FAQ

No. No provincial licence exists for cleaning, and cleaning is not one of the 23 compulsory trades where certification is legally required to work (Skilled Trades Ontario). Anyone describing themselves as a licensed cleaner is using a word that has no meaning here. Insurance, WSIB registration, bonding and police record checks are the things that exist and can be checked.

As indicative ranges: $45 to $70 per cleaner-hour, or $150 to $250 a visit for a standard three-bedroom, two-bathroom house cleaned fortnightly. A deep clean on the same house is $400 to $800, and an empty three-bedroom move-out clean $450 to $900. Small office contract cleaning is commonly $0.10 to $0.25 per square foot per month. Every figure is a planning range rather than a quote.

They cover different things. A janitorial or fidelity bond gives your household recourse if an employee steals, and pays the value of stolen items up to the bond amount, but it is not an insurance policy and property damage is not covered by it (NFP). Commercial general liability insurance is what responds when something is broken or somebody is hurt. A company can hold one without the other, so ask about both by name.

Most businesses must register within 10 calendar days of hiring their first worker, and sales and services businesses are in the mandatory group (WSIB). Ask for a clearance number, which is valid for up to 90 days (WSIB). It matters because an injury on your property with no coverage behind it becomes your problem.

It is a fair thing to ask about. Ontario permits three types of check: a criminal record check, a criminal record and judicial matters check, and a vulnerable sector check, which is for people in a position of trust or authority over children or other vulnerable persons. Consent from the individual is required first, and an organisation cannot request a check without the person's knowledge and consent (Ontario).

Possibly. WSIB lists homeowners or residents who hire domestic workers such as babysitters, nannies, cooks, gardeners or housekeepers among those who must register (WSIB). Engaging an incorporated company that carries its own coverage avoids the question, which is one practical reason to ask for a clearance number rather than pay cash.

More than a leaf on the bottle. Canada's Competition Act requires a claim about a product's environmental benefit to be based on adequate and proper testing, and a claim about a business or business activity to be based on adequate and proper substantiation in accordance with internationally recognized methodology, which generally means recognized in two or more countries. The Competition Bureau names broad terms such as eco-friendly as a problem because they imply benefits across a whole life cycle (Competition Bureau).

Yes, for services rather than products. Green Seal's GS-42 standard certifies a commercial or institutional cleaning service provider and requires written building-specific cleaning plans reviewed annually, third-party certified products, defined equipment performance, and 12 hours of initial training with a further 12 in the first year and 24 hours annually thereafter (Green Seal). It excludes residential work.

No. This site is operated by Wells DevOps as an information site about cleaning services in Ottawa. We do not clean. Enquiries are passed to one local cleaning company that quotes and does the work directly, and every price here is an indicative 2026 range rather than a quote.