Frequently Asked Questions
Cleaning is simple, but questions do come up.
These are the frequently asked questions.
We currently service the greater Boston and nearby areas including: Allston, Arlington, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Belmont, Brighton, Brookline, Cambridge, Charlestown, Dorchester, Fenway, Jamaica Plain, Kenmore, Lynfield, Lexington, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Milton, Newton, North End, Quincy, Roslindale, Saugus, Somerville, South End, South Boston, Stoneham, Waltham, Watertown, and West Roxbury.
Booking is easy! Fill out our secure booking form (link) and select the time and date you want us to clean your home. Once complete, you’ll get a confirmation email to let you know that we have received your request.
You can reach us by telephone or email. Call our Client Service Team at (617) 780-6831 or email hello@houseblisscleaning.com. We’ll respond within one business day.
We price based on the number of rooms in the home and the scope of work. If you book online, select the number of rooms and the extras that apply to your home. The price for cleaning your house is set according to the information you provide and will show instantly on the Booking Page. We offer amazing discounts for maintenance cleanings scheduled on a weekly, bi-weekly, or every 3 and 4 weeks.
The initial cleaning requires more effort to bring the home to our cleaning standards, which will take considerably more time than the general maintenance cleaning. We’re confident you’ll enjoy this top to bottom house cleaning which prepare your home for the recurring maintenance cleaning of your choice.
No. You’re not paying extra for environmentally friendly cleaning products. Our rates are competitive if compared with legitimate, professional, and insured companies. We pride ourselves on staying on the leading edge of technology, products, tools, and methods.
We require a credit card on file for all new clients. We can also accept cash or check in person if you prefer. If the crew does not receive the payment in person, we will charge your credit or debit card after the cleaning is complete.
Payment is due the day of your scheduled cleaning and must be presented before services are rendered. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy. If you do not want your credit card to be charged, you may pay us with cash or check. If you won’t be at home at the time of the scheduled cleaning, leave the payment (cash or check) in a sealed envelope on your kitchen counter, clearly marked for House Bliss Cleaning, LLC.
Yes, your credit card is sensitive data. We do not store your credit card number or CVC. This confidential information will be encrypted in an https server. Our employees will not see your credit card number.
As with other services, tips are not required but highly appreciated. 100% of your tip goes to your cleaner. You can enter the tip amount in our booking form. If you choose to leave a cash tip, please leave it on the outside of the envelope with your payment and mark it clearly TIP FOR CLEANERS. Our staff is not allowed to take any money that would not be clearly marked theirs.
No. We only request that agree with our Service Agreement which states you understand and accept our cleaning method and company policy, such as our cancelation and lock out policy.
The best way to reschedule or cancel an appointment is by contacting us via email at hello@houseblisscleaning.com, or text us at 617-780-6831.
We understand plans change, people get the flu, life happens, we get it! We want to be flexible with you, but please consider that we hold a time slot for you we have to turn away other potential clients. Our crew’s schedule is planned a week in advance, and we have the commitment to fill their full-time hours. If you need to reschedule or cancel a cleaning appointment it’s a loss for our business. We want to make it easy for you to change or cancel your cleaning booking, however we have the right to terminate service if you cannot commit to keeping frequency cleaning appointments. We request that you please provide 48 hours before your scheduled appointment. Appointments canceled within less than 48 hours before the appointment may be charged a late cancellation fee of $60. Same day cancellations will result in full service charge.
We will contact your in advancement to reschedule you cleaning. We observe the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving & Day After, Christmas Day
No, you don’t have to be home, but it is your preference. Many clients give us a spare key to their home, or have a lock box or hidden key which they share information for our cleaners to enter. These are some of the safest and most reliable options to ensure no interruption in service, wait times, or lock out fees. If you prefer to stay home, we ask you to please refrain from being in the same room where the cleaners are working so they can work efficiently without distractions.
Depending on the size of the job, we may assign a dedicated team of (1) one up to (4) four cleaners. We will inform you about the number of cleaners who will be in your home. We create trusting relationships with our customers, and that’s why we do our best to send the same cleaner(s) to your home every time. If we have to send a different team, we will notify you.
Due to illness, vacation, or other unforeseen circumstances, we cannot guarantee the same team every visit. Rest assured, the cleaning team servicing your home has a detailed work order with special instructions just for your home, and they will clean consistently as the previous team.
Yes, we bring everything we need to clean your home, including equipment, supplies, and cleaners. We may use your vacuum if desirable. If you prefer we use your equipment, we will be happy to do so, but we are unable to accept responsibility in case of breakage, or the results from their use.
We request clients to provide their own trash bags, toilet brush and in some cases a stepladder. If you’d like your cleaner to use your own products, please add a note to the client intake survey with relevant instructions.
Our motto is not a marketing green-washing or a sales technique. All our cleaning products and equipment meet our high standards for sustainability and environmental and human safety.
We research and evaluate products that are: Green Seal Certified or EPA Safer Choice Certified. We use a combination of earth-friendly plant-based products, as well as some home-brewed solutions. Many ingredients in our solutions are everyday household products such as vinegar, baking soda, rubbing alcohol, 3% hydrogen peroxide and essential oils. Our store bought favorites are: Borax, Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds Liquid Cleaner, CitraSolv concentrated cleaner & degreaser, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Multi-purpose Cleaner, Eco Me Natural Multi Purpose Wood Cleaner and Polish.
The vacuums we use are HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) – these are vacuums with filters that provide the highest level of filtration.
On occasion, some bathrooms that have mold or mildew, we’ll use a chemical-based product. Mold is known to be allergy-causing, so the benefits of getting rid of it outweigh some of the negatives of a chemical-based solution, but rest assured that we’ll limit their use as much as possible.
When it comes to product choice, our founder has tried it all and selected only highly effective products to minimize the number of products our crews carry in their heavy bags. We cannot carry everything under the sun! So if you have a favorite like bona for floors or a leather wipe or only unscented products of you choice, please let us know that you’ll provide them.
Absolutely. Our cleaning microfiber are in a three-step laundered to eliminate harmful pathogens. The first step we pre-soak the microfiber cloth in hot water and Lysol Laundry Sanitizer for at least 6-8hours (overnight). The second step is to rinse and load the washing machine, add laundry detergent and oxygen bleach. The machine is set at heavy duty, high heat and extra rinse cycle. Finally the load is dried at high heat. Note: We also color code our cleaning cloths. The blue microfiber is used only for cleaning kitchens. They are never mixed with other colored cloths. Not even after cleaned. If you have any concerns about sanitation of our materials, please don’t hesitate in asking for more information.
We’re happy when our clients are happy. That’s why we guarantee that you are satisfied with our services when you return to your clean home. If we missed any item from our cleaning list, let us know within 24 hours of the appointment, including pictures of the area that needs to be re-clean. We’ll come back to rectify it at no extra charge.
Due to the time-consuming nature of cleaning, and unpredictable circumstances beyond our control such as traffic, parking and weather conditions, we cannot guarantee the exact time of arrival. When you book your cleaning for the first time, we require the flexibility to arrive in the 2-hour arrival window that your appointment is booked. For your convenience, if requested we can contact within 1-hour window of time to expect our arrival.
In cases of special projects, or extreme dirty situations, we can suggest working on an hourly base rate.
The amount of time to clean your home depends on the size and the services requested, and other factors like amount of dirtiness, the clutter, and any extras that you tell us about. We estimate an allotted time based on the information you provide in the booking form or a phone consultation, so we plan time accordingly. Our cleaners are not incentivized to work in slow pace or to rush their work. Our focus is to do a job well done.
Usually, this means our team encountered rooms that are much larger than usual, or if needed to more clutter around, e.g., piles, papers, clothing, toys, excessive toiletries, counter or sink full of last night’s dishes that cannot fit the allotted time. If that’s your case, we will contact you about adding more time to the appointment or we will suggest a priority cleaning so that our team doesn’t run late for appointments scheduled after your cleaning.
We have seen it all, and no home is the same. Since we don’t perform a walkthrough until the day of the cleaning, the flat rate estimate is based on some assumptions. We are going to judge or expect that your house is “Martha-Stewart-cleaned” per-say, but we recommend that you select “Deep Cleaning” if you have not had your home professionally cleaned for the past three months. We will reach out to you if any space in your home is more than 70% cluttered, or in an heavy-duty condition. No matter what, though, we would be glad to help. We just need to get accurate information and schedule the job accordingly to your needs.
Before the initial cleaning we ask you to complete our New Client Intake Survey where you can inform us how to gain access to your home. If you live in an apartment building, be sure the concierge is aware to let our crew inside. Furthermore, please inform us of any delicate items, broken pieces, valuable antiques or irreplaceable items in your home. If you’re enrolled in our maintenance cleaning, please write to us about any notable changes in your home since his/her last visit.
To best serve you, prior to your first appointment we will email a confirmation email with a link to our New Client Intake Survey. The survey takes an average of 8-minutes to complete. Your answers will be shared with the cleaning team, to help them understand your personal preferences and more details about your home.
The initial clean and deep-clean includes more tasks or areas whiting a room. The standard maintenance cleaning service, as named is to maintain your home in a clean standard, including cleaning the bathrooms, kitchen, living room, bedroom, dusting, vacuuming and mopping floors. We also offer extra services like cleaning inside the oven, fridge, laundry and more. Those can be selected on the booking form or requested via email. We have a blog post about this topic.
We encourage our customers to request add-on services via our office at least one week before the cleaning so we can increase the time needed to clean your home. We will do everything we can to accommodate your request if we have the availability to complete the extra task on the spot. Any task that is not included in the team’s work order is considered an add-on service, thus your pricing will reflect that. See our services page to learn more about these options.
No. For the health and safety of our cleaning staff, we cannot clean pet excrement, bodily waste, mold or other biohazards. We are also not available to clean fireplaces, the exterior of windows, carpets, light bulbs, hard calcium buildup or permanently hard water spots. We do not remove blinds to clean. We cannot reach areas above a 6 foot ladder reach. We do not move furniture over 30 lbs.
After your cleaning, you’ll receive a rating email. You have the opportunity to provide us feedback in this email. You may also email us directly at anytime with feedback about our services.
Can I hire one of your cleaning professionals directly?
If you want to hire one of our cleaners to work for you directly, we can work out a temp-to-hire arrangement for a fee. House Bliss makes a significant investment in recruiting and training qualified cleaning team members. Each member signs a non-compete agreement that prohibits them from working directly with our clients during one year after employment with House Bliss Cleaning. We ask that you abide by this same agreement. By accepting our service, you agree not to solicit, directly or indirectly, or hire any current or former House Bliss Cleaning team member who has cleaned or provided a service in your home without our written consent or without compensating the business for its loss.
If any company or person tells you they have never broken anything during cleaning, they’re not honest. We appreciate that you trust us with your most valuable asset, your home. We train our cleaners to take their time and work carefully, but unfortunately, accidents can happen.
Items of sentimental value or irreplaceable, are the most valuable. One option to protect these items is to store them away on the cleaning day or instruct us not to clean such things.
Please note we cannot be responsible for breakage due to normal wear and tear, improper assembly or construction, or deterioration caused by the age of any item.
The “New Client Intake Survey” that we request you to complete has a dedicated area where you can inform us of any fragile, antiques, collectibles, delicate furniture pieces, or irreplaceable items or anything in your home that requires extra attention or if you prefer we not to touch.
If our team notices something that fits the above categories, or if the team accidentally breaks something, they’ll document with a picture. They will leave a note or let you know if you are home during the cleaning. The office will follow-up with a phone call or email to arrange the best course of action to take to repair or replace the broken or damaged item.
We are a family-run business. Reach us over the phone at (617) 780-6831 or by email at hello@houseblisscleaning.com. We’ll respond within one business day.
We love pets and see them as part of your family. It takes more time to clean homes with pets. As the scope of work changes, so we adjust our pricing to allow more time to do a job well done depending on the extent of the work, we have to adjust with a deep cleaning add-on.
We cannot guarantee to completely remove fur from apostrophe furniture and fur that sets back onto furniture after dusting. Please let us you want us to vacuum their beds or inside the crate.
We cannot solve pet spray odor and stain remover. We do not clean homes with animal hoarding issues.
Although we do not take care of your pets, we want them to feel comfortable while we clean your home. The “New Client Intake Survey” that we request you to complete has a dedicated area where you can inform us about your pets.
If your pet will roaming free at home while we clean it helps us to know their names so we can talk to them if needed.
We also need to ensure the safety of our team. Any pets that exhibit aggressive behaviour while we are present may need to be contained in a crate or lock them in a room.
Please note, our cleaning crew will not pick-up pet accidents, change or scoop litter box. We also do not clean flea-infested homes.
You can buy a gift-certificate to anyone online or over the phone.
We’re happy to accomodate special requests. Just contact us to discuss what you are looking for.
You can redeem by entering the gift card number on the discount field of the booking form or over the phone with our client service.
The balance is stored in your account. To login to your account use the same email where you’ve received the gift certificate was received.
The first cleaning typically takes longer; depending on how much cleaning is required. After the first cleaning, it will take less time. The total amount of time depends on the size of the home and the services requested.
Gift certificates are valid up to 1-year from the date of purchase.
