Housekeeper vs. House Cleaner: Which Should You Hire?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your home cleaning list, you may consider hiring a professional house cleaning service to ease the burden. But do you know the benefits of a house cleaner vs. a housekeeper?

In general, housekeepers do light cleaning tasks such as laundry and dishwashing more regularly, while house cleaners perform deep cleaning services less often. Let’s take a look at the responsibilities of a housekeeper vs. a house cleaner, the differences between the two types of professionals, and which one to hire for certain tasks.

Housekeeper Pros and Cons

A housekeeper is a cleaning professional who typically visits a client’s house frequently to tackle light cleaning, organizing, and upkeep tasks. Homeowners can hire housekeepers on a daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, depending on their needs, although daily or weekly visits are most common. 

Here are some common tasks performed by a housekeeper:

• Laundry

• Dishwashing

• Vacuuming

• Sweeping

• Trash removal

• Dusting

• Reorganizing

Pros

• Consistency: Your housekeeper will have a regular, frequent schedule for cleaning your home, so you’ll need to do less upkeep on a daily basis.

• Familiarity: A housekeeper will get to know your home, your family, and your schedule, which means they can give more personalized service and learn where things belong.

• Scheduling: More frequent visits mean you can take most cleaning tasks off your list and have time for everything else in your busy schedule.

• Detailed projects: A housekeeper will be able to perform projects that a house cleaner might not, such as organizing closets and switching out seasonal items.

Cons

• Price: More regular service means hiring a housekeeper will cost more than a weekly or monthly visit from a house cleaner.

• Supplies: A housekeeper will use the cleaning supplies you have in your home, so you’ll be responsible for keeping these items stocked.

• Limitations: A housekeeper may have limits as to the tasks they’ll perform. Some may exclude deep cleaning or other jobs from their offerings.

House Cleaner Pros and Cons

A house cleaner is a cleaning professional who typically visits a client’s house less frequently to tackle deep-cleaning tasks and more labor-intensive cleaning. Homeowners usually hire house cleaners on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. Keep in mind that you should collaborate with your house cleaner to create a list of specific cleaning tasks for them to do.

Here are some of the common tasks performed by a house cleaner:

• Mopping and washing floors

• Washing windows

• Scrubbing and sanitizing toilets, showers, and tubs

• Scrubbing and sanitizing kitchen sink, countertops, and appliances

• Laundry

• Dusting

• Spot cleaning doors and frames

• Steam cleaning upholstery

Pros

• Deep cleaning: A house cleaner will tackle all of those deep cleaning jobs you don’t have time for, like cleaning behind your kitchen appliances or a move-out cleaning.

• Top-to-bottom clean: House cleaners will typically perform a whole-house clean, provided you’ve contracted them for the right amount of time to do so.

• Supplies included: A house cleaner will provide their own cleaning supplies, with some exceptions, so you won’t need to worry about running out of supplies in between visits.

Cons

• Cleaning only: House cleaners won’t be familiar with your home, so don’t expect them to pick up as well as clean. You’ll need to tidy up so they can access surfaces and areas to clean them.

• Time limitations: When you hire a house cleaner, you’re reserving a set amount of time. If it’s not enough to get everything done, you’ll have to wait until next time or negotiate a longer visit.

Housekeeper vs. House Cleaner

Now that we understand the pros and cons of both types of professional cleaners, let’s look at how they compare in the following categories.

Options and Customizations

While individual cleaners and house cleaning companies offer various services and schedules, housekeepers can typically offer extra tasks for an additional fee. For example, if you would like your housekeeper to clean and organize the refrigerator once per week, you could negotiate that additional service and price with them.

On the other hand, house cleaners hired less frequently for larger jobs are less likely to offer extra service customization. However, this expectation for a cleaning service varies based on the company.

Winner: Housekeeper

Price

The average cost of hiring a house cleaner is about $75 to $250 a visit, depending on the job’s complexity. For example, deep cleaning an entire house before moving out will cost more than a standard cleaning. The average cost of hiring a housekeeper is $25 to $80 an hour, and housekeepers will generally work more hours a week compared to a house cleaner, so the overall cost will be higher. 

Keep in mind that the rate charged by your cleaning professional varies by your location, size of your home, and any additional requested tasks.

Winner: House cleaner

Frequency

A housekeeper will be working in your home several times a week, perhaps even daily. House cleaners usually come once weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. More frequent visits mean less work is required on your part for daily upkeep, and you’ll need to do little to no preparation for a housekeeper, whereas you’ll need to do some picking up before a house cleaner comes.

Winner: Housekeeper

Services

Housekeepers perform daily, light cleaning, keeping your home tidier overall on a day-to-day basis, and will wash dishes, do laundry, and pick up clutter. House cleaners specialize in deep cleaning, and generally do not do tasks like laundry, putting things away, or organizing. Which one will be more beneficial to you will depend on your household’s needs. If you can keep up with the day-to-day but don’t have time to deep clean, it’s worth it to hire a house cleaner. If you need more consistent help on an everyday basis, hire a housekeeper instead.

Winner: Tie