House cleaning quotes in Columbus can be far apart for the same home, and usually neither one is wrong. The gap comes from three things a quote rarely spells out: the condition of the home, what’s included, and whether the number covers the first visit or every visit after it. Here’s how to read a quote, what to ask, and which number you can actually hold a company to.
Why do house cleaning quotes for the same home vary so much?
Because size only sets the starting point, and condition sets the rest. A three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath house deep cleaned with us runs $225 to $290 when it’s been professionally cleaned in the last month, and $260 to $350 when it’s been over a year.
Two companies looking at the same house can be pricing two different jobs. One quotes the floor plan. The other notices the buildup on the shower glass, the grease on the cabinet fronts and the basement nobody mentioned, and quotes that. The second number is higher, and it’s also the one that won’t change on the first visit.
These are the things that move the number most, in roughly the order they matter:
| What moves the quote | Why |
|---|---|
| Square footage and room count | Sets the base. More rooms, more surfaces, more time. |
| Number of bathrooms | The slowest rooms in any home. Each one adds real time. |
| Time since the last professional clean | A home cleaned every two weeks needs upkeep. One last cleaned in the spring needs a reset. |
| Kitchen use | Daily cooking means grease on the stovetop, backsplash and cabinet fronts. |
| Pets | Hair on stairs, in corners and along baseboards takes extra passes. |
| A finished lower level | Basements are common in Central Ohio houses, and a finished one is the floor people forget to mention when they ask for a price. |
| First visit or recurring | The first visit resets the home. The visits after it keep it there, which is why they cost less. |
What should a house cleaning quote spell out?
The scope, the frequency, and whether the price is for the first visit or for every visit. If those three aren’t written down, two quotes aren’t measuring the same job.
Scope is the list of what gets cleaned. A standard visit covers floors, kitchen counters and appliance fronts, bathrooms and dusting. A deep clean adds baseboards, door frames, vent covers, cabinet fronts and the inside of the microwave. If one quote says “deep clean” and the other doesn’t say anything, ask for the list.
Frequency changes the price per visit. For that same three-bedroom house in average shape, a visit every two weeks runs $115 to $150 and a monthly visit $135 to $175, because a month of buildup takes longer to clear than two weeks of it. The recurring plans page has every frequency side by side.
First visit or ongoing is the one that trips people up most. Many companies start a recurring plan with a deep clean, so a quote for the recurring price and a quote for the first visit are two different numbers. If you’re comparing them, you’re comparing a monthly bill to a one-time cost. We wrote more about that choice in deep clean or recurring cleaning: which one first?
Why do so many cleaning companies only quote in person?
Because condition is the part of the price nobody can see from a floor plan. A walk-through catches what a phone call misses, which protects both sides from a number that changes on the first visit.
The downside is that you can’t compare anything until someone has walked through your kitchen. That’s the part people tell us they dislike most, so we put our ranges online. You answer questions about the home the way a walk-through would, you see a range, and the exact number is confirmed once the home has been seen.
What should you ask before you choose a cleaner?
Ask who will actually clean your home, whether it’s the same people each visit, and how they handle it when you’re not happy with something. Those answers tell you more about the next six months than the price does.
A few questions worth asking every company you’re comparing:
- Who does the cleaning? Employees, independent cleaners, or whoever a marketplace sends that day? At Home Shine, your home is cleaned by vetted, insured cleaning professionals who work with us.
- Will it be the same people every time? Consistency is what makes recurring cleaning get better instead of starting over each visit. We keep the same two cleaning professionals on your home every visit. The exception is when you move your regular day and your usual pair isn’t free.
- Are they insured, and can you see proof? Any company should be able to answer this in one message.
- What’s included, and what isn’t? Get it in writing before the first visit, not after.
- Is there a satisfaction guarantee? Ours is simple: if something isn’t right, tell us and we’ll work with you to make it right.
- How does rescheduling work? Plans change. The answer tells you how flexible the relationship will be. With us, you can skip, reschedule or cancel with no fee as long as you let us know 48 hours ahead.
Clients who stay with a company for years tend to mention that last one. As one put it in a Google review: “They work with me if I need to change a date or time and every crew has been very professional.” — Ashley P.
Is the lowest house cleaning quote the best deal?
Not if it leaves out the first-visit reset or the rooms you care about. Compare what the first three months cost, not the first visit, because that’s where the real difference between quotes shows up.
For a three-bedroom house in average shape cleaned every two weeks, that’s a first visit at $240 to $310 followed by six visits at $115 to $150 each. Add it up the same way for every quote you have. A company that’s cheaper on paper but leaves out the reset, or quotes a smaller scope, will show it in that total.
The number that matters over a year is the one you stop thinking about. “…we have them clean our house every 3 weeks or so. The whole house sparkles each time they come. The cost is reasonable, & their work is fantastic!” — Jim F., Google review
If you already have quotes in hand and want one more to line them up against, our estimator asks about your home the way a walk-through would and gives you a range in about a minute.
