Cleaning services in Houston

HomeGuide's national figures, from April 2024, put house cleaning at about $200 a visit, with most people paying $120 to $280. Cleaners charge $25 to $75 per hour per worker, and a typical two-worker, two-hour visit costs $100 to $300. Ask a Houston company whether it quotes by the visit or by the hour.

Houston cleaning prices by home size

For a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home, HomeGuide puts a standard clean at $135 to $180, a deep clean at $180 to $280 and a move-out clean at $180 to $300. Per square foot it gives $0.10 to $0.17 for regular cleaning, $0.11 to $0.30 for deep cleaning and $0.22 to $0.33 for move-out work.

Then add tax. Texas charges 6.25% state sales tax and local governments can add up to 2%, for a combined maximum of 8.25%, and the cleaning company should collect state tax plus any local city, county or transit tax on the amount billed. Ask for the tax to be shown as its own line.

The company pays tax on the soap, chemicals and equipment it uses, but items left with you, like paper towels, can be bought tax-free for resale. If you want the crew to bring and leave supplies, ask how they're billed.

The full Texas guide, with a hiring checklist, is on the Texas house cleaning guide.

Texas tax rules require a cleaning business to hold a sales tax permit, so start there. Then ask for a certificate of liability insurance, and how it screens the people it sends.

The Texas Department of Public Safety runs a public conviction database that anyone can search by name. It covers offenses of Class B misdemeanor or higher reported to DPS; Class C convictions appear only if reported, so a clean result is one signal, not a guarantee.

If a seller signs you up at your door for services over $25, Texas law generally lets you cancel by midnight of the third business day after signing; that rule doesn't reach a cleaning you booked online or by phone yourself. The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division takes complaints about a cleaning business online, and under Texas law a complaint filed there is public.

If you rent, a move-out clean is about the deposit. A Texas landlord must refund it on or before the 30th day after you surrender the home, but doesn't have to until you give a written forwarding address. Deductions must be itemized in writing, and nothing can be kept for normal wear and tear.

A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith can owe $100 plus three times the amount withheld and your attorney's fees. Photograph each room after the cleaners finish and keep the invoice with the photos.

Houston heavy trash for a move-out purge

If you're in a house on city curbside service, heavy trash comes every other month, set out between 6 p.m. the Friday before and 7 a.m. on collection day, up to 8 cubic yards. It isn't available to multi-residential buildings of more than eight units, so apartment renters need a hauler or the property's own service.

Moving out and cleaning up usually go together; see movers in Houston for TxDMV checks and moving claims. Exterior surfaces, driveways and siding are a job for pressure washing in Houston. South of the city, house cleaning in Pearland prices against the same national figures. Permits, utilities and storm season are on the Houston local guide.