Comparing cleaning quotes and package scopes

Itemise what you want cleaned

A clear request makes quotes easier to compare. List each item separately rather than giving a single total.

Work through the home with a notepad rather than from memory. For each carpeted room, write down the approximate carpeted area, not the floor area of the whole home, so that a bathroom or a kitchen with no carpet does not creep into the figure. Put stairs and landings on their own lines, since a business may treat them differently from rooms, and say what covers them. Describe known problems in plain words, such as a mark near the door that returned after an earlier clean, rather than naming a cause you cannot verify. Describing rather than diagnosing keeps the request honest and leaves the inspection to the contractor.

• Carpeted rooms, with the approximate carpeted area of each, not the floor area of the whole home.
• Stairs and landings, counted separately.
• Area rugs, with their size and any care label or known fibre.
• Upholstered items by type, such as sofas, sectionals, chairs and cushions.
• Mattresses by size, with the manufacturer's care label where available.
• Known problems, such as pet accidents, persistent marks or past water damage, described rather than diagnosed.

Measure and state units

Say whether your measurements are in feet or metres and ask which unit the quote uses. NIST defines the international foot as exactly 0.3048 metre, so one square foot is 0.09290304 square metre. A room of 10 feet by 10 feet is 100 square feet, or about 9.29 square metres.

Ask whether areas under furniture are included and whether the quoted area is the carpeted area or the room size. Two quotes built on different measurements are not comparable.

A worked unit example

The example below is hypothetical. The rooms, measurements and quotes are invented to show the arithmetic. They are not measured benchmarks, real quotes or prices.

Take a living room of 12 feet by 14 feet. That is 168 square feet. Using the exact figure of 0.09290304 square metre per square foot, 168 multiplied by 0.09290304 is 15.60771072, or about 15.61 square metres. In the other direction, a bedroom of 3.5 metres by 4 metres is 14 square metres, and 14 divided by 0.09290304 is about 150.69 square feet. Converting from square feet to square metres is one multiplication, and the reverse is one division.

For the fictional living room, 168 sq ft and a rounded 15.6 m² describe approximately the same area: 15.6 m² is about 167.9 sq ft. A figure of 14 m² is about 150.7 sq ft, roughly 17 sq ft less. That is not explained by rounding alone. Ask whether measurement or included area differs, rather than assuming an error.

Three habits follow, offered as suggestions. Write the unit beside every number you give or receive. Convert a quoted figure once yourself and compare it with your own. And treat a difference larger than rounding as something to ask about before comparing totals.

An itemised scope comparison

Here is a second hypothetical case, again invented for illustration and showing no prices. Two businesses, Quote A and Quote B, have been asked to clean the same living room, staircase, armchair and one mattress. Reading them line by line gives the following.

• Living room: Quote A states a carpeted area of 168 sq ft. Quote B says large room and gives no figure.
• Stairs and landing: Quote A lists them as a separate line. Quote B folds them into a room total without saying what is counted.
• Furniture: Quote A names the pieces it will move and the pieces it leaves in place. Quote B says light furniture only.
• Steps: Quote A lists pre-vacuuming and spot treatment as included and grooming as not included. Quote B lists no steps.
• Add-ons: Quote A shows a protector as optional and supplies the product label. Quote B shows a protector as already included, with no label.
• Mattress: Quote A does not mention it. Quote B lists one by size without stating the method.
• Known problem: Quote A records the described mark by the door and states what it will do if it does not respond. Quote B does not mention it.

Make one row per item and a column per quote. Mark included, extra, excluded or not stated, then add details such as quantity and method. Ask B about area, stair count, furniture and the protector label; ask A about the mattress; and ask B what happens if the mark does not respond. A already states a response procedure. Both quotes still need comparable scope and suitability information before their totals can be compared.

Compare contents, not package names

Labels such as basic, premium or a metal tier have no common definition across businesses. For each quote, ask which steps are included, for example pre-vacuuming, spot treatment, furniture moving or grooming, and whether each step is suitable for the material.

Ask which furniture will be moved, by whom, and which items are excluded. Ask whether stairs, landings, edges and small rooms are priced within the scope or added separately.

A useful test is to remove every package name from the document and see whether the remaining lines still describe a complete job. If the answer depends on what a tier name is assumed to mean, the quote is not yet specific enough to compare. For help with the question of whether a method suits the material, see the guide to choosing a carpet or upholstery cleaner.

Add-ons and treatments

Deodorisers, anti-allergen treatments and protectors are products in their own right. Ask for the label of each proposed product, check that the textile manufacturer permits it, and decide in advance whether it is included or optional.

A treatment described as anti-allergen should not be read as a health outcome. The CDC dust-mite measures summarised in these guides focus on bedding, covers and humidity; ask a qualified clinician about symptoms.

For further questions, see stain protection, mattresses, pillows and bedding and an allergen-aware home. Record each add-on and whether you agreed to it before the visit.

Offers, guarantees and written terms

Time-limited offers, free rooms or repeat-visit discounts each come with their own conditions. Compare the full itemised scope at the price you would actually pay.

If a business describes a guarantee or warranty, read its written terms: what it covers, how to raise a problem and what remedy is offered. This site does not assess any business's guarantee, and this is not legal advice.

A practical way to use that advice is to note, on the same grid as the scope, any condition attached to an offer: a minimum number of rooms, a date limit, a requirement to book more than one visit or a rule about which items qualify. Where an offer depends on repeat visits, the guide to repeat-visit discounts looks at the real cost over time.

Practical conditions

Ask what drying conditions, access, parking and use of water or electricity the contractor needs, and what you should clear beforehand.

Keep the agreed quote together with the manufacturers' care instructions, so that both parties know which items and treatments were agreed.

Put these answers on the same sheet as the scope rather than in a separate message, so that the comparison between quotes includes how much you are being asked to prepare and provide.

Keep the paperwork together

Keep your itemised measurements, quotes, comparison grid, care instructions and written offer terms together. They help show what was recorded; they do not guarantee agreement or resolve a dispute.

There are separate guides for Toronto, Mississauga and Oakville. This comparison makes no claim about local providers, prices or available services.