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House cleaning checklist for cleaners
A recurring clean takes care of what gets dirty between visits: toilets, showers, sinks and mirrors; dusting what you can reach; making beds; kitchen counters, stovetop, sink and appliance fronts; trash out; then vacuuming and mopping on the way to the door. Run the same route through the house every time. The rule that matters most is that the list stays the same each visit, so the customer knows what the price covers and the job does not quietly grow.
Edit the visit list
The every-visit list for a recurring clean. Keep it the same each time and add this home’s standing requests at the end.
House cleaning checklist
- Read this home’s notes: pets, rooms to skip, products to avoid
- Bathrooms: spray toilet, tub and shower and let them sit
- Every room: dust reachable surfaces, shelves, frames and lamps
- Every room: smudges off doors, handles and light switches
- Bedrooms: make beds, or change sheets if a fresh set is out
- Bedrooms: nightstands and dressers dusted, mirrors wiped
- Bathrooms: toilet bowl, seat and base; tub or shower; glass rinsed
- Bathrooms: sink, counter, faucet and mirror; towels straightened
- Kitchen: counters and backsplash cleared, wiped and set back
- Kitchen: stovetop, microwave inside, fridge and dishwasher fronts
- Kitchen: sink scrubbed and faucet shined; dishes loaded if asked
- Kitchen: table and chairs wiped, cabinet fronts spot-cleaned
- Living areas: cushions straightened, coffee table and remotes wiped
- Empty every trash can, new liners in, bags out to the bin
- Stairs: vacuum the treads, wipe the handrail
- Vacuum carpets and rugs; vacuum or sweep hard floors
- Mop kitchen, bathroom and entry floors, working out to the door
- Note what the next deep clean needs: grout, fans, baseboards
- Lock up, set the alarm, leave a short note for the customer
What is not part of a regular house cleaning?
The deep-clean jobs: inside the oven and fridge, inside cabinets, baseboards by hand, blinds slat by slat, window tracks, walls, high vents and fans you need a ladder for, and moving heavy furniture. Laundry, a sink full of dishes and putting things away are not cleaning either. Say what is out on the first quote and again when a customer asks for “just one more thing”, because one more thing every visit is how a job outgrows its price.
Rotating one deep task into each visit keeps a good customer from ever needing a full deep clean: baseboards this visit, fridge shelves next time, blinds after that. It adds a few minutes and the house never slides. Put the rotation on the checklist so whoever cleans the home next knows which task is due, and build it into the regular price rather than doing it free.
In what order should you clean a house?
Top to bottom, dry before wet, back to front. Start in the room farthest from the door you leave by and dust before you vacuum, so the dust lands where the vacuum will pick it up. Leave the kitchen and the floors for last and mop toward the exit. On a team, keep each cleaner on the same rooms every visit. A fixed route is what makes you fast, and it is how you notice a missed step.
What do you do when the house is messier than usual?
Clean what you can reach and tell the customer what you could not. A regular clean moves things to clean under them and puts them back; it does not fold laundry, sort mail or pick toys up off the floor. If a skipped visit or a holiday left the house well behind, call before you start and either add time at your hourly rate or agree which rooms come first.
Frequently asked questions
Should a house cleaner change the sheets?
Making the beds is part of most recurring cleans. Changing the sheets is too, when the customer leaves a clean set on or by the bed. Washing, drying and folding them is laundry, which ties you to the machine, so it is an add-on with its own price. Write down which beds get changed each visit, since a guest room may only need it before visitors.
Do house cleaners do the dishes?
Agree a line for it, or it can eat the whole kitchen allowance. A common one is “dishes in the sink go into the dishwasher, and we run it if you ask”. Handwashing a couple of pans fits in a visit. A sink piled high after a dinner party is extra time, and the customer should hear that before you start on it.
What if I break something in a customer’s home?
Tell them the same day with a photo, before they find it themselves. Offer to replace it or pay for the repair, and if it is valuable, call your insurer; this is what general liability cover is for. Then add a note to the home’s card (the vase on the hall table, the loose towel bar) so the next cleaner knows.