Cleaning Company vs Independent Cleaner: Which to Hire?
Cleaning company vs independent cleaner in WA: price, employee or contractor, injuries, insurance, background checks. Text for a written price.
By Yuri and Tatiana, owners of Shining Cleanse LLC, a family cleaning company based in Everett, WA and licensed in 10 cities across Snohomish and King County.
The choice between a cleaning company and an independent cleaner is mostly about who carries the risk. An independent working for cash often charges less per hour. A licensed, insured business, whether a company or a registered solo cleaner, carries the license, the liability insurance and the taxes. With us, it is $120 an hour for two cleaners ($60 per person-hour), written before the visit.
We are a small company ourselves: two owners, no employees, no subcontractors. So we sit somewhere between the two options, and we have no reason to pretend independent cleaners are a bad choice. Many are careful, honest and good. The useful question is which risks you are taking on with each, and how to check.
Is it cheaper to hire an independent house cleaner?
Usually, per hour. An independent has less overhead: perhaps no business license, no liability insurance, no B&O tax, no payroll. Some of that difference is efficiency. Some of it is risk that moves from the cleaner to you.
Compare the total, not the rate. Ask each one how many hours your home will take and what is included. A lower hourly rate with more hours, or a smaller task list, can cost the same in the end. Our article on house cleaning cost in Snohomish and King County puts local hourly rates for independents next to company prices for the same home.
| Independent cleaner (cash, unregistered) | Licensed business (company or solo) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | often lower | often higher |
| Business license and UBI | usually none | yes, checkable online |
| Liability insurance for damage | often none | usually yes; ask for the certificate |
| Who covers a sick day | often nobody | depends on the business |
| Written price and scope | sometimes | should be standard |
| Your paperwork as the client | possibly, if they count as your employee | none beyond paying the invoice |
Is my house cleaner my employee or a contractor?
It depends on control. The IRS says household workers are your employees if you can control not only the work they do but how they do it, and that people who provide their services as independent contractors are not your employees (IRS Topic 756, household employees).
In practice: if you set the hours, supply the products and tell the cleaner exactly how to do each task, and they work only for you, that can look like employment. If the cleaner runs their own business, sets their own methods, brings their own equipment and works for many clients, it looks like a contractor. A company you book through is the cleaner’s employer (or, in our case, the cleaners are the owners), and you are simply its customer.
If someone works in your home regularly and the line is unclear, the tax side is worth a short conversation with a tax professional. If they count as your household employee, you may owe employment taxes. We are not tax advisers, and this is general information.
Before
AfterWhat happens if an uninsured cleaner gets hurt in my home in Washington?
This is the question most people never ask until something happens. In Washington, workers’ compensation runs through the state Department of Labor & Industries. Businesses with employees must cover them. Households are treated differently: state law exempts a domestic servant in a private home when the employer has fewer than two employees regularly working 40 or more hours a week (RCW 51.12.020). Most families with a part-time cleaner fall under that exemption.
So if an independent cleaner falls on your stairs, who pays can depend on the details, and on your homeowner’s insurance. Ask your insurance agent what your policy covers if a worker is hurt on your property. Before hiring, you can look up whether a business has an active workers’ comp account with L&I’s verify a contractor or business tool, using its UBI.
For damage rather than injury, general liability insurance is what matters. Ours is $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, and we send the certificate on request.
Do cleaning companies do background checks?
Some do, some do not, and “background checked” can mean very different things. Ask any company who is checked, by whom, what the check covers and how recently it was done. A vague yes is not an answer.
The other approach is to know who is coming. Large companies often send whoever is on the schedule that day. With us, there is no one else to send: the people who clean are Yuri and Tatiana, the two owners named on the license. If you want to know who we are, here is why a former engineer cleans houses in Snohomish County.
Whoever you hire, put away cash, jewelry, medication and private papers before the first visit. That is not an accusation. It is the same thing you would do before any service visit, and a good cleaner prefers it, because nobody has to wonder later.
What should you ask an independent cleaner before hiring?
Ask these in writing, so the answers are on record. The same questions work for a company.
- Do you have a Washington business license? What is your UBI? (Our guide on checking a cleaning company’s license in Washington shows how to look it up in ten minutes.)
- Do you carry liability insurance? Can you send the certificate?
- Who exactly will come, and will it be the same person each visit?
- How many hours will my home take, and what is the total?
- What is included, and what costs extra?
- Do you bring supplies and equipment, or use mine?
- What happens if you are sick or your car breaks down?
- How do you take payment, and is there a receipt?
- What is your cancellation rule?
- If something is missed or broken, what do you do?
An independent with good answers to most of those is a fine choice. One who will not answer the first two is asking you to carry their risk without saying so.
So which should you hire?
Hire an independent if you have found someone you trust, the answers above are solid, and you are comfortable with the gaps (a sick day with no cover, insurance you may need to check yourself). Hire a licensed business if you want the paperwork, the insurance and a written price to be someone else’s job. Either way, check the license and insurance yourself rather than trusting a badge on a website.
Our recurring cleaning is priced openly: a fixed price per visit, weekly from $270, every two weeks from $290, monthly from $320 for a studio or 1-bedroom, all on the pricing page.
Our jobFAQ
Is it rude to ask a cleaner for proof of insurance?
No. Property managers and offices ask for it every time, and homeowners can too. A licensed, insured cleaner can send a certificate in a day. Ask before the first visit, not after something breaks.
Do you clean homes in Redmond?
Yes. We are licensed in Redmond and nine other cities in Snohomish and King County. Our license and endorsements are public: search Shining Cleanse LLC in the state Business Lookup.
What if a company sends different cleaners every time?
Ask whether you can request the same cleaner, and what notes they keep about your home. Continuity matters: a cleaner who knows your house works faster and misses less. With us, the same two owners come every visit.
Is a registered solo cleaner the same as a company?
For risk, mostly yes. A self-employed cleaner with a business license, a UBI and liability insurance is a licensed business. Check the record the same way you would check a company’s.
Get a written price
Text 2–4 photos of the kitchen, bathrooms and busiest room to (425) 539-5492 or request a written quote. Ask for our UBI or insurance certificate in the same message. We reply with a written price the same business day (Mon–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat 9am–5pm).
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