If you are hiring a professional house cleaner for the first time, you may not know what to expect. Don’t worry, you’re in a good company. Each year hundreds of thousands of people in Germany are in the same spot as you. Preparing yourself and hour house for a professional cleaning appointment is easy. There are just a few things to keep in mind. Let’s go through the key points which will help you get the most of your house cleaning appointment.

Equipment

Even the best domestic cleaner won't be able to do their job properly, if they don’t have access to a vacuum cleaner and a mop. They are two most important pieces of equipment, which are absolutely necessary during the house cleaning. Unlike in North America, domestic cleaners in Germany tend to use the public transportation to get from one home to another one. Going with a heavy vacuum cleaner and a large mop is not an easy if you have to take a bus or a subway. For this reason, it is generally expected that you will have both pieces of equipment at home. If you haven’t used them in a while, double check that they are still in a working condition. If you do not have a vacuum cleaner or a mop at home, you should ask the cleaning company whether they can provide them for you (good cleaning companies usually offer such option). In some cases, you may have to be pay an additional fee for transportation costs. It is best that you arrange that right when you book the cleaning appointment, so that your assigned cleaning professional can fit the equipment transportation to their schedule.

Detergents

Professional domestic cleaners will usually have the basic cleaning detergents with them when they show up at your doorstep. Such basic cleaning solvents include an all-purpose cleaner, a window cleaner, a limescale cleaner (German “Antikalk Reiniger”), a floor cleaner, and a scouring milk (German “Scheuermilch”). In addition to that, they should have a microfiber cloth, a scrubbing sponge and a pair of disposable gloves. All that being said, it is still the best for you to provide the cleaning lady or a male cleaner with detergents of your choice. This way you will know for sure that the product they use will work at your home, and what’s more important that they won’t do any damages to your furniture or surfaces.

Paper Towels

Paper towels are indispensable during house cleaning. They are light, but bulky. Domestic cleaners are not always able to carry enough of them going from house to house. Just to be on the safe side, make sure that you have at least 1 roll of paper towel for each 80 sq.m. of the area in your apartment. By providing the house cleaners with paper towels you are helping them in being more efficient (which means that they will finish the job faster, and you will pay less).

Special Wishes

What is considered a special wish varies among cleaning companies. Before ordering the cleaning service you should check their standard cleaning checklist. Whatever is not mentioned on that list, is most likely considered an extra service. To get an idea how a cleaning checklist looks like, you can check the cleaning checklist followed by SPIC AND SPAN. cleaners during the house cleaning. Extra services, such as oven cleaning, patio cleaning, or laundry service may require specialized equipment or detergents. The cleaning company should be informed about them beforehand so that the cleaners can prepare accordingly. If you forgot about something when ordering, but would like to add it to your ‘extras’ list, contact the cleaning company and check with them whether your order can be updated.

Special wishes, such as oven cleaning should be shared with with the cleaning company as early as possible.

Tipping

This one is stressful for many people. The rule of thumb is that you should tip your house cleaners only when you are really happy with their service. In Germany, it is not expected of you to tip the domestic cleaning staff. However, if you do tip them, they will remember it for a long time. Good cleaners are hard to come by and usually overbooked. If you show them that you appreciate their job, they are far more likely to accept your order in the future.

Relax

If you read and followed 5 pieces of advice above, you are already more prepared for your first cleaning appointment than the great majority of people. Good job! Now it’s time to relax. Let the professionals do their job. If you want to prepare for the ‘relax’ part as well, you can schedule a hairdresser visit or make a reservation at your favorite restaurant for the duration of the cleaning appointment.