So today I decided to figure out how much cleaning companies in Windsor actually cost. My place was getting messy after hosting my nephew's birthday party - glitter everywhere, juice stains on the carpet, the whole deal.

Starting the research

First thing I did was grab my laptop and search for local cleaners. Typed in "cleaning services Windsor" and got like twenty companies popping up. Noticed right away their websites showed prices differently - some had hourly rates, some charged per room, others had mystery "starting from" quotes.

Making those phone calls

Called up six different places pretending I needed a standard 3-bedroom house clean. Here's what I got:

• Company A: $180 flat rate for entire house
• Company B: $40/hour per cleaner (minimum 2 cleaners)
• Company C: $35 per room + $50 for kitchen

Then I asked ALL of them about discounts - played dumb like "Do y'all ever run specials?" Turned out three companies had first-time customer deals, two offered 10% off for booking online, and one gave a senior discount that I don't even qualify for.

The sneaky extra fees

Almost got tricked by Company D's "$120 basic clean" quote until I asked what "basic" meant. Turns out they charge extra for:

• Vacuuming under furniture ($15)
• Cleaning inside the microwave ($5)
• Wiping baseboards ($10 per room)

Felt like ordering a burger and finding out lettuce costs extra! Told them no thanks real quick.

My booking experiment

Decided to test Company E that offered "first clean 20% off". Booked online for Tuesday afternoon - total came to $144 for 3 hours with two cleaners. Showed up right on time with their own supplies. Ladies worked fast but missed dusting ceiling fans. Called the manager and got $20 refund for the oversight.

What I learned

Big lessons from this whole thing:

• Always ask what's NOT included
• Off-peak hours (Tuesday-Thursday) saved me 15%
• Bringing your own supplies knocks off $10-20
• Skip the "deep clean" upsell unless you've got moldy showers

Ended up paying $124 total after discount and refund. Way better than the $250 some companies tried charging! Moral is don't trust websites - pick up the phone and grill them about every dollar.