take to clean your home. Some base their rates on the number of rooms or areas, and most cleaning companies require a certain minimum booking time.
In general, an hourly rate makes sense for those who have small apartments, or live in a house that is already clean and just needs some general upkeep. However, this system can get expensive if you have a large or difficult to clean home. Furthermore, cleaners may intentionally work slowly to extend the amount of time to increase their earnings.
If you reached this section of this article, congratulations! You are now ready to hire a cleaning company. As a bonus, we have compiled our top tips on choosing the right agency that suits your house’s needs:
Tips For Choosing the Right Cleaning Service
1. Choose a service with good reviews and reputation
The best way to understand a home cleaning service’s performance is to look into their previous customers’ experiences and feedback. And while the odd negative review is bound to pop up, pay more attention to particular issues that are repeatedly mentioned.
Similarly, you can also ask for referrals from friends or family who’ve had good experiences with a certain service. You’ll then be able to get first-hand accounts of what it’s like working with them.
Be sure, however, to ask someone who is in the relevant area of your search. If you are looking for the best cleaners Adelaide has to offer for example, then it would be best to ask someone who lives in the vicinity of Adelaide rather than someone who is farther away.
2. Choose a company that communicates well
Picking the right company you can entrust with your home is no easy task. That’s why choosing one you can establish a friendly rapport with is best. After all, these are the people who will be in your home, and going through your things. Not to mention, you want to be able to comfortably communicate with them should any issues arise.
3. Ask the right questions
Here is a list of questions you can ask a professional cleaning agency:
- Do you set your rates by the service, hourly, or flat fee?
- What other house cleaning services do you include?
- Is your company bonded or insured?
- How long have you been in business?
- What cleaning products does your agency use, and who supplies them?
- Do you include additional costs for cleaning houses with pets?
Any reputable cleaning company should have no problem answering these questions. If they avoid doing so, it might be best to steer clear and look elsewhere.
4. Make sure they’re fully bonded and insured
Your home is the safe haven you return to after a gruelling day’s work. You decorate it with things you love that spark joy and bring you peace. But, what if the person you hired accidentally breaks something? Or worse, what if something valuable goes missing?
If the cleaning service you hired isn’t insured and bonded, you won’t have any legal protection. Choose a company that can readily give you proof that they’re insured upon request.
5. Check their cleaning services
Do you need a general or deep clean? Perhaps, you only need certain rooms or areas of your home wiped down. It’s important to be clear about what you want from a professional cleaning service, so there are no misunderstandings down the line.
Before looking up anyone online or in the phone book, make a general list of the services you need. You can also note down how frequently you’ll need them – kids and pets make homes dirtier quicker, so more regular cleans might be necessary.
Final thoughts
Getting a professional house cleaning service is one of the best decisions you can make as a busy homeowner. It will free up more time to spend with your family, relieve stress and clear up the mental space knowing that your house is being taken care of.
Just be sure to do your research and find a reputable company that suits your specific needs. Taking the time will help you find a happy medium between price and quality, so you can fully enjoy the benefits of having a clean home.
Calibre Cleaning gets you to spend more quality time with your family by providing reliable house cleaning services such as spring cleaning, exterior house washing, roof cleaning, bathroom cleaning, tile and grout cleaning, and many others. All across Australia including Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart, Canberra, Gold Coast, Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide cleaning services,