FAQ
What is the difference between a Deep Clean and a Maintenance Clean?
A maintenance clean is a regular cleaning that is done on a frequent basis to keep things looking clean and tidy. This type of cleaning is usually done on a daily, weekly, or bi-weekly basis, and it involves tasks such as dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and wiping down surfaces. A maintenance clean is intended to keep up with day-to-day cleaning tasks and prevent the buildup of dirt and grime.
On the other hand, a deep clean is a thorough and intensive cleaning that is done less frequently than a maintenance clean. It involves more time, effort, and attention to detail, and it is meant to tackle areas that are not normally cleaned during a regular cleaning.
What is the difference between a bi-weekly and a monthly cleaning?
During a bi-weekly cleaning service, your cleaning team focuses on all of the general areas such as the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, living room, and any extra rooms.
Typically, bi-weekly cleaning is slightly more detailed than a weekly cleaning because your home tends to get dirtier if they don’t get cleaned every week.
One of the biggest benefits of having bi-weekly cleaning is the tremendous helping hand. When your cleaning service comes, they strive to deliver a high-quality cleaning so that way you don’t have to worry about a deep clean at the end of the month.
Another benefit of hiring a cleaning service once every two weeks is that you actually end up saving more money. You may think, “the fewer amount of times my cleaning service comes means I end up spending less money, right?” Well, think again.
More often than not, hiring a cleaning service on a monthly basis results in a higher overall price. More cleaning must be done when a cleaning service visits you every month since so much time has passed between professional cleanings. When this happens, your home will most likely require a deep cleaning which costs more money and takes up more time compared to a bi-weekly cleaning.
When you hire a cleaning service to perform bi-weekly cleanings, there is less to do since standard cleanings are performed every other week. Each visit takes up less time and energy, which results in getting your home to sparkle & shine at a relatively low price.
Is there anything I need to do before the cleaning services?
In order to receive the best value for your money, we ask that you straighten up the night before. (All clothes, toys, and papers picked up from around the home).
How will you get into my home?
There are several ways to provide our cleaning techs entry into your home. You can give us a key, hide a key, give us a code to the Front/garage door if you have a keypad outside or you can make sure that someone is home for when the professional cleaning techs arrive. Any key or garage code that is given to us is securely stored at our office, and are only released at the time for the cleaning services to be provided.
Do I need to be home for your cleaning services?
Most of our customers are not home when we provide cleaning services for their homes. We keep detailed information about each customer’s home regarding pets, access, and alarm codes, as well as any other special instructions. If you prefer to be home, we will schedule a time that is mutually convenient for our professional cleaning techs to come in, but it is not required for you to do so.
What happens in case of a late cancellation or lockout?
Because we organize and coordinate all of our appointments a few days in advance, a late cancellation fee of $50 will be applied to commitments canceled within 24 hours of the agreed upon appointment date.
This fee also applies if our cleaners are unable to enter the home. For example, if the client is not home or if no access is otherwise provided or arranged.
How much will it cost for my house cleaning services?
Every house is unique, and every house cleaning service fee is individually based. There are a variety of factors that will determine the cost of our cleaning services, such as the amount of time that will be spent in your home, the square footage, how many rooms, number of pets, cleanliness, etc. We have a standardized formula used to calculate each individual cleaning service estimate.
How is payment handled for cleaning services?
We accept, Visa, MasterCard, or Discover, credit card purchase is an additional 3% fee. You also have the option to pay with Venmo, Zelle, or you can leave cash or check on the kitchen countertop upon the professional cleaning tech arrival.
What type of training do your professional house cleaners receive?
Our management team and cleaners are constantly trained on proper cleaning techniques: use of different cleaning equipment; workplace safety; organizational and time management skills; knowledge of our company’s policies; communication skills, with the customer, coworkers, pets and the company.
Will you send the same professional house cleaners each time?
We make every effort to send the same team each visit. Occasionally, there may be a change in teams due to illness, days off, vacation or turnover. We can almost always make sure one member of the previous team will be assigned. We will never send a residential /commercial cleaning team that we do not feel is qualified to conduct your home or office cleaning services properly, and the teams are issued very specific.
Are you Licensed and Insured?
Most definitely! We have state/local license and full liability insurance. Even if you choose not to hire sparkle and shine cleaning service LLC to clean your home, any trustworthy cleaning company that services your home should be able to provide copies of these items upon request to protect you as a client.
What happens if something accidentally breaks during my cleaning?
Unfortunately, mistakes are rare but they do happen. We’re fully insured and will offer you several options on how you would like us to proceed. We ask that you put away any valuable or important fragile items before your cleaning team arrives for the day to keep those meaningful items safe!
Are there things that you do not clean?
While we’re famous for our deep cleans, unfortunately we won’t be able to clean the following items:
- Any human/animal feces, urine, or vomit, since there is a risk of possible exposure of harmful bacteria to our staff and the equipment that we transfer from home to home. The staff will clean around any human/animal excrement as best as they can!
- Any cathedral ceiling fans or high areas out of step-stool reach will not be able to be cleaned. Our staff is not permitted to climb any ladders higher than a two-step step-stool.
- Any homes with evidence of live roach, bed bug, or insect infestation. This is to ensure that our equipment and supplies don’t inadvertently transfer any live pests/eggs from one home to another.
- Our staff cannot move any large furniture. They will clean underneath these items as well as possible.
Can I be at home while my cleaning is happening? What about my pets? Do I have to lock them up?
Please feel free to go about your normal routine, we’ll work around you! If you have pets that are non-aggressive, please let them roam freely.
Do you send out reminders about my next cleaning appointment?
Yes! We send out text reminders 72 hours before the date of your appointment so you can confirm the date of your cleaning. The text will also include a time frame of arrival for your cleaning team!
Cancellations within 48 hours of your appointment are subject to a $50 fee. We appreciate your understanding
Do I have to tip?
Tipping is never expected! Some clients tip their cleaning crew during the holidays or whenever they feel they received stellar service. This decision is completely up to you, but never necessary!
Do you have a referral program?
We sure do! If you’re an existing client and refer 3 people to us who sign up for recurring cleanings, you’ll get to choose 1 free add on service up to $100 value!
If you’re a new recurring client who was referred to us from an existing client, you’ll receive a 10% discount on your initial deep clean.
Do you have a list of what's included with your cleanings?
Yes we do! Please click on the links below.
Our initial deep clean checklist can be found by clicking here.
Our recurring cleaning checklist can be found by clicking here.
Deep Clean :
Kitchen Area
1, Ceiling fans are hand cleaned as long as it’s within reach.
2, window blinds are dusted.
3, All cabinet doors front and back are washed and sanitized.
4, Countertops are cleaned and sanitized.
5, Interior and exterior of the microwave are cleaned.
6, Entire Stovetop and exterior range hood are completely degreased.
7, Exterior of all large appliances is cleaned.
8, Inside the dishwasher, sanitized and disinfected
9, Sinks are thoroughly scrubbed and disinfected.
10, Woodwork and switch plates are dusted and cleaned.
11, Baseboards d windowsills are hand washed.
12, All hard flooring is vacuumed and mopped, and all rugs are vacuumed or shaken out depending on the rug material.
13, Kitchen trash and recycling removed to outside cans.
Living space – Family room/ sitting room
1, Ceiling fans are hand cleaned as long as it’s within reach
2, All furniture is polished,
3, Couches are vacuumed inside and outside,
4, Mirrors are cleaned.
5, Wall décor, picture frames, and other décor items are dusted.
6, All baseboards and windowsills are washed.
7, Floors are vacuumed and mopped.
8, Trash removed.
Laundry room
1, Washer and dryer are hand sanitized on the outside
2, inside washer is sanitized and disinfected.
3, Dryer- we hand-clean the inside doorway vacuum the front vent and hand-clean the lint catcher
4, All cabinet doors are sanitized front and back.
5, All folding tables are cleaned and sanitized.
6, All baseboards and windowsills are washed.
7, Floors are vacuumed and mopped.
Bathrooms
1, All tub, tile, shower doors, and walls are beautifully cleaned and disinfected,
2, All toilet surfaces are cleaned and sanitized.
3, Sinks and counters completely scrubbed.
4, mirrors are cleaned.
5, Dusting of all items.
6, Window blinds are dusted.
7, Baseboards are hand-washed
8, All doors, doorframes, cabinet fronts, and any additional woodwork is washed.
9, Rugs are shaken out and or vacuumed (depending on rug material)
10, Hard floors are vacuumed and mopped.
11, Trash removed.
Bedrooms
1, Ceiling fans are hand cleaned as long as it’s within reach.
2, All beds are made
3, Bed linens are changed upon request for a small additional fee.
4, Dressers, wardrobes, and nightstands are dusted
5, Bedframes, cribs, and chairs are dusted.
6, Mirrors are cleaned.
7, All lamps, including lamp base and lampshades are dusted.
8, Woodwork, doorframes, doorknobs, and switch plates are dusted and cleaned.
9, Wall décor, picture frames, other décor items, electrical devices, etc. are dusted. on the wall are dusted.
10, All baseboards and windowsills are hand washed.
11, Floors are vacuumed and mopped.
12, Trash removed.
All Areas – Hallways, Foyer, etc.
1, Ceiling fans are hand cleaned as long as it’s within reach.
2, All furniture is polished,
3, Mirrors are cleaned.
4, couches and pillows are straightened.
5, Wall décor, picture frames, and other décor items are dusted.
6, All baseboards and windowsills are washed.
7, Floors are vacuumed and mopped.
Staircase
1, All stair rails and spindles are hand cleaned.
2, All stairs are vacuumed and mopped.
Maintenance clean :
Kitchen
1, Countertops are cleaned and sanitized.
2, Interior and exterior of the microwave are cleaned.
3, Entire Stovetop and exterior range hood are completely degreased.
4, Sinks are thoroughly scrubbed and disinfected.
5, Exterior of all large appliances is cleaned.
6, Floors are vacuumed and mopped.
7, Kitchen trash and recycling removed to outside cans.
Living space – Family room/ sitting room
1, All furniture is polished,
2, Couched are vacuumed on the outside,
3, Mirrors are cleaned.
4, All lamps, including lamp base and lampshades are dusted.
5, Wall décor, picture frames, other décor items, electrical devices, etc. are dusted.
6, All baseboards are dusted.
6, Floors are vacuumed and mopped.
Laundry room
1, All folding tables are sanitized and disinfected.
7, Floors are vacuumed and mopped.
8, Trash removed
Bathrooms
1, All tub, tile, shower doors, and walls are beautifully cleaned and disinfected,
2, All toilet surfaces are cleaned and sanitized.
3, Sinks and counters completely scrubbed.
4, mirrors are cleaned.
5, Dusting of all items.
6, Rugs are shaken out and or vacuumed (depending on rug material)
7, All baseboards are dusted.
8, Floors are vacuumed and mopped.
9, Trashed removed
Bedrooms
1, All beds are made
2, Bed linens are changed upon request for a small additional fee.
3, Dressers, wardrobes, and nightstands are dusted
4, Bedframes, cribs, and chairs are dusted.
5, Mirrors are cleaned.
6, All lamps, including lamp base and lampshades are dusted.
7, Wall décor, picture frames, other décor items, electrical devices, etc. are dusted. on the wall are dusted.
8, All baseboards and windowsills are hand washed.
9, Floors are vacuumed and mopped.
10, Trash removed.
All Areas – Hallways, Foyer, etc.
1, All furniture is polished.
2, Mirrors are cleaned.
3, couches and pillows are straightened.
3, Wall décor, picture frames, and other décor items are dusted.
4, All baseboards are dusted.
5, Floors are vacuumed and mopped.
Staircase
1, All stairs are vacuumed and mopped.
