Our Policies

Helping Hands Residential – Client Agreement & Policies

Thank you for trusting Helping Hands to care for your home. Our policies are designed to clarify expectations, minimize risks, and ensure exceptional service. If you have any questions, contact us at info@helpinghandsmaidservices.com.

Pricing and Payment Policies

Flat-Rate Pricing. We offer a simple flat-rate pricing structure that allows you to get a fair price based solely on the square footage of your home and the services you select. That’s it! The price is the price, regardless of the amount of time it takes or how many cleaners are needed. This makes it easy to schedule by phone or online and gives you a predictable upfront cost. We offer several levels of cleaning, plus many add-ons that you can customize our services to suit your needs. If you would like a specific service that is not on our cleaning menu, please contact our office and we will be happy to accommodate you if possible.
Credit Card Processing Fee. If you choose to pay with a credit card and have a set rotation every week, every two weeks, or every four weeks, please be aware that a 4% credit card processing fee will apply to the flat fee after the first cleaning. To avoid this fee, please contact our office to arrange payment via check or Zelle at info@hhclean.info
Changes from Original Quote. We provide an upfront price estimate based on the information provided regarding the size of your home and the cleaning services requested. In certain cases, we may conduct an in-home assessment to better understand the scope of work. Please be advised that we reserve the right to adjust the quoted price if we determine that the actual size, condition, or circumstances of the home differ from the initial description, or if the selected service package is no longer appropriate for the home’s needs. Any adjustments to pricing will be communicated promptly and prior to proceeding with service.
Non-Refundable Deposit. A 50% deposit is required for all first-time and one-time cleanings. This deposit will be charged upon booking and applied to your cleaning fee. If the cleaning is canceled outside of our cancellation policy, the deposit will not be applied as a credit.
Please be sure your credit card is updated and on file in our system; failure to do so does not guarantee the appointment is booked.
Payment must be made in full after the completion of the service. If payment is not received before the next cleaning, the cleaning will not be scheduled and a $25 late fee will be applied. If payment is not received for 90 days it will result in a property lien.
Rate Increases. We reserve the right to raise our rates as needed to adjust for costs, however, we will always give our clients advance notice of any price increase.

Scheduling

Scheduling Requests. We employ the best cleaning technicians in the Chicagoland area, so when you hire Helping Hands, you can trust that you’ll get a great clean every time. While we cannot guarantee the availability of a specific cleaning technician or precise arrival window in advance, we will always notify you of our estimated arrival time in advance of your cleaning date, with a follow-up notification the day before we arrive.
- For clients who book our recurring services, we offer the convenience of the same day of the week for every cleaning, whether you prefer every week or every two weeks. We do NOT book every 4-week cleanings on Thursday or Friday. Please note that if you reschedule a cleaning, we cannot guarantee the same day of the week for the new cleaning date or the same technician. See our Reschedule Policy below for more details.
Rescheduling. All rescheduled requests must be made using our online Schedule Change Form. Any rescheduled request will apply only to the date that you specify on the request form and will not affect your regular cleaning schedule. If you need to reschedule more than one cleaning, please submit a separate reschedule request form for each date. If you need to change your entire Recurring Cleaning schedule, please contact our office. Recurring Cleaning customers may reschedule an upcoming cleaning for any day prior to the next scheduled cleaning at no extra charge, except Late Change Fees, if applicable.
Skipping a cleaning. If you are a Recurring Cleaning customer and you need to completely skip a cleaning, you must use our Schedule Change Request Form. Please note that Helping Hands offers discounted pricing for Recurring Cleanings so that we can keep your home consistently clean and provide our cleaning technicians with a predictable work schedule and stable income. The longer we go between cleanings, the more work our technicians will have to do to restore your home to the appropriate condition. If you skip a Recurring Cleaning, you will be charged a $50 Skip Fee on the catch-up cleaning.
Cancellation Policy for One-Time or First-Time Cleans. To ensure smooth scheduling and accommodate all our clients and employees, cancellations must be made at least 48 hours before the scheduled cleaning. If your cleaning is scheduled for a Monday, we request notice of cancellation by 9 a.m. on the preceding Thursday. Cancellations made within 48 hours of the appointment will result in the forfeiture of the deposit, which is non-refundable.
Last Minute Changes and Cancellations for recurring cleans. Our employees are scheduled in advance, last-minute changes and cancellations deprive them of income.
- If you cancel or reschedule a service less than 48 hours before your originally scheduled date, we will charge a $100 late cancellation fee to help compensate the employees for lost income.
- If your cleaning is scheduled for a Monday, we request notice of cancellation by 9 a.m. on the preceding Thursday to avoid the fee.
- If the cleaning is canceled less than 24 hours prior to your scheduled time, the full amount of the cleaning fee will be charged.
Please be sure the entry method is provided if you do not plan on being home for the cleaning. Our technicians have a 10-minute wait period, after this time our technicians must leave for the next job. If our technicians have to wait for a longer period of time to begin service, the waiting time will be added to the service. Please note that we do not keep keys in the office on a regular basis, so ensure entry instructions are clear and accessible.
Lockouts. Lockouts deprive our cleaning technicians of their income. If you do not contact us to cancel a cleaning and the technician arrives at your home at the scheduled time and cannot gain entry or is denied access, we will charge you a lockout fee of the full cost of the cleaning to compensate the cleaning technician for their lost time.

Happiness Guarantee

Happiness Guarantee. We want you to be delighted with our service! If you are dissatisfied with any of our cleaning services, please contact us right away so that we can make it right. We will first assess the situation to make sure that we understand the concern, then will re-clean the area of concern at no cost to you. The re-clean must be completed within two business days following your initial date of service. If you are still not satisfied and Helping Hands is at fault, we will offer a partial refund according to the circumstances. Please note that in order for us to offer a refund, we require that a re-clean must be accepted and completed within two business days from the initial date of service.
Dependability Guarantee. We want you to be able to count on us. Our cleaning technicians rarely arrive later than scheduled unless there is extremely heavy traffic or another unusual occurrence, in which case we will notify you as soon as possible. If the arrival window has passed and you have not heard from our office staff, please call us at so we can investigate. In the unlikely event that we do not clean your home the day of your scheduled appointment, the cleaning will be rescheduled for the earliest possible date and will be provided at no charge to you. That’s our Dependability Guarantee.

Billing & Tipping

Billing. Payment is due at the time of each service and your card will be charged on the day of each cleaning. If your credit card is declined for any reason, we will contact you and ask for this to be remedied within three (3) business days. If payment is not made within three (3) business days following a cleaning, we will assess a late payment fee of $10 per day and will pause all scheduled services until payment is made. If your service is paused, you may lose your place in the schedule. All recurring payments made by credit credit are subject to 4% credit card processing fee.
Tipping. Tipping is never required, but it is a lovely way to tell your cleaner that you think they did a great job. If you would like to tip your cleaner, we suggest a range of 15 to 25% of the price of the cleaning. You can add this amount to your credit card either as a one-time or a recurring charge “Add a Tip Form”. Also, when you answer our SCORECARD- survey you have the option to add a tip there. If you would prefer to give cash, we ask that you put it in a labeled envelope or otherwise clearly label it to make sure that our cleaning technicians know it is for them!

Breakage Policy

Our professional cleaning technicians do their best to protect your home and possessions, but we know that sometimes things get broken despite precautions. Accordingly, we have worked hard to develop a clear and fair policy to cover accidental breakage.

Please call us at to report any instance of breakage as soon as possible after you notice it so that we can make it right. Breakage must be reported within 2 (two) days of the incident. Please save the broken item for our inspection. We will review every incident of breakage on a case-by-case basis.
When the value is verifiable and breakage is clearly due to negligence on the part of a Helping Hands employee, we will reimburse the cost of any broken item or we will contact our insurance. Item values over $25 must be verified before replacement or reimbursement will be authorized.
When appropriate, we will pay to have the broken item repaired by a professional restoration company instead of reimbursing the cost of the item.
We cannot accept responsibility for breakage due to objects that are inherently unstable or delicate, or inappropriately placed, such as top-heavy items with inadequate bases, improperly hung pictures, or wobbly objects. Such situations are regarded as accidents-in-waiting and may occur no matter how carefully our cleaning technicians are working.
In addition, we have noticed that the materials used in many window blinds can become brittle over time and may break while cleaning, or even while opening or closing them. Therefore we cannot accept any responsibility for damages to older blinds. If this is a risk you cannot accept, please let our office know which areas we should avoid and we will add it to your home details.
Please move fragile, unstable, or expensive items to a location we do not clean, or ask us to skip that area completely if you do not wish to accept the risk of accidental damage.
Please make us aware of any sensitive furniture or areas, such as improperly mounted blinds, to avoid any breakage.

Other Cleaning Policies

Employee safety. Our cleaning technicians are the heart of our business and their safety is extremely important to us. The areas to be cleaned must be accessible without excess clutter or hazardous conditions. Indoor temperatures must also be appropriate for them to work safely. For this reason, be aware that in warm weather, we ask that you set the air conditioning down to 73 degrees Fahrenheit while we are working in your home. During the winter season please be considerate of our technicians and salt driveways, walkways, and stairs.
Firearms: We ask that all firearms be locked. Our technicians will leave the home if they find a firearm in the home.
For safety reasons, our technicians must wear shoes inside the home at all times. We are unable to clean bodily fluids, pet accidents, etc. A call will be made to inform of any pet accidents in the home. Bodily fluids will be left untouched and a call will be made to inform of the location and extremity.
No unfair solicitation of employees. At Helping Hands, we are proud of our wonderful employees and we put a lot of time, money, and effort into recruiting, hiring, and training only the best people. Sadly, some past clients have tried to take advantage of our hard work by trying to “poach” our employees. Please note that our employment contract prohibits employees from accepting private work for Helping Hands clients unless Helping Hands is compensated with a finder fee of $2,500. Please do not solicit our employees for side jobs or direct hire outside of this contract. Not only does this place our employees in an awkward situation, but it is also unfair to our small business. If you attempt to solicit an employee for private hire without paying the required finder fee, all future services will be immediately terminated.
Additional Services are available with advance notice. In addition to our standard cleaning menus, we offer an array of Add-On-Services that can be booked along with your main cleaning. These services may be added to any cleaning on a one-time or recurring basis. Please contact us at or email us at info@helpinghandsmaidservices.com for pricing and scheduling. Add-On services must be requested at least one business day in advance of your scheduled cleaning and cannot be added on the day of the cleaning.
Please be sure to pick up toys, shoes, clothes, or any items off of your floor. Failure to do so may potentially lead to an additional charge.
Our closed-door policy. Please leave any rooms you do not want us to clean or enter with the door closed. It is important that rooms you do wish us to clean remain with the door open.
Please do not cook before or during the cleaning, we do not touch hot stoves.
If you are scheduled for an oven cleaning, please be sure your self-cleaning mode in your oven is completed a day prior to our arrival. We are no longer supplying Easy Off, instead, we will be using a degreaser. If you would prefer something else to be used in the oven, you are welcome to spray the product in the oven and we will wipe it out.
If you are scheduled for interior refrigerator cleaning, please be sure it contains as few items as possible. Help us help you by not going grocery shopping the day before and by tossing out any expired items. If the interior has too many items the interior fridge cleaning will need to be canceled. We will gladly wash shelves, drawers, and other refrigerator parts if they are taken apart prior to the cleaning. Our technicians will not take it apart or put it back to avoid damage.
Freezer Cleaning Policy At Helping Hands, we prioritize safety and the quality of our service. We do not clean the interior of freezers that contain food. For us to clean your freezer, it must be completely empty and unplugged. This ensures a thorough and hygienic cleaning process.
If you are having linens changed, please be sure to have them laid out on top of each bed prior to the cleaning. We do not want to invade your privacy and will not go through closets. There is an additional $10.00 fee per bed for a linen change. Our technicians will leave all the linen in the laundry room.
If your cleaning has already been confirmed and you wish to include any add-on (basement, windows, sheets, oven inside, etc) the day of, please confirm with the office via call, email, or text. It is our pleasure to accommodate your needs however we need to update arrival times for homes scheduled after yours, as well as adjust the price of your cleaning.
Client’s products and equipment. All of our employees go through extensive training on the proper use of cleaning supplies and equipment that Helping Hands provides. Technicians will not clean with products or equipment provided by the client. If a client does request our technician to use their cleaning products, cleaning tools, or equipment, Helping Hands does not take responsibility for the quality of the cleaning or any damages done to the surfaces or equipment such as vacuum cleaners, etc.
We kindly request that each bathroom in your home is equipped with a toilet brush. It is essential that a separate toilet brush is available in each bathroom to prevent the risk of cross-contamination and potential damage that could occur from carrying the brush from room to room. Additionally, for reaching higher areas, please provide a stable 2-step ladder.

Helping Hands Residential – Items & Areas We Do Not Clean

We specialize in cleaning your home effectively and efficiently and we offer a wide array of cleaning services to suit many different needs. However, we do not offer:

Laundry & Dishes

Dishwashing (we clean around dishes but do not wash them; if dishes block the sink, we cannot clean it).
Laundry washing, drying, or folding.
Cleaning inside washing machines, dryers, or dishwashers.
Emptying diaper genies.

Heavy or Unsafe Tasks

Moving or lifting items over 25 pounds.
Cleaning in areas that are unsafe or difficult to access.
Cleaning more than six feet above the ground.
Using ladders higher than a two-step ladder (extension poles up to 8 ft only).
Changing top bunk beds.
Cleaning beyond two steps or climbing onto furniture.

Restricted or Delicate Areas

Cleaning inside curios, china cabinets, stocked cabinets, closets, or drawers.
Cleaning behind glass or solid doors on shelving units or furniture.
Cleaning vertical blinds, plastic mini blinds, window tracks, screens, or sliding door tracks.
Washing exterior windows or removing window screens.
Cleaning chandeliers (especially delicate or high ones).
Cleaning inside stove hoods or oven hood filters.
Cleaning TV or computer screens.
Opening paper shredders to remove shredded paper.
Cleaning or organizing clutter (defined as five or more loose items in one area).

Specialty or Heavy-Duty Cleaning

Steam cleaning or carpet cleaning.
Deep grout scrubbing, sealing, or restoration.
Post-construction cleaning while workers are still present.
Removing debris from construction, junk removal, or scrap materials.
Mold or mildew remediation.
Bodily fluids, crime scenes, sewage, or other biohazards.
Pet waste, litter boxes, or urine stains.
Heavy dirt build-up, mineral stains (excessive hard water), disrepair, peeling paint, or smoke-stained walls.
Extremely cluttered or hoarder homes.
Cement floors or unfinished basements.
Houses with rat waste, roaches, or infestations.

Supplies & Materials

Cleaning that requires non-standard or client-supplied products or tools (we only use Helping Hands products).

Miscellaneous

Shopping, errands, or any tasks outside the home.
Organizing or decluttering personal items beyond light tidying.
Any repair, maintenance, or handyman work (e.g., light bulbs, caulking, leaks, paint touch-ups).
Cleaning appliances other than the stove, refrigerator, and microwave.
Cleaning inside small appliances (air fryers, toaster ovens, slow cookers, rice cookers, Instant Pots).
Cleaning medical equipment.
Wall washing without pre-inspection (otherwise billed hourly).