Pax Miami House Cleaning and Maid Service

Let’s face it: Keeping up with housework is a difficult challenge, particularly in this hectic day and age. If it’s become more than you can handle, why not consider hiring a house cleaning service to help you manage? The time you’ll save makes the hiring a sort of investment, freeing you up to handle more of your other responsibilities.

Here’s how to go about hiring a house cleaning service and making sure your home is in good hands, visit UpMaids.

What To Look For In A Miami House Cleaning Service

Depending on your budget, hiring a service can be quite costly; thus, you want to make sure you are going to be getting your money’s worth. Take your time while looking, to see that you’re not rushed into something that won’t be in your best interest in the long-term.

1. Experience

With proper training, nearly anyone can become proficient at cleaning, but you should look for a service that boasts a number of years experience. This ensures that you can really trust the company you hire, both in terms of getting a good job done and of being worthy of your trust. For example, a company that’s been around for a few years and is still in good standing likely knows not only how to clean a home from top to bottom properly, but also how to handle all the little nuances that come with dealing with the public and addressing the individual needs of home owners.

2. Reputation

Even if a business has been around for a while, it might not be exactly what you’re looking for. Especially if you have particular requests or need distinct accommodations for your home cleaning services, validate the reputation of any company you’re considering hiring. If you can’t find publicized information about them, ask them to provide you with the contact information of existing customers who are satisfied with the services they receive and will provide you with a positive recommendation regarding the reputation of the business.

3. A Respectable Promise Of Satisfaction

Different companies will offer different types of “guarantees” and some smaller companies may not offer any. It’s important that you inquire about this up-front, before actually hiring anyone. Ask what type of guarantee they provide with their work, such as what happens if you’re not satisfied with the job they do. Specifically, if you find a representative of the service isn’t cleaning thoroughly, what will the company do about it? They may offer to send someone else out to do a better job or give you some type of discount; either way, it’s crucial that you be aware of how this would be handled.

4. An Environmental Conscience

Particularly if anyone in your home has allergies or chemical sensitivities, you may want to discuss the types of cleaning agents that will be applied in your house. Many products are now made to have less of an impact (or none at all) on the environment, too, if that’s a concern for you. Ask about this ahead of time, to ensure the company you hire can comply with any special requests you’ll have regarding the use of specific chemicals. While some environmentally-friendly cleaners can be much more expensive, there are quite a few brands that are as economical as they are ecological; however, the specific cleaning company you hire may only order their supplies from a brand that doesn’t specialize in such products. It is possible to provide your own cleaners or to have the service pick them up, but this will have to be specially arranged ahead of time.

How To Hire A House Cleaning Service

You want to make sure you hire the right cleaning service for the job, not just to get your home clean, but you leave you feeling at ease about the entire process. If you don’t have a house cleaning Miami service in mind now, you may not know how to go about finding one. Here’s how to start:

1. Ask People You Know

Chances are good someone you know has good information about a home cleaning service and can recommend a reliable company. Ask your neighbors and friends and even put an inquiry in at your place of employment. Many cleaning services cover both residential and commercial contracts; thus, the service that keeps your offices spotless may also be able to take care of your home in the same manner. Don’t hesitate to ask the waitress or barista at your favorite lunch spot who cleans their establishment, either, as word of mouth is often the best way to find a top-notch company, no matter what business need is being served.

2. Search For Reviews

Locally, there should be a number of listings for home cleaning services and in this day and age, consumers are leaving reviews with every interaction they have with companies. Look at local directories, where such companies are listed and you should see reviews accompanying the basic information needed to find the business you’re looking for.

3. Check With The BBB

Because having your home cleaned means allowing people you don’t know into it, you want to be extra sure the cleaning service you hire has no formal complaints registered against them. You could check with your local Better Business Bureau and also with various licensing boards that cleaning companies need to register with before they can commence operations.

What You Can Expect From The Service

During the formal interviewing process, you should ask as many questions as possible regarding the specific services you’ll be paying for. You may have certain things that need special attention on the first visit only or all of the time and such matters must be clarified before a representative arrives at your home. In general, though, there are standards you can expect to be met:

1. In Your Kitchen: A cleaning service can literally take apart your kitchen, including appliances, and give it a thorough cleaning like it probably hasn’t had in years. This is no fault of your own, most people simply don’t have the time or means to get behind the stove and fridge regularly. The thorough cleaning will happen on the first visit, followed by regular cleanings thereafter. Most services don’t include such things as doing the dishes or preparing meals, rather, they’re strictly focused on traditional cleaning.
2. In The Living Room: If you have carpeting, expect the service you hire to make an inquiry about shampooing. If your carpets haven’t been steam-cleaned lately, they’ll get a deep cleaning that will remove dirt and other particles, as well as any lingering odors. This type of cleaning helps your carpets look better and last longer. Upholstery and curtains could also benefit from deep cleaning and this should be included in your first-time visit. Expect regular cleanings to include furniture polishing and dusting.
3. The Bedrooms: Some consumers prefer to clean their own bedrooms, while others ask for full service, so this part is up to you. Your cleaning company will take care of floors, walls and other room surfaces, but things like closet organizing or deodorizing may or may not be part of the deal. Ask the company representative what bedroom cleaning covers, if you’re interested in having them take care of that room for you.
4. The Bathrooms: What a relief it would be to not have to clean up in your bathroom! For the first visit, expect a top to bottom job, as with other rooms. Tile will be polished, fans and vents cleaned and everything from shower to storage areas made spotless.
5. Other Miscellaneous Duties: Depending on the rooms in your home, there may be other areas of concern for you when you hire a cleaning service. For example, a basement, attic and hallways. During the initial visit, these rooms may be included, but you’ll have to ask specifically as you plan the arrangement. While you don’t have to include all rooms in your home, you do need to set the terms straight before a representative comes to visit. For future cleanings, you may want to only include the main rooms that are used on a regular basis, but always specify beforehand, so the proper time allotments can be made.

How To Prep Your Home For The Cleaners

Once you have met with a rep from the cleaning service on a number of occasions, things should proceed smoothly; however, before you reach that point, there are a few things you’ll need to take care of. Such things usually vary from home to home and service to service, but for the most part, the following should include the most important matters:

1. Dealing With Pets: If you have animals that run around the home or property, like a dog or cat, be sure and mention this to your cleaning service ahead of time. If possible, it’s best to keep all animals out of the way, especially if they could interfere with the work to be done at hand. Also, inform the service of any other animals that may be present, such as caged rodents (hamster, gerbils, guinea pigs, etc.) and even birds, in case the person who shows up to clean the house has any allergies. Also, be warned that some air fresheners, even the most popular commercial brands, can be harmful to small animals, most especially, birds, who have very sensitive air sacs (in lieu of lungs).
2. Rounding Up Children: If the family will be home while the house is cleaned, make sure everyone knows who is coming and when. Kids who might run around and chase after the cleaning personnel should be closely supervised during the visit.
3. Clearing Up Clutter: While the service you hire will be thorough in cleaning, it may not be advisable to leave clutter for them to pick up. This is primarily due to the fact that they may not know where you like things to be put away, but also because their main purpose is to clean, not to organize. If you have clutter, such as closets or a garage, which need cleaning up, ask about making special arrangements with the service before agreeing to a regular cleaning; clutter and organization may not be included in your price package.
4. Having Spare Keys Made Up: If you’re not going to be home during the first cleaning visit or any thereafter, consider having a spare key made so the cleaning service can easily get into the home. Leaving a spare under the mat may not be the most secure means of letting them in and they might also have difficulty finding a key left out for them, depending on the circumstances. Ask the service supervisor about a spare key if you’re uncertain about it.
5. Putting Away Personal Items And Valuables: Don’t forget to stash away any items of a personal nature you don’t want to leave hanging around. This included documents with your personally identifiable information or anything else you’re not comfortable sharing with the world. Although the cleaning service you hire will most likely be discreet and respective of your privacy, there’s no need to take any risk. Also, items of high value, like cash and jewelry, should not be left out in the open. While you should be able to have the utmost trust in the people who come into your home to clean it, it’s easy to lose track of things when you don’t keep them in their proper place; to be on the safe side in all aspects, organize your valuables accordingly.

While you want to have the services of a house cleaner, you want to make sure your home is in good hands. Just think of all the amazing things you’ll be able to accomplish, once your house cleaning is taken care of! You can devote more time to yourself, your career and of course, your family; in fact, once your house cleaning is out of the way and in someone else’s hands, there’s really no limit to what you’ll be able to accomplish – including, perhaps, a few minutes of relaxation!

Having a busy life and a beautiful home should be good things. If the burden of tending to household chores is starting to squeeze all the free time out of your schedule, why not call on the assistance of a professional house cleaning service? Here’s everything you need to know if you want to turn your day-to-day chores over to experts.

Define The Scope Of The Job

The first thing you’ll want to do is get a firm idea of exactly how much help you need with your cleaning. Decide which rooms will be “out of bounds” to the cleaning staff. You should also prepare some general information to help cleaning services give you pricing on the job – if you happen to know how large your house is in square feet, this will be tremendously helpful.

Take the time to draw up a list of the cleaning tasks you’d like your service to handle. Be comprehensive to start with, but bear in mind that a lot of chores fall outside the typical scope of a cleaning service’s workers. (Window washing, for instance, is a common example of a task that household services generally don’t handle.) For some tasks, you may not find a service willing to handle them; with others, you may need to pay extra fees.

Build Your Short List

Of course, it’s not feasible to talk to every cleaning service in your community. In order to narrow down your search, begin by asking friends, relatives, and coworkers for recommendations. Remember to ask how satisfied they are with their service – you probably don’t want to waste your time with a company that’s caused problems for someone you know! You can round out your list by using the Internet to find services that operate in your neighborhood. With local services, it’s generally pretty easy to speak directly to a client to find out how happy they are with their cleaning staff.

You can start narrowing down your choices with simple phone calls. You’ll want to have the information you gathered about your cleaning job handy, and some firms may be able to quote you a price sight unseen. What you’re really interested in at this point is credentials, though. You need to verify that any company you hire is bonded and insured; this protects you in the case of accidents. Also, ask the service about their hiring policies. You want to verify that anyone who works in your home is a legal resident and has passed a criminal background check.

Interviewing Potential Services

A good house cleaning service will send a representative to your home in order to get a better feel for the job. This is the time to really define what you expect from your cleaning service. The service rep will want to know some important details at this time, like what schedule you’re looking for, how many people live in the home, whether there are pets or children, and so forth.

This should also be when you talk about pricing. Some cleaning services work on a flat fee, some charge an hourly rate, and some use a hybrid model. Many homeowners are leery of hiring hourly cleaning services because they assume the staff will “pad” their time. If you are considering a service that bills at an hourly rate, inquire about a cap on the total overall charge for a single cleaning visit.

Starting With A Trial Run

Even once you’ve made your final choice, your job isn’t quite done. You want to try out the service you’ve picked to see if it’s a good fit with your needs. The best way to do this is to pay them to work a small sample of cleaning visits. You want to get through more than one so that you can confirm they’ll provide a consistent level of service.

Be very wary of any service that tries to get you to make a long-term commitment before you’ve gotten a first-hand look at the job their employees do in your home. At the same time, though, you shouldn’t raise unfair expectations on your service’s part: Make it clear that you won’t make a final commitment until you’ve been through a few cleaning visits.

Working With Your Service

Once you’ve picked a service and are happy with their performance during their initial visits, you can settle into a long-term routine. Make sure you keep contact numbers for your service convenient in case you need to make scheduling changes. Don’t be afraid to issue instructions to the staff members who clean your home; it’s important to make sure they have a clear understanding of your expectations. Just remember to be civil. Your cleaners are professionals, and they deserve to be treated as such.

If you run into any difficulties down the road, you should always start by attempting to resolve your problems with the staff members who handle your cleaning. Do not contact their supervisors unless speaking to them has proven to be pointless. If individual cleaners simply aren’t working out, though, you’re entitled to ask for a replacement.

Good cleaning services can make an enormous difference in your life. Finding a great company with great employees is well worth investing a little extra time in the hunt for the right house cleaners. You won’t regret the effort you put into the process when you see how clean your house becomes!

Hiring house cleaning services in Miami is one of the biggest decisions you will have to make considering that the person you will be hiring will have to come into your home for them to get the job done. In this day and age, it can be hard to know who you can trust and who you cannot. As such, when looking for help when it comes to house cleaning, it is important that you look for, and work with someone that you can rely on and who you trust.

It is highly likely that you are reading this because you have already made a decision to hire the services of a house cleaner. This may be because you are a busy person with a lot at hand or simply because you are looking to have your home get a thorough and professional cleaning. No matter what your reason to seek professional is, it is important to note that the process of choosing a professional cleaner requires some serious decision making – that is if you want to work with someone who is good at what they do.

When it comes to choosing a professional house cleaning service, there are a couple of questions that you should consider asking, and which, if properly addressed by a potential service provider, will make it easy for you to find and hire the right person for the job. Here is a look at some of the most important questions to ask when looking to hire someone to clean your home.

Are You Insured, Licensed, and Bonded?

Truth be told, a lot of people ask this question but don’t know why it is important to do so. Licensing in the house cleaning industry simply means that the house cleaning business or professional is licensed with the state to operate as a business. It is important to note that this does not provide you any legal protection. However, it can give you a better perspective of how committed the business or individual is to their idea or notion of providing these services. There is a higher chance that a company that has invested its time and money to get a license will be more committed to what it does.

Bonding, on the other hand, is important to consider before allowing any cleaner into your home. Why? This is because bonding is a form of insurance businesses get just in case one of their employees steals something from you. When a house cleaning company or service provider is bonded, and one of their employees takes anything other than trash from your home, then the company or service provider can file a claim with their bonding insurance and have them replace what was taken.

There are many other reasons why considering if a company meets the above criteria is important. At the end of the day, if a service provider you are considering cannot prove that they are insured and bonded, or even licensed, then it is advisable that you do not waste your time on them; simply look for another provider.

How Many Cleaners Will Come Into Home?

Often, you will find that there isn’t a specific answer to this question. It is important to note that different cleaning services will bring in a different number of people for different or specific cleaning jobs. The truth is that there are both advantages and disadvantages of having multiple cleaners and just one cleaner cleaning your home.

The biggest advantage of having just one cleaner come in is trust. It is easier for you to create rapport with the person and is much easier for the two of you to create a lasting working relationship. At the same time, a single cleaner makes cleaning more conducive as he or she can work quietly around you. The problem with working with just one cleaner is that cleaning may take much longer than you would want or expect. But, if you do not mind that, then this option can be great for you.

Having multiple cleaners can be beneficial to you if are looking to get cleaning done fast, or if you are looking to have your home thoroughly cleaned. The flip side of this option is that having more than two people working around you can create a, somewhat, chaotic atmosphere. At the same time, it becomes hard to keep track of the cleaners’ movements as they move from room to room – making it hard for you to keep an eye on them. This, therefore, means that there is a very high likelihood of things getting stolen or broken.

How Much Will Your Cleaning Services Cost Me?

One of the most crucial things to consider when looking for a house cleaning service is what the cleaner will charge you for their cleaning services. The interesting thing is that each cleaning company you will approach will charge differently for its services. As such, the advisable thing to do is to make sure that you call at least four different cleaning companies near and request them to provide you with an estimate of what their services will cost you.

The great thing is that most house cleaning companies offer free cleaning quotes – which quote how much they charge per person/hour or the average price for the job, or the hourly price/team. With this estimates, compare the different options you to see which one offers the best solutions at a price that you can relate with, or which is within your budget.

When looking for a house cleaning services provider, asking the above questions will certainly ease things for you and will increase the likelihood of settling for a cleaner who is not only professional but who you can trust and who is affordable. However, it is important to note that these are not the only questions to ask. Other crucial things to find out more about include the cleaner’s experience, equipment used, and reliability.