Ask a cleaning service ten things before you hire. The six that decide it are: who will actually be in your home, whether the cleaners are employees or subcontractors, whether the company is bonded and insured, what is on the checklist, how the price is set, and what happens when something is broken or missed. Those answers tell you more than the quote does.
Most people hiring a cleaner for the first time ask about price and availability, then discover everything else on the day. The awkward questions are the ones worth asking, because the answers are hard to fake and easy to check.
Below is the list Happy Maids would hand a friend who was hiring somebody else — including the questions companies would rather you skipped.
What questions should I ask a cleaning service?
Ask these ten on the first phone call, in roughly this order, and write down what you hear. A company that answers all ten plainly is usually a company that will show up and do what it said.
- Are your cleaners your employees, or subcontractors?
- Are you bonded and insured, and will you send me the certificate?
- Who will be in my house, and will it be the same people each visit?
- Are they background-checked, and by whom?
- What is on your checklist — and what is not on it?
- How do you set the price, and what makes it change?
- What is your cancellation and rescheduling policy, in writing?
- What happens if something is broken?
- What happens if I am not happy with a clean?
- How do you handle my key, code or alarm?
Are your cleaners employees or subcontractors?
This single question sorts the industry. An employee is on the company's payroll, covered by its insurance and its workers' compensation. A subcontractor is an independent business the company booked on your behalf, and the protections you assumed you were buying may not follow them through your door.
Ask it directly, and listen for hedging. Phrases like "our professionals" or "our partners" often mean contractors.
The distinction is not marketing language. The IRS draws the same line in its guidance on employment taxes for household employees: a worker is an employee when someone controls not just the work, but how it is done.
Happy Maids cleaners are W-2 employees — hired, trained, background-checked, bonded and insured by the company, never gig labor and never subcontracted. If you are weighing a company against hiring someone directly, the honest comparison is in our guide to hiring an independent cleaning lady versus a cleaning company.
Are you bonded and insured, and can I see the certificate?
Insurance covers accidents and injuries connected to the work. A bond covers you if an employee steals from your home. They are separate products, they are bought separately, and plenty of companies say the phrase without holding both.
The follow-up question is the real one: will you send me the certificate? A company that carries coverage can produce it in a day, because associations and property managers ask for it constantly.
Happy Maids sends insurance certificates on request, and the office sends one to a homeowners' association or management company before a first visit as a matter of routine. If you want to understand what the words actually cover before you ask, read what bonded and insured really means for a cleaning service.
You can also verify part of it yourself. Illinois employers carrying workers' compensation are searchable through the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, which is a useful cross-check on any company claiming its people are covered.
Who will actually be in my house, and will it be the same people?
Continuity is the difference between a clean that improves over time and one that resets every visit. A team that knows your home stops asking where things go and starts noticing what changed.
Ask three things:
- How many people come, and for how long. Happy Maids sends teams of two to three on homes over roughly 3,500 square feet, and a team of two on a standard deep clean.
- Will it be the same team each time. Happy Maids assigns the same familiar people wherever scheduling allows.
- What happens when somebody is sick. A company has other trained teams and an office that will call and reschedule you — and your service day is not moved without your consent. One individual has neither, and a bad flu week becomes a month of a dirty house.
What is on your checklist, and what is not on it?
Ask for the written list before you book, not after. Every disappointment in this industry traces back to a task one side assumed was included and the other never intended to do.
Happy Maids publishes the whole thing — see the house cleaning checklist, room by room, including which tasks are dusted on a recurring visit and hand-washed on a deep clean. That is the actual difference between the two services, and it is explained on our deep cleaning page.
Then ask the better question: what will you not do? Ours, plainly:
- Nothing higher than a two-step ladder — a two-story foyer fixture needs lift equipment and a different trade
- No exterior windows, no debris removal, no washing walls or ceilings
- No chandeliers, no inside fireplaces, no carpet or steam cleaning
- No laundry or folding, no inside the dishwasher, washer or dryer
- No moving heavy furniture, no pet waste, mold or biohazards
- Hard water and mineral buildup that needs more than standard supplies and tools is a published exclusion rather than something we take on as a removal job
That last one deserves a straight answer, because it is the most common disappointment in the trade. What standard supplies can reach, our teams work down a layer at a time, visit after visit. What they will not do is reach for an abrasive pad or an aggressive chemical, because those etch glass and dull tile permanently — and where minerals have already etched the glass, that damage is in the surface and no cleaning removes it.
A company that claims no limits at all has simply not thought about it yet.
How do you decide the price, and what makes it change?
Price follows time, and time follows the house. Square footage, the number of bathrooms, the current condition, how often you want visits, and any add-ons are what move the number — not a rate card applied blindly.
Ask specifically:
- Is a recurring clean a flat rate, or billed by the hour? Happy Maids prices recurring visits as a flat rate by home size, services chosen and condition.
- Are deep cleans and move-outs hourly? Ours are, pro-rated every ten minutes, because nobody can see a house down the phone.
- Which items are add-ons rather than standard — inside the oven, inside the refrigerator, inside emptied cabinets, interior windows within step-ladder reach, vacuuming inside a sofa, a linen change, a finished basement.
- Is there a deposit, and what is the late-change or cancellation policy?
Two notes on that third point, because it catches people. Those items are add-ons on every Happy Maids service, including a move-out — nearly everyone adds the oven and refrigerator to a move, but they are chosen, not automatic. And they have to be requested at least one business day ahead, because they change how long the visit takes and the day is scheduled before the team leaves.
Get the estimate in writing. You can start yours with a free estimate request, or call 847-382-0082 and describe the house — that conversation takes about five minutes.
What happens if something gets broken?
Happy Maids handles incidental breakage as a credit toward future service, and anything larger goes through insurance — and any area you would rather nobody touched can be marked to skip. The full answer is in our guide to what happens if a house cleaner breaks something.
What are the questions cleaning companies would rather you did not ask?
These are the uncomfortable ones. They are also the ones that predict how the next year will go, so ask them anyway — including of us.
- What is your turnover? Will the person who cleans my house today still work here in six months?
- Do you ever subcontract a visit when you are short-staffed?
- What is your cancellation fee, and what counts as enough notice?
- What do you refuse to do, and what do you charge extra for?
- What is your worst review about, and what changed after it?
- Who answers the phone when something goes wrong on a Friday afternoon?
Happy Maids answers live during office hours, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm. If a clean is not right, the Happy Home Guarantee means we come back and re-clean the area at no charge, scheduled within two business days of the visit. There are no contracts, and one-time cleans are welcome.
How do I check the answers I am given?
Searching for a cleaning service near me turns up a page of companies all making the same claims, so verify three things and you have done more diligence than most people ever do. Everything below can be checked in under fifteen minutes, without calling anyone back.
- The certificate of insurance, sent by the company or its agent, dated and current.
- Workers' compensation coverage, through the state commission's employer search.
- Reviews and accreditation — Happy Maids holds 4.8 stars from 161 Google reviews and an A+ accreditation with the Better Business Bureau. You can read what our clients actually say.
Then confirm they genuinely cover your town rather than "servicing the area" from an hour away. Ours are listed on the service areas page.
What if I would rather not do all this?
Then call and make us answer it. Happy Maids has been family-owned since 1985, working out of one office in Lake Barrington, and every question on this page has a straight answer at 847-382-0082 — you can text the same number.
If you are still deciding which service you need rather than who should do it, start on the house cleaning and maid service page, which walks through the common situations and points to the right one.
Frequently asked questions
How do I hire a house cleaning service?
Call two or three companies, describe your home honestly, and ask the same ten questions of each: employees or subcontractors, bonded and insured, who comes and how often, what is on the checklist, what is excluded, how price is set, cancellation policy, breakage policy, satisfaction guarantee, and key handling.
Then get the estimate in writing. Most people book one deep clean first and settle into a recurring rhythm afterward.
What does bonded and insured mean for a cleaning company?
Insured means the company carries insurance covering damage or injury connected to its work. Bonded means it holds a bond that pays you if an employee steals from your home. They are separate protections and a company can hold one without the other.
The longer explanation, including how to verify both, is in our guide to what bonded and insured actually means.
Should I hire an independent cleaning lady or a cleaning company?
Both are legitimate. An independent cleaner gives you one consistent person, direct scheduling and often a lower rate. A company gives you insurance, background checks, backup when someone is sick, and an office to call.
You are choosing between a relationship and a structure. The full comparison, including what an individual genuinely does better, is here.
Do you tip a house cleaner?
Tipping is never required, and Happy Maids cleaners are W-2 employees, so nobody's wage depends on one.
If you do want to recognize good work, the published Happy Maids policy suggests 10 to 20% of the cleaning cost. There are three ways to do it: the Add a Tip Form, which can be one-time or recurring on a card, the post-clean survey, or cash in an envelope marked for the cleaners. Naming the cleaner to the office as well makes sure the compliment reaches her.
Should I clean before the cleaners arrive?
No. Tidy, do not clean.
Putting away clothes, toys, papers and dishes lets the team spend its time on surfaces rather than on sorting your belongings, which is what you are paying for. Nobody needs to scrub anything first, and nobody is judging the house — houses get away from people, and getting one back is ordinary work.
How do I find licensed and bonded house cleaning near me?
Ask each company for a current certificate of insurance and confirmation of its bond, then check its workers' compensation coverage through your state commission's employer search.
Cleaning is not a state-licensed trade the way plumbing is, so "licensed" usually means a registered business holding whatever local business license its municipality requires. Ask exactly what the license is, and who issued it.
Do I need to be home when the cleaners come?
No, and most clients are not. Most give us a garage or electronic door code, or use our free secure lockbox, rather than being home.
Happy Maids handles keys, codes and alarm instructions through the office rather than informally with a cleaner, and access details stay with the company. Whichever service you choose, ask how access is stored and who can see it.
How long has Happy Maids been doing this?
Since 1985 — 40+ years, family-owned, from the same corner of the Northwest suburbs the whole time.
Happy Maids holds 4.8 stars from 161 Google reviews and an A+ accreditation with the Better Business Bureau, works with W-2 employees rather than gig labor, and offers no-contract service with a re-clean guarantee if something is not right.