If you’ve never hired a cleaner before, the whole thing can feel like a bit of a mystery. Who turns up? What do they actually do? How do you pay? And, honestly, is it a little awkward having a stranger in your home?
I’ll be upfront with you: I’m at the start of my own journey with Dartford Clean, and I hadn’t previously hired a cleaner for myself before. But that’s part of why I want to write this. I’ve thought hard about how a cleaning service should work, from the point of view of someone who values their time, their family, and their peace of mind. Here’s how it actually works, start to finish.
Why I started Dartford Clean
A quick bit of honesty first, because it shapes everything about how we do things.
About three months ago, my son was born. I currently work a nine-to-five, and I realised that to spend real time with him and properly support him and my wife, I needed flexibility. For the last year or two I’d been looking for a source of income that gave me that freedom, and Cleaning was the answer. There’s a genuine need for it, and it lets me build something on my own terms.
That same value, flexibility, runs right through the business. It’s why nearly all our cleaners are parents themselves. They do this work for exactly the same reason I do: so they can be there for their families, pick up their kids from school, and still earn a proper living.
Step one: booking (and it really does take 60 seconds)
The first thing you do as a customer is book, and my whole vision for Dartford Clean is to make that swift, quick, and easy.
My preference is that people book online at DartfordClean.co.uk. You put in your details, tell us how many bedrooms and bathrooms you have, and the bits we need to know, and you get a quote right there. Literally in about 60 seconds. No waiting around for someone to call you back with a price.
I want booking a cleaner to feel like something you can do at the snap of a finger, and then have that cleaner with you when you actually need them.
What happens behind the scenes
Once you’ve booked, here’s what happens on our end. I take your booking and assign it to one of our cleaners based on their availability. Every cleaner has given me the days and times they can and can’t work, so I match your job to someone who genuinely fits. Because they’re mostly parents, I take that seriously, it’s the same flexibility I built the business around.
You’ll then get an email confirming your cleaning is booked. And on the day, you can expect your cleaner to turn up on time, ready to do the clean in the time expected. We typically aim to arrive within about an hour of the booked time.
Why we price per job, not per hour
Here’s something that sets us apart, and I think it’s worth explaining.
We price our cleans, and pay our cleaners, per job rather than per hour. Why? Because good cleaners should be rewarded for being good.
Say one cleaner can do a house beautifully in three hours, and another takes four. If you pay by the hour, the slower cleaner earns more, which makes no sense. Paying per job means the skilled, efficient cleaner is rewarded properly, and you as the customer get a clear, upfront price with no clock-watching.
One thing to flag: occasionally we’ll arrive and find the job doesn’t match what was booked, for example, someone books a fortnightly clean but the home actually needs a first time clean or an end-of-tenancy clean first. If that happens, we’ll have an honest conversation with you, explain the discrepancy, and move you to the right option for your needs.
The types of clean, and what’s actually included
Standard clean — the perfect choice for weekly, fortnightly, or monthly service. It covers your living areas and bedrooms, your bathrooms, and your kitchen. If it’s your first time with us and the home hasn’t been professionally cleaned in the last month, we’ll recommend starting with a first-time clean so the standard clean can shine from then on.
First time clean — for homes that haven’t been professionally cleaned within the last month, or ever. Same focus areas, living spaces, bathrooms, kitchen, but a much deeper dive into the parts that haven’t been touched in a long time, rather than just the surface.
End-of-tenancy / move-in / move-out clean — exactly what it says on the tin. A really thorough clean to prepare a home for the next family. For this one, we ask that the house is empty before we arrive, no movers, no tradespeople in the space, and that there’s electricity and water available. On top of the standard areas, windowsills are wiped down, vents dusted and wiped, blinds dusted, baseboards, door faces, and door frames. If the home is particularly dirty, we may need to move it to the first-time clean service to allow enough time to do it justice.
What people commonly assume vs. what’s included
A quick tip: if your home hasn’t had a professional clean in a while, don’t assume a standard clean will get it to a like-new state on the first visit, that’s what the first time clean is for. And for end-of-tenancy cleans, remember the space needs to be empty and have power and water on. Getting the right clean booked from the start saves everyone time.
How pricing and discounts work
Your price depends on the size of your home, one, two, three, four, or five bedrooms, and so on. There are no discounts on one-time services, but for regular bookings:
- Weekly: 20% off
- Fortnightly (bi-weekly): 15% off
- Monthly: 10% off
Our own preference is fortnightly. In our experience, that’s the sweet spot for keeping a home genuinely clean without overdoing it.
A couple of other things to know: if you book for the same day, there’s a 50% same-day fee, because we have to move quickly to make it happen. And cancellations within 24 hours are charged at £50.
How you pay
All payments are made online by card, handled securely through Stripe. And here’s a detail I think gives real peace of mind: for new customers, we typically wait until after the cleaning is done, and we’ve confirmed with you that it was done to a good standard, before we charge you. You’re not paying blind up front.
Is it trustworthy? Letting someone into your home
This is the big one, and completely understandable. There are really two worries: having a stranger in your home, and a bit of shyness about someone seeing how messy things have got. I get both.
Here’s how we put those to rest:
- All our cleaners are DBS checked, so you know they’re safe.
- Every cleaner carries their own insurance, and as a company we also hold public liability insurance.
- We guarantee our cleans. If something isn’t right, we come back and fix it, ideally within a 7-day window). If after our re-clean is completed and you’re still not happy with service, we offer a full refund.
And on the shyness: our cleaners are parents themselves. They know exactly how hard it is to keep a home clean when life is busy. They’re also professionals with years of experience across both residential and commercial cleaning, they’ve genuinely seen it all. There’s no judgement, and nothing that will faze them.
How to get the most out of your clean
A few simple things help everything go smoothly:
- Keep pets out of the way so the cleaners can work.
- Move anything that needs moving beforehand, and make sure there are no tradespeople or other people getting in the way, especially for end-of-tenancy or post-renovation cleans.
- Nothing heavy to lift. Our cleaners aren’t trained or insured for heavy lifting; they’re there to clean and leave you with a fresh home.
- Communicate. If there’s a challenge, let us know, and try to be reachable on the day in case something unexpected comes up.
A great customer relationship really does come down to clear, open communication on both sides.
What I want you to feel afterwards
My vision for Dartford Clean is simple: a cleaning service that’s easy and quick to access and book, and that leaves your home sparkling. You know that fresh feeling when you walk into a home that’s just been cleaned? That’s what I want every customer to feel when our cleaners leave.
More than that, I want you to be looking forward to the next visit, because you know that feeling is coming back every single time. If we’re getting that right, then we’re doing our job.
Ready to try it? Book your clean in about 60 seconds at DartfordClean.co.uk.