House cleaning FAQ: Questions homeowners ask

Pick the date that suits you when you book and you will see what is open. Short notice is worth asking about: tell the office the date you need and they will say plainly whether a team can be there, rather than booking you in and hoping.

Call or text the office. Cancelling or rescheduling 48 hours or more before your cleaning is free. Inside 48 hours a fee applies, and the full list is on our Before your cleaning page. Moving a recurring visit does not change the rest of the schedule, and there is no contract to unwind.

It depends on the square footage of your home, the service you book and the condition the home starts in. Prices start at $184 for a standard clean, $259 for a deep clean and $349 for a move-in or move-out clean, for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom home under 1,000 square feet. Quotes are free, and the office can usually give one over the phone.

Yes. Equipment and products are included. If you prefer specific products, leave them out and tell us.

Pets are welcome. Tell us their names and where they like to be so the team can work around them.

No. Give us a door code, garage code or lockbox location when you book, and we add it to the notes for your cleaner.

Yes. Quotes are free. Most homes can be quoted over the phone, so a walkthrough is not usually needed. For an unusual job the office may ask you to send photos so the quote is accurate.

By debit or credit card, kept on file to hold your booking. Nothing is charged when you book. 24 hours before your cleaning a hold is placed for the full amount, and the payment is only processed after the cleaning is finished and you are happy with it.

Make sure the power and water are on, the fridge is empty if we are cleaning inside it, clutter is picked up and pets are taken care of. If you will not be there, give us a door code, garage code or lockbox location when you book. The full list is on our Before your cleaning page.

No. Visit by visit. Pause or stop whenever you like. For a visit that is already booked, cancelling or rescheduling is free with 48 hours of notice.

Experienced professionals. Each one is interviewed, background checked and proven on a test clean before taking on homes of their own, and works from a written checklist for the service you booked. Recurring homes keep the same team.

Tell us the same day and we make it right.

Tell us within 24 hours and send a photo, and the team comes back to fix it at no charge. That is the re-clean promise, and it is not a debate.

Central Phoenix and the East Valley, from Arcadia and Biltmore to Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert, plus the North Valley and the West Valley. Every location we serve has its own page.

Yes, through our commercial division, Desert Elite Industrial Services. Use the Commercial link at the top of the page.

Never expected, always appreciated, and it goes to the team who cleaned your home.

Yes. Desert Elite Cleaners is fully bonded and insured, and every cleaner carries their own liability insurance.

Before starting a recurring schedule, after a renovation, at the change of season, or before hosting. Most recurring clients start with one.

Roughly twice a standard clean for the same home. A three-bedroom home is typically four to six hours for a two-person team.

Only if you want the insides cleaned. Empty them before we arrive and we clean and dry them. Otherwise we clean the fronts.

Shower glass, faucets and tracks are descaled as part of the bathroom detail. Heavy etching from years of build-up may need a restoration product, and we tell you before we start.

Everything in a standard clean, plus the detail a regular visit leaves for later: the range hood and backsplash degreased, grout scrubbed, shower glass and tracks descaled for Arizona hard water, exhaust fan covers washed, baseboards, door frames and trim, ceiling fans, vents and light fixtures, window sills and tracks, and interior doors and switch plates. Inside the oven and refrigerator is included on request, and inside cabinets once you empty them.

Ideally, yes. Cleaning around boxes and furniture limits what can be reached.

Yes. Send their move-out checklist and we clean to it.

We cannot promise what a landlord decides, but we clean to the standard move-out checklists use and provide photos if you need them.

Yes. Plenty of our regular clients started with a move-out clean at the old address and a move-in clean at the new one, then kept the same team once they settled in.

A deep clean details a home people are living in, so the team works around furniture and belongings. A move-out clean is done in an empty home, which lets it reach what a lived-in clean cannot: inside every cabinet, drawer and closet, inside the oven, refrigerator and dishwasher, and the floor that furniture usually covers. It is the most detailed clean we do, and a typical three-bedroom home takes a full day.

Inside and outside of every kitchen cabinet and drawer; inside the oven, refrigerator and dishwasher; a full bathroom detail with grout, shower tracks, vanities and medicine cabinets; closets and shelving; baseboards, doors and switch plates; interior windows, sills and tracks; and every floor vacuumed and mopped. The garage can be swept on request. If your landlord or property manager has a checklist, send it and we clean to it.

No. Recurring service is booked visit by visit and can be paused any time.

Call or text the office before the visit.

Recurring visits are shorter because the home is maintained, so the estimate reflects that. Ask for the rate when you book.

That is the point of recurring service. The same team returns whenever possible, so nothing has to be explained twice.

Today the two words mostly describe the same job: cleaning a home on a regular schedule. A full-time or live-in housekeeper may also run a household, which is a different role from a cleaning service. Our recurring housekeeping is a two-person team that returns weekly, every two weeks or monthly, cleans the whole home, details the kitchen and bathrooms on every visit, and rotates deeper tasks such as baseboards, fans and vents.

Most Phoenix homes take two to four hours with a two-person team, depending on size and condition. The online estimator gives you an estimate for your home.

No. Give us a door code, garage code or lockbox location when you book, and we add it to the notes for your cleaner. Teams are background checked, and the same team returns for recurring visits whenever possible.

Yes. Equipment and products are supplied. If you prefer specific products, leave them out and tell us.

Send a booking request online and the office calls you back to set it up, or call the office. Recurring clients pick a weekly, every-two-weeks or monthly rhythm.

Inside the oven and refrigerator, inside cabinets, full baseboards and window tracks. Those are part of a deep clean or can be added to any visit.

After the last trade has finished and before furniture arrives. If a punch list is still open, we do the main clean now and a touch-up after.

No. Construction dust is finer and gets everywhere, so every surface is cleaned twice and cabinets are done inside and out as standard.

Yes, from glass, appliances and hardware, unless your builder asks us to leave them.

Yes. Share your calendar and turnovers are scheduled from check-out times.

On site where a washer and dryer are available, or with a linen swap arranged in advance.

Same-day turnovers are done where the calendar allows. Tell us your minimum notice and we plan around it.

In Phoenix dust, exterior glass twice a year and interior glass with each deep clean keeps them clear.

Windows reachable with standard ladders and poles. Ask about two-story exteriors when booking.

Light spotting comes off with the clean. Etched mineral deposits from sprinklers may need a restoration product, and we tell you before we start.