My parents had a maid for some years while they were both working, but I believe she wasn't someone that worked for a company or anything. I frankly haven't a clue how they found her, but I'll ask and see and pass it along if it's any useful information. :D She'd come by every week or two and clean. They also had a cleaning lady for the office, same one for years, and never had any trouble.

She was nice enough, though she sure would talk.. It's definitely a nice thing to have to keep things tidy without having to give up time for all the other things you'd like to do.

Not sure I have any tips without asking a bit first, but it seems like someone you can sorta get to know and be used ot having around might be more trustworthy and such in the long run, as opposed to a company that might send someone different at times.

Don't know if you got it out there, but here, my old room-mate had Merry Maids come and clean. They always did a good job. Unsure about the price.

My family has a maid service that comes like, once a month and were pretty good.

My mate's family had a house cleaner up until the economy bubble popped. They used a professional service to hire a maid up until they got to know her well enough to be comfortable. At that point they talked to her and found out just how much they were paying her (compared to what they were paying the company) and made a little side deal that they'd cancel their service with the company and pay her directly for the same services XP

Shame you live 6 hours from me or I might take up that offer ^_^
If we ever go back up toward San Francisco again I'll see if I cant swing by and say hello to the dragon in person =D

I worked as a "domestic specialist" for a time, and every one that worked for the company had to be background checked, insured, and bonded. Granted this was some time ago but I am almost certain that you should be able to request the background information they have on any particular 'maid.'
Hope that helps clear some things up.

Find one that is a member of the better business bureau or equivalent. If you are giving them a key to your house, it is perfectly reasonable to ask them about their insurance coverage and what kind of background checks they do on their employees.


My parents had a maid service come in and clean the house once a month when I was a kid. but my grandmother would come down the day before the service was due and clean up for the maid, and afterward, she would redo any cleaning that the maid did that didn't meet my grandmother's standards. After a while, my parent's stopped bothering with the service.

what level of cleaning are you looking at. come in once a month, weekly, biweekly, or more often? Just clean the bathrooms and change all the bedding, or more? everything is negotiable.

As much as I enjoy cleaning, I'd almost take you up on that. But I doubt we anywhere near one another.

i have hired a maid once for a period of two years and i learned that the companies just want your money you should try hiring local maid services that u see on the street sure theyre not the best services but they will do the job right and not cause any problems or arrange anything different without your permission they are terrible at first but if you lay down the law hard enough they will listen and obey

I know a service that came to a family's home once a week for 70 dollars each visit - a whole team of spanish-speaking women led by a competently bilingual guy who'd drop them off at each house. Took 4 hours to clean a 2 story house top to bottom, made beds and did dusting/vaccuuming/scrubbing of every surface without damaging anything, took out the trash. They don't do dishes or laundry and wouldn't go near the computers I believe, and you really should not leave super fragile figurines or cash in plain view. Other than that super trustworthy and efficient. I use that kind of quality and price to judge all other services. Ask neighbors if they use maids and keep an eye out for vans advertizing as such.

Also, don't be afraid to negotiate price if you want them to do less. You can say "stay out of rooms with closed doors" or "don't move anything off counters when you dust" if you're worried about certain things or prefer to clean some things yourself. The less time they take the cheaper it should be, unless it's a set low price. Also there is no reason anyone would tell you to not be in your house while they clean. Just make sure to move out of their way :D