Housekeeper Duties

Responsibilities you can reasonably expect from your maid

By Glyn Sheridan

Photo by iStockphoto.com

Responsible for cleaning portions of a home, a housekeeper may work independently or as part of a housekeeping team. Hiring a housekeeper frees the homeowner to devote more time to work or recreation. The housekeeper's duties can be flexible. Depending on the frequency of her visits, she may do only light housekeeping tasks or you may assign additional chores and responsibilities. An independent housekeeper may agree to optional duties, such as grocery shopping, that an employee of a housekeeping agency would likely decline.

Daily Cleaning

With a frequent-visit housekeeper or a live-in housekeeper, daily tasks take precedence. The housekeeper's duties might include daily vacuuming and dusting of the residence, sweeping and spot floor cleaning. She will examine the bathrooms and wipe down bathtubs, showers, toilets and counter tops. She may make the beds, put away personal items, fold or hang clothing and empty wastebaskets. Live-in housekeepers may take responsibility for routine after-meal cleanup, including clearing the table, loading and unloading the dishwasher and wiping kitchen and dining areas.

Weekly and Bi-Weekly

Some housekeepers visit once or twice per week. With this work arrangement, the homeowner takes responsibility for daily food-related tasks, while the housekeeper focuses on a more thorough cleaning of the home, including vacuuming of carpets and upholstery, wiping down windowsills and baseboards, shaking throw rugs, sweeping and mopping hard-surface floors and polishing the furniture. Weekly tasks may include typical daily cleaning chores, but they may also entail deeper-cleaning responsibilities, such as washing mirrors, wiping kitchen appliances, dusting lampshades and using the vacuum wand to remove dust from around baseboards and in the upper corners of rooms. The housekeeper may also change bed linens.

Occasional Duties

Reporting items in need of repair to the homeowner and being in attendance when the repair person arrives may be an occasional duty for the independent housekeeper or the live-in housekeeper. In addition, she may replace light bulbs in fixtures and she may wash the residence's windows seasonally. She may clean the oven or the refrigerator monthly or as needed. If the housekeeper is agreeable and if she is physically capable, she may occasionally sweep the garage or perform yard duties, such as picking up trash or mowing.

Personal Duties

Independent housekeepers or live-in housekeepers may accept personal duties from an employer that include doing laundry, delivering dry cleaning, ironing, running errands and grocery shopping or picking up the children from school. You may assign personal duties when hiring the housekeeper or negotiate them later, as the need arises.