I lost my job 2 weeks ago and have been thinking of starting a cleaning business. I'm not sure what I should charge for this. I cleaned a friend's house, 1 bedroom, dining room, living room, hall, 1/2 bath, master bath, and stairs to 2nd floor.
I really scrubbed which included cleaning the baseboards, dishes, and dusting. She gave me $100.00 for all of this and it took me about 7 hours. Is this the going rate? Did she pay me too much? I'm very interested in finding out more. Thanks.
By Connie from St Peters, MO
From what I have heard, in South Dakota house cleaners start at $10.00 an hour. I don't know if they go higher than that or not. A lot will depend on where you live. Maybe if you call an employment agency they could tell you what the running fees would be. I would stick to calling a state run agency, instead of privately owned ones, because they will want you to sign up with them and let them find the clients for you. (01/28/2010)
By Joan
I live in the same area as you (St. Charles) and I did a single woman's home, baths, dusting, floors, for $55 cash every two weeks, but it only took me about 3 hours at the most. You may want to charge more for an initial deep cleaning and then less for an every week or every other week cleaning. Also call Merry Maids and the Cleaning Authority (two local places) and ask for a price quote, or see if they have it on their website and then try to beat their price. Good luck! (02/03/2010)
By Kathy
I did a little simple math. You earned about $14.29/hour during those 7 hours of hard, thorough work. I'm sure your friend thought he or she was being generous, and if that rate satisfies you financially for the effort, fine. Otherwise, I'd charge about twice that for such thorough work, especially for people who aren't personal friends. (02/07/2010)
I clean houses also. I also do the deep cleaning that you did with this one. It just took you longer to do it than it will after you have more experience. For first time cleaning, I double what I normally charge, because of that deep cleaning. My basic charge is $30 per hour, after the initial cleaning. I normally do not tell my client how much that I charge by the hour. I go and look at the house and estimate how long it will take me and multiply that by $30, or $60, if it is a first time clean.
This much of a house should only have taken about 4 to 5 hours, even with the deep cleaning. As I said, the more you clean, the more efficient you will become. I just wish that I had started doing this years ago. I love working on my own and being able to set my own hours. I am as busy as I want to be and have had the same clientele, all from recommendations, for years. They are like family to me. Good luck, and don't give up!
Kathy from Richland, MS (02/22/2010)
By Kathy
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