Basic House Cleaning Services: What’s Included and What’s Not
Are you a working mom with an active household?
Maybe you’re an animal lover with numerous pets.
Perhaps your life is just super busy, and house cleaning is at the bottom of the priority list.
Or maybe you simply don’t like cleaning.
Whatever the reason, if keeping your home clean is a “chore” you can’t ever seem to get on top of, a little help may be in order.
Basic house cleaning services can relieve the pressure and help restore order to your home. To know what’s covered in basic house cleaning services — and why you need them — we’ve compiled a room-by-room list along with the benefits of hiring a cleaning service.
Table of Contents
Room by Room: What Is Included in Basic House Cleaning?
After a busy week of work, school, soccer games, family dinners, and pets, your house needs some serious attention. Even if you’re able to keep a handle on the essentials, like …
Washing the dishes
Doing the laundry; and
Dealing with miscellaneous clutter
… the dust in the living room and grime in the bathroom eventually need some attention.
That’s what basic house cleaning is all about — taking care of the details in each room of the home that you may not be able to get to on a daily basis.
With basic house cleaning services, every room will be touched. The cleaning is focuses on exterior surfaces and includes things like:
Dusting
Vacuuming and mopping floors
Cleaning mirrors
Removing cobwebs
Cleaning surfaces and appliances; and
Cleaning major bathroom surfaces
Coming home to a clean abode is a satisfying feeling that’s hard to match. After a basic cleaning, you should be able to walk into each room and think, “This room looks amazing! I think my cleaning fairy has been here!”
How often do you need a basic house cleaning? It depends.
For homes that get dirty quickly, like those with many family members or pets, a weekly cleaning may be in order. If you live alone or travel a lot, monthly cleaning may be what you need.
At Tidy Up Portland!, we’ve streamlined the house cleaning experience and offer a variety of regular services, including:
One time
Weekly
Bi-weekly; and
Monthly
Tidy Up Portland! basic house cleaning services can often be customized, and deep cleaning services are also available whenever you need them.
Kitchen
The kitchen may be the most important room in the home and the one that is most frequented. Most people start their day there for coffee and breakfast and visit the room throughout the day to cook, snack, and gather with family and friends.
The kitchen gets a lot of action daily and needs some preferential treatment.
Basic kitchen cleaning normally includes:
Cleaning surfaces and countertops
Touching up cabinets
Scrubbing the sink
Cleaning appliances:
Tops and sides of the refrigerator
Inside and outside of the microwave
Toaster
Dishwasher
Stove tops (including drip pans and hood)
Vacuuming and mopping floors
Depending on the cleaning service, laundry and doing dishes may be a basic service or may be included as an add-on.
Living Areas
After the kitchen, the common areas of the home, like the living room or den, are the most used and are likely entered by every visitor to the home. You want those gathering places to be a place where you and your company can relax.
That’s why a basic cleaning of the living areas will usually include:
Dusting furniture
Wet wiping window sills
Removing cobwebs
Vacuuming furniture (when appropriate)
Vacuuming (hardwood, carpet, and rugs) and mopping floors
Bathrooms
Another room that’s used by every member of the family is the bathroom. Between multiple showers, brushing your teeth, and potty training your toddler, your bathroom can get dirty quickly!
And you don’t just want a clean bathroom. You want a sanitary bathroom, which includes:
Removing cobwebs
Cleaning mirrors
Scrubbing the tub or shower
Cleaning and disinfecting the toilet
Cleaning the sink, faucet, and vanity countertops
Vacuuming and mopping floors
Bedrooms
A clean and tidy bedroom invites you into a place where you can decompress, unwind, and get restful sleep.
What is included in a basic house cleaning when it comes to bedrooms?
Dusting
Wet wiping window sills
Tidying the bed
Cleaning mirrors
Vacuuming floors
Depending on the service, the following tasks may be included in basic service or can be added on for an additional cost:
Replacing bed linens
Dusting ceiling fans
Cleaning baseboards
Dining Rooms
If you have an eat-in kitchen, the dining room may be reserved for special occasions and not get very dirty. But if your dining room is your main eating space, daily meals can make it messy — especially the floor.
Either way, a cleaning service will include cleaning and dusting the furniture and vacuuming the floor.
Laundry Rooms
You may not think your laundry room gets that dirty, but it can get dusty and grimy with:
Laundry detergent spills
Dust from the dryer’s lint filter; and
General traffic in and out of the room
Unless your laundry room is unusually large, a basic cleaning service can cover this room quickly by:
Wiping all surfaces
Washer
Dryer
Countertops
Window sills
Vacuuming the floor; and
Mopping the floor
What Is Not Included in a Basic House Cleaning?
A basic cleaning covers a lot of ground, but from time to time — maybe every three to four months — a deep cleaning may be necessary.
A deep clean or add-on service may be in order if:
You’re hosting a party.
You’re preparing for company.
You’re moving in or out of your home.
You’re doing a massive cleanout of each room in the home.
It’s been a long time since you’ve had your home deep cleaned.
Deep cleaning focuses on nooks and crannies and hard-to-reach places not touched in a regular cleaning. House cleaning tasks that take more time and effort may also be included in a deep cleaning or can be requested as an add-on service.
Though this list is not exhaustive, a deep clean of individual rooms may include the following:
Kitchens
Cleaning inside the oven
Cleaning inside the refrigerator
Wiping inside cabinets
Washing dishes
Bathrooms
Scrubbing grout
Replacing shower curtain liners
Wiping out cabinets and drawers
General
Wet wiping walls
Wet wiping blinds
Cleaning windows
Scrubbing baseboards
Dusting ceiling fans
Wiping down the insides of closets
Cleaning insides of washers and dryers
Doing laundry
Changing linens
Cleaning balconies and covered patios
Though it requires an investment of time and money, a deep cleaning is worth it to:
Protect your family’s health (from mold, mildew, and dust allergies)
Maintain a hygienic environment
Ensure better air quality
Reduce stress
Encourage organization
No two companies are alike, so you’ll want to look at each company closely to determine what is included in basic house cleaning and what can be customized as an add-on or included in a deep clean.
Tidy Up Portland! can take care of your basic and deep cleaning jobs with our choice of by-the-hour or flat rates. Our hourly rates include …
One-time
Weekly
Bi-weekly; and
Monthly
… options, while our flat rates are determined by square footage and any additional services you request.
Why You Need Regular, Basic House Cleaning in Your Life
Can you imagine what life would be like if you knew once a week or once a month, you could come home to a clean and organized space? Tidy Up Portland! can help you turn that dream into a reality.
Consider the incredible benefits that come with consistent and thorough house cleaning:
Better organization
Healthier environment
Better sleep
Always being ready for guests
Saving money
Having more time for yourself and your family
And more
Tidy Up Portland! Regular House Cleaning Tailored to Your Needs
Does your home need a deep cleaning? We can do that.
Want to keep it clean with regular basic cleaning? We can do that, too.
With hourly and flat rate services and pricing, you can find the type of service that best fits your needs.
Our hourly rate service lets you book us for a period of time to include every task on your list. With our flat rate service, we’ll complete our own comprehensive checklist of things our customers want to be cleaned regularly.
As Portland’s most trusted cleaning service, you can count on us for:
Customizable services
No lock-in contracts
The same cleaners coming to your home
Fully insured service
Thorough recruitment and vetting of our cleaners
Safe and green cleaning products
Easy and convenient online scheduling
You treat yourself to all kinds of things …
A pedicure
A massage; or
A night at the movies
… so treat yourself to a clean home.
Book an appointment with Tidy Up Portland! today.
