How to compare home-cleaning service quotes

To compare home-cleaning services in Singapore, describe the rooms and tasks before asking for an hourly price. Two cleaners at different rates may be quoting different work, supplies, travel and minimum hours. A written scope gives the provider a fair chance to price the job and gives you a fair basis to judge the result.

What should be in the scope sheet?

List the home type and approximate room count, the date, whether it is occupied, and the tasks by room. For a routine visit, distinguish floors, bathrooms, kitchen surfaces and dusting from deep-clean tasks such as inside cabinets, oven or window tracks. Note heavy soil, pets, fragile items and any product you do not want used. State whether the provider supplies equipment and cleaning liquids or expects you to do so. If the job is an end-of-tenancy clean, say that explicitly and attach the handover standard; routine maintenance and handover are different services.

Send the same sheet to at least two providers. Ask for the minimum hours, number of cleaners, travel or parking charges, supplies, taxes, overtime, and whether the quote is fixed for the scope or an estimate billed by time. Ask what happens if the cleaner cannot finish the listed work in the booked time. The CCCS price-transparency guidance supports asking for the payable total and conditions behind the headline price. It does not set a cleaning rate or certify any provider.

How do you compare an hourly offer with a fixed quote?

Build an illustrative comparison: Provider A offers two cleaners for two hours at S$35 per cleaner-hour, plus a S$20 travel charge, for S$160 before any other charge. Provider B offers a S$175 fixed price for the same written task list, with supplies included. These fictional figures are not current Singapore market prices. A appears S$15 cheaper, but only if the four cleaner-hours can cover the same rooms and supplies. Ask B whether the price changes after arrival and A what is left undone if time runs out.

Then compare the practical terms. Can you change the date? Who brings a step stool if a high surface is included? What happens if something is damaged? Who supervises access to the home, and how is a key returned? Ask about insurance or a rework promise in writing; do not assume the word “insured” covers every loss. Photograph the areas that matter before work and walk through the agreed list at completion. This is a record of scope and condition, not a reason to accuse someone of damage without evidence.

What makes a first booking safer and more useful?

For a new provider, start with a manageable scope and an adult present if possible. Put valuables and personal documents away, provide access instructions, and tell the cleaner about any surface that needs special treatment. If you need a specific product because of a household allergy or material, supply the product or agree it in advance. At the end, review the task list together and raise omissions promptly through the written rework process. Keep the quote, booking confirmation, invoice and messages.

If a dispute arises, CASE's consumer resources explain routes for advice and complaints, while CCCS's consumer-protection guidelines provide wider context on fair representations. Neither source decides whether a particular clean was satisfactory; that depends on the agreed scope and evidence. The product-comparison brief can hold your quotes, before you check out helps with terms, and comparing guides cover other services. You may send TBYB an unclear quote question as an editorial enquiry; we do not supply or guarantee cleaners, and we would seek permission before sharing your details with a provider.

Common questions