Our customers love us

Dirt Detective rises above every time. We have used them for deep cleans, moves, and regular cleaning. We’ve referred them too. Great service, value and professionalism.

- Laura H.- Phoenix MD

I am so happy I decided to call Dirt Detectives based on other reviews. Their team did a deep clean of our whole first floor and bathrooms after us being home for nearly a year and a half during COVID. We could never keep up, and our house desperately needed a reset. I literally cannot believe how clean they got everything- stove, windows, light fixtures, etc etc. Everything is fresh and shiny. It’s so clean i just keep walking around staring at certain spots! I can’t wait to have them back for regular cleaning!

- Reverend Megan StewartSicking- Sparks Maryland

Wow! What a relief after a year of extra time at home, wear and tear from 2 boys and a new puppy. I was maintaining an average level of tidiness, but became musty and dusty overtime. Dirt Detectives came in for a deep clean with a team of professionals. In addition to the typical cleaning needs, They got the dust off the walls, got behind the beds, cleaned the windows, cleaned the fridge, inside the toaster even! I came home to a fresh new start. I opted for the ongoing standard cleanings. And it’s a huge weight off my shoulders. Coming home from work to an immaculate house brings me joy. Thank you, DD team!!

- Maura K- Towson Maryland

Entire crew was very professional, friendly and did a fantastic deep clean. Extremely detailed and you could tell they really take pride in their work. Thank you!

– Scott Townsend – Maryland

I live with my wonderful husband, wonderful thirteen year old twins, and wonderful four year old cats. While we are neat people, doesn’t mean our house is wonderfully clean……………..

Rochelle and her crew respectfully deep cleaned exactly how I wanted and gave my house a fresh and beautiful feel. They focused on what the difficult to reach spots, and then jumped in and then did some extra detailed cleaning that I hadn’t requested, but they had the time to do it and the knowledge to provide us with services we didn’t know our house needed.

I would recommend this company to anyone! Easy to deal with and very reasonable for the work they do, no cutting corners with this cleaning crew. If you want your house to sparkle, hire them.

- Allison Townsend - Maryland

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If you are looking for detailed cleaning services in Lutherville / Timonium Maryland check out this video we added below to see exactly how we clean.. You will see how we are not your typical house cleaning service . We move items to clean instead of cleaning around them. We spray the area to be cleaned , give it a good scrub, rinse the surface and then put items back once that area is clean and dry. It’s how you would clean your home if you had the time or energy.

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#1 House Cleaning Service in Lutherville Maryland

Dirt Detective Cleaning of Lutherville/ Timonium provides a consistent, high-quality cleaning experience. We offer whole home cleaning where we work off our standard checklist,
as well as hourly service for custom cleaning. Call us if you’d like to book hourly service.

We have mastered the science of cleaning and have a proven system to guarantee your satisfaction with your home cleaning every time. We can even add photos to your client portal of how you like your bed made, pillows arranged on your couch and any other detail that will ensure your happiness with your home cleaning by Dirt Detective Cleaning.

Our Professional house cleaners are motivated to deliver stellar cleaning services on each visit as we reward them with a bonus for 5 star reviews. Our goal is a happy client and happy cleaners!

Proud to be a Baltimore locally owned & managed House Cleaning & Maid service

Dirt Detective Cleaning offices are located in the heart of Lutherville Maryland. We serve the surrounding area and over 32 other areas. Serving most of Baltimore County & Harford County.

Check our Locations page to see if we serve your area. Not sure if we serve your area? Give us a call and request service in your area.

Trusted by families all over Baltimore County & Harford County Maryland

Maintaining a 5 star rating from our clients and garnering new business through referrals says it all.

We are bonded and insured for your protection and peace of mind.

Our Services

One-Time Deep Cleaning

Recurring Cleaning

Move In / Move Out

Learn More

Satisfaction Guaranteed!

It’s no mystery that we want you to be happy. We take great pride in our work and want you to be 100% happy with our service. If for any reason you are unhappy with an area we cleaned, simply call our office at 410-567-1641 and we will come back and reclean the area to your satisfaction. No questions asked, we are here to provide exceptional service.

Why Choose Us?

We devise a blueprint to detail all requests (even pictures of how you like your bed made) from our customers. This special step allows us to achieve the housecleaning that works best for you. Because your happiness is that important to us!

We Use Natural Cleaning Products

Our Reliable and Friendly Staff

Hassle-Free Service Customized for You

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does house cleaning cost ?

House Cleaning cost in Lutherville / Timonium Maryland It all depends on who you hire.

Those offering cleaning services include the followin 4 types of providers along with an average rate that they charge and the pros and cons of each provider

INDEPENDENT CLEANERS ( usually a 1 person operation who is looking to make extra money while in between jobs, however many independent contractors make cleaning their lifelong job as they enjoy the flexibility and working independently)

***** Independent cleaners charge between $25-30 per hour , based on that rate a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo, living room, dining , kitchen , family room and the cost would be around $120.00, a 3 bedroom 3 bath would be closer to $165.00 They can be found on Facebook groups, Nextdoor and Care.com or referred to you by friends and family ***

The PROS of an INDEPENDENT CLEANER—- 1.You can create a custom list of chores to be done and they will probably be ok with that as you are one of a handful of clients they serve and they will go out of their way to please you. 2. It cost lessthan other providers.

The CONS of an INDEPENDENT CLEANER— 1. Insurance most do not carry workers compensation or liability insurance, that means if they fall at your home, they can sue you, it would be paid out by your homeowners insurance or if it were a lifelong injury you could be held personally liable. It also means with no liability insurance if they forgot and left a sink running and flooded your home, or broke a priceless antique, or caught your house on fire you are on your own and it won’t be covered. 2. Background Checks Are you conducting a background check on them? Remember your home is where your favorite things and people are, you can’t be too careful with who you are letting in your home . If something goes missing, who is helping you? If it’s less than $5,000 and you dont have proof are you going to drag them through court to try to get your money back? 3. Supplies Who is providing the supplies for cleaning? Are they bringing the supplies? Are you providing the supplies? ( not so cheap anymore) are they using your vacuum? Who is liable if they suck something up in the hose and the vacuum no longer works when you go to use it?

Training..who trained them how to clean? Do they really know how to clean or just figured they would clean because , welp anyone can do it right? Have you seen those tick toks where people pour toilet bowl cleaner on shower tile floors? Does your cleaner know the difference between ceramic tile and marble? No? Welp she just ruined your $8,000 marble shower floor. Does your cleaner know NOT to spray your expensive TV with windex? 5. Reliability.. Kids get sick, cars break down, or maybe your cleaner decided to move back to South Carolina to be closer to family and you have a graduation party coming up in 2 days and your cleaner just cancelled.. Now what? 6. Vacation Pay / Taxes ..Summer is here and you are out of town every other week, and your cleaner wants you to pay her to save your spot. Maybe your cleaner has worked for you for over 5 years and now she is being audited. You show up as an “ employer” yet you have never contributed to her taxes and retirement.

LOCALLY OWNED CLEANING SERVICES

A locally owned and operated business is one that has an office near your community and serves the general area within a 25 mile radius of their main office.

*****LOCALLY OWNED CLEANING SERVICES charge between $45-65 an hour based on that rate a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo, living room, dining , kitchen , family room and the cost would be around $165.00 , a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom would be closer to $200.00 and they can be found in Google search results, home mailers and referred by friends and family.****

THE PROS OF A LOCALLY OWNED CLEANING SERVICE– ( Dirt Detective Cleaning ) 1. Insurance They carry workmans compensation and most carry a large liability package as the price of homes have risen. If something happens in your home you would be covered. 2. Background Checks. They conduct a background check to ensure the people they hire do not have a criminal background and are who they say they are. Due to being a small business they take providing a good service and being trusted seriously. 3. Supplies They provide all of the cleaning supplies. Chances are most small cleaning companies have honed in on their favorite cleaners and tools and prefer to use what they know works and equipment they are familiar with. Many provide Eco Freindly options if you ask .4. Training They train employees on their systems and cleaning procedures and how to use the cleaners they use in the business and how to use the equipment they supply them with. While many think “ anyone can clean houses” you would be surprised what goes into a training manual for cleaning. Things like “ dont run the beater bar of the vacuum over the end of rug fringes”.. “ dont push the vacuum so hard it bangs into the clients furniture” .. “ never ever wipe an oil painting, feather dust only”.. 5. Vacation Pay/ Taxes Locally Owned Cleaning Services usually just ask you to give them 2 weeks notice when you have a vacation planned so they can arrange for your regular cleaner to work on a different house while you are gone so your cleaner can still earn a full paycheck and not miss any hours. Go on vacation, just please give them notice. Taxes are taken into account and handled when they run payroll. No worries 6. PERSONALIZED ATTENTION TO YOUR NEEDS.. To a small business you aren’t just client # 472.. You matter and they want to please you and keep you happy. Small businesses have the highest retention rate for clients and employees. We know every client and every employee are the heart of our small business and we are Thankful for the opportunity to serve you.

THE CONS OF A LOCALLY OWNED CLEANING SERVICES.. 1. They may not be a s flexible on tasks they will perform or supplies to be used as they have created systems and procedures to keep cleaning quality up to a standard they have set. ( example if they do not use bleach, yet you LOVE the smell of bleach they may not be willing to bend that rule for you they have in place)

FRANCHISED CLEANING SERVICES ( Merry Maids, Molly Maids, The Cleaning Authroity, Maid Pro) charge between $60-$85 an hour, based on that rate a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo, living room, dining , kitchen , family room the cost would be around $195.00 and a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom would run closer to $245.00

THE PROS AND CONS OF A FRANCHISED CLEANING SERVICE WOULD BE THE SAME OR SIMILAR TO THOSE OF THE LOCALLY OWNED CLEANING COMPANY.

What is done in a recurring regular house cleaning?

A regular recurring clean in Timonium Maryland which is done either weekly or bi-weekly ( this is done after an initial deep cleaning to get the house to an even level of cleanliness) usually includes the following items cleaned during your visit.

Trash from rooms to be cleaned emptied.
Floors dry dusted to remove, hair and debris.
Beds stripped and changed if requested.
Sheets put into washer and dryer if requested.
Dry/ wet dusting in bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, and other shared space rooms.
Vacuuming of floors, rugs and furniture.
Kitchens- counters scrubbed and rinsed, coffee pots rinsed and cleaned and wiped down, toaster ovens scrubbed and wiped clean, stove tops scrubbed and cleaned, drip pans scrubbed and cleaned. Cabinets spot cleaned, floors washed
Bathrooms- Showers and tubs scrubbed and rinsed, counters scrubbed and rinsed, toilet scrubbed and sanitized. Cabinets spot cleaned, floors washed.Mirrors cleaned to a shine.
Final touches would include cleaning the glass on sliding doors in rooms on the cleaning list and the glass to the door where you enter your home.

Items to be rotated to maintain a clean home that should be performed on a monthly basis include the following – baseboards, ceiling fans, windowsills, light fixtures. Most locally owned cleaning services and Franchise models have rotation schedules in place to keep your home sparkling by adding these task to your cleanings

Do I need to tip my house cleaner after every cleaning ? and if so how much?

Deep Cleaning in Timonium Maryland If you are having a one time or first time cleaning by a cleaning service done that requires hard work and a ton of scrubbing a tip is always appreciated. If your cleaners were there for a half day or 4 hours a good tip would be $30 for each cleaner. If your cleaners worked for a full day, or close to 8 hours $50 for each cleaner would be considered a good tip.

These types of cleaning jobs require alot of work and a tip is always appreciated.

For regular recurring services ( weekly or biweekly) most do NOT expect a tip every time they clean. Standard protocol is to tip the equal amount of 1 cleaning at the holidays. So if your weekly cleaning is $225 and you have 2 cleaners you would split that between the 2 cleaners, if you have 1 cleaner who visits you regularly you would give that cleaner the full $225 as a bonus. An added note.. Most cleaners prefer cash over gifts. Most people who take on the role of cleaning houses are moms who are raising a family, sometimes alone and they work hard all year and a tip at the Holiday season can always be very helpful and appreciated.

Alot of cleaning companies pay a low hourly rate and make promises to their employees that customers tip often to offset the poor wage they offer. . Then they put a tip request on every invoice they send out to clients. This is to offset the low wage they are paying. Your cleaning rate should be your cleaning rate.

As stated ,one time and first time cleans that take hours and are hard are the most appropriate times to tip.

How often should a house be cleaned?

There are tasks that should be done daily to keep a desirable level of cleanliness in your home on an ongoing basis. Those things include dishes, making your bed, wiping down your kitchen, picking up and straightening, taking out the trash and recycling. These things can make you feel like you are living in the movie “ Groundhog Day” as you repeat the same things over and over.

The tasks that take more time and effort like stripping and making the beds, running the vacuum, scrubbing the bathrooms, and dusting all of your surfaces and washing the floors should be done on a weekly basis. Depending on how many people live in the house and if and how many pets you have you may want to add running the vacuum to your daily routine.

If you choose to hire a professional cleaning company like Dirt Detective Cleaning of Timonium Maryland these are things we will cover in your recurring cleaning. www.dirtdetectivecleaning.com

How Can I clean my home in 3 hours or less?

If you are looking to knock out your house cleaning when you find you have a couple hours, whether it’s your day off, or you finally have the whole house to yourself and want to get a ton accomplished follow these simple steps from the professional cleaning company Dirt Detective Cleaning in Timonium Maryland.

First and foremost avoid all distractions. Put your cell phone in a drawer.. Turn on your favorite tunes, gather all of your supplies.

Start with things that “ can run in the background” like laundry and running the dishwasher.. Take a trash bag around the house and grab all of the trash.. All of it.. All at once.. ( so you arent running back and forth with a small wastebasket from the bathroom to dump it – remember we only have a couple hours to get a bunch of stuff done) While gathering trash also gather dirty laundry and dishes.

Now is a good time to strip the beds and wash the sheets so when you are close to finished you can make the beds with fresh clean sheets.

By now we have gathered trash, dirty dishes, stripped beds, and started our first load of laundry.

Next step is to take a floor duster such as this one https://www.samsclub.com/p/swiffer-sweeper-heavy-duty-dry-sweeping-cloths-50-count/prod24570258 and go around all of the rooms you will be cleaning especially the bathrooms which always has a ton of hair in it and dry dust all of the solid surfaces.. All bathroom floors, kitchen floors, wood floors in any of the rooms you will be cleaning during your cleaning. This will make mopping so much easier when you arent fighting with tiny debris and hair when you go to mop.

Start cleaning in your biggest room to be cleaned, which is usually the kitchen. Load the dishwasher but wait to turn it on until you move on to the dusting part of cleaning.

( running the dishwasher and the laundry at the same time often lowers water pressure and you dont want to slow yourself down when you try to use the tap to rinse the areas you are cleaning)

Next take a spray bottle filled with 90% hot water and 10% https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Platinum-Dishwashing-Non-Scratch-Refreshing/dp/B07PR1S91H?th=1 and spray down all your counters and stove top, you can also spray inside of your microwave as dawn is food safe and you are going to wipe it out ( just avoid spray in the grated area when the air circulates ) You want to start on one end and spray all the way until you covered all of the counters.. Dawn dish liquid is safe on most counters including granite and is food safe so no worries about toxic chemicals on your food surface areas.. The idea is to spray the surface and let the solution start to break down the dried on food and let it dwell for a couple minutes. This kills germs and makes clean up super easy.

After a couple minutes start to the left of the sink and grab a https://www.amazon.com/Non-Scratch-Sponges-3M-Individually-Wrapped/dp/B00RX29QYY sponge .. start going in circles with a scrubbing motion.. Keep going… dont stop or rinse.. Move on to the stove top,microwave, Scrub the sink, the rest of the counter. Looking back you should see you have scrubbed all of the surfaces. If you need to whiten up your sink a little add a little https://barkeepersfriend.com/products/cleanser/ to your sponge and give your sink a good scrubbing.

At this point you have touched all the surfaces in your kitchen you can move on to rinsing the areas you scrubbed. I lke to use a small 1 gallon bucket filled with water that I can dunk my rag into and rinse out over and over again. As you go over the areas take the time to wipe down your coffee pot and toaster as they usually just have a slight grease build from being near the stove but arent as dirty as your counters and stove top.

Once you are done rinsing, walk away and move onto cleaning all the bathrooms.. Leave the counters to dry, we dont spend time drying things that can dry on their own. Take your time to go do things that really need your effort.

Same principles apply in the bathroom as we did in the kitchen, work left to right and spray all of your surfaces. If you start by spraying the sink and counter and then the shower and tub, and toilet by the time you get to scrubbing the sink it will have already started breaking down the dirt and grime.. In the bathroom we use the same solution we used in the kitchen, yes, Dawn in a spray bottle.. And a blue sponge , but obviously not the same one we use in our kitchen , eww, just eww. To mark your sponges for each area, I suggest taking a pair of scissors and snipping the corner off the one you want to designate for the bathroom so you dont cross contaminate.

Start scrubbing left to right.. Sink, counter, wall of the shower, tub, toilet.and then rinse, walk away and let it dry on its own. Move on to the next bathroom until you have cleaned all of the bathrooms.. At this point you should be in a “ rhythm “ and found your groove and have a good pace going.. At this point go check and flip the laundry to keep that going before you move onto the dusting and vacuuming. We want to be as productive as possible in our short window of time to clean.

Next up is dusting. Your work pattern should be to start in the biggest room, the living room, then dining room and then onto the hallways and bedrooms. When it comes to dusting we find that most homes no longer have real wood furniture with a stain finish, and if it is real wood it is painted, which allows us to use our favorite product for dusting, Murphy Oil Soap diluted in a bucket of hot water https://www.murphyoilsoap.com/products/original-oil-soap

I use 1 microfiber in the bucket to wet wipe, 1 dry microfiber to go over the surface to dry it, and a blue microfiber for windexing. Starting top to bottom ( pictures on the wall, mirrors over the dresser. etc) and wring out your wet rmicrofiber that is in the bucket of murphy oil and wipe your wood surface and immediately dry it with your dry rag. For picture frames on the wall I wipe the frames with the damp rag, and dry it with my dry rag , and wipe the glass with my rag with windex sprayed on it, you never ever spray a frame or object, always spray the rag and use the rag to clean the area. Also never put a bucket on a piece of furniture, if ther is even the smallest amount of water on the bottom of the bucket the water sitting on the surface for even a short amount of time will leave a mark in the shape of the bottom of the bucket.

Moving left to right dusting all of the surfaces, when it comes to a bookcase with shelving and lots of pictures and knick knacks work 1 shelf at a time. Move all objects down 1 shelf, wet wipe it with your murphy rag, and dry it with your dry microfiber. As you put objects back, wipe them, with either your murphy rag or windex depending on what the object is. This way all surfaces are clean and all objects have been cleaned.

While in the bedrooms and hallways dusting now is the time to pop back in the bathrooms and windex the mirrors and shine the faucets as these areas should be dry by now. Leave the vacuuming of bath rugs and mopping until you are doing those tasks for the whole house. Remember, momentum.

Go through all the rooms that need to be dusted until you have completed all of the dusting .Now is the time to flip the laundry, and start the dishwasher.

You should have clean dry sheets at this point so it’s time to make all the beds.

Next up is vacuuming, starting in the living room, ( be sure to use the hose on your vacuum to get around the edge of area rugs so there are no crumbs and debris around the edges ), dining room, kitchen ( yes the kitchen.. Use the hose on your vacuum to get around the bottom of the cabinets and in the corners so when you mop there will be no teeny tiny crumbs left behind. ) into the hallway and lastly the bathroom floors need’s a quick vacuum and so do the bathroom rugs.

All that is left at this point is mopping the floors. We love the

https://www.ocedar.com/product_category/mops/spin-mops/

And for all purpose floor cleaner we love the nuetral floor cleaner

https://www.samsclub.com › … › All-Purpose Cleaners How do you clean a messy house step-by-step

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