House Cleaner Interview Questions: 12 to Ask and 6 to Never Ask

The best house cleaner interview questions ask candidates to walk you through real situations: how they clean a bathroom, what they do after breaking something, what they'd do with cash found under a bed. Ask every candidate the same 12 questions, score each answer on the same 1–5 scale, stay away from questions about age, family, health, religion, national origin and arrests, then watch your top candidate clean in a paid working interview before you decide.

This guide is for cleaning business owners hiring staff, not homeowners hiring a housekeeper. Employment rules vary by state and city, so treat it as a starting point, not legal advice.

Before the interview: a 10-minute phone screen

Put the pay, days, hours and service area in the job ad, then confirm three things by phone:

1. Schedule: "The job is Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 3:30, in these neighborhoods. Does that work?"

2. Getting there: only if the job requires driving between houses, ask whether they have a valid driver's license and reliable transportation.

3. Pay: state the starting rate and ask whether it works for them.

Everyone who passes gets the same full interview. If you haven't set up as an employer yet, start with how to hire your first employee for a cleaning business; this post picks up at its step 6.

12 house cleaner interview questions to ask

Ask them in the same order every time. That's what the U.S. Office of Personnel Management calls a structured interview: questions about past behavior and hypothetical situations, the same for every candidate, rated against the same standards.

Cleaning skill

1. "Walk me through how you'd clean a bathroom, starting at the door." Listen for: top to bottom, dry before wet, letting the cleaner sit, separate cloths for the toilet. Red flag: no order at all, or "I just spray and wipe."

2. "Which cleaning products should never be mixed?" Listen for: bleach with ammonia, and bleach with acidic cleaners like vinegar. Red flag: "I mix things to make them stronger."

3. "A client has marble countertops. What changes?" Listen for: no acidic or abrasive cleaners, check the client notes, ask if unsure. Red flag: "Same as any counter."

4. "How do you know a room is finished?" Listen for: a checklist, a last look from the doorway, checking corners and fixtures. Red flag: "When it looks clean."

Trust and judgment

5. "Tell me about a time you broke or damaged something at work. What did you do?" Listen for: told the supervisor right away and took a photo. Red flag: "Never happened" after years of cleaning, or blaming the client.

6. "You're vacuuming under a bed and find cash and a ring. What do you do?" Listen for: leave it somewhere visible and tell the office; never pocket or toss it. Red flag: hesitation or a joke about keeping it.

7. "A client asks you to clean the garage too and offers to pay you directly. What do you say?" Listen for: "I need to check with the office," then a call to you. Red flag: happy to take side cash.

Reliability

8. "You're 30 minutes behind with two houses left. What do you do?" Listen for: tells the office before being late, doesn't silently skip tasks. Red flag: quietly cutting corners.

9. "Tell me about a job where you had to be on time every day. How did you manage it, and what's your backup if your ride falls through?" Listen for: a real example and backup plan. Red flag: a pattern of "it wasn't my fault."

People

10. "A client walks through after you finish and says the kitchen isn't clean enough. What do you say?" Listen for: stays calm, asks what to redo, fixes or reports it. Red flag: arguing.

11. "How do you handle a home with a dog that wants to run out the door?" Listen for: asks about pets first, keeps doors closed, follows the pet notes. Red flag: "Dogs love me, it's fine."

12. "What would your last supervisor say you should improve?" Listen for: a specific, honest answer and what they did about it. Red flag: "Nothing" or criticism of the supervisor.

6 questions to never ask (and what to ask instead)

The EEOC's guidance for small businesses recommends avoiding questions about characteristics protected by law, such as race, color, religion, sex, national origin or age. Title VII and the ADA apply at 15 or more employees and federal age law at 20, but state and local laws may cover smaller employers, and national-origin and citizenship-status rules start at 4 employees. The simple rule: don't ask any of these, at any size.

1. "Where are you from?" "Are you a citizen?" "What language do you speak at home?" The EEOC says most employers should not ask about citizenship before a job offer, and Form I-9 can't start until an offer is accepted. Instead, add the EEOC's suggested line to your application: everyone hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States upon hire.

2. "How old are you?" "When did you finish school?" Avoid age questions unless you need to verify an age-related legal requirement for the job. If your state or insurer sets a minimum age, ask only whether they meet it.

3. "Do you have kids?" "Are you pregnant?" "Who watches your children?" Instead: "The job is Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 3:30. Can you work that schedule?"

4. "Do you have any health problems?" "Any back injuries?" The EEOC says employers generally can't ask disability-related questions before a conditional job offer, but may ask whether the applicant will need an accommodation to perform a specific job duty. So describe the work ("carrying a 25-pound supply caddy upstairs") and ask exactly that.

5. "What church do you go to?" Instead, state the schedule and ask whether they can work it.

6. "Have you ever been arrested?" The EEOC says an employer can't refuse to hire someone simply because they've been arrested. For convictions, it lists three things to weigh: the nature and seriousness of the offense, the time that has passed, and the nature of the job. Timing matters too: California's Fair Chance Act generally bars employers with five or more employees from asking about convictions before a job offer, and NELP's fair-chance guide counted 15 states that ban conviction questions on private employers' applications (2021 count). Check your state and city.

And don't ask for a photo: the EEOC says employers should not ask for one.

Score every answer the same way

Write your scorecard before the first interview. Rate each area 1 to 5 (1 = poor, 3 = acceptable, 5 = excellent) and give the areas that matter most a higher weight:

• Cleaning skill (questions 1, 3, 4): weight 3

• Reliability (8–9): weight 3

• Trust and judgment (5–7): weight 3

• Communication with clients (10, 12): weight 2

• Safety (2, 11): weight 2

• Schedule fit (phone screen): weight 1

The weights add up to 14, so the top score is 14 × 5 = 70. Set two rules in advance: a 1 on trust and judgment ends the process, and 49 points (70%) earns a working interview.

Worked example: two candidates

Candidate A: skill 3, reliability 4, trust 5, communication 4, safety 3, schedule 5. (3 × 3) + (4 × 3) + (5 × 3) + (4 × 2) + (3 × 2) + (5 × 1) = 9 + 12 + 15 + 8 + 6 + 5 = 55 of 70

Candidate B: skill 4, reliability 5, trust 3, communication 3, safety 4, schedule 3. (4 × 3) + (5 × 3) + (3 × 3) + (3 × 2) + (4 × 2) + (3 × 1) = 12 + 15 + 9 + 6 + 8 + 3 = 53 of 70

Both fictional candidates clear 49, so both get a paid working interview scored on a 20-item checklist from your standard clean. A finishes 14 of 20 items to standard, missing baseboards and the microwave among others; B finishes 18 of 20. The two-point interview gap told you little; the working interview decided it.

Keep the scorecards. Covered employers must keep hiring records for one year under EEOC rules, and written scores show you used one standard for everyone.

Run a paid working interview, never an unpaid one

A trial clean is the best test you have, and it's work. The Department of Labor's hours-worked fact sheet says work an employer suffers or permits is work time and must be paid, whatever the reason. In 2018 the DOL got a $50,000 court-ordered settlement from a Nashville dental practice that, among other violations, required candidates to do a "working interview" without paying them for the hours.

How to run one:

1. Pick a standard three-hour clean at a regular client's home, and tell the client a trainee will be with you.

2. Put the candidate on payroll for the day at your starting rate; ask your payroll provider how to set up a short hire in your state.

3. Work side by side with your checklist, and let them choose their order.

4. Score the same 20 items for every candidate.

What it costs, at an example $18 an hour for 3 hours:

• Wages: 3 × $18 = $54.00

• Employer Social Security 6.2%: $3.35

• Employer Medicare 1.45%: $0.78

• FUTA 0.6% (more in a credit reduction state): $0.32

• State unemployment at an example 2.7%: $1.46

• Workers' comp at an example $3 per $100 of payroll: $1.62

Total: $61.53 to watch a candidate clean a real home. Federal rates are in IRS Topic 751 and Topic 759; your state and insurer set the last two. Check your state minimum wage too, since many are above the federal $7.25.

After the interview: references and the background check

Call two references and ask the same questions each time: "Would you rehire them?", "How was their attendance?" and "Did they ever have keys or alarm codes to clients' homes?"

If you use a screening company, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a stand-alone written disclosure, written permission, and notices before and after you reject someone because of the report. The FTC's employer guide has the steps, and the first-employee post walks through them. Also tell your insurer and bond company that you're adding staff; the cleaning business insurance guide covers what changes.

If you'd rather not build these from scratch, the Cleaning Business Hiring & Training System has its own 12-question interview guide with a scorecard, a paid working interview sheet, a reference check and the background-check steps.

Common mistakes

• Asking each candidate different questions, then comparing gut feelings.

• "Getting to know them" with questions about kids, church or where they grew up.

• Running an unpaid "trial day."

• Asking about arrests, or about convictions before your state allows it.

• Hiring before your prices can carry a wage (the house cleaning pricing guide builds a price from your costs).

FAQ

Can I ask if a candidate has a car?

Only if the job requires driving between houses. Then ask about a valid driver's license and reliable transportation, and nothing more.

Do I have to pay for a working interview?

If the candidate does real work for your business, treat it as paid time. The DOL counts work you suffer or permit as hours worked, and it has recovered back wages over an unpaid "working interview." Check your state's rules too.

Can I ask about criminal history?

Avoid asking about arrests. Conviction questions depend on your state and city: some, like California for employers with five or more employees, bar them until after a job offer. Follow the FCRA steps for any screening report and weigh the offense, the time passed and the job.

Do these rules apply if I only have one or two employees?

Some federal laws start at 15 or 20 employees, but state and local laws often cover smaller businesses, and national-origin and citizenship rules start at 4. Ask everyone the same job-related questions at any size.