Two cleaning quotes for the same house, far apart: what actually sets the price

Four things set the price, and square footage is only one

The price of a house cleaning comes down to four things: how big the home is, especially the number of bathrooms and the size of the kitchen; what condition it is in today; how often it will be cleaned; and exactly what the job includes. Two quotes for the same house can be far apart because one company priced a light weekly clean and the other priced a first-time deep clean with the oven and refrigerator included. Once you know which of these four you are being quoted on, the numbers start to make sense.

I run Texas Kings Cleaning Services in Garland, and I quote every job after I learn about the space, its condition and how often it needs cleaning. I do not publish a flat rate, because a flat rate either overcharges the tidy household or underestimates the one that has not had help in a year. This guide walks through each factor the way I think about it when I write a quote, so you can compare offers fairly and know what to ask.

Bathrooms and kitchens are where the hours go

Square footage gives a rough idea of the work, but it is not the best predictor. A large open living room with hard floors takes far less time than a small bathroom with a glass shower door, a tub with soap film and a toilet that needs attention at the base. Bathrooms and kitchens are the rooms with scrubbing, descaling and grease, and they take most of the time in any clean.

So when I ask about a home, I ask how many bedrooms and how many bathrooms, and whether the kitchen is a galley or a large space with an island, double ovens and a lot of cabinet fronts. A 2,000-square-foot house with four bathrooms can easily take longer than a bigger house with two. Stairs, high ceilings with fans, many windows with blinds and a lot of open shelving with decor also add time, because each one is detail work.

• Number of bathrooms, and whether showers have glass doors
• Kitchen size, number of appliances and cabinet fronts
• Stairs, high ceilings and ceiling fans
• Blinds, shutters and window sills
• Shelving and decor that has to be dusted item by item

The condition of the home today

Condition is the factor people most often underestimate, and it is the one that causes surprise when a quote changes after the first visit. A home that is cleaned every two weeks needs a maintenance pass. A home where nobody has cleaned behind the toilet or inside the microwave for months needs a slower, more thorough first visit before regular cleaning can keep it at that level.

Things that add time are built-up grease on the range hood and backsplash, mineral scale and soap scum in showers, pet hair in rugs and along baseboards, dust on fans and vents, and clutter on counters and floors. Clutter matters more than most people think. A cleaner can only clean surfaces they can reach, and picking up and putting away belongings is time spent not cleaning. Being honest about condition when you ask for a quote is the single best way to get a number that will not change.

Photos help more than descriptions. A few pictures of the kitchen, the main bathroom and the shower tell me in a minute what a phone call cannot, and they let me plan the right amount of time instead of guessing. Nobody is judging. Almost every home in the Dallas area has a room that got away from the family during a busy season, and planning for it is part of my job.

How often you book changes the price per visit

Frequency affects price because dirt accumulates. A home cleaned weekly never gets far from clean, so each visit is shorter. A home cleaned monthly has four weeks of dust, hair and bathroom buildup to work through, so each visit takes longer even though you pay less over the month. Every-two-weeks scheduling is a common middle ground for families.

If you are deciding on a schedule, I wrote a separate guide on how often a house should be cleaned that compares the options for different households. For pricing purposes, the point is simple: compare quotes at the same frequency. A weekly price and a monthly price are not the same product.

Timing can matter too. A one-time clean requested for tomorrow, or a move-out on the last day of the month when many leases end, is harder to fit in than one booked a week ahead. Booking early does not just make scheduling easier; it gives you a choice of time slots and gives the cleaner room to plan the job properly instead of squeezing it between others.

Regular, deep, move-out or post-construction: the type of job

The type of cleaning is the next big driver. A regular clean maintains a home that is already in good shape: kitchens, bathrooms, dusting, floors. A deep clean goes into the areas regular cleaning skips, such as baseboards, door frames, vents, inside appliances and the buildup in showers. If you are not sure which one your home needs, my guide on signs a house needs a deep cleaning will help you decide before you ask for quotes.

A move-out or move-in clean is a deep clean of an empty home, with the insides of every cabinet, closet and appliance included, and it is usually tied to a fixed date. I cover that job in detail in what a move-out clean takes before the keys change hands. Post-construction cleaning is its own category, because fine dust settles on every horizontal surface and inside cabinets, vents and window tracks, and it often takes more than one pass. Each of these takes a different amount of time, so each is priced differently, even for the same house.

Extras that are often priced separately

Every company draws the line between included and extra in a slightly different place, and this is where a lot of quote confusion comes from. One company includes the inside of the oven in a deep clean; another adds it. One counts interior windows as standard; another charges for them. Before you compare two numbers, ask each company for the list of what is included.

Items that commonly fall into the extra column are listed below. None of these is good or bad to include; you simply want to know which ones you are paying for.

• Inside the oven and inside the refrigerator
• Interior windows, sills and tracks
• Blinds cleaned slat by slat
• Inside cabinets and drawers in an occupied home
• Laundry, dishes or changing bed linens
• Garage, patio or balcony
• Carpet shampooing, which is usually a separate trade

Products and special requests

Some households ask for specific products: fragrance-free, gentler options for a home with a baby or someone with sensitivities, or the client's own preferred products. That is a reasonable request, and it rarely changes the price much, but it is worth mentioning when you ask for a quote. If you want to check a product yourself, the EPA runs a Safer Choice program, and its label means a product met EPA criteria for its ingredients and performance; there is also a version of the label for fragrance-free products.

For disinfecting, I use products that are approved by the US EPA for use against SARS-CoV-2 on non-porous surfaces. Disinfecting surfaces correctly takes a little more time than wiping, because the product has to stay on the surface for the time on its label, so a request for disinfecting every high-touch surface in the home is part of the scope.

How to compare quotes without getting burned

The lowest number is not always the best price. A quote built on square footage alone, without any questions about bathrooms or condition, is often the one that runs out of time halfway through the job, or that comes back higher after the first visit. A good quote follows a few questions, states what is included and is clear about whether the first visit is priced differently from the regular ones.

Use this short checklist when you line two or three offers up side by side.

• Same frequency on every quote you compare
• A written list of what is included and what is extra
• Whether the first visit is priced as a deep clean
• Who will do the work and who is responsible for the result
• What happens if something on the list is missed
• Whether supplies and equipment are part of the price

What I need from you to give an accurate number

To quote a home, I need the address, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the approximate square footage, whether there are pets, how often you want cleaning, and an honest description of the current condition, including the spots you know need extra work. If it is a move, I also need both dates. For a larger home, or one in rough shape, I may suggest seeing it in person first, which protects both of us from a quote that does not fit the job.

I serve Garland, Mesquite, Richardson, Rowlett and the Dallas area, and I am the person who sets the scope and the schedule, so the number you hear comes from the person responsible for the work. My company guarantees the quality of its work, which means if something was missed I want to hear about it. Send me those details and I will tell you what the job takes and what it costs, with no guesswork on either side.

Questions people ask me