You got a quote for $150. Sounded reasonable. You booked the cleaning.

Then the invoice came: $150 base rate, plus $50 for inside the fridge, $55 for baseboards, $40 for cabinet front cleaning. Your $150 clean just became $295.

Wait. They charged you extra to wipe your cabinet fronts? The ones you touch every single day?

Welcome to the add-on game. And if you've been shopping around for cleaning services, you've probably seen quote forms with a dozen different checkboxes, each adding to your total.

Let's talk about what should actually be included in a standard clean and how to spot when you're being taken advantage of.

The Add-On Business Model

Here's how it works:

Companies advertise a low base price to get you in the door. Then they present you with a quote form listing everything as optional add-ons. By the time you check boxes for things you assumed would be included, your price has doubled.

Why do companies do this?

Because it works. Low advertised prices get attention. The add-ons are where they make their actual money.

It's the airline pricing model. Advertise a $49 flight, then charge for bags, seat selection, everything. Your $49 flight costs $150.

But here's the thing: most of these "add-ons" aren't extras at all. They're basic parts of cleaning a house.

What Should Actually Be Included

Here's what you should expect when you hire someone to clean your house:

Kitchen: Counters, stovetop, exterior of appliances, inside and outside of microwave, sink, cabinet fronts, floors swept and mopped.

Bathrooms: Toilets, sinks, showers, tubs, mirrors, cabinet fronts, floors.

All rooms: Dusting surfaces, vacuuming and mopping floors, wiping light switches and door handles.

Throughout: Baseboards, spot-cleaning walls, cobweb removal, general tidying.

That's a standard clean. Not premium. Not deep. Just regular recurring service.

The Add-Ons That Should Make You Question Things

Some companies charge extra for things that are just... part of cleaning a house.

Cabinet fronts? You touch them every day. They get fingerprints and grease. Wiping them is part of cleaning a kitchen.

Baseboards? They're attached to your walls. They collect dust. Of course they should be cleaned.

Inside the microwave? It takes two minutes and it's part of the kitchen.

Light switches and door handles? These are basic touch points that should obviously be wiped.

If these are all separate line items with separate charges, what exactly is included in the base clean?

What's Actually Reasonable to Charge Extra For

We're not saying everything should be included. Some things genuinely require significant extra time and don't need to be done on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Reasonable add-ons:

Inside your oven: Deep grease cleaning takes real time and typically only needs doing every few months, not every cleaning visit.

Inside your fridge: Full cleanout of shelves and drawers is an occasional deep task, not something that needs doing bi-weekly.

Interior windows: Full window washing throughout the house is seasonal work, not regular maintenance.

Inside cupboards and drawers: Organization and deep cleaning of cabinet interiors is a project, not routine cleaning.

Laundry or dishes: These are completely different services.

These are things that go beyond normal maintenance cleaning. They're infrequent tasks. Charging for them makes sense.

But cabinet fronts, baseboards, and microwaves? Those need regular attention and should be part of your standard service.

Why Hourly Pricing Makes This Worse

Hourly pricing creates bad incentives.

When companies charge by the hour, more add-ons mean more billable hours. And you never know your final bill. "The baseboards took longer than expected, so we added 30 minutes. That's $25 more."

You can't verify if they actually needed that time. You have zero cost certainty.

This is why we use flat-rate pricing.

You know what you're paying before we arrive. If something takes longer, that's our problem. We quoted it, we honor it.

Questions You Need to Ask

Before hiring any cleaning company, ask:

"What exactly is included in your standard clean?" Make them be specific. Room by room.

"Are baseboards, cabinet fronts, and inside the microwave included?" These should be automatic yeses.

"Do you charge hourly or flat rate?" If hourly, ask for a guaranteed maximum.

"What's my total price, including everything?" One number. Not a base price plus a list of maybe-add-ons.

If they're vague or defensive, you already know they're planning surprise charges.

How We Do It

We give you one flat-rate price based on your home's size and condition.

That price includes everything that should be part of regular cleaning:

• Full kitchen including cabinet fronts and inside the microwave

• All bathrooms top to bottom

• All baseboards and trim every visit

• All floors vacuumed and mopped

• Complete dusting

• Light switches and door handles

• Spot-cleaning walls

• Cobweb removal

• General tidying

We only charge extra for occasional deep tasks:

• Inside your oven (typically needed every few months)

• Inside your fridge (occasional deep cleanout)

• Interior windows (seasonal work)

• Inside cupboards and drawers (project work)

• Laundry or dishes (different services entirely)

We tell you this upfront. In writing. No surprises.

The Bottom Line

When getting quotes, pay attention to what's included versus what costs extra.

If basic things like cabinet fronts, baseboards, or microwaves are separate charges, you're not getting a good deal. You're getting a partial service that'll cost way more once you add back everything that should have been included.

Before you hire anyone:

• Get specifics on what's included

• Understand what costs extra and why

• Know your total price upfront

You deserve straightforward pricing and zero surprises.

And you definitely shouldn't have to pay extra for someone to wipe your cabinet doors.

We include everything that should be part of regular cleaning—cabinet fronts, baseboards, microwave, all of it. One flat rate, total transparency, no games.