Cleaning your toilets and scrubbing your floors is probably something you wouldn’t mind giving up. But is it worth it to have someone come in and do it for you?

That depends—on your income, the size of your family, and what you expect from a house cleaner.

Caterpillar Executive Kathy Mock has had a house cleaner for about eight years. She has her house cleaned twice a month at about $85 a day—“because the appearance and cleanliness in my home is top priority, but so is everything else,” said Mock. She’s like a lot of people: she works more than 40 hours a week and has a family. She doesn’t have time to do a top-notch job of cleaning.

Mock has had four different house cleaners, some better than others. She said to watch out for people who don’t do detailed work, especially the cracks and crevices in the kitchen and bathroom. “I can vacuum myself,” she said.

Mock said she would have to cut back on work or other, more important responsibilities to keep up with the house cleaning. That’s where a financial analyst comes in. Is it cost effective for Mock to hire someone to clean her home?

Joshua Beenders with Thrivent Financial did the math for us. He said there are a lot of variables that go into this equation. So we looked at the average cost for you to have someone clean your home in the Peoria area, which is $80. For it to be cost effective to hire a personal cleaner, he said you should be making at least $51,000 a year. However, if you aren’t taking time off work to clean, it would be up to you to decide how much your time is worth.

The equation doesn’t take into account kids’ college funds, retirement plans, debt-to-income ratios, or how many kids you have. “The main thing to keep in mind is, if you’re paying out more than you’re earning on an hourly basis, it doesn’t make sense to hire a house cleaner, ” Beenders said.

Lois Stamper, owner of Design a Maid, has been in the house cleaning businesses for almost 20 years. She said the demand for professional cleaners has increased dramatically, and so has the competition. She charges $20 an hour after the first visit—$75 to $80 per visit for the average house.

Some things Stamper said to watch for before you hire someone: make sure they’re bonded and licensed, ask the company if they do a background check on cleaners, and find out whether the company offers any guarantees.

Stamper said, “If someone calls me with a complaint, the first thing I do is ask the girls what happened. If it wasn’t done right, I send the girls back or send the homeowner a gift certificate. My main purpose is to serve my customers well and have a good reputation.”

Stamper and homeowner Kathy Mock both said establishing a relationship is key to getting what you want out of the process. “It’s an honorable profession, and my cleaner takes it very seriously. She goes above and beyond. She does special things for me that I never ask or expect. In return, I give her a little extra money or nice gift. The relationship is important,” Mock said. TPW