After a long trip away from home, there are lots of clothes to unpack and wash and also a lot of sleep to catch-up to adjust back from the time difference and uncomfortable plane seats. The last thing we (being very jet-lagged and tired) want to do is to deal with household chores like mopping and vacuuming the floor. But you will be surprised how dusty the house can get even when it is empty for 2 weeks, especially if there are ongoing construction/renovation work in your estate.

This is where companies offering professional cleaning services like Helpling Singapore come in – for $20 an hour, you can hire a cleaner to do the following household chores for you- dusting, wiping table and cupboard doors, vacuuming and mopping of all floors, cleaning of mirrors and emptying rubbish bins.

Putting this into perspective, when I have already spent thousands on airfare, accommodation and travelling for the past few weeks, what’s another $40 to $100 (minimum booking duration for Helpling is 2 hours; I estimate it will take about 5 hours to finish up these chores in my house) so you can rest from the trip and outsource the hard work to somebody else.

What I like most about Helpling is its transparent pricing structure – $20 per hour of cleaning and if you want to clean other areas beyond the standard cleaning package as indicated above, you top up the number of hours you need according to what you need clean (as shown below). No need to waste time haggling with the cleaner on pricing and scope of work – all these are sorted out before the cleaner even turns up at your house.

One key concern that almost everyone, including myself, have about cleaning companies like Helpling is security. Giving someone complete access to my home is quite daunting – we were quite concerned about our own safety and our home and belongings. When I checked with Helpling on this, they assured me that Helpling’s service is safer than the black market or independent cleaners. All Helpling cleaners are Singaporeans, legal, vetted, personally interviewed, and have their criminal records checked by Helpling before they are being deployed.

If you need further reassurance, take a look at Helpling’s FAQs – “All our cleaners are evaluated for their experience as well as their background. In the highly unlikely event of suspected theft, according to the insurance procedure, Helpling will require you to lodge a police report, and we will assist with the police in their investigation. If theft is proven, insurance will be able to cover the cost of the stolen property if it is irrecoverable.” so in the worst case scenario, homeowners are covered by Helpling insurance.

The booking process for Helpling’s cleaning services is also very easy and fast – simply tap “Find a Cleaner” and follow the instructions about what are your requirements in terms of number of hours and additional services to book a cleaner.

If you have a good experience with a particular cleaner, you can request for the same one again next time as the Helpling app will store your previous booking so that you can easily make repeat bookings. With the app, you can forward booking details directly via email or SMS to notify your flatmate or family when the cleaner will arrive. You can also store the details onto your phone calendar for you to keep track of when the cleaner will arrive.

You can download the Helpling app for iOS on iTunes or Android on Google Play Store. For more information on Helpling, see https://www.helpling.com.sg/app