Housekeeping vs cleaning: Which service do you need?

Maintaining a clean household can pose a significant challenge, especially in Aussie weather. And it’s more than just keeping up the looks for the neighbours. Experts agree that tidying your home as often as possible is a good way to keep you and your family from getting sick.

But the reality is that keeping up with household chores is demanding and time-consuming. Fortunately, there are cleaning experts who can help you solve this problem. 

In this guide, we’ll explore the differences between housekeepers and cleaners so you can decide which service is best for you.

What is housekeeping? 

Housekeeping is a cleaning service typically performed daily or weekly to maintain the overall cleanliness of your home. Imagine the housekeeping services of a hotel or establishment scaled down to fit your home.

A professional housekeeper’s cleaning responsibilities typically include tidying up after children’s playtime, washing the dishes, and making the bed.

What is house cleaning? 

House cleaning is a scheduled cleaning service. While this service can also maintain the overall cleanliness of your whole house, more often than not, it’s more targeted for those who need deep-cleaning services, like end-of-lease cleaning.

House cleaning often involves a team of cleaners performing various deep cleaning tasks. These include, but are not limited to, sanitising your home, removing stains, and performing heavy-duty vacuuming in specific areas of your home. 

Housekeeper vs cleaner: What are their key differences?

While housekeepers and cleaners share the same goal, their services have specific differences. This guide will help you determine which of these two cleaning services you need.

In terms of cleaning frequency

Housekeeping has the highest cleaning frequency of the two services. When you hire a housekeeper, their primary focus is maintaining the cleanliness of your home. While the duration of their service in your home varies, it typically lasts a good portion of the day for one, two, or even more days a week. Some housekeepers even offer stay-in or live-in housekeeping services.

Cleaning services, on the other hand, are usually hired for shorter periods for bigger cleaning jobs. Their services last from 1 to 8 hours on one scheduled day, and their cleaning responsibilities range from one room to the entire house.

In terms of cleaning scope

A housekeeper’s work is generally focused on maintaining the general cleanliness of your house. Some general housekeeping examples are dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, washing dishes, making beds, tidying up rooms, and similar levels of cleaning.

On the other hand, the responsibilities of a cleaner are more technical in scope. Their cleaning responsibilities usually include power washing windows, deep cleaning rooms, sofa stain removals, and the like.

In terms of cleaning objectives

Both housekeeping and cleaning have the same general objective—to get your place clean. However, they differ in their specific goals.

As previously mentioned, a housekeeper is geared towards maintaining a level of cleanliness in your entire home. With the help of housekeepers, your house will regularly look clean, tidied up, and inviting. 

Meanwhile, cleaning services set intensive cleaning goals. They’re geared towards addressing problem areas and cleaning spaces that don’t get addressed during regular cleaning, such as the embedded stains and odours from your carpet fibres, or the heavy grease and grime that builds up on your range hoods. They perform deep-cleaning tasks aimed at restoring a place to a pristine condition.

In terms of cleanliness level

For the cleanliness level, housekeepers aim to maintain the cleanliness of homes regularly. However, their approach and methods may differ from cleaners. Housekeepers typically use cleaning techniques and products that are accessible to the average homeowner, such as non-bio and bio detergents, cleaning agents, and bleach.

Meanwhile, cleaners often have specialised skills, equipment, and cleaning solutions suited for more intensive cleaning tasks. For example, a cleaner is equipped with the best industrial-grade cleaning products that can remove oil or grease-based stains. They also know the best way to remove hard or embedded dirt from window panes and wood flooring.

In terms of expertise

Overall, cleaners have a different type of expertise in terms of cleaning. They’re typically specialised individuals whose professional skill lies in more intensive or industrial-level cleaning. Think of their end results like doing a factory reset on your home.

On the other hand, housekeepers are experts in domestic or household cleaning. Their cleaning process and end results are more tailored to personal preferences.

In terms of service cost

Pricing for housekeeping and cleaning services will vary greatly depending on the scope of the services you need and the size and complexity of your home. 

Generally, housekeepers are more affordable than cleaning services, with averages of around $30 per hour for live-in services. Some housekeepers who have a fixed number of hours and days can go as low as $20. 

As for cleaning services, they start around $139 for 1-bedroom apartments and scale up as more services are included. For larger properties such as 6-bedroom homes, some companies begin their offer at $380 but are more inclined to discuss for a more accurate estimate.

Again, these are ballpark figures and will still depend on the overall dimensions of your property.

Take the stress out of cleaning! Discover professional housekeepers and cleaners on Airtasker 

Cleaning professionals have a lot of precautions to deal with to make any place spotless, but they’re geared to make it happen. Don’t stress about making your home spotless, and let the cleaning experts take a crack at it. At Airtasker, discover how easy it is for you to find housekeeping and cleaning experts who can make home cleaning a breeze - at your convenience and budget!