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What should a house cleaning quote include?

A complete house cleaning quote names each room and surface, the visit type (a first deep clean, a recurring visit or a move-out clean), the visit frequency, who brings products and equipment, what is excluded, and how breakage and lockouts are handled, plus the work description, materials, completion date and price the FTC lists for an estimate.

Source: FTC home improvement guidance, read 15 October 2026.

Researched by the InstaBids editorial team. Last checked: 15 October 2026 Updated 2026-10-16

A cleaning caddy with spray bottles, folded cloths and a mop and bucket inside an open front door.

Key facts

Which rooms and surfaces belong in my house cleaning quote?

Ask for a written house cleaning quote that lists every room by name, the surfaces and fixtures cleaned in each, whether it covers a first deep clean, recurring visits or a move-out clean, how often a crew comes, who supplies products and equipment, and each exclusion, so every line matches your own home.

The FTC's home improvement advice, read 15 October 2026, gives a baseline for a written estimate: "A written estimate should include a description of the work to be done, materials, completion date, and the price." For house cleaning, the description of the work is the room-by-room list, so ask each company to answer the points below in writing.

Source: FTC home improvement guidance, read 15 October 2026.

  1. Rooms: Are the kitchen, each bathroom, each bedroom, the living areas, the laundry room and any stairs named, and is a garage, patio or covered lanai in or out?
  2. Surfaces: Which of these are on the list: counters, sinks and faucets, mirrors, baseboards, door frames, ceiling fan blades, blinds, interior window glass and sliding door tracks?
  3. Appliance interiors: Is the inside of the oven, refrigerator, microwave or dishwasher included, on which visit, and do you need to empty the refrigerator first?
  4. Visit type: What does the first deep clean add that the recurring visits leave out, and does a move-out clean of an empty home include the insides of drawers, cabinets and closets?
  5. Frequency and length: Is the plan weekly, every other week or monthly, how many cleaners come, how long is a visit, and which tasks are dropped if time runs short?
  6. Products and equipment: Which products, vacuum, mop and ladder does the company bring, which do you supply, and does the quote note any product you have asked it to avoid?

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What deep-clean extras might my house cleaning quote omit?

Check that your house cleaning quote names each exclusion, such as carpet shampooing, upholstery, outside windows, heavy furniture moving, laundry and appliance interiors, and says what the crew does when it finds damage or a task outside the list, so extra work never slips into a routine cleaning visit.

Ask which cleaning products the crew uses on stone counters, wood floors and stainless steel, and whether bleach is used at all. An EPA cleanup page, read 15 October 2026, warns: "Never mix chlorine bleach solution with other cleaning solutions or detergents that contain ammonia because toxic fumes could be produced." Ask the company to keep products in their labeled containers and to note on the quote any product you want kept out of your home.

Source: EPA guidance on bleach and ammonia, read 15 October 2026.

Ask what the quote says when something breaks or is damaged during a visit: who reports it, whether you get a photograph and a written note the same day, and how a repair or replacement is decided. Name the items you want left untouched, such as artwork, electronics, a curio cabinet or a home office desk.

How does my house cleaning quote describe payment stages?

Check that the payment schedule in your house cleaning quote says when each visit is charged, whether a first deep clean is billed apart from recurring visits, how a late cancellation or a locked door is charged, and, for a recurring plan, its term, any automatic renewal and how you end it.

For one-time work such as a move-out clean, the FTC's home improvement advice, read 15 October 2026, says: "And never make the final payment until the work is done and you’re satisfied with it." Ask whether you can walk the empty rooms after the crew finishes, or send photographs, before any balance is due.

Source: FTC home improvement guidance, read 15 October 2026.

Some recurring cleaning plans are sold as contracts with a set term. Florida Statutes s. 501.165(2)(b), read 15 October 2026, states: "A seller that sells or offers to sell any service to a consumer pursuant to a service contract the term of which is a specified period of 12 months or more and that automatically renews for a specified period of more than 1 month, unless the consumer cancels the contract, shall provide the consumer with written or electronic notification of the automatic renewal provision. Notification shall be provided to the consumer no less than 30 days or no more than 60 days before the cancellation deadline pursuant to the automatic renewal provision." Ask whether your plan has a set term at all or simply runs visit to visit, and get the answer written on the agreement.

Source: Florida Statutes s. 501.165, Automatic renewal of service contracts, read 15 October 2026.

Ask for the cancellation and lockout terms in writing: how much notice you give to skip or move a visit, whether a holiday week shifts the schedule, and how a visit is charged when nobody can open the door or a pet is loose. For a move-out clean tied to a lease, ask whether the price covers a return trip if your landlord points out a missed spot.

What does my house cleaning quote say about permit responsibility?

Ask whether any line in your house cleaning quote goes beyond routine room and surface cleaning, such as a small repair or an installation, and get that work, with any permit it needs, on its own written estimate. Ask which business name is on the quote and whether its cleaners are employees or subcontractors.

If a company offers a repair or installation alongside the cleaning, ask who would apply for a permit if your town or county issues one for that work, and keep it off the cleaning plan.

On the crew itself, the Florida Division of Workers' Compensation page Coverage Requirements, read 15 October 2026, states under its Non-Construction Industry heading: "Employers with four (4) or more employees, including business owners who are corporate officers or Limited Liability Company (LLC) members, must have workers' compensation coverage."

Source: Florida Division of Workers' Compensation Coverage Requirements, read 15 October 2026.

The same section adds: "Please note: Non-construction industry Sole Proprietors or partners in a Partnership are not employees unless they want to be included on the business' Workers' Compensation Insurance policy and file a form DWC-251 with the Division of Workers' Compensation." Asking a company how its crew is employed, or for a copy of any coverage document, is an optional step you may choose; questions about a document go to its issuer or the Division.

Source: Florida Division of Workers' Compensation Coverage Requirements, read 15 October 2026.

What key and pet details should my house cleaning request include?

Describe your home in one written scope: the room grid with each surface marked in or out, the visit type and frequency you want, products you will supply or want avoided, pets and where they stay during a visit, rooms that stay closed, and how entry will work once you pick a company, then add a photograph of each room.

Keep keys, lockbox codes and alarm codes out of the request itself. Share them only with the company you pick, and ask how it stores a key or code and how it hands a key back when the plan ends.

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, read 15 October 2026.

How can I compare house cleaning quotes for recurring visits?

Compare house cleaning quotes against your same written scope on the same points: the room grid, the first deep clean versus the recurring list, frequency and visit length, who brings products and equipment, the exclusions, breakage and lockout terms, and how a recurring plan ends. Any quote that leaves one of these blank owes you a written answer.

  1. First visit: Does every quote price the first deep clean as its own line, or does one fold it into the recurring charge?
  2. Recurring list: Is the same set of rooms and surfaces cleaned at every visit, or do some tasks rotate between visits?
  3. Crew: Does each company say how many cleaners come and whether the same crew returns each time?
  4. Products: Does each quote say whether the company or you supply products and equipment?
  5. Ending the plan: Does each agreement state its term and how you cancel or skip a visit?

Ask which between-visit tasks you will handle yourself, such as dishes, laundry or making beds, so no quote counts them twice. Use your same written scope, with its room grid, product notes and exclusions, each time you ask for competing written responses.

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Sources for the facts on this page

Sources checked: 15 October 2026.

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