I'm trying out a new cleaning lady. The last one came two weeks ago, then canceled the next appointment last-second claiming she doesn't want to work in this part of town. (Nothing wrong with the area -- she supposedly just doesn't want to drive that far.) The first/only time she was here she had cleaned for three hours and left a lot undone. DD and a friend cleaned the rest.

Another cleaning lady (a friend had arranged cleaning after I had surgeries) was able to efficiently clean the whole house in 4 hrs.

Today's cleaning lady stopped by and gave us an estimate of 3-3 1/2 hrs but has been here six. Would you pay her extra for being extra thorough, or just pay the agreed-upon amount because she's so slow? Also if i use her again it will be with the stipulation that she does what she can in four hours then catches up the remainder the next time.

I switched providers once and it made a big difference. I ended up using office cleaning phoenix az for occasional deep cleans, and it took a lot of pressure off me because they handled the tougher stuff with green products and good communication. Even if you’re mostly looking for help at home, trying a pro service once in a while can give you a better baseline for what you want from a regular cleaner.