Merry Maids House Cleaning Service Review

Everyone wants a pristine home that is fit for relaxing and hosting guests. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time or energy for the cleaning it takes to maintain a spotless home—from dusting to vacuuming to washing floors. Luckily, there are many house cleaning services that can get your home in shipshape depending on your needs and your schedule.

But not all house cleaning services are the same. They can differ in terms of the services they provide, availability, cost, service guarantees, and more. We have created an in-depth Merry Maids cleaning service review to help you determine if the company is the best fit for your needs.

Our Take

Merry Maids is a household name, known for a variety of house cleaning services. The company has more than 40 years of experience and delivers over two million services every year.

While services may differ based on the franchise location, the offerings are robust—with everything from general house cleaning to holiday cleaning and move in/out cleaning. The company offers a mobile app that allows you to track your cleaning specialist when they’re on their way, pay for appointments, and check your schedule.

The only real downside is that there is no online quote tool. Also, despite reviewing the company’s website and speaking with a customer service representative over the phone, we could not determine precisely what “Maid Service” is at Merry Maids.

Merry Maids Pros & Cons

Cleaning Services

Merry Maids offers a wide range of cleaning services, ranging from basic housekeeping to enhanced disinfection services and move in/out cleaning services.

Your Merry Maid specialist will bring their products and equipment. However, if you prefer they use a specific product you own, you can tell them in advance and they will use it.

House Cleaning / Housekeeping

House cleaning, or housekeeping, is the classic service offered by Merry Maids. Merry Maids strives to send the same cleaning specialist to your home every visit. Sometimes this isn’t possible, but a customer service representative said the same house cleaning specialist can be sent 80-90 percent of the time, on average.

We were also assured that as long as pets are friendly, they do not need to be removed from the home during cleaning services. They simply need to be secured.

House cleaning / housekeeping entails the following:

Every room

• Straighten clutter/empty trash
• Clean ceiling fans
• Clean around light switches
• Remove cobwebs

Bathroom

• Clean toilet, shower/tub, sink/mirrors, as well as clean and vacuum floors
• Dust toilet paper/towel racks/fold towels

Kitchen

• Clean exterior of appliances and inside the microwave
• Wipe down tables/chairs
• Clean window over the sink
• Clean countertops/backsplashes and polish small appliances
• Clean/sanitize sink and polish fixtures
• Vacuum and wash floors

Dry rooms

• Dust window sills, shelves, and furniture
• Clean glass tabletops, mirrors, all glass entrance/exit doors
• Vacuum carpet/under edges of rugs
• Bedrooms: make beds, with master bed linen change included

Maid Service

The website is very vague about this particular service. The section notes dusting, vacuuming, washing, and sanitizing, but does not break it down any further than that.

Apartment Cleaning

Not all house cleaning companies offer services for small spaces. Merry Maids will clean your ceiling fans, baseboards, under furniture, your mirror and windows, wall art, and pictures.

Detailed Cleaning

The detailed cleaning service goes more in-depth than basic house cleaning services, getting into the nitty-gritty for a deep clean.

• Scrub and dry sinks, showers, and fixtures
• Clean the interior and exterior of toilets
• Clean mirrors, glass picture frames, and any other glass surfaces
• Vacuum, edge, and groom carpeting
• Vacuum tops of drapes or valances
• Vacuum and wash hard surface floors
• Wet-wipe accessible ceiling fans, hanging light fixtures, and vents
• Wet-wipe down door knobs, door frames, and light switch plates
• Dust and wet-wipe all furniture
• Dust items on furniture and lampshades

Specialty Cleaning

Specialty cleaning services can pay special attention to areas and tasks that house cleaning services usually do not include.

• Kitchen appliance cleaning
• Interior cabinet cleaning
• Packing/unpacking
• Silverware cleaning and polishing

Green Cleaning

This service cleans the same rooms as the general house cleaning, only using environmentally friendly products. With Green Cleaning, Merry Maids only uses Safer Choice-approved products, which meet independent guidelines established by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Also, these products have decreased carbon emissions, create less plastic in landfills, and are safe around children and pets.

Enhanced Disinfection Services

With these surfaces, Merry Maids focuses on high-touch, hard surfaces in the home to destroy any emerging pathogens. The Merry Maids products are used by sister brands ServiceMaster Clean and ServiceMaster Restore to disinfect your home.

Examples of high-touch surfaces include:

• Doorknobs
• Light switches
• Countertops
• Tabletops
• Hand railings
• Appliance knobs and handles
• Toilet seats and handles

Holiday Cleaning

For this service, Merry Maids gets your home holiday-party ready by taking care of the basics and then going beyond with polishing. This offering includes:

• Dusting, scrubbing, and polishing foyers and entryways
• Cleaning stairs
• Cleaning windows so that they are clear and streak-free
• Cleaning and polishing kitchen appliances, faucets, and fixtures
• Cleaning bathrooms to make them pristine

Move-In/Out Cleaning

A customer service representative told us that this will depend on the individual needs of the customer moving out. All of the furniture must be removed. Some customers will need light cleaning, while others will want a deeper clean, where the cleaning specialist takes care of the inside of kitchen cabinets, inside of the oven, refrigerator, closets, and more.

Availability

Merry Maids services are available in every state except for Alaska and Hawaii.

How Much Does Merry Maids Cost?

Merry Maids does not offer online quotes. Instead, you enter your information, including your email and phone number, into the site. Merry Maids will then send a confirmation email and typically give you a call to go over the information needed to generate a quote—like square footage, number of different types of rooms, number of washable floors—and send you the quote via email.

Keep in mind that this quote is an estimate and may change if some of the details reported do not match the home’s actual details.

A customer representative gave us the following quote for a single-family, 2,200-square-foot home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Merry Maids calculates the cost by factoring in square footage as well as the number and types of rooms.

Cost

For one-time cleaning, customers can opt to pay per hour. The hourly rate for a two-person Merry Maids team is $120 per hour, with a two-hour minimum.

There is no yearly subscription, and there are four ways customers can pay:

• Placing a credit card on file
• Paying by cash
• Paying by personal check
• Setting up an auto draft to an account

If you’d like to tip your house cleaning specialist, you can either leave cash at your home or add a tip using your credit card on the Merry Maids app.

Scheduling

You can schedule either one-time, weekly, biweekly, or monthly appointments with Merry Maids. If you want to schedule a one-time appointment, you should aim to schedule it one to two weeks before, according to a representative.

When your Merry Maid cleaning specialist is on their way, you will get a text letting you know they’re en route. You will also get a link where you can track their progress, like you would an Uber.

If you need to cancel or reschedule, you need to do it over the phone, using either a phone call or Merry Maids’ text line.

Customer Service

While third-party websites show both positive and negative customer reviews of Merry Maids, the company has a useful mobile app and backs its services with a satisfaction guarantee.

Customer Reviews

Merry Maids has many different Better Business Bureau pages, each devoted to a different franchise location. Some pages are accredited and have an A+ rating, while others are not accredited. Many pages have no reviews, and those that do are largely negative.

Johanna P. said:

“I have been using this Merry Maids Franchise for about eight years. In the beginning, we had different people show up each time for cleaning and were forced to have to show them each time what needed to be done and unique things about the cleaning. We finally called and requested that they send one person. We did this not just for consistency and knowledge but also because it is less of a security risk. We asked for Lori. She is the best they have and is quick and efficient and guides the other team members effectively. At least twice in the past, they stopped sending Lori for unknown reasons and I have had to call them to rectify… The maids get 5 stars. The Management 1.”

Leah M. said:

“Terrible experience with customer service, was called a liar when I complained.”

Merry Maids responds to every negative review with specific detail.

We also received this feedback from one of our readers. Ferol L. said:

“The Deep Clean is way too expensive (over $300) for what you get, which is not a thorough deep clean. Biweekly clean, same problem. Very disappointed with this company and will not use again.”

Mobile app

The Merry Maids mobile app allows customers to track when their cleaning specialist is arriving, make credit card payments, tip, and look at their cleaning schedule.

Service Guarantee

The Merry Maids Worry-Free Guarantee claims that if you let the company know within 24 hours of your service that you are unsatisfied, a cleaning specialist will return and “make it right at no additional charge.”

Our Conclusion

Merry Maids is a solid option for house cleaning services, with a broad range of services, a convenient app, flexible payment options, and eco-friendly solutions. The company’s services are available throughout the continental United States.

Company Information

• Company name: Merry Maids
• Company type: Public
• President: Hagan Kappler
• Year founded: 1979
• Headquarters: 860 Ridge Lake Blvd, Memphis, TN 38120
• State availability: 48
• BBB Rating: A+

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Merry Maids charge per hour?

If you choose a one-time deep clean, Merry Maids will charge you $120 per hour for a team of two cleaning specialists, with a minimum appointment of two hours.

Does Merry Maids do one-time cleaning?

Yes, Merry Maids offers one-time cleaning as well as weekly, biweekly, and monthly cleanings.

Does Merry Maids clean bathrooms?

For routine house cleaning, Merry Maids cleans bathrooms, which encompasses cleaning the toilet, shower and tub, sink, and mirrors, as well as dusting the toilet paper/towel rack, folding towels, and washing and vacuuming floors.

Do you tip Merry Maids?

The tip is not included in your service payment. If you’d like to tip your house cleaning specialist, you can tip in cash or tip through the mobile app.

To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.