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Columbia House Cleaning Prices
House cleaning from $188
- By the room, not the hour
- No contracts or reschedule fees
- 100% money-back guarantee
What house cleaning costs in Columbia
These are real numbers from Columbia homes we cleaned in 2026. “Most homes” means the middle half of what customers actually paid. Your exact price depends on which rooms you choose, how big your home is and how often we come. Getting it online takes about two minutes.
$188 is where a first cleaning starts, for the smallest homes we clean. Most homes land between $242 and $441 for that first visit, which brings the home up to our standard. Every visit after it is a maintenance clean at one of the lower rates below, and that rate stays the same until you change the rooms.
Our lowest rate per visit. The home never gets far from clean, so each visit is quick.
What most Columbia customers choose.
A month of living takes longer to undo, so each visit costs a bit more than every other week.
Your first visit is the deep one: baseboards, ceiling fans, everything that has been waiting. It takes longer, so it costs more, and it is the most you will ever pay us for a cleaning. Every scheduled visit after it costs less. One-time and occasional cleanings are priced like a first visit.
An empty house cleaned top to bottom for the next family or the landlord’s walkthrough. Priced for the whole job, not by the hour.
What you’re really deciding
Most people call us to find out whether a few hundred dollars is worth it. The better question is what your Saturday is worth. A first cleaning takes a crew most of a day. Do it yourself, on top of everything else, and that is a weekend gone. One customer told us she gets about six hours back every visit.
Part of the price is who shows up. Our Crew Members are trained, background-checked and backed by a supervisor who checks the work, because the person in your home matters more than the number on this page. That is a big part of why our customers stay with us more than five years on average.
Why now
Our Columbia crews stay booked. Open dates go fast, especially before holidays and at the end of the month. A date that is open today may be gone next week. If you have been meaning to do this, get your price now and pick your dates while they are still there.
How your price is built (and why it isn’t by the hour)
By the room, not the hour. Most people who call us ask how many hours we’ll be there. We don’t bill that way. You tell us which rooms you want cleaned and we give you one set price for the finished job. Whether we send one Crew Member or two, and whether it is a fast day or a slow one, the price does not move. It stays the same every visit until you change the rooms.
Rooms. Every room is priced on its own, so you choose which ones we clean. Plenty of customers skip the guest rooms or the basement, and the price follows.
Size. Larger homes take longer, so square footage is part of the price. Very large homes get a quick walkthrough first so the price is right the first time.
Pets. A house full of pets takes a little more work, and the price reflects that. One or two dogs or cats change nothing.
Frequency. The more often we come, the less each visit costs. Weekly is our lowest rate per visit, monthly the highest of the recurring schedules, and one-time or occasional cleanings are priced like a first cleaning.
Vacant homes and add-ons
A vacant move-in or move-out is the most complete cleaning we do, and it is priced for the whole job, not by the hour. Larger empty homes cost more than smaller ones, and appliances are add-ons. If you are pricing a move-out, plan around the vacant range above, not the first-cleaning range.
Add-ons can be added to any cleaning, vacant or not.
| Add-on | Price |
|---|---|
| Inside refrigerator | $65 |
| Inside oven | $75 |
| Washer | $30 |
| Dryer | $30 |
| Inside dishwasher | $30 |
| Garage, per stall | $30 |
| Hand floor washing | $15 |
| Sheet changes | $15 |
| Damp mopping | $7 |
Prices are per cleaning. Prices are shown before 7.5% sales tax. The price you’re quoted is the price you pay: no contracts, no trip charges, no fee to reschedule, and every cleaning is backed by our 100% money-back guarantee.
Three Columbia homes, priced
Ranges only go so far. Here are three typical Columbia homes run through our pricing exactly as the online tool does it, with every room in the house on the list. Take rooms off and the price drops.
Kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, two full baths. No pets. A condo, a townhome or a small ranch.
| First-time cleaning | $192 |
| Weekly | $116 |
| Every other week | $128 |
| Monthly | $167 |
Kitchen, family room, dining room, three bedrooms, two full baths and a half bath, one set of stairs. One dog. The typical family home in Irmo or Chapin.
| First-time cleaning | $255 |
| Weekly | $153 |
| Every other week | $170 |
| Monthly | $221 |
| Vacant move-out, same home | $510 |
| Move-out price before add-ons. Inside fridge is $65 and inside oven is $75. | |
Kitchen, family room, living room, dining room, five bedrooms, three full baths and a half bath, two sets of stairs. Two dogs. The larger newer homes around Lexington.
| First-time cleaning | $399 |
| Weekly | $240 |
| Every other week | $266 |
| Monthly | $346 |
These are examples, not quotes. Your rooms, your square footage and the rooms you leave off all move the number, which is why the exact price for your home takes two minutes online. Calculate your own price.
Cleaning homes in Columbia
Our Columbia service center at 6801 St. Andrews Road cleans homes across Irmo, Chapin, Lexington, West Columbia and Columbia and the rest of the area. Here is what that looks like on the ground, and what it does to the price.
Shandon, Forest Acres and the Northeast
Shandon, Rosewood and Forest Acres are 1920s to 1960s homes with hardwood floors, plaster and small tiled baths. The Northeast, Blythewood, Lexington, Irmo and Chapin are 1990s and newer brick two-stories with open kitchens, three or four bathrooms and often a bonus room, and the subdivisions keep going. Fort Jackson families usually land in the newer stock. Old homes take longer per square foot; new ones have more bathrooms and more glass. Prices are shown before South Carolina sales tax.
Heat, humidity and pine pollen
Columbia summers are hot and humid enough that bathrooms and window tracks grow a film between visits, and the air conditioning runs most of the year and keeps dust moving. Pine pollen in March and April coats everything inside and out. Sandy soil comes in on shoes and pets. Homes with a lot of glass and blinds take the longest on a first visit and are the easiest to keep ahead of every other week.
Who calls us in Columbia
Fort Jackson families on PCS orders, University of South Carolina faculty and staff, state government employees, medical families, and homeowners who want the weekend back. PCS season, May through August, and the first of the month are when move-out dates disappear first.
What that means for your price
Most Columbia customers choose every other week. For the typical three-bedroom family home here that is about $170 a visit, or $153 weekly and $221 monthly, with a first visit around $255. A two-bedroom condo or small ranch runs closer to $128 every other week, and a five-bedroom with four baths closer to $266. Newer homes with a lot of bathrooms and glass land toward the top of the ranges on this page; bungalows, ranches and condos land toward the bottom. Every room you leave off comes off the price. Prices are shown before 7.5% sales tax.
How our prices compare in Columbia
Here is what the market charges, then what we charge. An independent cleaner in Columbia advertises around $18 to $22 an hour, per person, which works out to about $72 to $110 for a three-bedroom home once the hours are counted. Local cost guides put a professional house cleaning here in a typical range of $86 to $289 a visit. Both come from our own market research this fall. Here is how to read them next to ours.
The hourly rate is what gets advertised. The visit is what you pay for, and that price leaves out everything that makes a price safe to say yes to:
- No bond, no insurance. If they get hurt in your home, the claim can land on you and your homeowner’s policy. If they break something, it is your loss.
- No background check unless you run one yourself.
- No backup. When they are sick, on vacation or gone for good, so is your cleaning day.
- Nobody checks the work and nobody stands behind it. There is no guarantee to call in.
- Supplies and equipment are often yours to buy.
- The tax question. Pay someone regularly and you may be a household employer in the eyes of the IRS, with the paperwork that comes with it.
Our scheduled visits average about $200 for the same home with every one of those things included. Side by side, we are the better buy: a bonded, background-checked, supervised crew with a guarantee, and the difference in price is what pays for all of it.
That is what the market charges for a professional cleaning of an average Columbia home. Our scheduled visits average about $200, and most homes land between $146 and $383 depending on size and how often we come.
- Same price band. We sit inside the range the market already charges.
- Spelled out in advance. The checklist, the supervisor and the money-back guarantee are in writing before you book.
- Published, not quoted. The number is on this page instead of behind a phone call.
What comes with it:
- Background-checked crew, bonded and insured.
- 165-point checklist with a supervisor who checks the work.
- 100% money-back guarantee.
- A price that does not move when a visit runs long. An hourly price rewards slow work; a by-the-room price rewards a crew that knows your home.
Better cleaning, less risk, and a fair price for it. That is the whole case, and the numbers on this page back it up.
Market figures are from our own research of Columbia listings and cost guides, September 2026. Our figures are from Columbia homes we cleaned in 2026.
What a cleaning includes in Columbia
Every General Cleaning follows the same checklist, about 165 tasks in a typical home. Here is the short version, room by room. The full checklist has been public on our site for close to a decade.
Countertops and backsplash cleaned and sanitized, with everything moved and cleaned behind. Sink sanitized. Cabinet and appliance exteriors cleaned, microwave cleaned inside and out, small appliances wiped down. Window over the sink, blinds, fixtures and ledges cobwebbed, sills wiped. Pantry vacuumed, trash emptied, floors edged, vacuumed and hand washed, baseboards wiped.
Sinks and countertops cleaned and sanitized. Shower and tub scrubbed and sanitized, chrome shined, glass and mirrors cleaned. Toilet cleaned and sanitized, base and behind. Cabinet exteriors, switch plates, fixtures and blinds, sills. Closet vacuumed, trash emptied, baseboards wiped, floor hand washed.
All furniture and decor dusted, glass cleaned, upholstery vacuumed. Walls, ceiling fans and baseboards cobwebbed, sills and blinds done. Beds made, rooms tidied, trash emptied. Floors edged and vacuumed. Front storm door and one set of French doors cleaned inside and out.
Your first cleaning, then the scheduled ones
The first visit works the whole checklist against everything that has built up, which is why it takes longest and costs the most. Every scheduled visit after it works the same checklist on a home that is already at our standard, so it goes faster and costs less. One customer put it plainly in a review: they dropped the guest bedroom and guest bathroom from a few cleanings while nobody was using them. You choose the rooms every time.
What costs extra
Inside the refrigerator, inside the oven, inside the dishwasher, washer and dryer, garage stalls, sheet changes, and hand washing or damp mopping of hard floors outside the kitchen and bathrooms are add-ons, priced above. Windows are not part of a General Cleaning; mirrors, glass doors and the glass listed above are. We bring our own equipment and eco-friendly products.
Move-out and move-in cleaning in Columbia
Fort Jackson and the University of South Carolina move people through Columbia every year, so move-outs here run on a deadline. That is why vacant cleanings are their own price here: most Columbia move-outs run $404 to $882, from $313 for the smallest homes, with inside-the-appliance work as add-ons.
A vacant cleaning is the most complete cleaning we do. Empty rooms let us reach everything, and the price is for the finished job, whatever it takes. It is meant to pass a landlord’s walkthrough or a buyer’s final inspection.
When to book it
PCS season, May through August, and the first of the month are when move-out dates disappear first. If you have a final walkthrough or a closing date, book the cleaning the day you get it, and give us three dates that work in case the first one is gone. Price a move-out online or call the pricing line at 803-799-0150.
What moves the price in Columbia
Across Irmo, Chapin and Lexington and the rest of the area we serve, the price follows the home, not the zip code. Larger, newer builds land in the upper half of the ranges above; older homes, townhomes and condos land in the lower half. The very largest homes carry a size adjustment and get a quick walkthrough first so the price is right the first time.
Every room is priced on its own. A finished basement nobody uses, a guest room that stays closed, an office you would rather we skip: leave them off and the price follows. Add them back for the holidays. The list is yours to change.
One or two pets change nothing; a full house of them adds a little. And the more often we come, the less each visit costs, because the home never gets far from clean. Weekly is our lowest rate per visit, monthly the highest of the scheduled rates.
What Columbia callers ask us
These are the questions our pricing line hears every day, answered here so you don’t have to wait on hold for them.
How much does house cleaning cost in Columbia?
House cleaning in Columbia starts at $188 for a first cleaning, and most homes land between $242 and $441 for that first visit. After that, regularly scheduled cleanings average about $200 a visit across all home sizes: weekly runs $146 to $265 for most homes, every other week $162 to $294, and monthly $210 to $383. Vacant move-in and move-out cleanings run $404 to $882. The exact number for your home takes about two minutes online.
Do you charge by the hour?
No. We price by the room. You tell us which rooms you want cleaned and we quote one set price for the finished job, so you never pay more because a crew took longer, and you never get a rushed clean because the clock ran out.
What is the least a cleaning can cost?
$188 for a first-time cleaning, which covers the smallest homes we clean. Every scheduled visit after that costs less. Weekly, every-other-week and monthly rates begin with your second cleaning, and the ranges above show where most homes land.
Can I get a price without calling?
Yes. Price your own home any time at quote.cottagecare.com. It asks the same questions our pricing line does, rooms, size, pets, frequency, and gives you a price for every frequency at once. If you would rather talk it through, the pricing line is 803-799-0150, Monday through Friday 8 AM to 8 PM and Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM, and it takes about ten minutes.
Can I have just some rooms cleaned?
Yes. Plenty of customers have us clean the kitchen, bathrooms and main living areas and skip the guest rooms or the basement. You choose the rooms, the price follows, and you can change the list any time.
How much is a move-out or move-in cleaning?
Vacant homes are the most complete cleaning we do, and most Columbia move-outs land between $404 and $882 before appliances. Inside the refrigerator is $65 and inside the oven is $75. It is priced for the whole job, not by the hour.
What does a cleaning include?
Every General Cleaning covers cobwebbing, dusting and vacuuming in every room, and kitchens and bathrooms cleaned and sanitized. Kitchen and bathroom floors are hand washed. Floors in every other room, hard surface or carpet, are edged and vacuumed; hand washing or damp mopping those is an add-on. The full 165-point checklist is on our site. Inside appliances, garages and sheet changes are add-ons, priced above. We bring our own equipment and eco-friendly products.
How soon can you come?
It depends on the season and the week. Sometimes we can be there the next day, sometimes later that week, and in busy stretches it can be a week or two out. Our Columbia office stays busy and open spots go quickly, so the sooner you book the better your pick of dates. When you book, you give us three dates that work for you and we confirm one. If you have company coming or a closing date, tell us and we will do what we can.
Do I need to be home?
No. Most customers leave a key, a garage code or a lockbox, and you choose how we get in when you book. Our Crew Members are background-checked, and CottageCare is bonded and insured.
What if I’m not happy with a cleaning?
Tell us and we make it right. Every cleaning is backed by our 100% money-back guarantee, there is no contract holding you, and there is never a fee to reschedule.
Service Center Hours
- Monday – Friday:
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM - Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: Closed
Pricing Line Hours
- Monday – Friday:
8:00 AM – 8:00 PM - Saturday:
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Meet Your Manager
Genevieve “Gen” Mallett ManagerLocation6801 St. Andrews Road Suite 1A Columbia, SC 29212
Location6801 St. Andrews Road Suite 1A Columbia, SC 29212
How we got these numbers. The first-cleaning range is the middle half of what Columbia customers actually paid for a first cleaning in 2026, from our own scheduling records, with vacant homes counted separately. Scheduled-visit ranges are what those same homes pay on a weekly, every-other-week or monthly schedule. The $200 average covers all scheduled cleanings across all home sizes. Prices are shown before 7.5% sales tax. We update this page as prices change. Last updated September 2026. This is the price sheet for our Columbia service center at 6801 St. Andrews Road.
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