Guide · Before you book
What to look for when hiring a cleaning company.
Ten things worth checking before anyone gets a key to your home, whichever company you choose. For each one: the question to ask, why it matters, and how we answer it ourselves, so you can hold us to the same list.
By Core Cleaning Ontario · Updated
- 01
Insurance
Ask
Who actually does the work, and do they carry commercial liability insurance? Can you see proof of it?
Why it matters
If something is damaged during a visit, liability insurance is what pays for it. A spoken yes is not proof; a current certificate is. Where one company books the job and another does it, ask about the one that will be in your home.
How we answer it
Our service partners are independent local cleaning businesses. We ask each one about its business registration and its liability insurance when it applies to work with us. We have not verified either, and we make no claim on a partner's behalf. If cover matters to you, and it reasonably might, ask us before you book.
What we ask of partners - 02
Scope of work
Ask
What exactly does a visit cover, room by room, and what counts as extra?
Why it matters
"A clean" means something different at every company. Without a written scope you cannot tell whether a missed oven was a mistake or was never included.
How we answer it
The Core Cleaning Ontario Standard lists what every visit covers and what only a deep, move-in or move-out clean reaches, room by room. The scope of your visit is confirmed with you in writing before it is booked.
The Core Cleaning Ontario Standard - 03
Pricing
Ask
Is the price published, or only given after a call or a walk-through? What can change it?
Why it matters
A company that only prices over the phone can price every caller differently. Knowing what moves the number, bathrooms, condition, add-ons, tells you whether the first figure is going to hold.
How we answer it
Starting prices are published by service and bedroom count, before HST: standard cleaning from $165 + HST for a one-bedroom home. The quote form shows your estimate before you send it, and we confirm the final price in writing before anything is booked.
See pricing - 04
Scheduling
Ask
How do I choose the day? Can I set a regular schedule, and will it be the same people each time?
Why it matters
Availability is where a good quote quietly falls apart: the price is fine, but the earliest date is weeks away, or a recurring slot keeps moving.
How we answer it
You give us a date and a time of day, or tell us you are flexible, and we check who is free in your area before we quote. Recurring work runs weekly, every 2 weeks or every 4 weeks on a day you set. Recurring work stays with the same service partner wherever we can, rather than going out again to whoever is free that week. Nobody has to learn your house twice, and your preferences travel with every visit.
Recurring cleaning - 05
Cancellation policy
Ask
How much notice do you need to cancel or move a visit, and is there a charge?
Why it matters
Late-cancellation terms vary a great deal between companies. The time to learn the rule is before you book, not on the morning you need to move a visit.
How we answer it
Cancelling before you have approved a quote costs nothing and takes one message. Once a visit is scheduled, the notice we ask for is confirmed with you in writing when it is booked. Our policy publishes no cancellation fee, because none has been set.
Cancellation policy - 06
Supplies and equipment
Ask
Do you bring your own products and equipment? Can I ask for eco-friendly, fragrance-free or my own?
Why it matters
If you have to supply everything, the price is not comparable with one that includes it. Allergies, pets and some surfaces need particular products, and that is better settled before the visit than at the door.
How we answer it
Products, cloths and the vacuum come from the service partner, not from you. A product preference goes on the quote form and onto the work order, so it is settled before anyone arrives.
Cleaning questions - 07
Property access
Ask
Do I need to be home? How are keys, codes and lockboxes handled?
Why it matters
Many regular cleans happen while people are at work. Access should be agreed in advance and written down, not improvised on the doorstep.
How we answer it
Keys, codes and lockboxes are ordinary in this trade. Access is agreed with you before the first visit and goes on the work order, so nobody turns up unable to get in.
How it works - 08
Communication
Ask
Who do I contact before and after the visit, and how quickly do they reply?
Why it matters
With some services the company that took the booking is not the one you deal with on the day. Know who answers when something needs changing, or putting right.
How we answer it
You deal with Core Cleaning Ontario throughout: the quote, the date, a change of plan and anything afterwards. We confirm prices within the hour during business hours, or first thing the next business day, or tell you then if a job needs a closer look first. Call (289) 204-2266 or email us.
About us - 09
Reviews
Ask
Where are your reviews, and whose customers wrote them?
Why it matters
Reviews on a company's own website are chosen by the company. Reviews on its Google Business Profile are harder to curate. And where another business does the work, check whose customers the reviews are from.
How we answer it
The customer reviews on our site belong to the service partner whose customers wrote them, and they are labelled that way rather than presented as ours. Reviews of Core Cleaning Ontario itself are left on our Google Business Profile.
Leave us a review - 10
What is actually included
Ask
What is not included in a normal visit, and what does it cost to add?
Why it matters
The jobs most often missing from "a clean" are inside the oven, inside the fridge, inside the cabinets and the interior windows. Ask before the visit, not after it.
How we answer it
Those sit outside a standard visit and are added on request, quoted with the job rather than charged afterwards. A move-in or move-out clean includes all four; a deep clean includes the interior glass.
Add-on services
The short version
Get the scope and the price in writing before anything is booked, know who will actually be in your home and what cover they carry, and know who to call afterwards. A company that answers all ten without being chased is usually the one to choose.
More guides
Checklist
Preparing for a cleaningComparison
Deep vs regular cleaningPrintable checklist
Move-out cleaning checklist
Need cleaning help?
Tell us what type of property you have, where it is and what needs cleaning. We will help you work out the right service and give you a straightforward quote, in writing, before anything is booked.
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