Perhaps you’ve heard the adage ‘a tidy home a tidy mind’ or some variation of it. The basic point is that our home environment affects our mental health. Many psychologists accept that there’s a connection between a cluttered and unclean home and rising stress levels.
If your schedule is already full with a career, a partner, and a family, it’s not hard to see how challenging it is to get some of the basic cleaning and house chores done on a consistent basis. For this reason, and quite frankly many others, people consider the use of a maid service. This type of service is no longer the privilege of the rich and wealthy but has become a practical necessity for many busy families.
In this article, we will help you understand some of the key differences between an independent maid and a maid service. By the time you get to the end of this article, you should have a clear idea of which of these options are best suited to your needs.
What Is a Maid?
Yes, it’s a basic question, but it’s important to start with the right understanding because a maid may mean different things to different people. So for clarity, what we’re really talking about here is someone who will come to your home and complete a series of cleaning or housekeeping tasks. Many people provide this service independently, so you would call them self-employed, and they pay their own taxes and take care of their own expenses.
Alternatively, you can hire a similar service but through an agency or company that provides cleaning services to homes. You can learn more about house cleaning services if you’re interested in a deep clean, or if there is a special need to clean, such as when tenants leave a property, etc. Generally speaking, this isn’t the same as a maid service.
Advantages of a Maid Service
When you hire a maid service, you’re not just hiring the maid. You’re accessing the wider administrative service and management of the company. That has implications for communication, standards of cleaning, and the type of people that are hired.
For some people, this level of professionalism is very appealing when you consider you’re allowing someone into your private space and life. Companies that offer maid services will be insured against liabilities and accidents etc., that may happen while the person is in your home. In a litigious society, that also can be very reassuring.
Professional maid companies will also have their own recruitment policies and vetting procedures. Assuming they’re diligent in following these and ethical in their practices, this too will provide you a measure of protection and security.
However, one of the most noteworthy differences when hiring a company is that they may send you more than one person at a time. You could end up with a small team. This can be very useful if you don’t want the inconvenience of having someone in your home all day because you’re busy with other activities.
Advantages of an Independent Maid
It’s clear to see there are many advantages to hiring a company. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s always the best choice. An independent maid will likely be someone you can develop a long-standing relationship with to some degree.
Someone that you can, over time, learn to trust in your home and do things the way you especially like and appreciate. Companies will tend to be more rigid in their approach and method for cleaning, whereas an independent maid is much more likely to adapt and be flexible according to what you really need.
The bottom line is that when you hire a company, the people that come to your house are more of an off the shelf solution. Whereas, when you hire an independent maid, they can offer a more bespoke service. The give and take and mutual respect you develop with an independent maid will yield many rewards in the diligence and flexibility with which they work.
Considerations With Pets
Whether you have pets or not may also be an influencing factor as to hiring a company versus an independent maid. Will the company send different people each time and cause distress to your pet as unknown people enter your property? Will the company expect you to lock up or crate your pet while cleaning is in progress?
In contrast, an independent maid has an opportunity to get to know your pet so that both parties can be comfortable and not stressing about each other. There are no hard and fast rules on this subject, so it depends on the policy of the company you use and the personal feelings of an independent maid. The important thing is that you remember to this with whomever you decide to hire.
How Much Will It Cost?
So how much should you pay for a maid? As a general rule, an independent maid will cost less than a company as they will not have all the same overheads. Some companies will charge a fixed price based on the square meterage of your home, while others may charge based on task, while others will charge per hour.
An independent will charge you per hour for an agreed number of hours in most cases. You can expect to pay between $20 to $50 per hour for an independent maid, depending on what they will do and where you live. Companies will often set out a schedule of costs on their website so you can see if it fits with your budget.
You Have Maid It
In this article, we’ve discussed the key differences between an independent maid and a maid service. Which one best suits you will depend on the factors we’ve discussed in this article. Having a maid isn’t uber-luxury but essential for many in the modern world.
Make sure you do your research before you hire, and even if you use an independent maid, you’ve every right to ask for references. You can read other lifestyle articles on our site that will help you to make smart life choices.
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