hausfrau

housecleaning!

Guide to Services

"Thank you! The house looks awesome! You did a great job. Thank you so much for your attention to detail."
--Molly Moore

Scheduling of Services

The vast majority of our clients prefer to have their cleanings on a set schedule. This means that we automatically visit their homes on the same day every one, two, or four weeks. We cannot guarantee a specific time for your cleaning. As a rule, we prefer to clean when no one is home. If someone needs to be in the house, while we clean, please make those arrangements with us in advance. We do need to have unhindered access to all rooms at all times; otherwise, rooms may be skipped. Since we work as a team in the interest of efficiency, we unfortunately cannot entertain requests to clean the house in a certain "order", nor can we save a certain room "for last".

Since we offer a lower rate for more frequent cleanings, a skipped cleaning will result in a slightly higher rate for the next cleaning (usually $5-$15). We are closed on the following holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. If your scheduled cleaning falls on one of these days, you may skip that visit, and you will not be charged more for your next visit. Or, we will attempt to reschedule you if asked. Also, please keep in mind that our schedule is carefully designed to minimize driving time. Therefore, we cannot always accommodate requests for a different cleaning day (or even the same day on a different week), at least not without charging a surcharge.

Clients requesting monthly service will be cleaned every four weeks. Unfortunately, we generally cannot guarantee a "first Tuesday of the month" type schedule.

If a set of keys is to be provided to Hausfrau, please note that we do not make secondary or follow-up visits to pick up or drop off keys or to pick up payments, without payment of a $75 service call fee.

Our Services

Visits are generally between one and two hours, depending on the size of your household. Please understand that we do not charge by the hour, but by the job. We are constantly striving to improve our methods and efficiency, in order to provide our clients with the best possible cleaning in the shortest amount of time. In a nutshell, our services consist of a thorough cleaning of the kitchen and bathrooms. In the other rooms of the house we dust, vacuum, and mop if needed.

hausfrau will:

• Supply all needed, environmentally-friendly products and equipment. We're sorry, but we never use a customer's equipment or supplies, even upon request.
• Vacuum under beds as needed, UNLESS items are stored under beds.
• Vacuum under other furniture as needed. However, the area must be accessible, moving furniture must not be required, and the furniture must have enough "ground clearance" to allow our low-profile vacuum head underneath (estimate: about three inches).
• We will vacuum into closets as far as possible, but will generally not move items.
• We will generally dust or vacuum baseboards as needed. We have found that "wet wiping" is usually not necessary with regular maintenance.
• Empty trash. NOTE: If there is a very small amount of trash, we generally won't empty it unless specifically asked to do so.
• Dust blinds. However, our prices do not include more thorough cleaning of heavily soiled mini-blinds. Replacement is usually the most cost-effective solution in this case.
• Provide an email reminder, sent the business day before your cleaning.
• Maintain client house keys, home plans, and alarm codes under lock and key.

hausfrau does not:

• Provide services other than housecleaning. (But, please feel free to inquire about referrals to other service professionals!) This includes dog-walking.
• Let in service people such as meter readers, UPS drivers, and so forth. We do not answer your door or your telephone while we are in your home.
• We do not offer laundry services. This includes starting the washing machine.
• We do not make beds or change bed linens.
• Wash dishes.
• We only clean as high as we can reach with our tools. Therefore, if you have high ceilings, we may not be able to dust ceiling fans, crown molding, tops of cabinets or mirrors, etc.
• Clean blood, pet accidents, or the like.
• Hand scrub floors or grout. We mop floors thoroughly, however.
• Provide daily cleaning services such as washing dishes or “picking up". Rooms being cleaned need to be “picked up" prior to our arrival. If this does not occur, we will do our best to “clean around" any items, but we will not move said items. Please do your best to remove small items from the floor, such as toy pieces or jewelry, as these hinder our ability to vacuum thoroughly. We cannot be responsible if said items are accidentally vacuumed up. If dishes are left in the sink (more than one or two), then we will not be able to clean the sink.
• Sorry, but we do not rake carpet. We vacuum your carpet thoroughly, but cannot promise that your carpet will be free of footprints.
• We do not clean louvered doors, beyond dusting the surface.
• We do not move furniture.
• We do not clean ceilings or walls, other than cobweb removal.

We also do not:

• Operate any household appliances, such as television or stereo. However, we may use your microwave to heat up our lunch, and get drinking water from your water dispenser or pitcher. We will also use the restrooms as needed, but only before cleaning. And unless instructed otherwise, we may adjust the heat or air conditioning while cleaning, but will return it to its original setting before leaving.
• Exchange keys with anyone other than the contracted client.

Hours of Operation

We are available to provide services between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM, Monday-Friday. Emails, voicemails, and forms submitted on our website will be replied to by the next business day.

Inclement Weather

Severe inclement weather, although rare in Knoxville, may limit our ability to service clients as scheduled. In this event, we will use the contact information we have on file to notify you. Also, we cannnot clean without power, so please do your best to let us know if the power is out at your home.

Illness

In the event of a client illness, please let us know about illness in the home before we arrive, so that we can reschedule your cleaning. We will return the favor, and will never knowingly come into your home while sick.

Safety

Please notify us at least 48 hours in advance of any persons who may be in your home during the time of the housecleaning service. This includes family members, service contractors, repair personnel, and so forth. Due to possible liability concerns, we reserve the right to reschedule visits that coincide with a visit by another service contractor or houseguest. Unfortunately, we cannot clean in a home where unsupervised children are present. Also, we love pets, but we reserve the right to ask that indoor pets be crated or otherwise restricted from the area where we are working if necessary. The customer is responsible for any injuries that occur to our cleaners as a result of unrestrained pets.

Rates

• We realize that some prospective clients want a “rough idea" of how much we charge prior to contacting us. With that in mind, we can tell you that an "average" home (1.5 baths) usually runs around $120 per visit. Larger homes can run upwards of $160. There is a $75 minimum charge for weekly service.
• Initial cleanings cost more than subsequent cleanings, and start at $160 for a very small, fairly clean home. Average price is around $200.
• Move-in/move-out cleanings also start at $160, and average around $200.
• Infrequent cleanings (less often than once per month) also start at $160, and average around $200.
• Add an additional 50% to the above rates for after hours, weekend, or same-day service.
• We do not clean windows, refrigerator or oven interiors, freezers, walls, or ceilings (other than cobweb removal).

Cancellations

• Service appointments can be cancelled by phone or email. Please do not consider your appointment as cancelled until you receive a confirmation via email or telephone.
• CANCELLATIONS WITH LESS THAN 48 HOURS NOTICE (WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS INCLUDED) WILL RESULT IN A $75 MISSED SERVICE CHARGE. THIS CHARGE WILL ALSO APPLY IF WE COME TO THE HOME BUT ARE UNABLE TO GAIN ACCESS. The only exception is inclement weather.
• Excessive cancellations with less than 48 hours notice, or “lockouts", may result in cessation of services.

Billing and Payments

• We must receive payment before we can begin services. You may leave a check or money order at your residence. Please make payable to Hausfrau Housecleaning. Please do not postdate.
• For security reasons, we cannot accept cash left at residences under any circumstances.
• Monthly billing is available upon request, but does necessitate paying for monthly services in advance.

Disinfectants

Hausfrau Housecleaning does NOT use disinfectants (the only exception being we will use a small amount of bleach to remove bathroom mold and mildew, if necessary). There are several reasons we do not believe in the routine use of disinfectants:

• Disinfectants aren't just toxic to germs and bacteria, they are toxic to humans and pets as well.
• In a home environment, they don't really accomplish anything. They don't kill ALL the germs (only the weakest ones, leaving the strongest ones behind). Generally, they have to be left wet on a surface for ten minutes to even work. And in the non-sterile environment of your home, germs start growing again almost immediately.
• One gets very similar results by merely properly cleaning and drying a surface, which is what we do. This removes most germs, leave the surface hostile to germ growth (germs need warmth and moisture to survive), and is NON-TOXIC to you and your family.

Here's what physician Geraldine Sommers says about disinfecting: "In general, the health risks from many commonly used disinfectants hugely overbalance the almost imaginary risk from the organisms they are intended to kill."

Vacuums

Hausfrau uses state of the art vacuums with HEPA filtration. The HEPA filtration adds to our equipment costs, but we feel that it is necessary. We strongly feel that our vacuums maximize indoor air quality in your home, and eliminate any sort of “germ transfer" from home to home. Therefore, we do not use a customer's vacuum under any circumstances, even upon request. (This is due to liability concerns as well.) We also cannot entertain requests to use a new vacuum bag in your home. It's just not necessary. If you have any sort of insect infestation in your home, please let us know prior to cleaning. If we arrive and find an insect infestation, we will not be able to clean, and must charge you a "lockout" charge.

General Information

• hausfrau is insured and bonded through Nationwide Insurance.
• hausfrau is licensed as a service provider in Knox County.
• hausfrau is a proud member of the Association of Residential Cleaning Professionals.

Other Exemptions

The following services are not included in our services:

• Cleaning windows other than the entry (this includes interior windows such as French doors and cabinet doors, which will be dusted, but not "wet wiped")
• Cleaning inside cabinets (this includes china/curio cabinets, hutches, and the like)
• Polishing brass or silver
• Vacuuming the tops of cabinets
• Cleaning high chairs
• Cleaning griddles

Also, we remove only minimal items from the top or front of refrigerator. Otherwise, we will do our best to clean around these items.

We do not clean the eyes, drip pans or outer rings on electric stoves, nor underneath the "surface" of the stove. We do not clean the grates on gas stoves, or anything underneath the drip pan.

We cannot "hand pick" debris from area rugs or carpets. We will vacuum underneath small area rugs (liftable with one hand), as long as there is not a separate non-skid mat. We do not move non-skid mats, or area rugs too large to lift with one hand.

We will feather dust any "bric-a-brac" shelves without moving items. Generally, we will only move items and dust with a cloth if there are five or less items, and then generally only items that can be lifted with one hand. We also reserve the right to feather dust electronic equipment, if we are concerned with the possibility of damage. We may also feather dust other areas, such as lights, blinds, baseboards, etc. Sorry, but we cannot entertain "no feather duster" requests.

We give added care and take precautions with furniture, collectibles, and other items. We are fully licensed, insured, and bonded. However, we encourage our clients to tell us about any priceless or irreplaceable items in the home, as we feel it best for us to not touch these items.

Updated January 16, 2012
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