What’s Included in a Standard House Cleaning? Complete Checklist

Standard house cleaning covers the routine maintenance tasks that keep your home consistently clean: dusting all accessible surfaces, vacuuming and mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms (toilet, shower or tub, sink, and mirror), cleaning the kitchen (countertops, stovetop, sink, and appliance exteriors), making beds, removing trash, and wiping light switches and door handles.

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Standard cleaning is designed for recurring schedules — weekly, biweekly, or monthly — to maintain cleanliness rather than reset a home from scratch. It handles what accumulates between visits so your home stays at a consistent baseline.

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Room-by-Room Breakdown

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Kitchen: Countertops wiped and sanitized. Stovetop cleaned — surface grease, food residue, and splatter from burners and surrounding surface. Sink scrubbed and sanitized including faucet and handles. Appliance exteriors wiped — refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave fronts and handles. Small appliance surfaces wiped if accessible.

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Bathrooms: Toilet cleaned inside and out — bowl scrubbed, seat and lid wiped, exterior and base cleaned. Shower and tub scrubbed — walls, floor, fixtures, and showerhead area. Sink and vanity wiped and sanitized. Mirror cleaned streak-free. Floor mopped.

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Bedrooms: Surfaces dusted — nightstands, dressers, shelves, and accessible flat surfaces. Beds made with existing linens. Floors vacuumed (carpet) or mopped (hard floor).

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Living Areas: Surfaces dusted — coffee tables, end tables, entertainment centers, shelves. Floors vacuumed and mopped.

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Throughout the Home: Light switches and door handles wiped. Trash emptied and bags replaced. Hallway and entryway floors cleaned.

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What Standard Cleaning Does Not Automatically Include

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These tasks require significantly more time and are either part of deep cleaning or available as add-ons:

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- Inside the oven

- Inside the refrigerator

- Inside cabinets

- Baseboards

- Windows (glass and frames)

- Laundry

- Dishes

- Behind furniture

- Ceiling fans and light fixtures

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Important: Most of these can be added to any standard visit if you request them. The list above describes what’s included by default, not what’s impossible. If you want baseboards during your biweekly cleaning, just ask. If you need the oven cleaned this visit, request it. The ability to customize standard cleaning to your priorities is what separates a good cleaning service from a rigid one.

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How Long Does Standard Cleaning Take?

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For a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home: one and a half to two and a half hours with one to two cleaners.

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Smaller apartments may take as little as an hour and a half.

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Larger homes with three or four bedrooms take two and a half to four hours.

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Recurring Frequencies and Discounts

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Weekly — best for families with children and pets, heavy daily use. Typically comes with a 15 percent discount.

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Biweekly (every two weeks) — the most popular frequency. Balances cleanliness with cost. Typically 10 percent discount.

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Monthly — minimum frequency for meaningful maintenance. By week four, noticeable buildup occurs. Typically 5 percent discount.

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Standard cleaning is the foundation. Deep cleaning resets things periodically. Together, they keep your home consistently at the level you want.