How we vet a cleaning partner.

Clean Freaks Co does not perform cleaning. We curate the partner who does. That makes the vetting process the actual thing a client pays us, indirectly, to have done — the hours of reference calls, insurance review, and capability verification that a homeowner would otherwise have to do alone, and usually does not.

A marketplace optimizes for the number of providers it can list. We optimize for the opposite: the fewest partners who clear the standard. In most regions, that is one partner per service. The list is short because the process is strict.

1. Insurance verification. Documented general liability coverage of two million dollars or more, plus commercial auto on every vehicle. We review the certificate at signing and require renewal documentation annually. The named beneficiary is the homeowner, not Clean Freaks Co.
2. Two reference calls. Two existing-client references, both contacted by us directly. We do not accept written testimonials in place of a call. We ask specifically about consistency over time — whether the visits in month twelve looked like the visits in month one.
3. Background checks. Every crew member who will be on a client property has cleared a current background check by an accredited provider. The check is re-run on a defined cadence, not once at hire and never again.
4. Capability verification. The partner demonstrates experience with the specific materials and conditions of the region — wool and silk-blend fiber, hard-water glass, travertine, stucco soft-wash. A partner is listed only for the services they can show they perform safely.
5. Code-of-conduct agreement. A signed code governing on-site behavior: discreet phone use during a visit, no idle conversation with household staff, unmarked vehicles where the partner can accommodate it. Before-and-after work photos a partner uses for marketing must not identify the client, the home, or its location, and a client may ask that none be used at all.
6. Confidentiality commitment. The code of conduct binds every partner to keep client names, addresses, and home details private, and Clean Freaks Co holds the same line on the information a client shares with us. Where a client wants a formal non-disclosure agreement for a particular property, we arrange it with the partner.
7. Etiquette assessment. A judgment, not a checkbox — whether the partner understands the norms of a household. Discretion, punctuality, the absence of upsell pressure. Capable crews that lack this are not listed.

A partner who cannot produce two contactable references is not listed. A partner whose insurance lapses is suspended until it is restored. A partner who declines the code of conduct is not listed. A partner who is the subject of a credible discretion complaint — a client’s home identified in a post, a client named — loses the partnership.

Where a partnership ends, we do not leave the region uncovered for the sake of appearances. We handle inquiries for that region manually and expedite the vetting of a replacement. We would rather a region show no partner banner for a season than show a partner who has not cleared the standard.

Insurance documentation is reviewed annually. Background checks are re-run on cadence. We track partner performance over time — when a client raises a concern, it reaches us, and it factors into whether the partnership continues. A partner who was the right fit two years ago is held to the same standard today.