What starting in domestic and oven cleaning involves
Domestic cleaning covers regular cleans in people's homes, usually weekly or fortnightly, along with one-off jobs like oven cleans, end-of-tenancy and deep cleans. How often a customer comes back: every week or fortnight for a regular clean, and one-off for oven and deep cleans. The aim is to build a list of people you serve again and again.
Customers come back often, so a regular book of a few hundred cleans can fill a working week. A tight, well-priced round matters more than any single job.
The order to do things in
- Decide whether you'll do regular cleans, one-off cleans or both
- Get public liability insurance, and ask about cover for keys and customer belongings
- Work out an hourly or per-clean price using time and rate, with a minimum visit
- Consider a basic DBS check, because customers trust you with their home
- Build up regular weekly or fortnightly customers first, and add one-offs around them
- Agree your terms in writing: hours, holidays, cancellations and keys
Kit to start with
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| A reliable car and a caddy of products | Most domestic cleaners use their own car |
| A good vacuum, mop and microfibre cloths | Or use the customer's, if you agree it |
| Oven-cleaning kit | If you offer one-off oven cleans, you'll need specialist products and protective gear |
| Gloves and protective clothing | Many cleaning products are irritants |
| A way to store keys and codes safely | You'll be trusted with people's homes |
Running costs to expect: cleaning products, cloths and sponges, vacuum bags and filters, gloves, oven-cleaning chemicals.
Rules to check before you start
- COSHH rules apply to the chemicals you use. HSE's guide explains the assessments you should make
- You'll hold customers' names, addresses and key details. Check whether you need to pay the data protection fee to the ICO
Also read insurance for domestic cleaners before you take your first customer.
Finding your first customers
- Local Facebook groups and Nextdoor, where people regularly ask 'does anyone know a cleaner?'
- Word of mouth: ask each regular customer to mention you to a friend or neighbour
- Estate agents and landlords who need end-of-tenancy cleans
- Leaflets in nicer neighbourhoods and new-build estates
- A simple website or a Google Business Profile with your reviews
More in how to get your first customers.
How many customers you'll need
Using the example sums in how to price domestic and oven cleaning, about 41 jobs a month earns £2,000 after costs. That's roughly 19 regular customers. Work it out with your own numbers before you promise yourself anything.
Mistakes new domestic cleaners make
- Pricing one-off cleans like regular ones when they take far longer
- Not agreeing a cancellation or holiday policy
- Carrying other people's keys without a plan if they're lost
- Chasing payment in person, which is awkward for both of you
Run your domestic and oven cleaning in WorkWise
A repeat diary: Weekly and fortnightly slots that repeat themselves, with one-offs added around them.