I can understand tipping more for a situation that requires extra effort. However, I don't tip cleaners for regular cleaning appointments. I give them an annual bonus instead. My cleaners work for themselves, not a company. If they were employees of a company they didn't own, I might consider tipping.

I agree with ^^^. IMO your tip amount was good. I assume they were cleaning dust & small drywall bits on flooring but not actual construction debris. I tip the people who wash my windows for each service call but that’s a twice a year visit. Regarding the owner’s sons transgressions - I don’t blame parents for their children’s crimes or kids for their parent’s crimes either. It’s often a sad event for either the parent or child of a criminal to have to live with.

I don't think there are any rules or standards for such things. I think some people tend to over-tip for household services, sometimes from what appears to be the tipper having some kind of emotional feelings or guilt about the worker or their work. Hey, they're doing their job, something millions do everyday without receiving tips.

chisue, whatever seems right to you, is the right thing to do. It was a nice gesture.

How's the new HVAC system?

KW -- It was dust and grit debris that migrated up from the basement, but it was *everywhere*, almost like the disaster when the duct cleaner turned the A/C back on before vaccuming out one of the ducts, circulating the loosened dirt throughout the house.

Elmer -- We replaced one of our two gas-fired furnaces. The furnace for the east half of the house is still good. I hired this guy because no one else was willing to re-jigger the ducting and calculate the supply so we don't have cold rooms. The original HVAC person was a disaster, causing us to add a boiler and underfloor heat in three places. (Our contractor was not the best. Now we won't need a boiler -- cross fingers.

i had a mother/daughter team that advertised and got good reviews this spring to do a deep cleaning of my house. they had their work cut out for them so i tipped them both $25. they did a really good job. it wasn't until after they had packed up and left that i noticed something missing...

i had a small sculpture of a sleeping great dane (it was about 5" long) that i won when i entered a contest to tell a story of how a senior dane entered your life. i won first place and this was the prize. for 15 years, it resided on top of my senior dane's urn. i noticed it was gone, turned the room upside down looking for it to no avail. i called her and asked if she had any idea where it could be. she did not but she came back out the next day and brought her husband to move furniture to look for it...

the only thing we could come up with was that it was so small that when it was moved to dust the urn, it somehow got wadded up in a fistful of paper towels and ended up in a trash bag. i went so far as to call my trash hauler to see if there was any way he could figure out where it could have ended up. of course, this was a few days later and he said there is no way to know and that sadly, it was lost forever. he said this has happened with other clients of his and it always makes him feel so bad.

the best this woman could do was offer me a free cleaning the next time i needed services. i'm still debating if i even want her anywhere near my house. it's been months and i still cry when i think about it. i did contact the artist and she did have another one available so i gladly paid her for it. still, it isn't the same as the original one.

In general, I tip cleaners who work for a service, but not cleaners who are self-employed (like I do with hairdressers).

I think you tipped a nice amount that I’d think would be appreicated. Not too high, not too low.

I *think* most of you you are saying 20% is a good tip for cleaners working in a service. It's what I tip my long-time hairdresser -- plus 100% at Christmas. I also think her rates are too low!

I will use this service again and hope it's as good as the Deep Clean. I've never had good luck with independent cleaners, alone or in pairs. They tend to mimic 'Upstairs Maids' without getting down to the nitty-gritty.

Kendrah -- IDK if the sons work in the business. I'd think dad lost business when the sons were identified in the Chicago Tribune.

Last year I skipped over this service and tried another highly rated one. They were fine on the Deep Clean...not so great on a scheduled basis and unaccepting of criticism. They had no BBB rating either, and this service has A's.