Choosing between a professional cleaning company and a private cleaner usually comes down to three things: what you want to spend, how big the job is, and how much of the arranging you are happy to do yourself. Neither choice is right for every household. We run a cleaning business ourselves, Pro Cleaning Woking, so we have tried to set out both sides fairly and let you decide.
What each option means
A private cleaner is normally a self-employed person working on their own. Many are found through friends, neighbours or local listings. You agree the hours, the jobs and the rate with them directly, pay them directly, and they look after their own tax and any insurance they choose to hold.
A cleaning firm employs or engages a group of cleaners and runs the arrangement for you. The office books the visits, finds someone to cover when your usual cleaner is away and handles any complaint. Most firms offer several kinds of work, from a weekly clean to one-off deep cleans, end-of-tenancy cleans and carpet cleaning.
Either can do an excellent job. The difference lies less in the cleaning itself and more in what surrounds it.
How they compare
| Point | Private cleaner | Cleaning firm |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Often a lower hourly rate, with no office or management overheads | Usually a little more per hour, because the rate also pays for cover, admin and insurance |
| Insurance | Varies from person to person | Expected, but still worth checking |
| Holidays and sickness | Visits normally stop while they are away | Another cleaner can often be sent |
| Equipment and products | Agree before the first visit who supplies what | Ask what the team brings and what you need to provide |
| Flexibility | Limited to one person’s diary | More cleaners, so more slots and easier changes |
| Larger jobs | One pair of hands, so a deep clean takes longer | A team can be sent for deep cleans and end-of-tenancy work |
| If something goes wrong | You raise it with the cleaner yourself | There is an office to contact |
When a private cleaner may suit you
Hiring an individual can be a sensible, inexpensive way to get regular help. It tends to work well if:
- you live in a smaller home that only needs a few hours of light cleaning each week;
- you are comfortable managing the arrangement yourself, including finding cover when they are away;
- keeping the hourly cost as low as possible matters more to you than the extras a firm provides.
The main risks are gaps in cover and the checks you have to do on your own. Ask for references, ask whether they are insured, and agree in writing what each visit includes.
When a company may suit you
A firm makes more sense as the job grows or as your time to organise it shrinks.
Bigger cleans. A deep clean means scrubbing grout, descaling taps and shower screens, cleaning inside cupboards and getting behind appliances. Done by one person it can take a long day; a team gets through it faster. The same goes for a clean at the end of a tenancy, when the deadline is fixed.
Specialist kit. Firms that offer carpet or upholstery cleaning have the machines for it, which few individual cleaners own.
Scheduling. With several cleaners on the books, a company can usually find a slot that fits around your working week and move a visit when your plans change. For offices it can also come outside working hours so staff are not disturbed.
Cover and continuity. If your regular cleaner is ill or on holiday, a firm can often send someone else, so the house does not slip for a fortnight.
If that sounds like your situation, our page on regular domestic cleaning explains how a weekly or fortnightly arrangement with us works.
Three questions that decide it
Whichever way you lean, these three questions separate a company from a private cleaner more than anything else:
- Who covers when the cleaner is ill or on holiday? With a private cleaner, usually nobody; with a company, ask whether someone else is sent.
- Is there insurance, and can I see the certificate? Ask either kind of cleaner, and do not assume.
- If something goes wrong, who do I tell, and how quickly is it put right?
For a fuller list to work through before you book anyone, see questions to ask before booking a cleaner, and for the price side, our post on choosing between a low-cost cleaner and a cleaning company. To look into a particular firm, read how to check a cleaner before you hire. If you are weighing up a small local business against a larger agency or booking platform, see a local company or an agency, and if the real question is the money, we look at whether a cleaner is worth the cost in a separate post.
Where we stand on these questions
Since we have just suggested asking them, here are our own answers. Our cleaners are fully insured and DBS-checked, and for regular visits we send the same cleaner every time where possible, so you are not explaining your home to a new face each week. Anything else, from what a visit includes to how much notice we need, we are happy to answer on the phone before you commit: call 01483 773531, or send your questions through our contact page.