Maid/Cleaning Services Recs?

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by Prince Of Petworth August 17, 2016 at 1:45 pm 27 Comments

green clean
Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

“Do any of you have any recommendations for house cleaning services in the DC area?
I may want to book regular cleanings for a 3 bedroom/2bathroom home. I am interested in green cleaning products. Please share your recommendations. Thanks in advance, all!”

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Anonymous

They’re a dime a dozen in DC. (Too bad that’s all they’re worth.) And they all offer “green” cleaning. Here are some suggestions: ask if it’s the same team who will be cleaning, or if they rotate based on schedule. There are pluses and minuses to each: a regular team gets lazy after a while, but a new team does things differently every time.
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They all have a complaint option of sending someone out if you’re dissatisfied, but realistically, if they skip a room or a bathtub, you’re not gonna have them come out to do it. So the offer is pretty much worthless.
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Here’s the most important piece of advice I could give: the first cleaning any company provides will be the best cleaning you will ever get from them. Ever. It’ll take them hours and they’ll do cute little things like fold your toilet paper hotel-style. And you will never see that level of cleaning again — it was to hook you in. They all get worse over time. Their business model is based on quantity, which relies on speed, which cancels out thoroughness.
Anonymous

I’ve used Maids in Black a couple of times for cleaning our apartment. They offer the option of green cleaning, and tend to do a pretty good job and are reasonably priced.
- H St. Lion
  
  I used Maids in Black and they stole all my good jewerly, most of which belonged to my grandmother. When reported they did very little to help me out, and accused me of never owning it. I filed a police report and they couldn’t do much either. Since they send out a team of two, but the main person is the only one vetted and they have contact info for, they refused to give me or the police the contact info for the second person.
  - textdoc
    
    Yikes!!
stacksp

Maria 240-354-6819. Self employed and comes highly recommended.
Jaycee

We have used Maid Bright for probably five years and we think they are great. They still fold our toilet paper hotel style! They are very responsive both by phone and email. I would highly recommend them.
- PetworthMom
  
  Another vote for Maid Bright. They’re affordable, easy to work with, and always do a good job.
Mike

Michael Moye runs Sparkling Touch Cleaning Services at 202-905-5462… started using him when I moved to the Petworth area (he also moonlights as a concierge so very trustworthy guy). Not sure about his stance on green cleaning products. Have had 3-4 cleanings now and each has produced similarly high quality cleans.
Petworth Diva

I knew a lady who worked for a cleaning service & I used the service with her cleaning my Petworth row house every other week. She did a good job. Then she broke off & worked for herself, with no agency. She brings her own cleaning supplies including vacuum cleaner, cleaning products & sometimes an extra lady to help. She’s smart, organized & efficient. I’m glad I treat myself to her services.
I Dont Get It

As much as I would love to get a cleaning service again right now my house is in such a shambles I would be too embarrassed for anyone to see it much less try to clean it!
- jsauri
  
  I feel the same way! Plus, I’m not totally comfortable with someone being in my place when I’m not there. So I would feel super awkward sitting on my couch, watching someone clean my place with that, “Really? This is where you leave your socks?” face!
- spookiness
  
  I always joked when I had a cleaning service that I had to “preclean” before they came, and “declean” after.
novadancer

I also recommend Maids in Black. I used to buy groupons for services but I was never impressed with any deals I bought. MiB can be hit or miss depending on the team they send. But if you get a good team you can have them put in your record to send them again. I also like I can schedule on line and make schedule changes, they give you discounts for regular service AND can pay by credit card. I have used them for several years now.
renting

Can I add to this post by asking about services for cleaning between tenants in a rental property? Probably won’t need new paint, but I want to do a deep clean. I’ve seen a car around the Cohi/Ust area with logos all over about rental cleaning between tenants, but I can’t recall the name.
Paul

Aurora Maid Services is the greatest company ever and I will fight anyone who says otherwise — https://www.yelp.com/biz/aurora-maid-services-falls-church-8
Ashley

Maribel Morales – she is an absolute gem! Self-employed and such a hard worker. I never understood how she got my house so clean (3 bedroom 3.5 bath) shes extremely affordable and uses your products to clean.

[email protected]

I recently moved out of DC and the hardest part of leaving was knowing I couldn’t use Maribel any longer
Scott

I’m in Adams Morgan and I’ve used Maid Bright out of Sterling, VA for several years. They’ve been thorough and consistent. They are family owned and operated and use only green cleaning products.
Leah K.

Just used Capital Maid yesterday, very happy and plan to continue use. http://www.capitalmaid.com/
wolfpackwx

When we lived in DC, we used (handy dot com) for our cleaning service. They are sort of like Uber, for cleaning and other around the house tasks. They rotate who cleans your house, based on availability, but once we found someone that did a great job (some did not do so well), we called and basically said, we wanted her to always be our “professional”, else we would find some other service. They had no problem with this and this worked well for us for 2 years – until we moved. I think we paid $55 for a 900 sq ft condo every month for 2-3 hours of cleaning. Getting 1 person also helps with tipping. If you are looking for something quick for a small space and has good customer service, I would recommend this one.
SM

Ecoverde Maids was amazing. They use green products and really did a great deep clean on my apartment.
Stephanie

I second the vote for Handy. They’re VERY affordable, and they can use your products or you can have them bring their own. I can schedule online or on the app. I can also request the same person over and over again and tip in the app, etc.

I also always tip super well because I feel as if they are almost TOO affordable and don’t feel like the cleaners are getting paid enough. That’s how cheap the prices are.
- anon
  
  I’ve heard pretty awful reviews for this company. I am very tempted to try them for our Airbnb turnover though. The company we’re currently using was great the first two or three times and then has been awful ever since. It’s time to move on, but I fear they’re going to be all the same.
- kharr89
  
  Totally agree about the affordability and convenience, however I have had issues with the person actually showing up. As in…maybe 5 or 6 occasions in the last 6 months where they cancelled at the last minute (within 30 minutes) and Handy automatically reschedules you for a few days later, at an often inconvenient time. When they do show up however, I’ve had pretty good experiences. They definitely don’t go above and beyond though – no cleaning baseboards, or dusting things on shelves, it’s really just a surface clean of the major areas. But again, you can’t beat price! I still use them regularly.
BrooklandNE

We like Claudia and her crew: (301) 232-7982. Trustworthy and thorough. If there are cleaning products you prefer, you might consider providing them.
dieutran

Pilar service. She and her team are great. The service is super affordable. They’re always so efficient. It’s usually a team of two that comes. Her number is 240.848.1981. She’s easily accessible via text.
dieutran

also, this is for everyone. whatever you do, do NOT use handyman. They are AWFUL. I gave them the benefit of the doubt by using them twice and each time it was a disappointment. The job done is less than desired. They are late and the person they send is questionable. I wouldn’t trust leaving my place alone with them. They are cheap for a reason. They would schedule their people at whatever time even when the person can’t make the time so they end up showing up extremely late!
Shawsome Matt

Hope this topic is still being read so I can thrown in a rec for Sandra Moreno – 240-646-4857. We have gone with her for over 2 years for our 3 level row house. I am not sure what her pricing formula is but we have about 2000 sq feet and pay $150 per visit.

She is independent (brings her adult daughter to help sometimes), reliable, hard working, trustworthy, flexible, and does a great job.

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