Getting your home ready for a cleaner in Sydney

Most of the work of getting ready happens when you post the job, not on the morning. The cleaner arrives with the job description and nothing else, so anything you'd otherwise explain at the door (the lockbox, the dog, which bin is recycling) has to be written down first.

You don't need to be home

Plenty of people book a clean for a weekday and go to work. That's fine. What the cleaner needs from you is a way in, and the place for it is the job description.

Put the entry details there: the lockbox location and code, the building's front-door code, which lift, the alarm. The cleaner can't read the description until they've checked in with GPS, which the app only allows within 200 metres of the address.

The description is the only part held back. From the moment a cleaner accepts, they can see the address, the rooms, the add-ons and any photos you uploaded with the job. So don't photograph the lockbox with the code showing.

The same goes for chat. Chat works as soon as a cleaner accepts the job, so a code sent there is readable from wherever they happen to be. The description holds it back until they're within 200 metres of your place.

If you'd rather be there, be there. Nothing changes except that you can answer questions in person.

What you don't need to supply

The cleaner brings the cleaning products and the equipment. You don't need to leave out spray, cloths or a vacuum.

If a surface needs a particular product (oiled timber, natural stone, a benchtop the manufacturer is fussy about), say so in the description, and leave that product out if you have it. It's a specific request, so treat it as one rather than assuming it'll be spotted.

What to leave out

Clean sheets. A standard clean changes the bed linen; it doesn't launder it. Fresh sheets go on and the used set is left for you, which only works if the fresh set is somewhere obvious. On the bed, folded, is the easiest.

Clear surfaces, if you can. Drawers and cupboards stay shut and fridge contents aren't moved, so there's nowhere for a cleaner to put your things away. A benchtop covered in mail is mostly a benchtop covered in mail.

Anything fragile or valuable, put away. A cleaner can't tell the heirloom bowl from the everyday one.

What to write in the description

Beyond access, the things that cost a cleaner time when nobody mentions them:

• Parking. Street, visitor bay, or none.
• Pets. Whether there's one, where it'll be, and whether it can get out.
• Rubbish. Where the bins are, and which is recycling.
• Anything outside the standard scope. The oven, the rangehood, glass and carpet are add-ons you pick when you post the job. Anything else, like inside a cupboard, is a request, and it's better made in writing than at the door.

What's included in a standard house clean has the full scope if you're not sure what's covered.

On the day

You can message the cleaner in the app once they've accepted, and follow them on the map on their way to you. When they check in, they upload a photo to confirm they're there, and before finishing they upload photos of the result.

You'll then have the job to review. Approve it if it's done, or raise a dispute if it isn't, with the photos as the record. If you weren't home, those photos are how you'll know what state things were left in, so it's worth looking at them before you approve.

Moving out rather than tidying up? A bond clean is a different job with a different checklist: Moving out in Sydney: a cleaning checklist that protects your bond.