A lot can go right when you’ve hired someone to clean your home. The house smells great, the floors aren’t sticky anymore, and you don’t have to spend your Saturdays elbow-deep in a bucket of water.
Unfortunately, though, things sometimes go wrong.
Maybe the housekeeper regularly overlooks the fingerprints on the kitchen cabinets, which drives you crazy. Maybe he or she is a klutz or has a habit of calling in sick just before major holidays.
That’s why it’s important to put some thought into whom you hire, say people who make their living in the business. You want someone you can trust, who cleans the way you like and with whom you can comfortably discuss problems. You also want someone who won’t leave you stuck with the bill if there’s an accident or other loss.
On the other hand, you need to have realistic expectations. “No one’s going to do things exactly the way you would,” says Linda Cobb, an Arizona author and TV personality who bills herself as “The Queen of Clean.”
Cobb should know. She has someone clean her own house, and concedes good-naturedly that cleaning for the queen can be intimidating.
One of the primary decisions you need to make is whether to contract with a cleaning service or hire an individual. Independent housekeepers may be cheaper, but you need to do your own background checks and recognize that illness or car trouble means your house won’t get cleaned.
Bob Fitz, president of Middleburg Heights, Ohio-based Action Maids, says his company often gets calls from desperate people whose housekeeper has let them down.
Many cleaning services use two-person cleaning teams and always send the same team to a home. That way, if someone can’t make it, at least one team member is familiar with the home and the cleaning routine, says Debbie Pickens, president of Maids Plus, a cleaning service based in Canal Fulton, Ohio.
Keep in mind, too, that you may be liable for paying taxes for an independent house cleaner, whereas a company is liable for its employees. Fitz also recommends making sure the housekeeper is bonded, which protects against theft losses; insured against breakage or other accidental losses; and covered by workers’ compensation in case of injury.
Beyond those considerations, finding the right house cleaner is largely a matter of finding someone who fits your needs and your style, Cobb says. She recommends calling at least three references to ask about the cleaner’s abilities and work habits. Find out what specific tasks he or she performed and the square footage of the house, so you can make a good comparison.
Interview candidates at your home rather than over the phone, and walk through the house with them so you can discuss specific cleaning issues, she says. Ask what cleaning products and equipment they use and whether you can supply your own if that’s important to you.
“Always remember that when you hire someone to clean, a lot of those products have been used in other people’s homes, and you don’t know what kind of condition those homes are in,” she says. Cobb specifically likes to supply her own bucket, mop and vacuum cleaner.
If the candidates balk at the idea, “they’re not the right (ones) for you,” she says.
Typically you can expect a housekeeper to clean and disinfect bathrooms and kitchens, wash the floors, and vacuum and dust throughout the house, Fitz says. However, you should know specifically what work the person will do, such as washing woodwork, moving small pieces of furniture and cleaning backsplashes.
Maids Plus, for example, discusses specific tasks with its customers in advance and then leaves a checklist of the chores performed at the end of each cleaning, Pickens says. If your cleaner doesn’t supply a similar list, Cobb suggests making your own so the cleaning person knows exactly what’s expected.
Cobb also recommends hiring the person for a trial period of two or three weeks, then evaluating the experience together with the housekeeper at the end of that time. It’s a good way to promote communication, and it also gives you a graceful exit if you’re not happy with the person’s work, she points out. It’s much easier to say, “I don’t think this arrangement is working for us” than “You’re fired.”
The first time the person comes to clean, Cobb suggests you stick around if you can. That way, you can answer questions and head off problems.
Communication is important to a good working relationship, she says. Don’t assume anything. If you want the dog kept in the basement, for example, make sure the house cleaner knows that. If you don’t want air fresheners or furniture polish used, say so.
It’s also a good idea to do a little advance work before the cleaner comes each week, Cobb says. Picking up the night before means you don’t have to pay for that work, so you’ll get more for your money. Designate a spot where the cleaner can put stray items, so he or she doesn’t have to guess and you don’t have to search drawers and closets later. Be sure to lock up valuables; it eliminates temptation, but it also saves you the possible embarrassment of a false accusation.
Be reasonable, too, about what you expect the person to accomplish, Cobb says. If you’re hiring someone for only a couple of hours, don’t be upset if some things are left undone.
“You have to remember,” she says, “they’re not superhuman.”
Most of us don’t like to hear this, but hiring someone to clean your house may come with a tax bill.
“In general, a household worker is considered an employee if the work is controlled by the employer,” says Doug Mathey, a certified public accountant with Deloitte & Touche in Fairlawn, Ohio. “You’re in a real gray area.”
Typically, if you contract with a maid service, the company pays the taxes for its employees. If you hire an individual, however, you may be responsible for Social Security, Medicare and unemployment taxes.
The government requires you to deduct Social Security and Medicare taxes from the person’s wages if you pay the worker $1,100 or more during a year. The 1999 rate on the taxes is 7.65 percent on wages up to $72,600.
If you pay the worker $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter, you also must pay unemployment taxes out of your own pocket, which amount to 6.2 percent on the first $7,000 of wages. You are liable for federal and state unemployment taxes, but the federal government gives you a credit of up to 5.4 percent for what you pay the state, says Teri Dixon, public affairs officer for the IRS in Ohio.
In addition, Mathey says you must file a W-2 form for the employee and report his or her wages to the Internal Revenue Service by filing Schedule H with your federal tax return. You pay the Social Security, Medicare and federal unemployment taxes when you file your return.
Employers are not required to withhold income taxes for a household worker unless the employee requests it, Mathey says.
Dixon says information for employers is available via the IRS’ toll-free number (800-829-1040) or its Web site, www.irs.gov. She recommends household employers read Publication 926, which can be read online, downloaded, picked up at an IRS office or ordered by calling 800-829-3676.
Dixon, however, recommends visiting your local IRS office for one-on-one guidance.