Way too low, especially for "heavy" cleaning like you describe. Think about it...you're talking about only $4-6 an hour.

I pay ours $35 for 4 hours. We have had her for 12 years.
She comes once a week.

I think you'd have a tough time finding someone to clean for $30.00. My cleaning lady comes once a week and I pay her $17.00 an hour. She usually stays around 4 or 5 hours.

And most of them charge more if they only come once a month, as they figure there is more to clean.

I have a cleaning lady that comes once a week and is here for 3 to 4 hours. I pay her $50 a week.

This summer I treated myself to a cleaning service - Merry Maids. They are expensive - the price is based on the size house and/or how many rooms you want cleaned. But I'm willing to pay extra because the cleaners are bonded and insured, so I don't have to worry about one of them tripping on the stairs. And I don't have to worry about withholding taxes or social security. They send out two at a time and they can clean my house in about 2 hours. The come every other week, they clean 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, living room, dining room, Study and a huge kitchen. I pay $150. a visit. Expensive? Yep - but I've decided if I can pay my lawn service $65 to mow every week then I can enjoy having someone else do my cleaning.

I worked for a cleaning service and I got $15/hour and have no idea what the service charged the customer before 'their cut'. Wages vary regionally of course but expect to pay minimum wage at least It will also depend on whether you expect the workers to provide their own cleaning equipment and cleaning products, or if they will use yours. The dirtier the jobs the more they will charge. The restaurants I have worked for pay around $30-45/hr to have someone clean those greasy kitchens.

A friend of mine had a service come in to clean his small one bedroom apartment and they charged $150. A lot for services charge more for the first visit and then the subsequent "maintenance" visits are less. Subsequent visits were $20/week to just come in and dust/vacuum and do kitchen/bathroom stuff.

When you get your quote for the work they may charge you travel time to get there or maybe work it into your estimate. Either way...you will be paying for travel and truck.

A cleaning service will charge you more than contracting with someone individually. Make sure you get something in writing if you do contract personally with someone, to clearly state that they are self employed and not not directly employed by you or you could end up in legal trouble and have to pay income and social security taxes, UC tax, workman's comp, ect. And speaking of insurance make sure you have insurance to cover workers on your property.

My sister cleans houses. She has regular weekly clients. I think she charges about $20 per hour.

My DIL cleans condos - charges $30 per hour.

We pay $15.00 per hour. She comes every 2 weeks and she works very hard and makes every minute count.

Wow....to quote another post of mine, I am really behind times. I discussed this with the lady yesterday, and what I need her for is to vacuum,, dust, wash the kitchen and bathroom floors and clean the tub. All things I can't and shouldn't do. The kitchen is so small, you can sweep the whole floor standing in the same spot, same for the bathroom. She said that she could do this in about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. At first she mentioned $5. an hour, and I wouldn't ask anyone to work for that small sum, so considering our conversation, I thought $30. a day and I don't think it would take her more that 3 hrs to do the reg, work and the extra for that day. Once a month works good for her because of the other jobs she has and I am flexible about when she can come. This is something I've wanted for some time because getting this place clean has been getting more and more difficult and things have been really getting ahead of me.My spinal stenosis has been getting slowly but progressively worse. So i think I really need the help. but I want to be fair. Also we live in a cluster of real small towns and things and prices are different than in big cities. Thanks for your input, KY friends, Dottie

I pay $80 every two weeks. She vacuums the whole house, cleans the bathrooms (3) and all the hard floors, does the dusting and also rotates cleaning the mini blinds. She's good, because she often pulls the stove out and looks for other little things to do. For example, if she notices that something was left in the dryer (which is infrequent), she will fold everything even though I don't expect it of her. She's a very nice girl.

We live in a small town, so she drives here from the next town to get here.

Mine charges $15/hour and stays for two hours once a week. She does ANYTHING I ask of her, but she does charge $2 extra/hour for super detailed stuff like cleaning every baseboard or cleaning inside my TV hutch. I love her!!! :) I found out recently that she raised her prices b/c she realized she was too low when she first started her business. But she stays at the original price for me.

Blessings,
Haley

My husband gave me a cleaning service one year for my birthday and I made him promise that he would just renew that gift forever and not have to worry about shopping for a present ever again....so to answer your question...The going rate around here is $15.00/18.00 per hour. I pay $12 but I am also very generous with her in other ways (like holidays and birthdays) to make up for the discrepancy in the going rate. She comes every other week and she keeps my home very clean. She spends about 8 hours a month here...four per week and she keeps the heavy duty stuff done by rotating it...She works independent but is a local girl and I know her family etc so I trust her completely...

dotmom, your most recent post gives more information. You'd already spoken with the person and gotten her rate (which, I agree, is dirt cheap), plus you give us an idea of your area. I thought that you were going to start looking for someone and wanted to know what the standard rates are. Your situation seems very different. So, if she wanted $5 and you're giving her $10, seems that that would make her extraordinarly happy.

It's really hard to compare prices as so many live in large towns. You can't compare a metro area with a small town, nor can you compare restaurant kitchens with a senior apartment. You live in a small area and I think $30 for what you describe is fair. People in that area can't expect New York City rates! The biggest thing is what someone will be satisfied receiving as compensation. Some will work cheap, some think they're worth more than Donald Trump. I was going to suggest you check around but it sounds like you have already. Also, the more expensive large operations are or should be bonded and insured, but it's highly unlikely this person will have that coverage.

Please be *sure* you write an agreement and in the agreement you specify that the status of the contractor is that of an independent contractor and not an employee. Now with that, you cannot state they will report at for instance 8:00 AM on the first Monday of the month. You *can* set up a mutually agreeable day and time, subject to change as either should require. Otherwise, as said you run the risk of an employer status and will have to pay Social Security, possible handle withholding of taxes and the like as Dilly Dally said. There's a number of criteria used to determine whether someone is an "employee" or a "contractor" and even though it's important that it be in writing somewhere that they're an independent contractor, the criterias, if met, can override that agreement. Some things can't be waived and this is one.

Be sure it's clear up front what's expected. "Clean" is a little ambiguous. One can interpret it as washing, scrubbing or just dusting something. Not to overcomplicate things but just a reminder.

I worked as an independent contractor for a while and it's a hassle. Few people understand that you get double-whammied on Social Security and have to handle your own withholding. Make sure she submits an invoice for the services, do not just pay on a handshake. Of course pay by check. Hopefully she has a business name. You could make your own voucher request/invoice form on which you specify the independent contractor status. I believe this should suffice and wouldn't really require the formal agreement and *never* use, or allow to be used, the words "employer" or "employee". It's really a big deal and can make a lot of trouble. They work for themselves and you don't want that confusion.

Also, hopefully you have renter's insurance. If so, check with your agent to see if you're covered in case of an injury. If not, you should consider getting it. A small homeowners's policy isn't expensive and would cover liability.

Keep in mind this is a business relationship and needs to be treated as such. There's always the risk of theft or something. Don't leave valuables out. Sad to say it's very important to take these precautions these days. Buster probably should go to his room. No need to risk a scratch or a bite and the risks there.

Also you should have it agreed, preferably in writing, about damage. What if she should break something? Use the wrong cleaner and damage the finish on the cabinets? This is getting a little extreme but is something to consider, especially with a single person operation. I would doubt that she's bonded and insured so you'll be taking a risk there.

One other point that should be mentioned: Are you comfortable with her? Do you know her background? Do you know others who use her services (for a reference)? You can hire a young kid to do cleaning and have great success but keep in mind there's certain risks with this. But then again, you'll generally pay for more experienced people.

One other thought, you might want to discuss cleaners (chemicals/solutions) to be used if you, your husband or Buster have any sensitivities. Many times cleaning people prefer to use their own tools so they have consistent stuff from job to job and know the cleaners they're using.

Good luck. Hope all works out and you get a spotless home!

I usually clean by the job not by the hour. One place I get $60.00, I clean there every week. I am there 4 hours.I work my butt off,too. If you think about it, people that are there to clean can get a lot done in an hour. We don't have to stop to answer the phone or the door. I won't go anywhere to clean for less than $40.00.It just isn't worth it.

The IRS has twenty common law factors which are used to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee for reporting purposes.

Handy list of classification rules provide by IRS:

http://www.wwwebtax.com/general/independent_contractor.htm

Don't forget that if you decide to have a housecleaner employed by you as an employer, make sure you have an I-9 on file. They are getting very strict about checking these days, and are not letting employers off easily no matter how small the business - even those with just one employee. Even if you have known the girl since she was born, and know she is a a citizen, you still must have the form on file. By law an employer must have every employee fill one out, not just those with accents or different ways of dressing, like so many people think. If you hire a house cleaner as an independent contractor and she brings help, or uses a sub, then she is responsible for the I-9 and you are off the hook.

Here is a handy PDF you can print out for the I-9:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: Classification Rules

I could never afford to have someone come in to clean my house. It doesn't matter, though; My wife has said on more than one occasion that if she did have someone like that coming in she would work twice as hard cleaning BEFORE that person arrived as she would be TOO EMBARRASED to have her 'dirty' house seen! LOL!!! BTW when I delivered pizza I saw some of the dirtiest, smelliest skankiest houses you could ever imagine! How about seeing the pizza boxes I delivered a week ago still on the coffee table? A skunk wouldn't have gone into some of them!

Softball...having a cleaning person come in regularly can help you keep things neat.
When I was working and had my weekly cleaning person, she was so good that I became neater - because I didn't want to lose her :)

Well, dang!!!!! This is getting more complicated than I expected. I appreciate all of your advice. We have checked with our insurance agent, and we are OK with our renters insurance. This lady works for the gal in an apt, downstairs, once a week. (our Busters first Mom) She approached me about if I were interested in having someone come in to clean. Guess we'll try it and see how it goes. I talked to her this morning and she will be coming in next wednesday, and she & I will sit down and get to an agreement of what I want done, and what she will do. Again, thanks for the advice. I'm printing out all of your posts, for hubs to read. A little side note, as we have been retired 11yrs, more and more, we have hired out the work he used to do, or I have taken it over. So I don't feel at all guilty paying money to lighten my load, some. Dottie

Well, Dot - you've found some good advice here.

As she came propositioning you, you have a bit of a stronger hand than if you'd gone cap in hand, so to speak, to her.

And I'm sure that she'll be pleased that you've offered more than she expected.

Do you have info as to the situation between her and the lady in the other apt. in your bldg.?

I hope that the situation works out well for both of you.

ole joyful

Just do it and don't look back or feel guilty. We owe it to ourselves and frankly we all afford what ever it is that we want badly. The cleaning twice as hard gets over and done with very quickly. At first you are a little like Oh I don't want her to see this mess but then you get used to her coming and it's not a big deal.