Cleaning · Guides
“Domestic Helper” or “Hourly Cleaning”? Work Out Which One You Actually Need
People use the term “domestic helper” to mean very different things — some genuinely want a long-term/live-in helper for cooking, childcare, and elderly care; others simply want someone to come clean and tidy regularly. The two needs are very different, and picking the wrong service type easily leads to disappointment.
What does a “domestic helper” usually cover?
A traditional domestic helper (or foreign domestic worker) has a broad scope — beyond cleaning, it can include cooking, laundry, childcare, and elderly care, and usually requires long-term or live-in employment. This is a different category of labour need, not simply a cleaning service.
How do you know you actually want a cleaning service, not a full domestic helper?
If your core need is “the house is dirty, I have no time to tidy, I want someone to come clean/tidy regularly” — but you don't need them to cook, look after children, or care for elderly family members — then what you're actually looking for is a cleaning service, not necessarily a full-time domestic helper.
What does Shane's hourly cleaning include, and not include?
Our hourly cleaning is provided by local workers, charged by the hour, and focused on cleaning and tidying-related work (e.g. floors, toilet, kitchen surfaces, simple tidying) — but it doesn't include cooking, ironing, childcare, or elderly care, which are domestic-helper/foreign-worker type duties. If that's what you need, hourly cleaning won't be the right fit — we'd suggest looking into a dedicated staffing agency instead.
Who is hourly cleaning instead of a domestic helper best suited for?
If you just want someone to help maintain your home's cleanliness regularly (e.g. weekly/fortnightly) without needing long-term employment or help with daily living/care duties, hourly cleaning is usually more flexible and easier to budget for than a full-time domestic helper.
Not sure which one you need?
The most direct way is to check what our hourly cleaning covers (cleaning-related work only, no cooking or childcare) and book only if it fits — we won't take on work we aren't suited for. g. just cleaning, or also cooking and childcare) — we'll honestly tell you whether hourly cleaning fits, and just as honestly tell you if it doesn't, rather than taking on work we're not set up for.
Our hourly cleaning only covers cleaning-related work — it doesn't include cooking, ironing, childcare, or elderly care. If you're not sure which service you need, check each service's scope before you book.