Home Cleaning in Cambridge, MA
An independent guide to keeping your home clean, hiring help fairly and getting your deposit back when you move.
Independent guide: this website is not Mid-Cambridge Cleaners or any other cleaning company. We do not offer cleaning services, take bookings or give quotes.
Cleaning guides
Regular cleaning routine
A simple daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal checklist that keeps a home under control.
Apartment cleaning tips
Small spaces, shared buildings, pests, condensation and Cambridge trash and recycling.
Move-out and move-in cleaning
Massachusetts security deposit rules and a room-by-room checklist for moving day.
Hiring a house cleaner in Massachusetts
You can hire a cleaning company or an independent cleaner. If you hire someone directly to clean your home, Massachusetts law may treat you as their employer under the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Among other things:
- Domestic workers are covered by the same minimum wage and overtime rules as other workers.
- A worker who works six or more hours in a day is entitled to a 30-minute meal or rest break.
- Workers who work 16 or more hours a week are entitled to a written agreement.
- These protections apply regardless of immigration status.
Details and current figures: Mass.gov: Domestic workers.
If you use a company instead, ask whether its cleaners are employees, whether it carries liability insurance and how it handles damage or breakage.
Clean safely
- Never mix bleach with ammonia or with acidic cleaners such as vinegar or some toilet bowl cleaners. The combination releases dangerous gases.
- Open a window or run a fan when you use strong cleaning products.
- Keep products in their original containers, with the label, out of reach of children and pets.
- Look for products with the EPA Safer Choice label if you want cleaners that meet EPA criteria for safer ingredients.
Useful local resources
- City of Cambridge: Curbside Collections – trash, recycling and compost schedules
- Mass.gov: Security deposits and last month’s rent
- Attorney General’s Guide to Landlord and Tenant Rights
- Mass.gov: Domestic workers