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'Clean' Apps That Put Home Help at Your Fingertips

Thanks to apps and the internet, your dream house clean, garden do-over and tidy-up are just a click away

Gabrielle Chariton 27 March 2019

Houzz Australia Contributor. Freelance writer and editor. I write about anything and everything but I specialise in housing design, kitchens, bathrooms and sustainable living. I pass the time by painting old furniture white, photographing animals, haunting op-shops and dreaming up renovation projects. See more of my work at www.gabriellechariton.com

Houzz Australia Contributor. Freelance writer and editor. I write about anything... More

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Feeling the need for a pre-winter house clean? Have a party coming up and need the house looking spick-and-span? Or perhaps you’d just love to arrive home to a sparkling home on Friday night so you can kick off your shoes and enjoy a housework-free weekend. It’s never been easier to get in a professional at short notice to spruce things up at home, thanks to the proliferation of online and app-based services designed to connect you with your dream cleaner, gardener or home organiser, pronto. These online disruptors bring new levels of convenience, speed and absolute flexibility to home services, and booking a cleaner is now as easy as booking an Uber.

Jasmine McClelland Design

Until now, hiring a cleaner has been a relatively fraught process: it begins with endless interrogations of your friends and colleagues in the hope of finding someone who’s honest, reliable and willing to clean to your standards. Then it’s a matter of hoping they can fit in with your schedule and turn up on time.

Several disappointing cleans in, the relationship often ends with an awkward conversation or text exchange. And the cycle begins again.

TomMarkHenry

Happily, technology is now transforming this service sector. Going digital eliminates the frantic call-around and lets you secure a reliable cleaner in a matter of minutes. Convenience is key: you select the appointment times, not the other way around, and the cleaners are already vetted by the company you’re booking them through. And the no-commitment arrangements mean that if something doesn’t work out, you can easily switch cleaners without offending anyone.

Jasmine McClelland Design

Most online providers are also very transparent about price up-front, providing either an hourly rate or giving you a full quote before the job goes ahead, and payment is made online via Paypal or credit card, so say goodbye to tricky price negotiations and that last-minute dash to the ATM.

Each of the main players in the ever-growing online cleaning sector operates a little differently. Here’s a quick overview:

TomMarkHenry

Helpling is one of the online cleaning pioneers. Established in Berlin in 2014, it now operates in 150 cities around the world including Sydney and Melbourne.

This platform works by connecting you with local freelance cleaners. Bookings can be made on the Helpling website or via the Apple and Android-compatible app. Users simply enter their location and preferred time, and Helpling will produce a list of cleaners and their hourly rate.

Mcmahon and Nerlich

You can check each candidate’s profile, past experience and reviews from previous clients. Once you select a cleaner, your appointment will be confirmed. Payment is made securely online via the app, after the cleaning job is completed.

You can use the app to book a regular clean (for example, once a week or once a fortnight), or a one-off clean. All appointments are managed through the app, too, so you can change your booking time quickly and easily.

Location: Sydney, NSW; and Melbourne, Victoria.
Cost: Rates start at $35 per hour for a regular booking and up to $45 an hour for a one-off clean.

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jei studio

UrbanYou is an on-demand cleaning and gardening service provider, operating in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and is due to expand to other areas. The company was founded in 2014 by two ex-Yahoo employees who were fed up with the difficulties of finding and hiring help – especially at short notice.

UrbanYou is all about putting the customer in the driver’s seat. No more shifting your schedule around to suit your cleaner; simply nominate your preferred day and time and that’s when your cleaner will arrive. Plus, if you need someone in a hurry, you can book a cleaner for the next day for one-off cleaning jobs, or lock in someone to come every week or fortnight.

Services offered through UrbanYou include:

Cleaning
Spring cleaning
End-of-lease cleaning
Carpet cleaning
Post-renovation cleaning.

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Booking online is fast and easy: simply input your postcode; the service, day and timeframe you require; the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in your home; then click ‘Book Now’. Payment is handled securely through the website.

The company’s big selling point is its commitment to client safety and a rigorous screening process: all the professionals it hires are experienced, reference-checked and background-checked. UrbanYou also offers a 100-percent satisfaction guarantee on the quality of its cleans.

Locations: Sydney, NSW; Melbourne, Victoria; and Brisbane, Queensland; as well as other locations across Australia soon.
Cost: Will vary from job to job, but the price is clearly stated as soon as you start inputting details online. As a guide, the website quoted $133 for a one-time clean of a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home.

Corella Construction

TidyMe is a Sydney-based cleaning service that matches you with a local cleaner from its online database. This well-established company claims to have conducted 94,000 ‘tidies’ in 800 suburbs. Pricing is super-transparent with a quote calculator on the front page of the website.

TidyMe is for people who want to schedule a regular clean – either weekly or fortnightly. The website specifies exactly what tasks the cleaner will carry out in each room, from folding clothes in the bedroom to emptying kitchen bins and replacing the liners.

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The company is focused on providing only experienced and screened cleaning professionals: every cleaner is rated after each job, and only the best stay on the platform.

Rescheduling can be handled seamlessly through the website, and the service is supported by online live-chat customer service. TidyMe takes payment online at the end of each clean.

Location: Sydney, NSW.
Cost: Varies according to the size of the home. The website quoted $99 per visit for a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house; or $89 per visit if you commit to a six-month booking. $5 extra for the cleaner to supply the cleaning products – they use environmentally-friendly cleaning products.

Emma Blomfield

For more ad-hoc or urgent cleaning jobs, check out the Whizz app, which allows users to book a same-day clean up until 2pm (after 2pm, you can book a next-day service).

Whizz was established in 2014 and operates in all Australian capital cities. Services include one-off cleans, regular cleans and end-of-lease cleans.

A standard clean includes dusting, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning bathrooms and kitchens, polishing mirrors, making the beds, and emptying the rubbish bins. Whizz also offers a range of ‘extras’ including:

Fridge or pantry cleans
Internal window cleans
Oven cleans
After-party cleans.

Studio Black Interiors

Pricing is transparent, with a calculator updating the price as you progress through the booking process. Payment is made online at the time of the booking. All Whizz cleaners are interviewed, police-checked, hold insurances and an ABN, and have passed Whizz’s induction processes.

Location: Australian capital cities.
Cost: Varies according to the job. The website quoted $110 for a standard clean of a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house.

Moda Interiors

If you’re a stickler for quality and haven’t yet found a cleaner who meets your high standards, SnapClean could be the answer.

This performance-focused platform has an incredibly stringent hiring protocol, with only two percent of all applicants being accepted as contractors. Requirements include a valid police check, three-plus years’ experience cleaning homes or hotels, and insurance coverage. Part of the hiring process involves the cleaners answering specific questions about cleaning procedures and best practices, followed by an interview.

SnapClean cleaners are then rated by their customers after each job, and if they receive three negative reviews they are removed from the platform.

Le Grange Interiors

The scheduling process is fast and streamlined, with an up-front quote appearing as you progress through the online booking. All communication with cleaners and payments are conducted online.

SnapClean offers next-day services, and you can use the platform to arrange both one-off and regular cleans. The company also offers a range of extra services including:

Bond/moving-in/moving-out cleans
Inside window cleans
Fridge/oven cleans
Wash/dry/fold a load of laundry
Carpet cleaning
Blind cleaning.

Locations: Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Queensland; Adelaide, SA; Melbourne, Victoria; and Perth, WA.
Cost: Varies according to the size of the house and which extras are requested. The website quoted $149 for a one-off clean of a three-bedroom, one bathroom house.

Sealy Design Inc.

Planning a party? Check out Airtasker – this flexible app will help you find someone to give the house that guest-ready sparkle, plus an extra hand to help you hang decorations, set up the outdoor furniture, light the fire pit, and fill the eskies with ice. All at a price that you’re prepared to pay.

Airtasker is an online platform that connects people who need jobs done with people who want to do those jobs. All you have to do is post your job and how much you’re willing to pay on the app or website, and within minutes ‘taskers’ near you will be offering to complete the work. You can browse through their profiles and reviews to select the most appropriate candidate and make the booking.

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Payment is secure: you pay online when the booking is made, but the funds aren’t released to the tasker until the work is completed.

Airtaskers can do pretty much anything, from cleaning and home maintenance to assembling Ikea furniture.

Location: Australia-wide.
Cost: It’s free to post a task. You set the price for the job – although it’s helpful to see what others are willing to pay for similar tasks if you want to get a decent number of offers to choose from.

Hart Builders Pty Ltd

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Paula

Thank you , I’m too old and sore to clean my family’s home anymore . I am so over it it’s not funny . I tried a neighbour ‘s cleaner last month and charged an exorbitant amount so I thought she would be perfection , she wasn’t .

1 Like 31 March 2019 at 7:00pm