Cleaning services in Abilene

HomeGuide (national, April 2024) puts a move-out clean of a three-bedroom, two-bath home at $180 to $300, or $0.22 to $0.33 per square foot. Book it once the truck is gone and the trash is set out on your collection day, which is Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday.

Your Texas landlord has 30 days after you surrender the home to refund the deposit, once you've given a written forwarding address. Normal wear and tear can't be deducted, and deductions must be itemized. Photograph each room after the clean, with the date, and keep the cleaner's receipt listing what was done. Keeping a deposit in bad faith can cost a landlord $100, three times the amount withheld and your attorney's fees.

The Texas Comptroller treats cleaning a home the same as cleaning an office: it's a taxable real property service, and the business needs a sales tax permit. Tax is the 6.25% state rate plus any city, county, special district or transit tax, up to 8.25% combined. Window, floor, wall and duct cleaning and similar work all count.

The exception the Comptroller describes is a self-employed housekeeper hired directly by the household. A housekeeper sent by a maid service doesn't qualify, so a company that bills you without tax should explain why. Cleaning bought by a builder as part of a new home isn't taxable. Cleaning companies pay tax on the chemicals and equipment they use, but can buy items they leave with you, such as paper towels, tax-free for resale, so check how supplies appear on the invoice.

Regular cleaning averages about $200 a visit nationally, with most paying $120 to $280, or $25 to $75 an hour per worker; a standard clean of a three-bedroom, two-bath home runs $135 to $180 and a deep clean $180 to $280 (HomeGuide, April 2024). The Texas house cleaning guide has more.

Some households run names through the Texas DPS public conviction database, which covers offenses of Class B misdemeanor and above reported to DPS. If a cleaner came to your door and you agreed there to more than $25 of services, Texas law generally lets you cancel by midnight of the third business day after signing; a clean you booked yourself online or by phone isn't covered. A consumer complaint to the Attorney General's office becomes public record.

Pair the clean with movers in Abilene, compare cleaning services in San Angelo, or read the Abilene local guide for trash days.