How House Cleaning Quotes Actually Work in Sydney

We are Alex and Justin, the two founders of AJPresentations, and we quote homes across Ryde, Eastwood, Epping, Macquarie Park, Chatswood and nearby suburbs every week. This guide explains how quoting really works, so you can compare offers with confidence and avoid the common traps.

Why two quotes for the same home can be wildly different

A number on its own means almost nothing. What matters is the written scope that sits behind it. One company's quote might include the inside of your oven and the window tracks, while another quietly leaves them out. Both quotes look similar on paper, but they describe two very different amounts of work.

Condition matters just as much. A kitchen that has been wiped down weekly takes a fraction of the time of one that has cooked a year of dinners without a proper degrease. A company quoting blind over the phone is guessing at that condition, and guesses get corrected later, usually on the day and rarely in your favour.

Then there is the question of who actually shows up. Some quotes come from established businesses with insurance and consistent staff. Others come from operators who plan to pass your job to whoever is available that week. The price reflects that difference, even when the ad copy does not mention it.

Hourly rate or fixed price: which one protects you?

Hourly pricing sounds fair on the surface, because you only pay for the time the cleaner spends. The problem is that the total depends entirely on how fast the cleaner works, and a slower clean earns the company more money. You carry all the risk, and you will not know the final cost until the job is finished.

Fixed pricing flips that. The cleaner agrees to deliver a result for an agreed figure before any work begins, so the risk of a slow day sits with the cleaner instead of with you. If the job takes longer than expected, that is the cleaner's problem to absorb, and yours to enjoy.

This is why we only work on fixed written prices. Once we have seen your home and agreed on the scope, the number we leave with you is the number you pay. It cannot grow on the day.

What actually changes the price

Every honest quote is built from the same handful of factors. The number of bedrooms and bathrooms sets the base, because those rooms carry most of the detailed work. Condition comes next, and it often matters more than size: the months since the last proper clean decide how much recovery work each room needs.

Frequency changes the maths as well. A home cleaned fortnightly stays at a maintained standard, so each visit takes a predictable amount of time. A one-off catch-up clean has to recover months of build-up in a single session. Multi-level homes add stairs, extra bathrooms and more floor area to the picture.

Finally there are add-ons. The inside of the oven, the inside of the fridge, interior windows and carpet steam cleaning are the common ones. Each is genuine extra work, so each moves the price. Any quote that arrives without asking about these factors is guessing at your home.

Why we see your home before we quote

Two homes with the same bedroom count can take very different amounts of work. We have cleaned three-bedroom houses that needed half the time of a two-bedroom apartment, purely because of condition. No phone script or online form can see that difference. A short video walkthrough can.

So we do a video walkthrough with you, start with the spot that bothers you most, and send you a fixed price in writing. That figure cannot grow on the day, because we priced the work after seeing it rather than before. The walkthrough is free, and there is no obligation to book anything.

If any company gives you a number without seeing your home, treat it as a starting point rather than a promise, and ask what happens to the price if the job turns out bigger than they assumed.

How to compare quotes without getting burned

Whichever companies you speak to, a few direct questions will separate the professionals from the pretenders very quickly.

Check the insurance

Ask whether the business carries public liability insurance and whether they can show you the certificate. A legitimate operator will produce it without hesitation, because it protects your home if something is accidentally damaged.

Check what the written checklist includes

Ask for the scope in writing and read it line by line. Ovens, window tracks, skirting boards and grout are the places where cheap quotes quietly cut corners.

Check the re-clean policy

Ask what happens if you are not happy with an area after the clean. A confident cleaner will have a clear answer in writing. A vague answer now usually becomes a dispute later.

Check who actually shows up

Ask whether the person quoting is the person cleaning, and whether you get the same cleaners each visit. With us the answer is simple: the two of us do every clean.