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Household
Hints & HELP!
Hiring
a Professional House Cleaner
submitted
by Lorene Bartos, Extension Educator
This article appears in the August 21,
2005 Lincoln Journal Star Newspaper.
Are
you stressed out trying to get all the work done around
the home and still have time to do the fun things you want
to do? Many families are now turning to hiring a professional
house cleaner.
Why
hire a professional?
-
Free your time for activities which are more important
to you.
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Do tasks you can't keep up with or do safely.
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Reduce your contact with cleaning chemicals.
-
Reduce stress or conflict about getting cleaning done.
Decide
what regular cleaning tasks you have and how frequently
they need to be done. Prioritize which tasks you would like
to have done for you.
As
you prioritize, consider:
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What tasks do you avoid because you dislike them?
-
What tasks are physically difficult for you?
-
What tasks require equipment or supplies you don't have
or prefer not to work with?
-
What tasks do you prefer to do yourself?
-
What items or areas are of special importance — for
example, valuables or antiques which must be cleaned with
special procedures?
Also,
when selecting a house cleaning service consider seasonal
cleaning tasks, if you want regular or seasonal help, the
amount you are willing to spend and if you want to be home
when the cleaning is being done.
The
next step is selecting individuals or services to interview.
Consider personal compatibility, similar standards, bonding
for liability, provision of a written list of services and
price structure, who takes care of social security withholdings,
workmen's compensation and similar requirements and who
provides training.
Interview
the candidates — ask a variety of questions including
those relating to training, fee, knowledgeable of proper
cleaning agents, contracts, cleaning times and days, how
holidays and illness might be handled, etc.
After
you have hired someone to clean, communicating your standards
to the cleaner(s) is very important, as well as coming to
an agreement about how the standards will be met. Ask yourself
if you expect a higher standard from the cleaning service
than from yourself?
Hiring
a house cleaner not only saves you time it can also reduce
your stress level.
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