So, your trying to figure out “how much is a cleaner in grand lake colorado” and its probably proving to be a little complicated. You’ve likely seen some prices that seem all over the place, or maybe you cant get a straight answer at all. Thats pretty normal for a place like Grand Lake. Its not like Denver or a big city where there’s a huge list of cleaning companies all competing with each other.
Up here in the mountians, things are just… different. And that difference definitely effects the price of services like house cleaning.
If you just want a quick answer, its probably going to be unsatisfying. A single cleaner might charge you between $35 and $75 per hour, per person. A proffessional, insured company might charge a minimum fee of $190 or more just to show up. And if your looking for a vacation rental “turn over” clean, you’re likely looking at a flat rate, which could be anywhere from $250 to over $500 depending on the size of your cabin or house.
Shocked? Don’t be. In this post, we’re going to break down why the costs are what they are, what kind of cleaning you actually need (because it matters, alot), and what factors make that price go up or down.
Why Is Cleaning in Grand Lake So Expensiv?
This is the main question, right? It seems crazy to pay that much, but when you look at the factors, it starts to make a little more sense. Its not just about wiping down counters.
1. The “Mountain Town” Tax
This is the biggest one. Everything is harder in a remote mountain town.
- Travel Time: Cleaners arent always living right on main street in Grand Lake. They might be driving from Granby, Hot Sulphur Springs, or even farther. That’s a lot of gas and time on the road, especially in a snowstorm, just to get to your property. They have to charge for that.
- Logistics: Just geting supplies is harder. They can’t just run to a giant superstore. This adds overhead.
- Cost of Living: Its just flat out expensive to live in Grand County. The people who work here need to make a living wage that reflects that, so their prices is higher.
2. The Labor Shortage is Real
This is true for all mountain towns. Finding good, reliabel staff is maybe the number one challenge for every single business. There’s a limited pool of people who live here year-round, and many of them are already working. Cleaners who are insured, bonded, and actually show up when they say they will are in super high demand. They can charge a premium because they are worth their weight in gold.
3. Extreme Seasonality
Grand Lake has two massive peaks, summer (for the lake) and winter (for snowmobiling and skiing nearby). During these times, demand for cleaners goes through the roof. Every vacation rental wants their property cleaned between 10 AM and 3 PM, all on the same Saturday. Its an impossible crunch. This high demand and low supply means prices go up. In the shoulder seasons (like May or October), you might find better rates, but during peak season, your paying for the convenience of geting a spot on their schedule.
4. The Vacation Rental (STR) Boom
This changed everything. A vacation rental clean is not a normal house clean. It’s much, much more work. We’ll get into that in a second, but so many properties in Grand Lake are short-term rentals that it has soaked up all the available cleaning resources. This means that even if you’re a local just looking for a standard clean, your competing for services against high-paying rental properties.
What Kind of Cleaning Do You Realy Need?
The price you pay depends entirely on what your asking for. You cant compare the price of a “turnover” to a “deep clean.” They are totally different jobs.
Standard Housekeeping (The “Maintenance” Clean)
This is what most people think of. You hire someone to come every week, or every two weeks, to maintain a baseline of clean.
- Dusting surfaces
- Vacuuming and mopping floors
- Wiping kitchen counters and outside of appliances
- Cleaning bathrooms (toilets, showers, sinks, mirrors)
- Tidying up This is the cheapest option per visit, but its usually for locals or second homeowners who are there often. Proffessional companies might not even offer this service, or they’ll have a 3 or 4-hour minimum.
The Deep Clean (The “Catch-Up” Clean)
This is the big one. This is what you get when you first hire a service, or what you might do once a year (“spring cleaning”). A deep clean includes everything from a standard clean, PLUS…
- Cleaning inside the oven
- Cleaning inside the refrigerator
- Wiping down all baseboards and trim
- Cleaning interior windows and sills
- Dusting ceiling fans and light fixtures
- Scrubbing tile grout A deep clean can take a full day or more and is usualy charged hourly, or as a very high flat rate. Expect this to cost at least $400+ for an average home.
The Vacation Rental Turnover (The “STR” Clean)
This is the most common and the most specialized type of cleaning in Grand Lake. It is a completely different beast. It is not just cleaning, it is property preperation. A turnover clean has a very tight deadline (usualy between 11 AM check-out and 4 PM check-in) and includes:
- All tasks from a standard clean.
- Laundry: Washing, drying, and folding all sheets and towels.
- Staging: Remaking all the beds (perfectly), arranging towels, and making the property look perfect for the next gests.
- Restocking: Refilling toilet paper, paper towels, soap, coffee, etc.
- Inventory: Checking for any missing or broken items and reporting them to you.
- Trash: Hauling all the guest’s trash to the dump or transfer station (which is a big deal in Grand County). This is why STR cleaning is almost always a high flat rate. You are not paying for just cleaning. Your paying for a reliable service that can manage this complex process on a tight schedule, making your property ready for 5-star reviews. This service is a critical part of your rental business.
Move-Out / Post-Construction Clean
These are also highly specialized. A move-out clean is a deep clean for an empty house, focusing on getting a security deposit back. Post-construction is a whole other level, dealing with fine dust from drywall and sawdust, which is incredibly time-consuming. These are almost always billed hourly and can be very expensiv.
How Cleaners Charge (The Different Price Models)
When you ask for a quote, you’ll probably get one of three answers.
- Per Hour: This is common for deep cleans or standard housekeeping. The rate is per person, per hour. So if the rate is $50/hour and a team of two people comes for three hours, your bill is $300 ($50 x 2 people x 3 hours). The risk here is that if the job is bigger than expected, the bill can be, too.
- Flat Rate: This is the best for budgetting and the most common for vacation rental turnovers. The cleaner will assess your property (either in person or from photos) and give you one set price per clean. This is good for you because you always know what you’ll pay. Its good for them because if they get faster, they make more. This is the model most STR cleaners prefer.
- Per Square Foot: This is less common for homes but you might see it. It’s usualy for commercial cleaning or brand-new properties. They might charge something like $0.20 per square foot.
The “Oh, That Costs Extra” List
Be careful to clarify what is included. Many things you assume are part of a clean are actualy “add-ons” that will make the price go up.
- Pets: Sorry, but Fido makes a mess. Pet hair is notoriously difficult to get out of upholstery and carpets. Many cleaners charge a “pet fee” of $25 or more per clean.
- Inside Appliances: The oven and fridge are almost never included in a standard clean.
- Windows: Wiping the inside might be included, but the outside is a whole separate service.
- Laundry: As discussed, for standard housekeeping, this is a big add-on. For STRs, it should be built into the flat rate.
- Baseboards: Many standard cleans only do this on a “rotating” basis, not every time.
- Hot Tubs: If you have a hot tub at your rental, that’s a whole separate service, not a cleaning one.
- Excessive Mess: If your last gests threw a huge party and left a disaster, do not expect your cleaner to handle it for the normal rate. You will (and should) be charged extra.
How to Find a Reliabel Cleaner in Grand County
This is the hard part. You cant just google and find 50 options.
- Word of Mouth: This is number one. Ask your neighbors, your real estate agent, or your property manager (if you have one). A personal recomendation is the best you can get.
- Local Facebook Groups: Join the Grand County community groups. People ask for cleaner recomendations on there all the time. You’ll get real, honest feedback.
- Vetting is Key: When you find someone, ask them these questions:
- Are you insured and bonded? (This is CRITICAL. What happens if they brake your expensive TV or slip and fall? If they aren’t insured, you are liable).
- Can you provide references? (And actualy call them).
- What exactly is included in your standard/turnover clean? (Get a checklist).
- What is your policy for a snow day? (This is a real question up here. If they can’t get to your property, what’s the backup plan?).
The Winter Wagon Connection
Managing the logistics of a property or a trip in Grand Lake is a ton of work. It’s not just one thing. It’s a whole chain of services that all have to work together perfectly.
You need a reliabel cleaner so your house is ready. You need a reliabel snow plow service so your gests can get in the driveway. And you need reliabel transportation to get your family or your renters from the Denver airport all the way up the mountian, safely, even in a blizzard.
That’s where Winter Wagon comes in.
Just like you need a proffessional, insured cleaner you can count on, you need a proffessional, insured transport service. We handle the transportation logistics. We specialize in geting people from DEN to Grand Lake, Granby, Winter Park, and all over the mountains. Our private shuttles and charter vans are built for this.
So while you’re sorting out your cleaning service, don’t forget about the first and last piece of the puzzle, the ride.
Conclusion: It’s Expensive, But a Good Cleaner is Worth It
So, how much is a cleaner in Grand Lake? Its expensive. Probably more expensive than you hoped. You’re looking at $35-$75 per hour for basic services and $250-$500+ for a reliable vacation rental turnover.
But the price isn’t just for the cleaning. Your paying for reliability, for insurance, for someone’s travel time, and for the peice of mind that the job will get done right in a place where its very hard to find good help.
My advice? Don’t look for the cheapest option. Look for the best value. A cheap cleaner who does a bad job or cancels last minute will cost you way more in lost rental income and bad reviews than a proffessional service ever will. Get multiple quotes, check those references, and be prepared to pay a fair price for a tough job in a tough (but beautiful) place.