Maintaining a clean home takes an incredible amount of time and effort, and many homeowners do not have the time or energy for regular cleaning.
A maid or a housekeeper can be the perfect “cleaning” solution for private households. But which do you need? The job description for a maid differs from that of a housekeeper, which is what we will cover in this article. It’s essential to determine which domestic worker is best for your home, so let’s help you learn the differences between a housekeeper vs a maid.
What Is a Housekeeper?
It’s crucial to remember that a housekeeper is not a house cleaner. You may hire a housecleaner for deep cleaning services for your home if you plan to sell or entertain. It’s common for an upper class family to hire a housecleaner when necessary while they have a maid to do regular cleaning and maintenance of the home.
UHNW and wealthy families may prefer a housekeeper over a maid. The housekeeper will be a regular employee at your home. You can hire them to work part time or full time when living in the residence or per day when it is your second home. Depending on who you hire, they may be a live-in housekeeper or one that visits regularly on a predetermined schedule.
The employer, estate manager or estate management agency must create a list of cleaning tasks and duties you would like done on each visit. A housekeeper can also help with grocery shopping, cooking, or other errands. They organize the schedule of the household.
What Are the Duties of a Domestic Housekeeper?
The housekeeper is typically the manager of the household and has a variety of responsibilities. They include:
- Light cleaning tasks include sweeping, vacuuming, mopping floors, and dusting in common areas.
- Cleaning the kitchen would include sanitizing kitchen counters, appliances, and sinks.
- Sanitizing the bathroom would include cleaning toilets, sinks, showers, and tubs.
- Doing laundry.
- Changing and cleaning the bed linens.
- Organizing household schedules.
- Scheduling repairs and dealing with staff.
- Light household chores.
Housekeeping duties can vary depending on your needs. You can assign tasks before your housekeeper cleans and if they qualify as an executive housekeeper, ask them to deal with other household employees and delegate their duties.
Depending on the type of housekeeper service you decide on, however, you may or may not provide the cleaning equipment and supplies your housekeeper needs to maintain orderliness in your home. For example, some clients of our estate management agency ask us to provide an itemized bill of the cleaning supplies and equipment when cleaning their vacation estate. We then provide the bill on a monthly or quarterly basis.
What Is a Maid?
A maid also offers the standard cleaning of your home. Maid service is a housecleaning service that focuses on duties associated with maintaining a clean and tidy home. A maid cleaning service typically provides cleaning products along with the service.
Responsibilities of a Maid
- House cleaning
- Washing floors and windows
- Dusting, vacuuming, and general tidying.
- Laundry
- Cleaning bathrooms
Examples of a Domestic Housekeeper
A housekeeper is a cleaner who does domestic work in private homes. A housekeeper is much more than just a cleaner; housekeeping can involve doing anything that helps the household run efficiently.
A housekeeper keeps the household organized. They are much more than a servant in your home, but like a manager, keeps everything on track.
What Can I Expect from a Housekeeper?
The duties of a housekeeper can vary. You will assign these responsibilities to the housekeeper you hire. Most housekeepers are flexible for the tasks they will take on, and remuneration will be influenced by the requirements.
You can expect house cleaning and house helper, which will make maintaining your home much more manageable.
What Are the Characteristics of a Good Housekeeper?
When considering a housekeeping service, consider more than just the cleaning service. You want a housekeeper that is reliable and highly organized.
A housekeeper should have good communication skills and flexibility in house cleaning.
Attention to detail is a must for a housekeeping cleaner.
What Is the Difference Between a Housekeeper and a Maid?
The fundamental difference between a housekeeper vs a maid is the services they offer. A maid provides cleaning services for private homes. They can visit for an hour or more each week or come less often, depending on how large your estate is and how much cleaning you need.
A housekeeper can provide much more than cleaning. They complete tasks such as washing floors and doing laundry, as well as running out to the market to restock the pantry. Housekeeping service is typically a more consistent presence in your home.
What Should I Look For When Hiring a Maid or Housekeeper?
You should consider your budget when deciding on cleaning services. You might only need occasional help with the cleaning, so you could hire through a company. If you need more significant cleaning services and you have the budget, consider a housekeeper.
Other considerations are the size of your home and the type of chores you would like to help with. You can hire a professional cleaning company with commercial equipment regularly or only when the amount of work is overwhelming for a maid or housekeeper.
The primary thing to take into consideration is why you want to hire a house cleaning specialist. Is it because you want help regularly, or do you want to prepare for a special occasion? Do you want simple cleaning services or more in-depth help? These things can help you decide between a housekeeper vs a maid.
Are You Searching for Domestic Staff?
When searching for domestic staff to help with the maintenance of your home, it’s critical that you find the most reliable and trustworthy employees. You trust these employees to care for one of your most valuable assets, your home.
Hiring a domestic maid or housekeeper can be one of the best decisions ever; it leaves you with a clean, beautiful home and gives you more time to do what’s important to you.
Lesser Known Advantages of Hiring a Maid or Housekeeper
The most obvious advantage is that you will enjoy an immaculate home. Maids and housekeepers are experienced and knowledgeable in cleaning houses, and they will clean places you probably didn’t even realize were there.
People that have a clean and organized home are happier and more productive.
Inviting people into your home when it is always clean is much easier. You will find your social life to be busier. You will enjoy your leisure time instead of spending it cleaning.
A clean home is a much healthier home. The people in your household will have less of a chance of developing allergies because of dust in the house.
Does Your Estate Need a Maid or Housekeeper?
Everyone needs help around the house. We can help you find the best domestic service for you and your family. We pride ourselves on staffing the best candidates and managing the continuing relationship.
805 Domestic Estate Staffing Agency & Management Services
We can help you with occasional staffing of housekeepers or placing full-time domestic staff in your home. Our experienced staff is looking forward to making your life easier.