House cleaning can often take a backseat to many other things in life. Instead of spending your free time cleaning, you can hire a house cleaning service in order to spend more time doing what you love. If you are looking to hire a service, there are a few things you want to look for.

Great Reputation and Reviews

You can start a search by asking friends and family if they use a house cleaning service and if they are happy with the work. Next to personal recommendations, the second-best is looking at testimonials and reviews. Check online and local review sites in your area. You shouldn’t just rely on testimonials from the website so be sure to look at third-party sites as well. As you are comparing different services, look for reviews that have positive things to say about professionalism, availability, cleaning skills, trustworthiness, and work ethic. While no company is perfect, you ideally want to see a pattern of positive reviews. Just one negative review from a disgruntled client shouldn’t negate everything positive.

Good Communication Skills

From the first contact, you should start to have a nice rapport with the service. Before you schedule a walkthrough or discuss quotes, you want to get a feel for the business. Ask some questions about if the company is insured, how they set the rates, and what cleaning products they use, or who supplies them. The answers are important, but you also want to pay attention to how they communicate. Are they friendly? Will you feel comfortable having this person in your home?

Fully Insured and Bonded

You need to know what happens if someone is injured while cleaning the home or if something gets broken or damaged. If you hire a service that isn’t bonded and insured then you don’t have any legal protection if something goes wrong. A reputable company will provide proof of this upon request.

Different Service Offerings

Know what you are looking for before you start researching a house cleaning service. This way, if it’s just a general cleaning a few times a month or a deeper cleaning quarterly then you will be able to know if the company actually offers what you need. Many cleaning companies have flexible options in order to tailor services to your needs.

Independent Workers vs. Employees

Some cleaning companies won’t screen workers before hiring. Some take a casual attitude and bring along friends or neighbors with them on the job. You aren’t going to know who you are getting if you hire independent cleaners and who they might bring with them into your home. There isn’t a guarantee you are going to get the same cleaners every time and the same quality. Find a cleaning service that conducts background checks and screenings on the people they hire. When you are letting people into your home, it doesn’t hurt to be extra careful.

Hiring a house cleaning service is supposed to save you time and energy and give you peace of mind, so always go with your gut.