Cleaning Services FAQs

We provide residential and commercial cleaning across the Ottawa region: house and condo cleaning, housekeeping and recurring maintenance cleans, deep cleaning, move-in and move-out cleaning, interior window cleaning, Airbnb and short-term rental cleaning, real estate cleaning, office and commercial cleaning, janitorial service, call centre cleaning, building and condo cleaning, post-construction cleaning, carpet cleaning, steam cleaning, and floor strip and wax service.

The "Surface-Only" Boundary: This is a surface-level clean. We typically clean what is accessible without the need to open or move things, and within reach. This includes wiping down exterior surfaces and dusting around your knickknacks.

• The Rotation Benefit: Our recurring clients benefit from a home that stays clean year-round. Every other visit, we rotate in one or more "deep" task—like scrubbing baseboards or high dusting—to prevent heavy build-up at no extra cost. Our Goal: We aim to maintain your home with minimal build-up. Provided the house is kept in a manageable condition (not messy or overly dirty), this recurring service ensures your space stays fresh and detailed so you can avoid frequent deep cleanings.

This is for homes that need extra attention to remove build-up that has gathered over time. We spend much more time scrubbing and reaching hidden spots to give your home a total refresh.

• The "Special Request" Rule: To ensure we schedule enough time to get the job done right, the following items must be requested prior to your clean: Opening/Moving: Cleaning inside the fridge, oven, or cabinets, or moving heavy appliances. Extra Surfaces: Detailed window cleaning (glass, tracks, and sills), baseboards and wall spot-cleaning. Inside the fridge, oven and cabinets, baseboards, interior windows and wall spot-cleaning are extras you add in the booking form, each priced by the time it adds.
• Washroom Detail: We do a deep scrub of the toilet (including the base and the floor behind it), clean bathroom light fixtures (no chandeliers), and polish mirrors. We also clear hair from drains if they are easily accessible.
• Deep Sanitizing: We thoroughly disinfect high-touch areas. This includes a heavy-duty wipe of all light switches, door handles, and faucet bases where grime hides.
• Restorative Scrubbing: We go beyond a simple wipe. We spend extra time scrubbing bathroom grout and tile, removing hard water spots from fixtures, and degreasing heavy build-up on stovetops and vent hoods.
• Vertical Surfaces & Trim: We hand-wipe the parts of the home that are usually missed, such as door frames, door faces and cabinet edges.
• High-Reach & Vents: We address overhead dust on ceiling fans, air vent covers, crown mouldings, and high corners with cobwebs.
• Hidden Areas: We clean the dust and allergens hidden behind and under your beds, couches, and rugs.
• Edge-to-Edge Floors: We don’t just mop the middle; we scrub into the corners and along the edges where dust and hair accumulate.

Important Note on Timing: Our Deep Clean quotes are based on your house size and the typical scope of work, but they are capped at a specific number of hours. If a home’s condition requires us to work past the scheduled time to complete the checklist, additional hourly charges will apply.

Please read our blog on this topic at Regular Cleaning Vs Deep Cleaning (goodcleaner.ca)

When scheduling a Move Out or Move In cleaning, you can anticipate a comprehensive service for the empty home: the kitchen and bathrooms cleaned to the fixtures, the floors, and the door frames, light fixtures and corners a regular visit skips. The inside of the oven, refrigerator and cabinets, the baseboards and interior window cleaning are extras you add in the booking form, each priced by the time it adds. The aim of this cleaning is to restore the home to its original state, making it ready for new occupants.

Yes. You can book a one-time visit or a recurring schedule of weekly, biweekly or monthly cleanings. Recurring clients also benefit from our rotation system: every other visit we rotate in one or more deep tasks at no extra cost, so the home stays detailed year-round.

Yes. Alongside residential cleaning we provide office cleaning, janitorial service, call centre cleaning, and building and condo cleaning across the Ottawa region. Commercial work is quoted on the space and the scope of work, so contact our office to discuss what your workplace needs.

Yes. We provide Airbnb and short-term rental turnover cleaning, and real estate cleaning for homes being listed, shown or handed over.

Yes. We offer post-construction cleaning as an additional service. Because it requires extra time and preparation, please mention it when you book so we can allocate the necessary time.

Yes. We provide professional carpet cleaning and steam cleaning, and we also strip and wax hard floors.

We do offer cleaning services for basements, but we only clean finished areas of the basement. Our current scope of work does not include cleaning unfinished basement areas.

We only provide interior window cleaning services, and exterior window cleaning is not included.

We will clean under small objects and light furniture by moving them as necessary. Additionally, we will vacuum or mop under heavy furniture, such as beds and couches. However, we refrain from moving heavy furniture due to the risk of scratching floors. If customers prefer, they are welcome to move furniture for us, but our cleaning teams will not be instructed to do so themselves.

Our cleaning staff come equipped with their own cleaning tools and supplies. However, if you have any specific products or equipment you prefer to be used, feel free to leave them out for the cleaner. Our cleaners are instructed to disinfect and change all cloths and sponges between services, using separate ones for bathrooms, kitchens, and common areas.

For safety reasons our staff do not move heavy furniture, handle electronics, or perform outdoor cleaning. We also do not clean bodily fluids, pet waste, litter boxes, or infestations such as termites or fleas, and we do not water or maintain plants. Exterior windows and unfinished basement areas are outside our current scope of work.

We do not bring a ladder for reaching high areas. Clients are kindly requested to provide a 2-step ladder if cleaning of high areas is required.

We are happy to clean a home with pets, and we recommend keeping them in a designated area until the visit is finished. If that is not possible, let us know so the team can be mindful entering and leaving. We do not clean pet waste, litter boxes, or accidents such as urine or vomit, and we do not water or maintain plants.

Please feel free to use our cost estimating tool to calculate average cleaning cost in Ottawa How Much Does Average Cleaning Services in Ottawa Cost? (goodcleaner.ca)

Every home is different, so the price depends on the size of your home, its condition and the scope of work you need. The cleaning cost estimator on our website calculates the average cleaning cost in Ottawa for your home size, and the booking form prices your own visit from the rooms and extras you select.

It depends on how you book. When the booking form takes payment for a home in Ontario, the total it shows is the price you pay for the cleaning you selected, including HST, and anything more, such as extra time or paid parking, is billed separately. When the form sends a request instead, or for a home in Quebec, the figure is a non-binding estimate: we contact you, agree on the scope and the exact price together, and only then schedule your visit.

The most common additions are the actual cost of paid parking when no free parking is available, and extra time when a deep clean needs more than its capped hours or the home is very different from the details given at booking. Extra time is billed at our published hourly rate, and late cancellations or inaccessible homes carry the fees described in our cancellation policy.

Yes. We run a referral program that rewards you when someone books using your name, along with seasonal limited-time offers. Current deals are published on the promotions page of our website.

Use the online booking form on our website, call our office, or reach us through the contact page. The booking form prices your visit, then either takes payment for the booked price or sends us a request, and our office confirms the exact arrival time with you. For a request, we first contact you to agree on the scope of work and the exact price.

We review new bookings and requests during office hours, 8 AM to 8 PM every day, and contact you as soon as we can. A request sent without payment is never charged, and nothing about it is final until we have confirmed the details with you.

Yes. In the booking form you choose a date and an arrival window: morning (8 to 11 AM), midday (11 AM to 2 PM) or afternoon (2 to 5 PM). Our office then confirms the exact arrival time with you, and if the date needs to change we agree on a new one together.

Yes, we are open every day from 8 AM to 8 PM. Our weekend availability and last minute bookings are usually limited due to high demand. We will accommodate bookings on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ottawa region and partially in Gatineau, typically within a 40-kilometre radius from downtown Ottawa. Additional charges may apply if we agree to service areas beyond this radius. Online payment is not offered for homes in Quebec, so our office confirms Gatineau bookings and their price with you directly.

Our current cleaning service areas: Downtown Ottawa, Manor Park, Sandy Hill, Embrun, New Edinburgh, Tunney’s Pasture, Gloucester, LeBreton Flats, Metcalfe, Old Ottawa East, Westboro, Orleans, Rockcliffe Park, Russell, The Glebe, Hintonburg, Centretown, Lower Town, Alta Vista, Vanier, Old Ottawa South, Navan, ByWard Market, Greely, Cumberland, Civic Hospital, Osgoode, Rockland, and Manotick.

When you book online you choose an arrival window, and our office confirms the exact arrival time with you before the visit. We then offer a 30-minute arrival window around that time, which accommodates traffic and other unforeseen delays. If a team is running outside that window, contact our office and we will tell you where they are.

You can choose to be present during the service, allow the cleaner entry and then leave, or opt to not be present at all. You are also welcome to grant access to your cleaners through a key or lockbox. It's worth noting that our cleaners typically work most efficiently when the house is vacant of people and pets.

No cleaning is needed before we arrive, that is our job. A light tidy does help: our teams clean surfaces rather than organize belongings, so putting away clothes, toys, and dishes lets the visit go toward actual cleaning. Recurring standard cleans assume the home is kept in a manageable condition, and a home with heavy build-up is better served by booking a deep cleaning first.

Pets are welcome to stay home during the visit. Our cleaners typically work most efficiently when the space is free of people and pets, so many clients settle pets in a separate room or take them out for the visit. If you plan to be away, you can arrange entry for the cleaners through a key or lockbox.

We require parking to be available for our cleaning teams. If you reside in a city or an area with limited parking, kindly inform us whether we can use a private parking spot or if public parking is accessible. The actual cost of paid parking is added to the service cost. If the only parking is more than 100 metres away from your property, we agree any extra charge with you before the visit. Additionally, if no parking is provided and no public parking can be found (we typically search for up to 20 minutes), the 50% access charge in section 20 of our terms applies.

It depends on the booking. For a home in Ontario, the booking form can take the full booked price by card through Square as you book; the form shows this before you pay, and you tick a box agreeing to our Terms first. When the form sends a request instead, or for a home in Quebec, nothing is charged online and you only agree to a price after we have confirmed the scope of work with you.

If you pay online, you pay the full booked price, including HST, when you book, and any extra charge you approve later is paid through a secure Square link we email you. For a request, once we have agreed on the scope and you have accepted the quoted fee, our office arranges payment with you directly, and you never pay for a visit that has not been confirmed with you first.

Tips are appreciated but never mandatory. If you would like to tip your cleaning team, the suggested amount is 10-15% of the service fee.

To cancel or move your cleaning, please contact our office in writing, by email or in reply to your booking emails, at least 48 hours before the start of your booked arrival window or start time. If you call, we confirm your request by email. With 48 hours or more notice there is no fee, and moving your booking to another date is free. With less notice, a late cancellation fee of 50% of the booked price applies to cover the cleaners' wages, and the same 50% applies if our team cannot get into your home, cannot find parking, or has to stop because conditions in the home are unsafe. These fees already include HST. If you paid when you booked, we refund the rest to the card you paid with, and if we cancel for a reason of our own you pay nothing.

Yes. We conduct thorough criminal background checks on every team member to ensure the safety and security of your property.

We strive to assign the same team to your home for every cleaning session. We cannot guarantee it in every case, because availability changes with illness, vacation or team changes, but a familiar team is our default for recurring clients.

Our team members act professionally and respectfully at all times. They are instructed not to smoke, eat or drink in your home, and not to engage in any activity other than cleaning, including answering the phone or the door.

You are welcome to grant access through a key or a lockbox, and many clients who are away during the visit do. If your home has a security system, please ensure it is deactivated or provide us with the necessary code, and be sure to notify us if the code changes.

Put away cash, jewellery and anything of high value before the team arrives. While we take the utmost care during our cleaning process, we cannot be held responsible for items of high value, cash or jewellery left unsecured. In the rare event of damage, we will work to repair or replace items, provided the incident is reported within 48 hours of service.

In the rare event of damage, report it within 48 hours of the service with photos, and keep the item until we have seen it. We then repair it, replace it or pay its depreciated value. Securing cash, jewellery and other high-value items before the visit helps us protect both your home and our team.

Tell us within 24 hours of the visit and send photos of the areas of concern by email or in reply to your booking emails. Section 10 of our service terms explains what happens next, and nothing in those terms takes away your rights under consumer protection law.

Yes. Our staff arrive with their own tools and supplies, but if you prefer specific products or equipment, leave them out for the cleaner and they will use them. Our cleaners disinfect and change all cloths and sponges between services, using separate ones for bathrooms, kitchens and common areas.

We are a local Ottawa company, every team member passes a thorough criminal background check, and our cleaners bring their own supplies and equipment. We clean with eco-friendly products, recurring clients get rotating deep tasks at no extra cost, and our office answers the phone 8 AM to 8 PM every day.

We use eco-friendly cleaning products that are approved by Health Canada for safety and effectiveness, EPA-registered, Green Seal certified, and tested to AOAC efficacy standards for hospital disinfectants. If anyone in your home has sensitivities or you prefer specific products, leave them out and our cleaners will use those instead.

Yes. Good Cleaner Collective Corporation, operating as Good Cleaner Co., is a local company based in Orleans, Ottawa, with more than five successful years of service across the Ottawa region and partially in Gatineau.

Our customer reviews are published on our Google Business Profile, where you can see our current rating and read recent feedback from homes and businesses we clean.

One of the most common question regarding our Cleaning Services FAQs in service breakdown. Unfortunately, each client has unique needs, houses, and tasks, so we can only provide a detailed service breakdown once we have a clear understanding of what you're looking for. This way, we can tailor our services specifically to your requirements