HOW TO HIRE · CLEANING

How to hire a spring cleaner in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register applies to spring cleaning. Agree the rate per hour, the list of work, the mould treatment products and who takes the rubbish.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a spring cleaner in five steps

  1. Book earlyMarch to May fills up.
  2. Mention mouldOn window seals and in the bathroom.
  3. Decide extrasOven, fridge, gutters.
  4. Clear the sillsSo frames can be cleaned.
  5. ParkingFor the team.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

Nothing licenses spring cleaners in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, so a spring clean can be offered by anyone; trader status, insurance and references carry the weight.

Ask for a business name, an invoice for the spring clean and the name of the insurer.

Cleaning chemicals and COSHH

HSE's COSHH rules on hazardous substances apply to self-employed people who bring hazardous products onto other premises, apart from monitoring and health surveillance. Strong degreasers, descalers and biocides used for a spring clean fall within them.

Ask which products the spring clean uses, and whether they are safe on your surfaces. hse.gov.uk →

Waste carrier registration if rubbish goes

A business that takes waste away needs waste carrier registration — the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA or the NIEA — and in England and Wales section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 makes you hand household waste only to an authorised person. That applies to bags left over from a spring clean.

If the spring clean includes taking rubbish, ask for the waste carrier number and search the public register. environment.data.gov.uk →

Public liability insurance

No register requires it, but public liability insurance is what pays if a spring clean damages a floor, a fabric or a fitting. Your right to reasonable care and skill in the spring clean comes from the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Ask the spring cleaner who the insurer is before the spring clean.

VAT

A spring clean is standard-rated at 20% if the cleaner is registered for VAT. A cleaner working alone whose turnover is under £90,000 does not charge VAT and has no VAT number to give.

Ask whether the spring cleaner is VAT-registered; if not, nothing is added to the hours worked. gov.uk →

“What does your spring cleaning cover?”

A good answer: Every room top to bottom, listed.

“How will the spring cleaner treat mould on window seals?”

A good answer: A fungicidal product, not just bleach and a scrub.

“Are the oven and fridge on the list for the hours booked?”

A good answer: Agreed before the first hour, with the time each takes.

“Will the cleaning include inside frames and sills?”

A good answer: Yes.

“Will you take bags away?”

A good answer: Only with a waste carrier number.

“Are you insured?”

A good answer: Public liability, insurer named.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, and any extra for a weekend spring clean
  • The minimum booking, and how a clean that finishes early is charged
  • Who brings products, ladders for high cupboards and the vacuum, and what you provide
  • The list of rooms and jobs (cupboards, skirting, inside windows), agreed before the first hour
  • ID checked and the cleaner's rating on earlier cleans
  • Insurance where the clean reaches chandeliers, antiques or delicate floors

Walk away if

  • No agreed list of work
  • Scrubs mould dry
  • No insurance
  • Takes rubbish with no carrier number
LOW
£100
TYPICAL
£220
HIGH
£400

What a spring cleaner costs: £100–£400 per visit

The figures are what a spring clean usually comes to for a visit; booked by the hour, the size of the home and the add-ons on the list set how long it takes. Spring Cleaning price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Spring cleaners near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. PlanRate per hour, minimum booking and the list agreed.
  2. High dustingCeilings, lights and frames.
  3. Windows and sillsFrames, sills and seals cleaned.
  4. Kitchen and bathroomsCupboards, tiles and limescale.
  5. Soft furnishings and floorsCurtains shaken, floors finished.

Condensation
Water forming on cold surfaces such as windows.
Fungicidal wash
A treatment that kills mould.
Window seal
The rubber round the glass.
Reveal
The side of a window opening.
COSHH
HSE's rules on hazardous substances.
Add-on
An extra priced on top.

AFTER

When the job is done

Check the frames and sealsClean, no mould left.
Air the roomsAfter the clean.
Keep the invoiceThe hours worked and the list of work on it.
Review it honestlyYour review of the spring clean is tied to a real booking. Under four stars, you can send the problem with the spring clean to the spring cleaner first and we follow it up; then the review goes live.

STEP 1Tell the spring cleaner, in writingRaise it with the spring cleaner in writing while it is fresh. The spring clean came with a legal promise of reasonable care and skill under the 2015 Act; ask for the shortfall to be fixed at no cost, and if it cannot be, for an appropriate refund.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right stepA score under four stars opens the make-it-right step: you choose whether the spring cleaner gets the chance to put the spring clean right first, and we chase it to an end before you publish.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplinesTrading Standards is reached through a helpline, not directly: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, and Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland can log a complaint about the spring cleaner and pass it on.
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedIf money is still in dispute over the spring clean, the small claims routes need no solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales on the small claims track, £5,000 in Scotland under simple procedure, and £5,000 in Northern Ireland's small claims court.

Hiring a spring cleaner: questions people ask

No. No licence or register applies.

HSE's COSHH rules apply to hazardous substances a self-employed cleaner brings in.

Only with waste carrier registration.

£100–£400 per visit, about £220 for most homes. The detail sits in the spring cleaning price guide, and the search above lists cleaners working near your town.

Five hours to a full day.

Similar work, booked by the hour, with more time on windows and winter grime.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in cleaning

How to hire: Deep CleaningHow to hire: One-Off CleaningHow to hire: House CleaningHow to hire: Regular Domestic CleaningHow to hire: Window CleaningHow to hire: Mould CleaningHow to hire: Carpet CleaningHow to hire: Curtain CleaningAll 701 hiring guides →

Spring cleaners near you

Spring cleaners in LondonSpring cleaners in ManchesterSpring cleaners in BirminghamSpring cleaners in GlasgowSpring cleaners in BelfastAll spring cleaners on Locufy →Do it yourself: spring-cleaning a home →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. HSE — does COSHH apply to the self-employed?
  2. gov.uk — register as a waste carrier, broker or dealer (England)
  3. Environment Agency — public register of waste carriers
  4. Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34 — duty of care
  5. gov.uk — basic DBS check
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  8. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  9. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register