How to hire the right cleaning company without overpaying
By Mark Owens
What to look for, what to avoid, and the questions that save you money on every clean.
Cleaning is one of those services where the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive quote can be enormous — and the quality of work even more so. Whether you need a one-off end-of-tenancy clean to get your deposit back, a fortnightly domestic visit, or a commercial contract for an office, the questions you ask up front decide whether you get value for money or a bill full of surprises.
Start by being specific about what you actually want done. A vague brief like 'a deep clean of the flat' invites vague quotes. List rooms, surfaces and any extras such as inside the oven, fridge, washing machine drawer or windows. The more detail you give, the more accurate the price — and the harder it is for a cleaner to claim something was 'out of scope' after they have finished.
Always ask for proof of public liability insurance. A reputable company will email a copy of their certificate without hesitation, usually covering at least one million pounds. Cleaners work with water, chemicals and electrical appliances; if something is damaged and the company is uninsured, the cost falls on you. No certificate, no booking — it is that simple.
Check how the company vets its staff. Are cleaners employed directly or are they self-employed contractors? Have they been DBS-checked? Are they trained on the products and equipment they use? If a company cannot answer these questions clearly, you are not hiring a professional service — you are hiring whoever showed up that morning.
Read recent reviews, not just the star rating. Look for patterns: do customers mention the same names positively? Are complaints handled promptly and politely? A company with a perfect five-star average and only twelve reviews is harder to trust than one with a 4.7 average across hundreds of reviews and visible, thoughtful responses to the occasional bad one.
Get the quote in writing and break it down. Hourly rates sound cheap until you realise the team is two people for three hours each — that is six chargeable hours, not three. Fixed-price quotes are often better value for end-of-tenancy and deep cleans because the company carries the risk if the job runs long. Confirm what is included in the price: cleaning products, equipment, parking, congestion charge and VAT.
Be wary of unusually low prices. The cleaning industry runs on tight margins. A quote that undercuts everyone else usually means the company is paying below minimum wage, skipping insurance, or planning to add charges later. Cheap can be expensive — especially if your landlord rejects the clean and you have to pay someone else to redo it.
Finally, agree on a guarantee. Good end-of-tenancy companies offer a 48 or 72 hour re-clean if the landlord or agent flags issues. For regular cleans, agree what happens if you are unhappy with a visit — most reputable companies will send the team back the same week at no cost. Get this in the booking confirmation, not a verbal promise.
Hire well once, and a great cleaner becomes one of the most valuable people in your life. Hire badly, and you will rebook three times before you find someone you trust. Take the extra fifteen minutes up front; it pays for itself many times over.