souhterngal, you've uncovered the moral of this thread: expectations widely differ. Comes down to what you're willing to put up with and how you differentiate yourself. Value is such a personal thing. I can share a recent experience. I hired a service to do a "move-in" deep clean of our weekend home. The owner of the service came by, we walked through each room (she totally white-gloved every surface), inventoried the cleaning supplies and discussed timing. I LOVED IT! She asked a ton of questions, answered all of mine and explained how they work. In execution, of course, the cleaning folks did what all cleaning people do. There was no magic, but she made it a collaborative experience. There are a ton of cleaning people in the city where I spend most of my week, and all the responsibility was mine. The first cleaning person who offered some type of proactive behavior or knowledge -- like you offered in your post -- would have got me as a client in a second.

hello... i am a pre-k asst. in a daycare center so i have 20 kids in my class and 10 kids i get off the bus( schoolies as we call them] so i always try to find a cheap/easy craft to make for them,be it homemade cards,puzzle piece riendeer head necklace ( get old puzzle pieces and paint them tan and add eyes with paint and a red pompom nose,glue to pin!),snowman pin ( wooden snowmen painted/glued to pin) peppermint necklace ( twist red/white pipe cleaners inot a circle wrap in cello,tie ends with ribbon,glue to cardboard round and then to ribbon/pin) anywyas i was at the dollar store and saw the cutest lil wall plaques ,10 to a pack for $1 ,they already have blue ribbon for hanging ( on tree or wall)last night i painted snowmen,snow & snow falling on them,painted eyes blue/black ,black coal mouths, black buttons on their tummies,gave them all brown stick arms.now i am painting each one with a different colored nose,scarf,ear muffs,hats etc...they are turning out pretty cute.the plaque is about 3 x 4 in size so small enough for hanging on a tree....i will put the year and love ms.beth on the backs with my trusty sharpie! merry christmas to all

Is the 'silver' in your mixed pieces actually 925 Sterling or is it white gold? If it's a yurman-esque silver and gold plating, I'd spot test the tarnex on the inside or back of the plating before I'd dunk. The directions say to specifically avoid using on: stainless, chrome, pewter, brass, zinc, artificially oxidized silver ( ie black rhodium plating or liver of sulfer) and porous stones- including pearls, opals, amber, coral, etc. Faceted gemstones should be fine- I cleaned a silver and sapphire pendant last week with no ill results. But if the piece is actually mixed gold colors and not sterling, it won't hurt it but it probably also won't fix what your are trying to clean. Gold doesn't patina the same way that silver does, or from the same substances, so it may need a good soak in an ultrasonic, followed by a steam, and then possibly an actual re polishing to get rid of scratches. We never charge for cleaning, but some do, so ask first at your local jeweler. Always rinse throughly after cleaning; many of the metal reactions we see go away after a good cleaning and rinsing- it's actually residues and dirt trapped against your skin causing the reaction, especially if it's a nickel free metal. And it's very possible the fireplace is part of your newfound tarnishing! Is there more sulfer in your water in the new place? That's a terrible culprit. Plus any off gassing from new paint, refinished floors can contribute. We learned the hard way that re-oiling our walnut cases ( linseed oil) was a straight shot to a week of re polishing, haha!

The first cleaning crew I had was a lovely woman & her mother. They were Hispanic, and spoke a little English. Her husband came with her when we interviewed each other. He translated. She did a fabulous job and I never had any complaints. Then we had a long construction project on the house that lasted about 10 months, and I had to suspend the service. I knew that she might not be able to come back to us, as she was in high demand. Sadly, she wasn't available after the remodel. It's important to note, they only came every 3 weeks. (Just hubs & me-- and we're not dirty.) So for awhile,we had no one other than me. Then I had to have full knee replacement & the next year hip, so during this time, I hired someone recommended by a neighbor. The 1st time, she did a good job - she was here for nearly 4 hours. 2nd time she was here for 2.5 hours and did a decent job. There were some things she missed, and we discussed it. Seems like it was about the 4th visit, I noticed the kitchen sink hadn't been cleaned. ??? Then I found some peanut M&Ms under the dining table. (They'd rolled under there from my g'kids unbeknownst to me and apparently the dog) which told me she hadn't done much cleaning. I checked the security cameras to see what time she had arrived & left. From the time she got here - "cleaned" and left, less than 1 hour. I was paying her over $200 for 1 hour of work. She texted me wanting to set up the next date, I replied, thank you, but we won't be needing you anymore. She called and wanted to know why, and I explained the reasons. She offered to come back and clean the sink. Uhm... no thank you, I already took care of it. Seriously. I now am the housekeeper. I don't do it all in one day. I spread it out. And while it may not be pristine, it's not dirty. The money I would pay a cleaning service, I squirrel away every month. When it gets to a healthy amount, I'll splurge on something special. These are perks to keep me incentivized! LOL