Cleaning service for private households: clean in and around the house
A house in Switzerland means more than a few rooms to clean. There are windows on several floors, a cellar, an attic, a balcony or terrace, and often a conservatory. Keeping all of it clean takes more time than most people have.
This guide explains what a cleaning service for private households covers, which jobs inside and outside the house you can hand over and how billing works through Mr. Cleaner. It also shows how household cleaning differs from cleaning an office.
Küsnacht, a mild Saturday in April. Emily and her husband moved from Toronto to a terraced house above Lake Zurich two years ago.
The spring sun shows every streak on the large living room windows. On the terrace, a yellow film of pollen covers the table, and the wooden decking has turned grey over the winter.
Their in-laws arrive for Easter in ten days. Emily makes a list, looks at it for a minute and then searches for help online.
Windows on three floors, the terrace, the oven after a winter of raclette evenings and a guest bathroom nobody has really used. It is too much for one weekend.
What a cleaning service for private households covers
A cleaning service takes over cleaning jobs in a private home that you cannot or do not want to do yourself. Through Mr. Cleaner, local cleaning partners do this as one-off jobs, not as a weekly subscription. Typical occasions are spring cleaning, moving in or out, a deep clean after a renovation or a visit you are preparing for.
You decide what is included. A job can cover one room, the whole house or specific tasks such as windows, carpets or upholstery.
Jobs inside the house
Inside, the focus lies on the rooms you use every day and the places that are easy to forget.
- Kitchen: fronts and cupboards inside, oven, extractor hood, fridge, sink and tiles.
- Bathrooms: descaling showers, washbasins, toilets and taps, cleaning grout and mirrors.
- Living areas: dusting shelves, lamps and radiators, cleaning doors, frames and skirting boards.
- Floors: vacuuming and mopping, with care adapted to tiles, parquet, vinyl or stone.
- Cellar and attic: on request, for example before a move or after clearing out.
Windows, carpets and upholstery
Window cleaning includes frames, rebates and window sills. As a guide, a window with two sashes takes about 15 to 20 minutes, inside and outside with frames. A roof window takes around 15 minutes.
Blinds can be added on request.
Fitted carpets are cleaned on site and billed per square metre, with a minimum of 15 m². Loose rugs go to a partner laundry with pick-up and delivery, billed per square metre from 5 m² and back in about a week. Upholstery is billed per seat of around 70 × 70 cm, with a minimum of two seats.
Book a cleaning service for your home
Local cleaning partners, quick reply, appointment usually in 2 to 5 days
Jobs around the house
Outdoor areas suffer from weather, pollen, leaves and birds. Many of these jobs need ladders, tools and time that a normal household rarely has.
- Balcony and terrace: sweeping and washing floors, cleaning railings and glass screens.
- Wooden decking: removing dirt and green algae with a method suited to the wood, and oiling it on request.
- Conservatory: panes inside and out, frames and seals, and the glass roof from outside if it can be reached safely.
- Pigeon droppings: cleaning with protection, and on request mounting nets or spikes by arrangement.
- Roller shutters: also from outside, billed on site according to effort.
Partners work with ladders up to about 3 metres. Higher places need scaffolding by arrangement, which comes at an extra cost. Gutters are not part of the service.
When clearing comes first
Sometimes there is too much stuff to clean properly. Then a clearance comes first, for example after a death in the family or before selling a house. For clearances, a partner always visits first at no charge and then offers a fixed price that includes removal and disposal.
After that, the actual cleaning can start in empty rooms. This saves time and makes the result easier to check.
How household cleaning differs from cleaning a company
In a company, cleaning follows fixed schedules, large areas and often night shifts. In a private home, everything is more personal. Cleaners work among family photos, children's toys and favourite furniture.
- Materials vary more, from antique wood to natural stone.
- Wishes are individual and change from room to room.
- Trust matters, because strangers enter your private space.
- Jobs are often tied to a date, such as a handover or a family event.
Through Mr. Cleaner, the cleaning partner is insured for damage. If something is not right, justified defects are cleaned again free of charge. The best moment to raise them is the joint walk-through, otherwise within 48 hours if possible.
Moving out in Switzerland
Many expats meet Swiss cleaning standards for the first time when they move out of a rented flat. At the handover, the property management checks the flat against a handover protocol. Justified cleaning costs can delay the release of the rental deposit.
For end-of-tenancy cleaning booked through Mr. Cleaner, a handover guarantee applies. If the management raises a justified complaint about the cleaning, the partner cleans again at no cost.
The flat has to be empty, and damage or wear and tear are not covered. The difference between end cleaning and moving cleaning is explained in the guide on Endreinigung and Umzugsreinigung.
Cleaning partners at work
Who needs a cleaning service at home
Outside help makes sense whenever time, strength or know-how run short. Working couples, families, older people and anyone after an illness or accident benefit in particular. So do owners who want to sell or let a property.
Billing through Mr. Cleaner is by the hour, bookable from 2 hours. For larger jobs, a partner visits first at no charge, and you then receive a quote with a fixed price. Appointments are usually possible within 2 to 5 days, Sundays carry a 100 % surcharge, evenings and Saturdays cost the same by arrangement.
The invoice comes from Mr. Cleaner. You can pay by bank transfer, by card on site or online by credit card. Learn more on the cleaning service page, or read about the benefits of household cleaning.
Conclusion: One request for the whole house
A cleaning service for private households covers far more than floors and bathrooms. Windows, terraces, conservatories, carpets and upholstery can all be part of one job. Describe the rooms and outdoor areas in your request, and the estimate will fit better from the start.
When Emily's in-laws arrived in Küsnacht, they could see the lake clearly through the windows. They spent Easter Sunday at the terrace table, without a trace of pollen.
