Terms and Conditions

When you book a cleaning with Seattle Sparkle Clean, you agree to the following Terms and Conditions.

 

ARRIVAL TIME WINDOW

Our cleaners arrive during a one-hour window to help account for unpredictable factors such as traffic, parking, and other surprises. Your cleaner will arrive, for instance, between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. or between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. If our team happens to be running later than the indicated arrival window, we will notify you.

 

PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR A CLEANING

When your home is tidy and clutter-free it allows us to deliver much better results.
Before each cleaning service we recommend you:

•    Declutter. Remove all small items on surfaces, including floors, in living areas, bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen. When surfaces are clear, we can concentrate on scrubbing and disinfecting them. We do not separate dirty laundry from clean clothes or from other items. We are available to do laundry for an extra fee, as long as you arrange it with us ahead of time.
•    Prepare your kitchen. Put all dirty dishes in the dishwasher and be sure the sink is clear. If necessary, we will load the dishwasher, but this takes us away from other tasks and is not an efficient use of our time. We do not wash dishes or unload the dishwasher. Clear the stove top of pots and pans. Put all food away.
•    Prepare your bathroom. Clear the countertops and floors and make sure all towels are either removed or hung neatly on racks or hooks.
•    Prepare living areas. If you wish for our cleaner to do a thorough dusting, remove all knickknacks and other items from surfaces. Otherwise, we will dust around them. Put away all toys, books, magazines, and other items. Remember that we are a professional cleaning service. If we have to fill our time with general housekeeping duties, the results will not be as thorough.
•    Prepare bedrooms. Remove all items from floors, including clothing, shoes, toys, and books. If the floor is covered with items, we will do our best to clean around them. If it’s possible to move it to one side quickly, we will do so. We will do only very light organizing.
•    Plan your time. Please do your best to give our cleaners space so they have full access to the room they are cleaning and can deliver the best service possible. This includes pets and children: for everyone’s safety, keep them out of the way and do not let them touch cleaning supplies and equipment.
•    Be available. Please understand that our cleaners are on a strict schedule. Please plan your work calls and meetings before you schedule your cleaning.

 

SATISFACTION GUARANTEE

We are committed to providing excellent cleaning services to all of our customers. If you are unsatisfied in any way, contact us to discuss your concerns. We will address them immediately and do everything we can, within reason, to make it right.

If you’re not satisfied with our service, this is our procedure:
•    Contact us within 24 hours of your cleaning to notify us and explain your concern/s.
•    Provide us with photos if we request them.
•    We give you a 48-hour grace period to notify us about any concerns following your Move-in/Move-Out cleaning.
•    We will schedule a return to your home at no cost to you as quickly as possible, given our schedule. Our team will address the concern by re-cleaning the problem area/s.
•    If you are still not satisfied following our re-cleaning, we will review your issues a second time. If we determine that we cannot address your concerns to your satisfaction, we will issue you a credit or refund.

 

DAMAGE POLICY

If our team damages or loses something on your property, our cleaners will notify us and our office will let you know immediately. If a member of our team damages, breaks, or loses something and it is their fault, we consider our company responsible for fixing or replacing it. We will coordinate repair or replacement with you and will aim to address it as quickly as possible.

Our cleaning professionals are trained to treat your home with care. If our cleaners break or damage your property and do not report it, you must notify Seattle Sparkle Clean within 24 hours of the cleaning service. Contact us via email or phone, provide us with a photo, and give us an estimate for the damages.

Once we receive notification, we will arrange to repair or replace the broken, damaged, or lost item to the best of our ability. We reserve the right to contract with a professional contractor of our choice to repair damages and will make payment arrangements directly with said contractor.

We are not responsible for breakage due to normal wear and tear, deterioration caused by age, or damage caused by improper assembly, construction, or mounting of an item.

Please inform us prior to your service if any items in your home are not functioning properly or require special handling. If an item needs to be handled with extra care or is not to be handled at all, it is your responsibility to let your cleaner know ahead of time. If something was prone to breaking or damage, you did not let us know beforehand, and it breaks or is damaged while our cleaner was handling it, we consider the damage or breakage your responsibility.

If a surface or object is made of a material that requires a special cleaning method or product, you are responsible for letting us know ahead of time. Otherwise, we will use our best judgment and are not responsible for any resulting damage.

To avoid damaging your property, we only use strong chemicals in specific circumstances: to clean toilets, showers, tubs, and other hard-to-clean surfaces. In living areas, we use soft cloths, sponges, and other non-abrasive items. We are careful not to use abrasive products on sensitive surfaces, such as high-gloss stove tops.

If you ask us to use your cleaning supplies, you do so at your own risk. If, for instance, you ask us to use your vacuum cleaner and it stops working or breaks while we’re using it, we are not responsible for vacuum cleaner repairs or for the fact that we were unable to finish vacuuming your home. Our cleaners are always careful with your items but, as they are not trained to use your equipment or cleaning products, our insurance will not cover your losses in these cases.

 

BACKGROUND CHECKS

– We consider each applicant seriously before we hire them.
– We interview every candidate twice and only 20% of our job applicants get a job offer.
– All our cleaners are background checked before we hire them.
– we know every one of our cleaners personally and get to know them well.

48-HOUR CANCELLATION POLICY

We require 48 hours' notice for all cancellations. If you cancel less than 48 hours before the scheduled start of your service, you will be charged a $50 cancellation fee. If our cleaners arrive at your home and you cancel the service on the spot, you will be charged the full rate for the service.

This policy allows us to protect and compensate our workers when, through no fault of their own, a service is canceled without adequate time for us to schedule a replacement service. Remember that when you schedule with us, we set aside time for you. Please respect our scheduling process and our staff’s time by letting us know at least 48 hours in advance if you need to cancel or reschedule. Given enough time, we will gladly accommodate.

 

FAIRNESS POLICY

We train our cleaning teams to clean using a comprehensive checklist for each service. In other words, our teams generally clean until the job is finished. That said, for the sustainability of our business we instruct our cleaning teams to adhere to estimated time limits we believe to be reasonable.

We understand, however, that every job is different and that sometimes our cleaners will need to stay beyond the estimated time limits. To ensure the satisfaction of our customers, our fairness policy allows our cleaners to work up to 25% longer than the estimated time for a given property without charging the customer more.

If our cleaners need to stay beyond this extended time period, they will communicate the need for additional time and charges and continue working only if you agree. We have found our flat-rate time estimates to be extremely accurate, having only charged for extra time in exceptional circumstances.

The fairness policy is in place to protect both our customers and our employees. You can be assured that our teams will never work more slowly on purpose in order to tack on extra charges at the end. And we can be assured that our staff will be paid for their extra time if your property needs extra attention.

 

RESPECT

In addition, our fairness policy states that our cleaning teams will be treated with respect. If they need to spend extra time on a property, they will be paid for that time. And they will never be subjected to aggressive or violent conduct or any circumstances or behavior that makes them feel unsafe or uncomfortable. We reserve the right to cancel bookings if our teams are not comfortable continuing a job.

 

PRICING

Our prices are non-negotiable. We do not haggle. We set our prices according to what we need in order to run a sustainable business while retaining a consistent, professional team that delivers excellent service.

We do not bring the price down in exchange for fewer services. Do not ask us to adjust our price based on the state of your home, the number of rooms you ask us to clean or not clean on a particular day, how long it takes our professionals to clean on a given day, or any other variable. Once you agree to these terms and conditions, you consent to paying the agreed-upon price for each service day.

Our services differ from those of an individual charging an hourly fee. If you need a cleaner to provide different services each time they clean, we suggest you look for a different company.  

 

BIOHAZARDS

Human and animal urine and feces, medical syringes, mucous, vomit, and blood are biohazards: organic matter that poses a danger to humans. For this reason, our cleaners will avoid these substances beyond tasks that are part of our cleaning checklist. For instance, if a child forgets to flush to the toilet, your cleaning professional will flush it before cleaning the bathroom; but they will not clean up dog feces or urine from the living room carpet.

If these substances are present, we notify you of their presence and clean around them to the best of our ability. If our staff feels unsafe, we have the right to cancel the service.

 

HOARDING CONDITIONS

If our cleaners arrive and clutter is accumulated in the home to the point that the home is unsafe (such as blocked access to portions of the property) or if excess clutter makes it impossible to clean surfaces, we will consider it a hoarding situation. Our cleaners will refuse service and you will be responsible for the full payment.

If you or your family member is dealing with hoarding:

•    Remove all excess items. You may need to rent a dumpster. Be sure to wear gloves, eye protection, a face mask, and other protective gear to protect yourself. Large piles of items can harbor mold, insects, or vermin. Hoarding cleanup crews are available for hire.
•    Following removal, assess whether or not there are any biohazards, chemical spills, disturbed asbestos, exposed mold, bodily fluids, human or animal waste, illicit drugs or their aftermath, etc. If so, you will need to hire a hazmat crew. These crews are licensed to handle high-risk cleanups safely.
•    Once the property is clear of clutter and high-risk substances are removed, our team is available for a deep cleaning service.

 

PARKING

Our cleaning teams require a place to park and vehicle access that is reasonably close to the door we will be using to access your property. If our cleaners have no option other than paid parking, we will inform you of the situation, ask for your consent to pay for our parking, and add the cost to your final invoice. If no parking is available, we have the right to cancel or reschedule your service.

 

ACCESS

Your cleaning professional will need full access to your home during the service. This includes access to running water and electricity. We expect our cleaners to be able to complete their work without interruption so please schedule any service providers who are fixing these types of services before—not during—your cleaning service. Monitor any pets or young children to ensure they do not interrupt our work.

If our staff arrives and finds that they will be unable to complete their work due to any kind of interruption, we will charge a $50 fee to cover travel expenses and to compensate for lost time.

 

PETS

If our professionals are unable to enter or feel unsafe entering your property due to an unsecured pet, we reserve the right to cancel or reschedule services. Our teams are instructed not to enter a property if they believe that a pet could be a potential threat. If our cleaners cannot enter the property due to an unsecured pet you will be charged a $50 fee.
 
Unless you have come to a prior agreement with your cleaner, pets must be secured at all times during your cleaning, especially if an adult is not present in the home during service. Please keep in mind that some pets behave differently when a family member is not present.

Though our cleaners are generally comfortable around dogs and cats, our services do not include looking after your pet’s well-being, monitoring their behavior, monitoring what or when they eat, letting your pets out or back in, or ensuring that they don’t escape through an open door. Any duties associated with pet-sitting are not included in our services. You are responsible for securing and looking after your pet or for finding another place for them to stay while we are cleaning.

If you have a pet:
•    Alert us prior to your first service so your cleaner or cleaning team will know what to expect and be able to prepare properly.
•    Let us know about your pet’s personality. Are they extra friendly and jumpy? Skittish around new people? Protective of you and your property? Afraid of loud noises? Please pass on any helpful information.
•    Communicate with your cleaner on the first day to come to an agreement about where your pets will be during your cleaning service.

 

ENTRY & LOCK OUTS

If you won’t be home to let us in, we ask that you provide us with entry instructions and, if necessary, an alarm code. We will charge a $50 fee if your cleaning professional arrives and is unable to access the property.

 

PAYMENT

We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. We place a hold on your card the day prior to service. You will not be charged until the evening of your completed service. If your card fails a security hold on your funds, we reserve the right to cancel the booking.
 

SAFETY

Due to safety concerns, we do not allow our cleaners to move and/or lift heavy items. They will also not clean high-reach areas, defined as beyond two steps on a stepladder.

If you would like us to clean behind large appliances or furniture, please move them before we arrive.

 

UNPREDICTABLE EVENTS

We reserve the right to cancel or reschedule any services due to unpredictable events. Such events include car accidents, traffic blocks, health and family emergencies, and other circumstances that are beyond our control. In the wake of these unusual circumstances, we are not liable for any undesirable outcomes.

 

RIGHT TO CHANGE, REFUSE, OR CANCEL SERVICE

We reserve the right to change, refuse, or cancel service for any reason. These may include:
•    Our professionals feeling threatened, unsafe, or uncomfortable for any reason.
•    Our professionals being unable to complete requested service within the maximum allowable time limit.
•    The condition of the property being different from what the customer indicated.
•    The requested service being different or more extensive than the original request by the customer.
•    Your routine cleaner getting sick. If this happens, we will send a replacement cleaning professional. We reserve the right to change your routine cleaning person if a cleaner gets sick.
•    The customer deciding the skip a cleaning. If this happens, we will notify you of a price increase. If you decide to skip this cleaning the price will increase and we will notify you.
•    The customer cancels cleaning services for five weeks or more. If this happens, if we don't clean your home for more than 5 weeks we will require a deep cleaning to start services again. charge you extra for a deep cleaning.