If you’ve never had the delightful experience of outsourcing your house cleaning to a cleaning company or maid service, you might be unsure how long it will actually take. When you do the cleaning, you probably have days when you whip through your home in a matter of minutes to clean up the mess. But on other cleaning days, you find yourself spending hours scrubbing. So how long will it take when the professionals come to clean? We’re here to help demystify the process and to provide a way to estimate how long it will take a residential cleaning company to clean your home.

There are three primary factors that determine how long your house cleaning will take.

1. House size

The size of your house is the biggest factor used to determine how long your cleaning with take. Some cleaning companies use overall square footage while others use the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

2. Type of cleaning

You’ll need to decide what type of cleaning you are looking for. Maid services provide everything from top-to-bottom deluxe deep cleanings to regularly scheduled weekly cleanings. You can expect that your first cleaning will take more time and cost more than ongoing cleanings since the cleaning company will need to get rid of buildup and grime on that first visit.

3. Frequency

You’ll also have to decide how often you’ll want the cleaning service to come clean your home. Most clients opt for weekly or bi-weekly service, but you could also choose regular monthly service or book an occasional cleaning. These less frequent cleanings will take more time and cost more because there will be more dirt to clean when the cleaning company arrives. However, they might be better for your budget or help you get caught up on your chores at critical times of the year, like the holidays.

Estimated Time

Here are some time estimates for different size houses and two very popular cleanings— a top-to-bottom deluxe deep cleaning and a bi-weekly general maintenance cleaning. This should give you an idea of how long it might take cleaning professionals to clean your home. For most homeowners, the investment is worth it. Weekends were made for family, fun, and relaxation… not cleaning.


Times are approximate and will vary.

Please note: when you receive a quote based on hours, the hours are “work hours” (also called “man hours”). If the cleaning company sends two cleaning techs to do a four hour cleaning, you will receive four total hours, not four hours from each cleaning person.