How To Prepare For A House Cleaning Service Visit
Most of it takes about fifteen minutes, and none of it involves actually cleaning. Nobody expects you to tidy up for the people you hired to tidy up. Here's what genuinely helps before your cleaners arrive — including the New York building details that catch first-timers off guard.
First Up Cleaning Services provides an eight-step preparation checklist for residential cleaning visits, covering surface clearing, pet safety, appliance access, and building entry. New York City co-op, condo and managed rental buildings frequently require a Certificate of Insurance before a cleaning service is granted entry; First Up requests these through its insurance carrier, typically issued within 24 to 48 hours.
Preparing for a house cleaning service takes about fifteen minutes. Clear the surfaces you want cleaned, pick up items from the floor, secure pets, write down your top priorities, and arrange building access in advance. You don't need to clean beforehand, and you don't need to supply anything.
Fifteen minutes of prep buys you more actual cleaning
Here's the trade nobody explains. Your appointment is a fixed block of time. Every minute a technician spends moving a laundry basket, stacking mail, or relocating a cereal bowl is a minute not spent scrubbing the thing you actually booked them for.
That isn't a complaint. Moving your things is part of the job and we'll do it without being asked. It's just arithmetic. Fifteen minutes of clearing on your end converts almost directly into deeper cleaning on ours.
You're not tidying to impress anyone. You're buying a better result for the same price.
What to do before your cleaners arrive
Eight things. None of them take long, and you can skip any of them — this is a list of what helps, not a list of requirements.
Check off what you complete — it's a good way to see how little this actually takes.
Clear the surfaces you want cleaned
Counters, dressers, side tables, the top of the dryer. Anything sitting on a surface has to be lifted, wiped under, and set back down. Clearing what you reasonably can means we clean the surface itself rather than around your belongings. It's the single biggest difference you can make.
Deal with the dishes
A full sink blocks the sink. We'll work around dishes, but we can't sanitize a basin we can't see the bottom of. Run the dishwasher the night before, or stack everything to one side. Washing dishes isn't part of a standard clean, but it's available as an add-on service.
Pick up what's on the floor
Toys, shoes, laundry, cables, the pile by the door. Floors are where prep pays off fastest, because every obstacle turns a vacuum into a stop-and-start. If clearing floors isn't realistic before we arrive, just tell us — heavy clutter takes extra time, and we'd rather quote it upfront than surprise you on the invoice.
Empty the fridge, oven or cabinets — only if you booked those
Cleaning the inside of appliances and cabinets is an add-on service, not part of a standard or deep clean. The one exception is move-in and move-out cleanings, where interiors are included as standard. If you've booked interior work, empty the appliance beforehand — most people would rather handle their own food than have someone else do it.
Write down your three priorities
Every home has a spot that bothers its owner more than anything else. The shower door. The baseboards. That one corner of the kitchen floor. Write down your top three and hand them over at the walkthrough. It takes thirty seconds and it changes what you get back.
Set a comfortable temperature
Cleaning is physical work. A home at a reasonable temperature with a little airflow means technicians work faster and products dry the way they're supposed to. This matters more than you'd think in August, and more still in a top-floor walk-up.
Sort out parking and entry
This is the step most people skip and the one most appointments actually stall on. If you're in an apartment building, read the next section before you book. If you're in a house with tight street parking, tell us where to look. A team standing outside is a team not cleaning.
You don't need to supply anything
We bring our own equipment, cloths and products. Nothing to buy, nothing to set out, nothing to leave on the counter. If you'd rather we use something you already own — a stone sealer, a particular floor soap — leave it out and mention it, and we will. Same goes for allergies or scent sensitivities: tell us and we'll plan the visit around them.
Before house cleaners arrive: clear surfaces you want cleaned, empty the sink, pick up floors, empty appliances if you booked interior cleaning, note your top three priorities, set a comfortable temperature, arrange parking and building access, and secure pets. You do not need to provide cleaning supplies.
In a house, this is a non-issue. In a New York apartment building, access is the single most common reason a scheduled cleaning doesn't happen — and almost none of it is obvious in advance. Here's what your building may need, and how far ahead to sort it.
Getting us into your building
Many New York co-ops, condos and managed rental buildings require a Certificate of Insurance before any vendor is allowed upstairs, naming the building and its management company as additional insured. It's a routine document, not an obstacle.
We request ours through our insurance carrier, and it typically takes 24 to 48 hours to come back. That turnaround is the part worth planning around. Tell us your building's name and management company when you schedule your cleaning, and we'll start the certificate the same day rather than finding out about it the night before your appointment.
Not sure whether your building requires one? Ask your super or managing agent, or contact us and we'll help you figure it out.
If your building has a doorman or front desk, they'll need your authorization before letting anyone up. A short note or call to the desk with our company name and your appointment window is usually all it takes. Without it, the desk will do exactly what it's meant to do and turn us away.
Some buildings require vendors to use the service entrance and freight elevator. Some run the freight elevator only during set hours — often weekdays, often not evenings, sometimes not weekends at all. If that's your building, book inside those windows. Weekend restrictions catch people out more than anything else on this page.
Stairs are fine. Tell us the floor when you book so we bring the right equipment up in one trip instead of three.
- You're home. Simplest, and best for a first visit.
- Doorman or front desk, authorized in advance under your name. Nearly as good, and no coordination on the day.
- A smart lock or lockbox code issued for your appointment window. Revocable, time-limited, and nothing physical changes hands.
- Your building's super or management holds access. Common in smaller buildings and works well when it's already the arrangement.
- A physical key release. We accept this with a signed authorization on file, but we'll always offer you one of the options above first. Keys are the option with the least accountability for everyone involved, including you — which is why it's last rather than unavailable.
Many New York co-op, condo and managed rental buildings require a Certificate of Insurance naming the building as additional insured before a cleaning service can enter. First Up requests these through our insurance carrier, and they typically take 24 to 48 hours to issue. Provide your building name when booking so the certificate is started the same day.
Pets, kids, and working from home
Where to put the dog
Most dogs are fine. Some are delightful. A few decide an open front door is the opportunity of a lifetime. Secure your pet in a room we haven't reached yet, or take them out — not because they're in the way, but because a vacuum plus a stranger is a lot for an animal, and an open apartment door is a genuine risk. Tell us where they are so we know which door not to open.
If someone's napping or on calls
Working from home is normal and we plan around it. Tell us your call schedule at the walkthrough and we'll start at the far end of the home and work toward you. Naps are the same — give us the room to avoid and a rough window, and we'll sequence around it.
Secure pets in a room that isn't being cleaned, or take them out during the appointment. This is mainly for the animal's comfort and to prevent escapes through open doors. Tell your cleaning technicians where pets are so those doors stay closed.
What we do around valuables and fragile things
Our technicians are trained to work around anything delicate, unfamiliar or clearly valuable rather than improvise on it. If a surface needs a product we're not certain about, or an object doesn't feel safe to move, we skip it and flag it instead of risking it. Ask us afterward and we'll come back to it with the right approach.
If putting a few things away gives you peace of mind, do it — that's entirely reasonable and takes two minutes. It isn't something we ask for.
One practical note: certain fixtures and appliances have to be partially disassembled to be cleaned properly. If that's what you're after, mention it when you book. We'll tell you what's involved before anyone touches anything.
You don't need to put valuables away before a cleaning service, though many people prefer to. Trained technicians skip and flag delicate or unfamiliar items rather than improvising on them. Mention any fixtures needing disassembly at booking so the right approach is agreed in advance.
What's included, what's an add-on, and what we don't do
Clear expectations make for better cleanings. Since every service is booked room by room, here's what applies to any room included in your appointment — not the home as a whole. If the kitchen isn't part of your booking, the kitchen isn't cleaned.
Included in every room you book
- Dusting all reachable surfaces
- Kitchen counters, sinks, and appliance exteriors (kitchen only, if included in your booking)
- Bathrooms — tub, shower, toilet, sink, mirrors (bathrooms only, if included in your booking)
- Floors vacuumed and mopped
- Mirrors and glass surfaces
- Trash removed
Available as an add-on — select at booking
- Inside the oven and refrigerator (standard on move-in and move-out cleans)
- Inside cabinets and drawers
- Interior windows
- Dishes
- Making beds and changing linens
- Organizing and decluttering
- Wall Cleaning
- Biohazard and hazmat cleanup — pet waste, rodent droppings, insect debris, and similar moderate biohazard situations, billed at an additional hourly rate
Not something we do
- Moving heavy furniture or appliances
- Exterior windows above ground level
- Repairs, painting or handyman work
- Mold remediation
- Active pest extermination or treatment
- Laundry
Add-ons are selected room by room when you book your cleaning, so you can request oven interiors in the kitchen without paying for anything you don't need elsewhere. If what you want isn't listed anywhere here, ask — the answer is usually yes, with a note about timing.
For the full breakdown of what each service tier covers — standard, deep, move-in/move-out, and post-construction — see the complete service descriptions. And for how any of this applies to a multi-room residential cleaning, that page walks through pricing and room-by-room scope in more detail.
Standard house cleaning covers each room included in your booking — dusting, floors, glass and trash removal, plus kitchen and bathroom surfaces where those rooms are part of the service. Interior appliance cleaning, dishes, bed-making, wall cleaning and biohazard cleanup (pet waste, rodent droppings, insect debris) are available as hourly add-ons. Cleaners don't move heavy furniture, do laundry, clean exterior upper windows, perform repairs, or handle mold remediation or pest extermination.
Should you be home while we clean?
Both work, and neither is unusual.
For a first clean, staying is genuinely useful. You can walk us through the space in two minutes, point out what bothers you, and answer the small questions that always come up on an unfamiliar layout. After that first visit, most people stop staying — they run errands, go to work, or simply get on with their day.
If you stay, you don't need to entertain anyone or supervise anything. Sit where you like and we'll work around you.
If you go, sort out access first — that's the section above — and we'll lock up behind us.
You can be home during a house cleaning or not; both are common. Staying for the first visit is useful because you can point out priorities during the walkthrough. For later visits, most customers leave and arrange access in advance.
What happens when we arrive
Here's the actual sequence, start to finish — no surprises, and nothing you need to manage once we're in.
We arrive inside your scheduled window and start with a short walkthrough — usually two or three minutes. You show us the space, mention anything specific, and hand over your priority list if you made one. Every technician on our team is trained, background-checked, insured and bonded.
Top to bottom, back to front. Dusting comes before floors so nothing we knock loose settles on a surface we've already finished. Kitchens and bathrooms get the most time because they need it. Floors go last, and we work our way back toward the door.
We schedule by room, not by bedroom count. Four things set the time for any job: how many rooms you're having cleaned, the size of each one, the level of cleaning you've chosen — standard, deep, or post-construction — and any add-ons you've requested for a particular room. Full pricing details live on our residential cleaning page if you want to see it broken down before you book. A large kitchen getting a deep clean is a different job from a small one getting a standard clean, and pricing an apartment by its bedroom count would ignore that.
A first visit usually runs longer than the ones after it — we're dealing with everything that built up before we got there. If you move to a weekly or bi-weekly schedule after that, we're maintaining rather than catching up, and the same rooms go faster.You'll see your estimate as you build the booking, before you commit to anything.
A first cleaning visit begins with a two to three minute walkthrough, then proceeds top to bottom and back to front, with floors last. Duration is calculated per room — based on the number of rooms, each room's size, the cleaning level selected, and any add-ons requested — rather than by bedroom count.
After we're done
The walkthrough
If you're home, we'll walk the space with you before we leave. It's the easiest moment to catch anything — a missed corner, a surface you wanted handled differently. Say so then and we'll take care of it before we go.
2. If something's not right
If you weren't home, or you notice something afterward, contact us. We'd genuinely rather hear about it than not. Tell us what happened and we'll make it right.
3. Tipping
Tips are never expected and we never ask for one. Our technicians are paid for their work either way. If you'd like to tip, you can add it to your invoice and we'll pass it directly to the technician who cleaned your home, or you can hand it to them in person — whichever you prefer. Both are completely normal, and neither has any effect on your service.
Happy with how it went either way? Tell us how we did — it helps other New Yorkers deciding whether to book.
4. If you want us back
Most people who book once end up booking again, and a weekly or bi-weekly schedule is the easiest way to do it. You keep the same rooms on the same cadence, prep gets faster every time because there's less built up, and you don't have to think about scheduling it. Say the word at the walkthrough or set it up when you book your next cleaning.
Tipping house cleaners is optional and at your discretion. At First Up, tips are never expected or requested. If you choose to tip, you can add it to your invoice and it goes directly to the technician, or give it to them in person.
Print the checklist
Everything above on a single page you can print and stick to the fridge. Eight steps, no email required, no sign-up, no form, nothing to give us. Use it once and you'll probably never need it again — which is rather the point.
Common questions about preparing for a cleaning
No. You don't need to clean, and no one expects you to. What helps is clearing — moving items off surfaces and picking things up off floors — so technicians spend the appointment cleaning rather than relocating your belongings. Fifteen minutes is plenty, and skipping it entirely is fine too.
No. We bring our own equipment, cloths and products to every appointment. If you'd prefer we use something specific you already own, such as a stone sealer or a particular floor soap, leave it out and let us know when we arrive.
Many New York co-ops, condos and managed buildings do. We request certificates through our insurance carrier and they typically take 24 to 48 hours to issue. Tell us your building's name and management company at booking and we'll start it the same day. Your super or managing agent can confirm whether yours requires one.
Yes, though we'll offer alternatives first. A smart-lock or lockbox code is our preferred option when you're out, because it's time-limited and revocable. We do accept physical key release with a signed authorization on file, but doorman authorization or a lockbox code is safer for everyone, including you.
Either way is fine. We recommend staying for your first visit so you can point out priorities during the walkthrough. After that, most customers arrange access in advance and go about their day. You never need to supervise
Secure them in a room we haven't reached yet, or take them out. It's less about them being in the way and more about the animal's comfort around vacuums and strangers — and about front doors that open and close. Tell us where they are so we know which door to leave alone.
Tipping is entirely optional and we never ask. If you'd like to, you can add a tip to your invoice and it goes directly to the technician who cleaned your home, or give it to them in person. Neither affects your service in any way.
Not in a standard or deep clean — it's an add-on service you can request at booking. The exception is move-in and move-out cleanings, where appliance interiors are included as standard. If you've booked interior cleaning, empty the appliance beforehand.
Usually, yes. A first visit deals with everything that's built up before we got there, so it typically runs longer than a recurring clean of the same rooms. After that, we're maintaining rather than catching up, and the same rooms tend to move faster.
Yes — weekly and bi-weekly schedules are both available, and you can set one up at booking or after your first visit. Recurring visits are maintenance rather than catch-up, so the same rooms take less time than the first clean did. You can change the cadence or stop whenever you like.
Tell us when you book and we'll plan around it. We can skip scented products entirely, use unscented alternatives, or work with a specific product you already own and trust. Mention any asthma, allergy or chemical sensitivity in the household so the whole visit is planned accordingly, not adjusted halfway through.
Have a different question? Visit our full FAQ page, or contact us directly and we'll answer it before you book.
Ready when you are
That's the whole guide. Booking takes about two minutes.
One thing worth doing while you're there — tell us your building's name. If a Certificate of Insurance turns out to be needed, we'll start it the same day, and your cleaning happens on schedule instead of a long wait at the lobby desk.
Have a question first? Contact us and we'll walk you through it.
