It's the first question almost everyone asks when they book regular cleaning, and there's no answer that fits every home. After years of cleaning both ways across Motherwell and the towns around it, this is how I help people decide.
What a regular visit covers
Weekly or fortnightly, the visit itself is the same. We work through the checklist room by room: in the kitchen the worktops, splashback, sink, hob and appliance fronts, the cupboard doors and the floor; in the bathrooms the toilet, bath, shower and basin, the taps and screen descaled, mirrors polished and the floor mopped; in the bedrooms and living rooms dusting, mirrors, carpets hoovered and beds made; and throughout the house light switches, door handles, window sills, hard floors and bins. Every visit is at least 2 hours.
What changes with the frequency is how much there is to catch up on each time, and that is the whole decision.
When weekly makes sense
- Family homes. Children and a kitchen floor don't stay clean for a fortnight, however hard you try.
- Homes with pets. Hair on the carpets and paw prints on the hard floors come back within days.
- Long working hours. If you're out from early until late, the house gets no attention in between, and a weekly visit is what keeps it feeling looked after.
- Larger homes. With three bathrooms and a big kitchen, a fortnight is a long gap. Weekly keeps each visit lighter, so there's time to do everything well.
- If it matters to you that the house always feels freshly cleaned. Some people notice by day ten; some don't notice at all. Only you know which you are.
When fortnightly is enough
- Smaller homes with one or two people in them.
- Tidy households that keep on top of the dishes and the hoovering themselves, and want the thorough clean, bathrooms and kitchen especially, every other week.
- Homes that are empty for much of the day, where there simply isn't a week's worth of dirt in a week.
- A second home or a flat you use part of the time.
A fortnightly visit usually spends a little longer on the kitchen and bathrooms, because there's more to shift, and a little less on rooms that have barely been used.
The honest trade-offs
Weekly costs more over a month, because it's twice the visits. In return the home never gets far from clean, and each visit is quicker and easier. Fortnightly is the better value for a home that stays tidy between visits, and the worse choice for a home that doesn't, because the clean ends up being a catch-up every time rather than a top-up.
A simple way to decide
Ask yourself four questions. How many people and pets live here? How soon after a clean does the kitchen floor need doing again? Do you tidy and wipe down most days? And would you notice, around day ten, that it's time? Two or more answers that point to "a lot", "quickly", "not really" and "yes" mean weekly. Otherwise start fortnightly.
Start with a deep clean if the house needs one
If the home hasn't had a proper clean in a while, a deep clean first is worth it. It deals with the build-up, inside the oven, the grout, the skirting boards, so the regular visits that follow are about keeping on top rather than catching up. I'll say in the quote if I think your home would benefit from one.
What about once a month
People sometimes ask for a monthly visit as a middle ground. We don't offer it as a regular slot, and the reason is practical: by week four there's a month of build-up waiting, so every visit turns into a deep clean rather than a top-up, and the home only feels clean for a few days out of thirty. If fortnightly feels like more than you need, a one-off deep clean now and then is usually the better fit.
The same slot and the same cleaner
Whichever you choose, you get a regular day and time, and regular clients usually get the same cleaner for every visit. If she's ill or on holiday, another member of the team covers it, so you're never left without a clean. You don't need to be in: we agree access before the first visit, whether that's you at home, a key left with us or a key safe.
If you get it wrong, switch
Nothing is locked in. Plenty of people start fortnightly and go weekly when the first child arrives, or start weekly and drop to fortnightly once they see how little builds up. Tell me and we'll adjust your slot where we can, and regular clients usually keep the same cleaner either way.
Read more about our regular domestic cleaning, or pick "Not sure yet" in the quote form and I'll recommend what makes sense for your home.