When you ask for a cleaning quote, you are usually comparing two different jobs without knowing it. One company is pricing a light tidy every other week. Another is pricing a full top-to-bottom visit once a month. The total on the page does not tell you which one you are getting. Before you compare anything, decide what the house actually needs, then see what each company charges to do that work.
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How big the job is
The first driver is the size of the house and how many rooms are actually used. A house where he sleeps in one bedroom and sits in one chair is a different job from a house where every room has been kept for thirty years. Ask whether the quote is by the visit, by the hour, or by the size of the home, and ask how the company counts rooms like a finished basement or a den with a sofa bed.
How often they come
Weekly visits cost less per visit in most cases than a one-time deep clean, but the total over a month is higher. Every-other-week visits are common when the house is kept up between visits by someone in the family. Ask what the company does on their first visit, because a first visit often takes longer and may be billed as a one-time deep clean before the regular schedule starts.
Who brings the supplies
Some companies bring their own products and equipment. Others ask you to provide them. Find out which is which, and whether the products they bring are ones he will tolerate. A strong smell in a house where he is used to the old routine can turn a cleaning day into an argument. Ask what they use on the kitchen and bathroom, and whether they can use only what is already in the house.
Add-ons that quietly raise the total
Inside the oven, inside the fridge, washing and folding laundry, cleaning out closets, and moving furniture are all add-ons. Each one changes the time on the job. Decide which of these you truly want, and which ones he would rather do himself at his own pace. The fridge can be a good thing to hand to someone else, while the closets can wait until he is ready to sort them.
What to ask before you sign
Ask for the scope in writing, room by room. Ask about minimum hours per visit, cancellation terms, and whether the same people come each time. Ask how they handle a day when the usual person is out sick. Ask whether they need a key, a code, or someone home. Each of those answers changes the real cost of the service, even if the rate stays the same.
Tonight
Walk through the house with a notepad and list the rooms that get used every day, the rooms that are only dusted once in a while, and the jobs that would make you cringe if he tried them alone. Then ask two companies to quote the same list. If they cannot quote the same list, you have learned something about them too.