The Cleaning Fairy Package: What To Expect

So, you’ve booked yourself the cleaning fairy package. That’s excellent. Here, we’ll lay out what to expect both before the clean and on the day of the clean. 

The lowdown on the package: The cleaning fairy package is for those who want help with more of the day-to-day chores around the house. Leave the toys on the floor, leave the clutter to be picked up and the dirty dishes in the sink. We aren’t going to be doing the more “routine clean” things like washing the walls but we will be helping you return home to a clean space. 

The cleaning fairy package is for three main living spaces (typically a kitchen, livingroom and bathroom). You can add additional rooms if you’d like under add-ons and can also add additional services. 

Prior to the clean, we’re going to ask that you fill out the pre-cleaning form so we have all the necessary information regarding your clean. There’s the basic stuff like “how will you be letting our staff into the location” and “what’s your address” and then the more detailed information that will help us properly prepare for your clean such as “do you have any animals” (important to answer even if they won’t be present so we can know what type of fur we’ll be cleaning and bring the right tools for the job). 

If you booked the clean through our scheduling page, you’ll receive reminder texts and emails the day before the clean. Should you need to cancel or reschedule, we ask that you do so at least 24 hours prior to your appointment to avoid a fee. 

On the day of the clean, two cleaners will arrive. One of the cleaners is our Quality Control (QC) cleaner who is the supervisor for that team. That cleaner will be completing their own cleaning and also checking the other cleaners work to make sure nothing was missed. 

If you instruct us on how you’ll be letting us into your location and are not present for the clean, that is absolutely fine and will not change the process at all. We’ll ask you in the pre-cleaning questionnaire what three rooms you want cleaned. 

If you are home to let our staff in, our QC cleaner will do a walk-through with you. They will have a list they are referring to (see below). In the kitchen, they will make sure that you’re okay with us washing your dishes (or loading the dishwasher if you have one), picking up anything on the floor, spraying and wiping down counters, taking out trash and recycling, putting in a new trash bag, wiping down the exterior of the trash can, sweeping the floor and mopping the floor. 

In the livingroom, they will ensure that you’re okay with us picking up anything on the floor, straightening up the couch, using Lysol to disinfect light switches, remotes, and door knobs, spraying surfaces with furniture polish and dusting them and then vacuuming the floor if it’s carpet or sweeping and then mopping for any other floor type. 

Lastly, in the bathroom the QC cleaner is going to ask if you’re okay with us emptying the trash can, spraying and wiping down the counter, cleaning the mirror, cleaning the toilet (which we clean the inside, outside and behind toilets), cleaning the shower and sweeping and mopping the floors. 

For products, we use Windex Multisurface for all counters and regular Windex for all mirrors/windows (windows aren’t included in The Cleaning Fairy package but can be purchased as an add-on). We use pledge for furniture spray. Lysol to disinfect and in order to sanitize high-traffic areas, it is a 4-minute process that will initially look like it’s leaving a stain on your paint around your light switches but the drip lines go away as it dries and in order to sanitize, it is necessary that we fully saturate the surface prior to letting it sit so those initial drip marks are unavoidable (of course, you can always opt out of having that done if you want to). Which vacuum we bring will depend on how you answered the questions (we have an Oreck commercial vacuum, a Shark vacuum that is really good with getting pet hair up, a Dyson that is most of our cleaners favorites and then a cordless Tineco vacuum that is really only good for homes that have no pets since it clogs easily). We use blue rags in the bathroom, orange rags throughout the rest of your house and will use paper towels for heavily soiled surfaces. For dusting, we typically use Pledge dusters. We tried to find the right fit between using sustainable options and using products that were actually getting cleaning done. Because we are completing so much dusting in a day, the reusable dusters weren’t getting the job done and we were having customers state they thought certain things weren’t getting dusted so we had to switch to the pledge throw-away ones. We are continuing to look for an option that is better for the planet while still effectively getting the dust up. 

We do allow customers to request green products only or to opt to use products you provide for us. We’re always happy to use your vacuum, mop, broom etc. if you don’t want the one that we’ve used at all of our other cleans (they are maintenced at the end of each shift). 

Our cleaners will be in your home for between 1.5 and 2.5 hours to complete The Cleaning Fairy. They try to work as quickly, quietly and efficiently as possible. Tips are never expected by our staff but are always greatly appreciated. If after the clean, you run into any issues, reach out to syracusecleaningservices@gmail.com to let us know and we’ll get those resolved. If you’re happy with your clean, a Google, Yelp or FaceBook review is greatly appreciated. For your paid cleaning, one hour of free cleaning will be donated to a single parent in need. We are averaging enough paid cleanings per week to donate about two entire free cleans to single parents in need each week.