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What Cleaning Level Is Right For You? | Barrington, IL

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Cleaning Levels? Wait, I Just Want a House Cleaning!

Cleaning levels! If you’re new to today’s house cleaning sphere and just starting to research, you may be wondering why there are so many choices on the kinds of cleanings you can get. After all, isn’t house cleaning just … house cleaning? Maybe that’s what you thought, but now you’re starting to check it out and you see you have choices.

You’ve got your basic cleaning, deep cleaning, and maintenance … who knew there were so many different options, what’s the difference, and how can you possibly know for sure what you need?

Press the rewind button and relax — this post is to tell you exactly what’s what and which is which. By the time you’ve done this 3-minute read you’ll be a pro. Easy!

Each cleaning company does it a little differently, but there’s one practice that any good company follows: we all have a checklist for each level of cleaning. Even if you just quickly skim our checklists, you’ll see the difference.

Just Check the Checklist!

Should you juggle between cleaning company’s checklists to see which each one offers? Not really. Trying to compare all of that information would be frustrating, so don’t bother with that. Besides, as we suggest in our post on, there are other details that are much more important.

So, just read all of the need-to-know information we’ve compiled below about what’s included in each level. You’ll see the exact breakdown of our different service options so you can see for yourself what you want and need. Like we said, easy!

Basic House Cleaning

A basic house cleaning is a one-time service, the service you’ll get if you just want a clean-up so you can clean from there. As its name suggests, it covers all of your basic cleaning needs. Some customers who have recurring maintenance cleanings like to add one in between appointments to spruce up the house before they have guests over. Other customers simply want this cleaning level every now and again … others want just one. Period!

While this is great if your house is in pretty good shape, we wouldn’t suggest it if your house hasn’t had a good cleaning in a while. It’s more like a home refresh. It covers all of the standards like dusting bedrooms and living areas, cleaning bathrooms and kitchen (including inside microwave), removing garbage, and vacuuming and mopping floors. It’s nothing to sneeze at (speaking of dust), just not a deep cleaning.

Maintenance House Cleaning

Maintenance cleanings are ongoing. They’re the right cleaning level for you if you feel like you’re always playing catchup with the household chores. Once you get yourself set up on a schedule, you can permanently delete cleaning from your to-do list. This service caters to your ongoing needs, which is why you choose the frequency of your cleanings. And, if your needs change, you can call and adjust your service, easy as that.

Maintenance cleanings almost always start with deep cleaning (see below) because a deep cleaning sets us up for success. Maintenance cleanings are designed to maintain your home after we clean it to the high standard of a deep clean. If you’re not looking for a recurring service, deep cleanings are offered as a one-time service. They are for anyone looking for a top to bottom, corner to corner cleaning. 

Maintenance house cleaning is a recurring service that provides you with a consistently clean home. To start, all of the standard areas of a basic house cleaning are taken care of. As a way to maintain your home, we dust areas that are hand washed during a deep house cleaning. This includes window sills and blinds, baseboards, light fixtures, vents, and reachable fans. On top of that, we disinfect light switches and door handles. We remove cobwebs, make beds or change linens, and vacuum the exterior of couches and chairs as needed. We also keep our eye out for spot-checking walls, windows, and the exterior of cabinets.

Deep House Cleaning

Deep cleanings get you back on track after a big gap between cleanings. They’re also the start of our maintenance house cleanings so the home is top-to-bottom clean. It’s also the right cleaning level if you’ve had a little work done in the home, giving you the extra attention to detail you need. Some customers like to schedule an annual deep cleaning in the spring. And others make it semi-annual because they just love that complete, deep clean feeling.

A deep house cleaning level takes care of all the big and little details in a very complete way. In a deep cleaning, we cover all of the same areas as a maintenance cleaning, but we up the ante. In a deep cleaning, we upgrade from dusting to hand washing of doors and frames, window sills and frames, blinds, baseboards, light fixtures and switches/plates, vents, and reachable fans. We also include washing the exterior of your cabinets.

Which is Best for You?

Now that you know your options, which cleaning level covers your needs?

Do you have family coming to town and just need to spruce up the house? A basic cleaning will get the job done.

Are you selling your home? You can book a deep cleaning before having pictures taken for listing and keep it looking pristine for open houses with bi-weekly maintenance cleanings.

Do you want to stop playing catch-up with the household chores? Get scheduled for a deep cleaning followed by regular maintenance cleanings and cross cleaning off your list forever. Whew, sounds good!

If you haven’t yet found the perfect fit in-house cleaning service options, ask how we can further customize your home cleanings. Call us at 847.382.0082 or fill in the contact for more information and to get scheduled. 


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