How to Choose a Domestic Cleaner You Can Trust
Hiring a cleaner? Here's what to look for — from insurance and DBS checks to red flags and pricing. A practical UK guide to finding a trustworthy domestic cleaner.
By Daniela Starling, Founder of Aurum Cleaning & Co.
In short: When hiring a domestic cleaner, check they have public liability insurance (minimum £1–2 million cover), ask about DBS checks, and clarify whether they are self-employed or agency-based. Expect to pay £15–£25 per hour for regular cleaning in the UK, and always meet the cleaner before handing over a key.
Finding someone you trust to clean your home — the place where your family eats, sleeps, and keeps their most personal belongings — is a bigger decision than it might seem. You’re handing over a key, and with it, a lot of trust.
Whether you’re hiring a cleaner for the first time or switching from someone who hasn’t worked out, this guide walks you through exactly what to look for, what to ask, and what to avoid.
Eight Questions to Ask Before You Book
1. Are you insured?
This is the most important question and it should be the first one you ask. A professional cleaner should carry public liability insurance — ideally a minimum of £1–2 million in cover. This protects you if your cleaner accidentally damages your property, breaks a valuable item, or injures themselves in your home.
If they’re not insured and something goes wrong, you could be personally liable. No insurance means no professionalism — it’s that straightforward.
2. Are your staff DBS-checked?
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) runs criminal record checks at four levels. For domestic cleaning, the appropriate level is a Basic DBS Check, which reveals any unspent convictions. Self-employed cleaners can apply for this themselves.
A reputable cleaning company should DBS-check all their staff as standard and be happy to confirm this. If a cleaner is reluctant to discuss their DBS status, that tells you something.
3. Can you provide references?
Ask for at least two references from current or recent clients. A good cleaner will have no hesitation sharing these. Online reviews on Google, Facebook, or Checkatrade are useful too, but direct references from clients in similar situations to yours — same type of property, same kind of service — are the gold standard.
4. What products do you use?
This matters more than you might think, especially if you have children, pets, or anyone with allergies or sensitivities in the household. Find out whether they bring their own products, whether those products are eco-friendly and non-toxic, and whether they’re willing to use your preferred products if you have them.
5. Will I have the same cleaner each time?
Consistency is one of the biggest factors in a good cleaning experience. A cleaner who knows your home — who remembers that the bathroom tap drips, that you like the cushions arranged a certain way, that the cat hides behind the sofa — will always do a better job than someone seeing your home for the first time.
Ask whether you’ll have a consistent cleaner, and what happens when they’re on holiday or unwell.
6. What’s your cancellation policy?
Life happens. You’ll need to cancel or reschedule occasionally. Find out how much notice is required (24–48 hours is standard) and whether there are any charges for late cancellations. A fair policy protects both sides.
7. How do you handle breakages?
Accidents happen — even to the most careful cleaners. What matters is how they’re handled. A professional cleaner with public liability insurance should have a clear process: report it immediately, assess the damage, and claim through their insurance. Ask about this before it becomes relevant.
8. Do you have written terms?
A professional cleaner should provide written terms of service covering what’s included in a clean, pricing, payment terms, cancellation policy, insurance details, and complaints process. If everything is verbal and informal, there’s no clarity if things go wrong.
Red Flags to Watch For
Not every cleaner who looks professional on the surface is the real deal. Watch out for:
No insurance. This is a non-negotiable. Walk away.
Cash only, no receipts. This often indicates undeclared income and makes it very difficult to resolve disputes. A legitimate business provides invoices and accepts bank transfers or card payments.
Prices that seem too low. The National Living Wage in the UK is £12.21 per hour. Once you factor in travel, equipment, products, insurance, tax, and running costs, a legitimate cleaning company cannot realistically charge below £15 per hour. If someone is quoting £10 per hour, they’re either cutting essential corners (no insurance, no tax) or paying their staff illegally.
No DBS check. A cleaner who refuses to get a Basic DBS check — which costs just £18 and takes a few days — is raising a flag worth paying attention to.
Reluctance to visit your home first. A good cleaner will want to see your home before quoting. They need to understand the size, layout, number of rooms, types of surfaces, and any specific requirements. A quote given without seeing the property is guesswork.
Vague about what’s included. If a cleaner can’t clearly explain what they will and won’t do during a visit, you’ll end up disappointed.
Pressure to commit immediately. A trustworthy cleaner will give you a quote and let you think about it. Hard-sell tactics (“this price is only available today”) are a red flag in any service industry.
Agency, Independent, or Small Company?
Not all cleaning services are the same. Understanding the three main models will help you choose the right one for your situation.
Hiring an independent cleaner directly is often the cheapest option — typically £13–£18 per hour in Cambridgeshire and Essex. You may build a strong personal relationship, and you know exactly who’s in your home. But there are significant downsides: many independents carry no insurance, you’ll need to vet them yourself (references, DBS), and there’s no backup when they’re ill or on holiday.
There’s also a hidden legal risk that most people don’t know about. If your cleaner only works for you, at times you set, using your equipment, and can’t send a substitute, HMRC is likely to classify them as your employee — regardless of what you both call the arrangement. As their employer, you’d be responsible for operating PAYE, deducting Income Tax and National Insurance, providing statutory holiday, Statutory Sick Pay, auto-enrolling them in a pension, and carrying Employers’ Liability Insurance of at least £5 million. The penalties for getting this wrong are substantial.
Using a large agency eliminates these concerns. Agencies handle all vetting, insurance, tax, and employment obligations. They provide backup cleaners and have formal complaints processes. The trade-off is price (typically £18–£25 per hour), and the service can feel impersonal — you may have different cleaners each visit, and there’s often a call centre between you and your cleaner.
A small, owner-managed cleaning company offers the best of both worlds. You get professional standards — insurance, DBS-checked staff, tax compliance, written terms — combined with a personal service. The owner knows your name, your home, and your preferences. There’s no call centre. If something isn’t right, you speak directly to the person who runs the business. You’ll have the same cleaner each visit, with proper backup arranged if they’re unavailable. And because the company handles all employment obligations, you have zero PAYE risk.
What Should Cleaning Cost?
Pricing varies, but here’s what to expect in South Cambridgeshire and North Essex in 2025:
Regular cleaning: £15–£20 per hour from a small company or independent; £18–£25 from a larger agency. Weekly cleans are typically cheaper per hour than fortnightly.
Deep cleaning: £25–£35 per hour, or quoted as a fixed price based on the size of the property.
End of tenancy cleaning: £150–£500 total depending on property size and condition.
Airbnb changeover cleans: typically £50–£150 per visit depending on property size, plus laundry and restocking if required.
Remember that price alone is a poor way to choose a cleaner. The cheapest option may cost you far more in the long run — through uninsured damage, unreliable service, or hidden employment liabilities.
A Simple Checklist
Before you book, make sure your cleaner or cleaning company can tick all of these:
- Public liability insurance (minimum £1–2 million cover)
- Basic DBS check for all staff
- Written terms of service
- Clear, transparent pricing with no hidden fees
- Verifiable references or online reviews
- Consistent cleaner assigned to your home
- Professional, eco-friendly cleaning products provided
- HMRC-compliant business practices (registered, invoicing, tax-compliant)
Ready to Find Your Cleaner?
At Aurum Cleaning & Co., we tick every box on that checklist — and then some. We’re fully insured, DBS-checked, eco-friendly, and locally owned. Every client gets the same cleaner each visit, with Dani personally carrying out your first clean to make sure everything is right from day one.
We cover Linton, Saffron Walden, Haverhill, Sawston, and villages across South Cambridgeshire and North Essex.