I started writing a review after the cleaners cleaned our condo unit in Mandaluyong. However, I thought it would be better if I wait until I have a second experience with them before I review my experience. So I waited until they cleaned our house in Cavite.

First, let’s get the frequently asked questions out of the way.

What’s the name of the company? The name of the company is KrisDaHei Company. The company name is derived from the first names of the three business partners. A colleague referred them to me. Because my belly has gotten too big for me to do any real cleaning of our condo unit, and because we haven’t had a helper for two months, I really felt I needed to pay someone to do the cleaning for us. :)

How do I get in touch with them? Through email. You may reach them at krisdaheicompany@yahoo.com. Once you’ve confirmed payment and schedule, they will text you.

How much does it cost to have your house/unit cleaned? It depends on the services you want to avail of, as well as the size of the space you want to clean. So basically, the cost is not fixed, it depends on the scope of services. When I emailed them for the first time, I gave details of our space (in sq m), how many bedrooms, the description of the bedrooms (approximate size of each), approximate size of the living, dining and kitchen area. I also specified that I want deep cleaning (which includes jet steaming of bathroom and kitchen surfaces vs. basic cleaning that just requires wiping/polishing), vacuuming of the beds, pillows and couch (they have an anti-allergy package), vacuuming of the area rug in the living room, and deep cleaning the refrigerator. I told them we have floor to ceiling shelves in the master’s bedroom and in the living room and I want the shelves dusted and polished. After that, they were able to give me a quotation, broken down into three elements – basic cleaning cost, deep cleaning, anti-allergy package (Php500 per room).

I did the same for our house in Cavite. I also mentioned that we have just had a renovation and the place is very dusty. The scope of work is pretty much the same. I just specified that we have a high ceiling in the living room, and chandeliers need to be cleaned. I also noted that most of the rooms are empty since we moved out all of our things (clothes, books, etc.) and they just need to clean/polish the floors, empty closets and shelves. I specified that I wanted our small veranda cleaned as well. I also told them that I want the floors waxed and asked if they can include it in their services. I told them I can provide the wax and they agreed to this. I also specified that for the bathrooms, I just want the floors mopped, not washed with water. For the anti-allergy package, this only includes the bed in our room, the crib’s brand new mattress and La-Z boy in the nursery, and the living room couches. There is a location surcharge of Php750 for Kawit, Cavite.

How do we confirm the booking? KrisDaHei sent me a quotation and a contract. I had to deposit the payment to their BDO account, I think two days before the agreed schedule. Then I emailed a scanned copy of the deposit slip. That’s it! Cancellation/postponement should be done at least a day before the scheduled cleaning.

So here’s my review of the services.

For our condo unit, two cleaners were assigned to me. Our unit is 110 sqm, with three bedrooms, and two toilets with shower, but only two bedrooms will be cleaned, along with the rest of the house. I availed of the Basic Cleaning, Deep Cleaning and Anti-Allergy Package (for two bedrooms).  For proper pricing, I gave the approximate sizes of the rooms. The contract said they have 3.5 hours to clean the unit. Any hour in excess will be charged Php250/hour. They were supposed to clean from 8:30am onwards.

For Cavite, I was initially told there will be three cleaners (had to ask for their names so I can advise the guard at the village gate), and they have 6 hours to clean our house as stipulated in the contract, starting at 9am. However, only two cleaners arrived. I was told the third one was reassigned as the company accepted another booking that day. More about this later. I had then assumed they will extend the cleaning hours. I was not informed ahead of this new arrangement.

The cleaners arrived promptly, thirty minutes before the start of cleaning. They changed into their uniforms/scrubs and proceeded to prepare their tools. They were carrying one huge luggage containing two vacuum units (one for the hard surfaces and one for the beds/pillows/couch), a mop, the jet steaming tool, all the cleaning tools (rags, brushes, etc.) and products (disinfectants, polish, etc.). They also carried a pail (the tornado mop from SM), and a backpack for each cleaner containing their personal things (uniform, water, packed lunch, etc.). In Cavite, they even brought a foldable ladder so they can clean the chandelier and high walls in our living room.

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For our condo, they started with the Masters Bedroom. One lady started with our toilet, and the other tackled the shelves. I gave instructions to not clean the closed closets. Otherwise, they will also clean them – I think they will dust the surfaces in the closet (they won’t take out your clothes). The reason I didn’t want to include them is 1) They are clean already (I just reorganized them using the Konmari method), and 2) I don’t want them to access our private closets. I think it is important to give specific directions even before they start.

As part of the deep cleaning package, the cleaner first did jet steaming of the surfaces in the toilet. I think this process loosens the dirt and grime on the tiles, and also removes stains. After that, the surfaces were scrubbed. All the items on the shelves, lavatory, etc. were removed for the cleaning, including the rugs.

For the shelves, the cleaner worked from top to bottom, cleaning one section of the shelf at a time. I provided a step ladder for this purpose (she first pulled a chair, but I told her we have a ladder). Our shelves are floor to ceiling so they are quite tall. The cleaner would remove the contents of the shelf, then clean the shelf. She dusted the shelf items before returning them back in place. After the shelves, the cleaner cleaned the work table (where we have our printer and laptops). Then the aircon was cleaned next. The cleaner opened the aircon vent and cleaned the filter – I was pleasantly surprised that she did this. Then she cleaned the windows. By this time, the other cleaner was done with the toilet, so she cleaned our entertainment center (TV, TV shelf, and all of Ariel’s gadgets there – media player, cable receiver, sound system, etc.). She took out the items in the shelves as well, and polished the glass cabinet door. Then the two cleaners vacuumed and polished the floor. One also cleaned the super dusty electric fan. She disassembled the grills and fan blades, and washed them. They did the bed last. They removed the linen (including the mattress protector) and vacuumed the bed and pillows. Then they covered the bed and pillows with the fresh linen I gave them. They also cleaned the ceiling.

Overall, it took them an hour and a half to clean our bedroom. It’s probably a third of our entire unit. By the time they are done, our room and bathroom smelled so good. The bathroom fittings were shiny, the floor had no trace of dust. I ran my fingers on the surfaces and they were dust free, too.  I haven’t seen our room so clean. Haha!

After our room, one cleaner started with the spare bedroom. I didn’t supervise anymore since it was just a storage room. I just made sure that the bed was also vacuumed. This was a much smaller room, and the closet was empty so it took the cleaner just a few minutes to clean it. I ran my fingers on the window sill and it was dust free. The floor was also shiny and dust free. The room smelled good as well.

While one was cleaning the spare room, the other started on the shelf in the living room. It was not very dirty because I just cleaned it a few days back (I couldn’t stand not cleaning it!). The dirtiest areas were the top shelves because I couldn’t climb up the ladder to clean them. The cleaner actually took note that the shelf was generally clean (proud of my preggy self!). She cleaned it the same way she cleaned the shelves in our room. The two cleaners vacuumed the floor, area rug and couches. They polished the surfaces, and cleaned and disinfected the power outlets/switches (I never cleaned those).

They tackled the kitchen and the common toilet/shower last. They jet steamed the tiles and scrubbed them afterwards. They also deep cleaned the refrigerator which involved taking out all the contents. I did not supervise much at this point. I stayed in our room for the most part because it was so hot, and I need the aircon. LOL! I would just go out once in a while to check. One time, I went out and a foul smell greeted me. It was from the fridge. I never noticed it before. Apparently, we have rotting veggies in the crisper. Ha! Our kitchen, toilet and the fridge were sparkling clean by the time they finished. My only comment on the fridge is that they washed the shelves (took them out) but did not thoroughly dry them before putting them back in. No biggie, but would have been neat not to see watermarks in to the shelves.

They ended by noon. Took them roughly 3.5 hours to complete the entire unit.

For our house in Kawit, I had them start with the common bathroom in the 2nd floor, nursery and guest bedroom, since some construction workers are still doing finishing touches in the master’s bedroom and bathroom. They tackled it quite quickly since the rooms are bare. They cleaned windows, floors, walls and ceilings, dusted the chandeliers and aircon (I just had them serviced and cleaned), and vacuumed the crib mattress and La-Z Boy in the nursery. I had them put the freshly washed mattress protector on the crib mattress. Then they waxed the floor using the liquid wax I provided.

After that, they moved to our room where they did the same routine. They vacuumed both sides of the mattress. I didn’t ask them to clean the pillows as I just had them washed. They also cleaned the bathroom and polished the fittings. They also waxed the floor and polished the furniture including the inside of the empty closets.

The most challenging part of the second floor is my craft area. This wasn’t part of the renovation work but since it is an open area, it gathered a thick layer of dust. It was also cluttered with boxes of our things from the bedrooms (books, electronics, etc.). I didn’t supervise them much because looking at the clutter in this space gave me a headache. Haha! I was pleasantly surprised that by the time they finished, the space was dust free. Whew! I didn’t ask them to clean the inside of the closets because they contained my craft tools and supplies, and I don’t want anyone to touch them. I will clean the contents myself when I am able (maybe months from now), or ask our yaya to clean under my supervision.

Then they moved downstairs, starting with our den  which is also part of the renovation, and is empty, so they finished this quickly. Then they cleaned the toilet – it was small so it didn’t take long to clean it. They moved into the living room where they used the ladder they brought to clean the chandelier and the walls. They vacuumed our couches and replaced the covers. They also vacuumed the area rug. They dusted and polished the surfaces, including the baseboards. They moved to the dining, then the kitchen, cleaning and polishing the surfaces. By the time they finished, it was almost sunset. It took them about eight hours to clean our house, non-stop, with just a few minutes break for lunch and snacks.

I was happy with the service. Our place was visibly clean. Our unit/house smelled great. The chrome fittings in the bathroom and kitchen were shiny. Our toilet fixtures were gleaming white. They also disassembled our electric fans to clean them. So happy. In Cavite, we will need a second round of vacuuming/waxing of the floors since there are some finishing touches left for our contractor to do plus dust is still settling from the construction work, so I didn’t expect it to be 100% clean, but it was clean enough for us to move back in that same evening and sleep in our room.

Overall, I’d give our KrisDaHei experience a 7 out of 10.

Some notes: I thought that two people are ok for the size of our condo unit. It’s also perfect because I was alone, and I wanted to supervise both of them. I kept an eye on them while they were cleaning, specially our room since we have valuables in there, and do not want to tempt them by leaving them alone. I didn’t stay in the room the whole time, but I kept the door open (it was visible from the dining area) and I popped in every few minutes. I just stayed while they were cleaning the shelves because I wanted to see how they will clean the contents of the shelves. I gave specific instructions not to include the closets – though I think they are supposed to clean it (not arrange the clothes, but just dust and polish the surfaces). If there are sections or items that you don’t want them to touch, you’ll need to give instructions. The contract has details on what is covered by the basic and deep cleaning. Best to refer to it once in a while to check if they’ve covered everything. I had the printout in front of me so I refer to it periodically, to make sure I am getting what I paid for.

For Cavite, I thought it is a lot of work for just two people. It is a much bigger space, and there is more work to be done given that the place has just been renovated. I think they should have stuck to the initial plan to have three people clean the place. They would have finished earlier and we could have moved our things back in, like we planned. Since we finished late, we decided not to move our things back in that day.

I do have some comments on the planning stage. For our condo, there was no problem. They responded very quickly to my emails and we were able to set up right away. For Cavite, they took longer to respond to my emails. I paid just the day before (Friday) because they confirmed costs that same morning via text message! I had to tell them that I sent an email. I guess this means that the servicing is a bit inconsistent. In addition, like I mentioned, they sent two cleaners instead of three, and did not inform me about this. I was anticipating that they will finish in six hours so we can still move our things back into our house, but they finished late because there are only two people working. Also, I feel that it was very exhausting work since they don’t just clean, they lift things and move them around (they moved our mattress from one room to another!). I think they would do a better job if there were more people in the team.

I also wanted to note that the cleaners took public transportation to get to our place. I felt bad for them because they were carrying so much. Our location, both in Mandaluyong and Kawit are not exactly commuter friendly. For Kawit, they had to take a cab to the bus station, then transfer to a bus, then a tricycle to get to our house. Going back, they will have to walk a kilometer from our house to the bus stop. I had hubby drive them there instead. I was told they took a cab from their office to the bus station, then a bus to Kawit, and then paid Php200 for the tricycle from where they got off the bus. If they had a car, they probably would have spent less on gas. These are two women, one is medium built, another is much smaller. They carried a huge heavy luggage, one backpack each, a pail, and a foldable aluminum ladder. I felt sorry for them. I hope their employer will consider providing a service car for their transportation, perhaps get a driver who can also be part of the cleaning crew. By the time they get back to their office, they would have put in more than 12 hours of work (including commuting time), and they still need to clean their tools before heading home. :(

I wasn’t able to serve them snacks in Mandaluyong. I was alone in the house and our fridge was empty. I had nothing to offer them and I regret not having prepared anything. They obviously worked hard and they were exhausted after 3.5 hours of non-stop cleaning. I hope they were happy with my tip.

In Kawit, I noted that they had packed lunch. So we just served them snacks in the afternoon and provided cold water the whole day. I hope our tip showed them how much we appreciated their efforts.

Will I hire them again? Yes! I am thinking they can come and do basic cleaning for our condo once every few months.

Will I recommend them to friends? Yes! But it would be their responsibility to understand the scope of services, and provide proper supervision and guidance to the cleaners. And please, feed them, and give a reasonable tip.

Written by Alby Laran

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