There is no single correct answer to how often a home should be professionally cleaned. The right frequency depends on several factors that are specific to each household — and the answer can change over time based on life circumstances.
This guide is intended to help you think through those factors practically, without pushing you toward a particular frequency. Our goal is to give you a framework for making a decision that fits your actual situation.
What Affects Cleaning Frequency?
Before arriving at a schedule, it helps to consider the following:
1. Number of occupants
More people generally means more surface use, more foot traffic, more dishes, and more general wear on a space. A two-person household in a two-bedroom apartment will typically accumulate dirt and grime more slowly than a family of four in the same space. This is one of the most straightforward variables in determining frequency.
2. Presence of pets
Pets — particularly dogs and cats — contribute to hair accumulation on floors and furniture, tracked-in debris, and odour buildup in soft furnishings and carpeting. Households with one or more indoor pets typically need cleaning more frequently than those without, even when the home appears tidy at a surface level.
3. Time spent at home
A household where people are home most of the day — whether because of remote work, young children, or lifestyle preference — will see more daily wear on the space than one where occupants are out most of the day. Higher occupancy time generally means faster accumulation of kitchen grease, bathroom residue, and floor dust.
4. Personal standards and priorities
Some people are comfortable with a home that is clean at a functional level but not meticulously maintained between professional visits. Others find a visibly dusty surface or kitchen residue distracting or stressful. Neither of these approaches is wrong — but the right cleaning frequency differs between the two.
5. Whether you clean in between visits
Professional cleaning and day-to-day tidying are not mutually exclusive. Many clients who use professional cleaning services still wipe down counters, do their own dishes, and run the vacuum occasionally between visits. This kind of regular light maintenance extends the effective interval between professional visits considerably.
Common Frequency Options
Weekly
Weekly professional cleaning is most common in larger households, homes with pets, households with young children, or situations where someone has mobility limitations that make personal upkeep difficult. It is also used by clients who prefer a consistently high standard and want to minimize the time they spend on household tasks.
In a commercial context, weekly cleaning is often the minimum for spaces that receive regular client traffic.
Every Two Weeks (Bi-Weekly)
Bi-weekly cleaning is the most commonly chosen frequency among our residential clients. It works well for two-person households, apartment residents who maintain some baseline upkeep themselves, and homes without pets. The interval is long enough to be cost-effective but short enough that each visit remains manageable without intensive effort.
For most well-maintained homes, a two-week schedule keeps spaces from accumulating visible buildup in kitchens and bathrooms while ensuring floors, surfaces, and common areas stay consistently clean.
Monthly
Monthly professional cleaning works for households where occupants are away frequently, where the home is small, where the occupants maintain consistent upkeep themselves, or where budget is the primary constraint. It is less effective for households with pets, children, or high daily usage.
With monthly visits, each session tends to require more effort than bi-weekly visits covering the same space, since more accumulation has occurred between sessions. This may affect session duration and, consequently, cost.
As-Needed / One-Time
Some clients prefer to schedule professional cleaning on an as-needed basis rather than on a fixed schedule. This approach works for people who are generally capable of maintaining their own space but want occasional help for specific situations — before a gathering, after a particularly busy period, or when preparing a property for guests or a real estate showing.
There is nothing wrong with this approach. It requires less planning and commitment but also means you don't benefit from the consistency and efficiency that comes from a regular schedule.
Starting with a Deep Clean
Regardless of which frequency you choose, if your home hasn't been professionally cleaned in a while, it's worth beginning with a deep cleaning session before settling into a recurring schedule. Starting recurring visits on a space with underlying buildup tends to lead to unsatisfying results — a standard visit simply doesn't allocate enough time to address what's accumulated in difficult areas.
A deep clean creates a baseline, and then recurring standard visits can maintain that baseline efficiently. This is the approach we typically recommend to new clients, though it is not mandatory in all situations.
How to Decide: A Practical Framework
If you're genuinely unsure where to start, consider the following:
- Two or more people, pets, or children at home regularly → Weekly or bi-weekly
- One to two people, no pets, some personal upkeep in between → Bi-weekly
- Single occupant or couple, very tidy, home frequently empty → Monthly or bi-weekly
- Vacation property or occasionally used space → Before and after each use, or seasonally
These are starting points, not firm categories. Many clients adjust their frequency after a few visits once they have a clearer sense of how their space accumulates over time.
Cost Considerations
It is worth knowing that more frequent cleaning visits are generally more cost-effective on a per-visit basis than less frequent ones, because each visit stays more manageable. A bi-weekly visit on a maintained home takes less time than a monthly visit on the same home — which means the actual cost differential between the two schedules is smaller than the frequency difference suggests.
You can use the estimator on our homepage to get a rough sense of how pricing varies by frequency. As always, confirmed pricing is established during the initial consultation.
There Is No Obligation to Choose a Schedule
We want to be clear: there is no pressure to commit to a recurring plan. If you want to try a one-time clean first and decide from there, that is entirely reasonable. Many clients who eventually settle on a regular schedule start with a single visit to assess whether the service works for them and their home.
If you have questions about what would work for your specific situation, contact us and we'll talk it through plainly.