How many hours of cleaning help do I need? What is realistic in 2, 3 or 4 hours
For a 4-room flat, 3 hours a week cover the weekly base: bathroom, kitchen, floors, dust. Ironing, windows and the oven come on top. Choose below what your cleaner should do: the planner works out the hours and turns them into a monthly plan.
Your hours planner: pick tasks, get hours, build a monthly plan
Three steps: describe your home and choose what your cleaner should do. The planner recommends weekly hours and shows what no longer fits with fewer hours. One click on "OK" turns it into a monthly plan to copy, print or send by WhatsApp.
1. Your household
Size
People
Bathrooms
2. What should your cleaner do?
Always included: the weekly baseThis is the base of every week. It is always counted.2 h 25 min
- Vacuum and mop floors, dust surfaces (all rooms, hallway)1 h 5 min
- Kitchen: counters, stove, sink, fronts, floor35 min
- Bathroom and WC, complete35 min
- Set-up: materials, walk-through, putting things away10 min
Every week, in addition1 selected · 8 min
Pick what comes on top every week.
Once a month (rotation)5 selected · 3 h 10 min
The planner spreads these over the four weeks: one per visit.
Estimated effort
3 h 21 min per week
Guide values from cleaning companies and experienced household cleaners (± 20 %). Your cleaner knows your home best: go through the plan together.
Plan on 2 hours for 1-2 rooms, 3 hours for 3-4 rooms and 4 hours for 5 rooms per week for the weekly base. Every additional task (laundry, ironing, windows, oven) costs 15 to 90 minutes and belongs either in more hours or in a monthly rotation.
- Weekly base = bathroom, kitchen, vacuum and mop floors, dust. It is the same every week and the foundation of any hour figure.
- Inside windows, fridge, oven, doors, upholstery: one task per visit, spread over the month. That keeps the weekly hours stable.
- The deep clean (outside windows, inside cupboards, curtains) is its own appointment, twice a year, not part of the weekly hours.
What is realistic in 2, 3, 4 and 6 hours a week
"What does a cleaner get done in 3 hours?" Honest answer: it depends on the home. Here are the four most common hour figures with what fits in a normally kept household. Guide values from practice, not a standard.
2 hours
Fits
1-2 rooms, 1 bathroom, single or couple.
Included: Bathroom, kitchen, vacuum and mop floors, dust, fresh bed linen. Plus one piece of a monthly task per week: one room of windows, the doors, the sofa.
Not included: Laundry and ironing, all windows in one go, oven and fridge inside. From 3 rooms up, it only covers the weekly base without extras.
3 hours
The Swiss standardFits
3-4 rooms, 1 bathroom plus guest WC, 2 people. The Swiss standard.
Included: The full weekly base, beds, and inside windows as a rotation: one room per week. The whole monthly rotation needs 3.5 hours.
Not included: Laundry plus ironing (70-100 minutes together) break the frame. With children or pets it gets tight.
4 hours
Fits
4-5 rooms, 2 bathrooms, family of 3-4. Or 3-4 rooms with laundry and ironing.
Included: Weekly base, beds, one load of laundry or the ironing, plus the whole monthly rotation: inside windows, fridge, oven, doors, upholstery.
Not included: Laundry AND ironing AND tidying together. Then it is more like 4.5 to 5 hours.
6 hours
Fits
House with 6+ rooms, 2-3 bathrooms, family with children and a pet. Often better as 2 × 3 hours.
Included: Everything from the 4-hour list, plus laundry and ironing, tidying, kids' rooms, balcony. Two visits a week keep the house clean continuously instead of "rescued" once a week.
Not included: Outside windows, inside cupboards, carpet shampooing, curtains: that stays a deep clean, twice a year.
Rule of thumb: about one minute per square metre for floors and dust, plus 30 minutes for the kitchen and 25 minutes per bathroom. For 90 m² with one bathroom and a guest WC that is a good two hours of weekly base. The first three to four visits take 20 to 30 percent longer: new home, new routes, new materials.
Weekly base, extras, rotation: what belongs in the weekly hours
Most misunderstandings arise because "cleaning" does not mean the same to you and to your cleaner. Split the work into three tiers: what happens every week, what rotates and what is a separate appointment.
Tier 1: weekly base, every week
Bathroom and WC complete, kitchen (counters, stove, sink, fronts, floor), vacuum and mop all floors, dust on clear surfaces, hallway. This is the core. Without it, no hour figure makes sense.
Tier 2: weekly extras
Fresh bed linen (8 minutes per bed), laundry (25 minutes of hands-on time per load), ironing (45 to 90 minutes per basket), tidying before cleaning (20 minutes), dishwasher, balcony, plants. Every extra is legitimate, but each costs time that comes off the weekly base unless you raise the hours.
Tier 3: monthly rotation
Inside windows, fridge inside, oven, doors and radiators, upholstery, grout and drains, shelves, kitchen cabinet fronts. Not everything every week, but one task per visit. Windows can even be spread as "one room per week". The hours stay the same and everything still gets done.
The complete task list of a household helper, room by room, is in the task guide. What materials you should provide is in the cleaning supplies checklist.
The base every week. One monthly task per visit. The deep clean is its own appointment.
What you can expect from your cleaner, and what not
A good cleaner is thorough, reliable and honest. She is not a magician. These six points clear up the most common frictions in advance.
Clean yes, tidy no
Cleaning means cleaning, not creating order. If clothes, toys and mail are lying around, the first half hour goes to tidying. Either you tidy the evening before, or you book "tidying" as an extra.
The first visits take longer
Where is the vacuum, which cloth for what, how does the oven open? Expect 20 to 30 percent more time in the first three to four weeks. Judge the hour figure only after a month.
Quality before speed
What does not fit into 3 hours does not get faster, it gets worse. A cleaner who says "I can't do that in the time" is honest, not slow. Drop a task or add half an hour.
You provide the materials
Vacuum, mop, bucket, cloths and cleaning products belong to the household, not to the employee. If something is missing or broken, it costs time. A short list on the cleaning cupboard prevents that.
No ladders, no furniture, no outside windows
Outside windows on the third floor, moving heavy furniture, ceiling lamps: anything with a risk of falling or injury does not belong in the weekly plan. Your cleaner is insured against accidents with you, but you do not want the case in the first place.
She is your employee, not a company
Your cleaner comes alone, without a substitute and without a quality manager. In return she knows your home better than any company after four weeks. Setting priorities is your job: say what matters and what may wait.
How to find out at the trial day whether pace and thoroughness fit, and how to arrange access to your home when you are out, is in the linked guides. Why accident insurance is compulsory from the first hour is in the UVG guide.
How to organise it: the monthly rhythm
A plan on the fridge door replaces twenty WhatsApp messages. Here is how to build it without it turning into bureaucracy.
The same base week after week
The weekly base is the same every week, in the same order: bathroom and kitchen first, then floors, then dust. That order matters. When time runs short, the most important part is done.
One monthly task per visit
Week 1 windows in the living area, week 2 fridge and oven, week 3 bedroom windows and doors, week 4 upholstery and bathroom deep. That is exactly what the planner above builds. What is left over slides to the next week, not into an argument.
The priority list for tight days
A note with three lines: "If time runs short: 1. bathroom, 2. kitchen, 3. floors. The rest can wait." The most important agreement of all. It spares you the feeling "she didn't do everything again" and your cleaner the constant pressure.
After four weeks: time check
After the first month, ask concretely: what takes longer than expected? What is left over? Adjust the plan or the hours. If the same thing is left week after week, your cleaner is not too slow, the plan is too full.
The note on the fridge door
Handwritten, three lines, visible to everyone. Copy the text or write it out:
If time runs short: 1. bathroom and WC, 2. kitchen, 3. floors. Windows and fridge can wait until next week. Thank you, Maria!
A note like this resolves more conflicts than any debrief. It takes the pressure off the cleaner and the disappointment off you.
For the twice-yearly deep clean there is the spring-cleaning checklist; for the room-by-room plan as PDF the cleaning schedule template. What counts as standard and what as extra is settled by the cleaning checklist.
How to agree hours and priorities
The hour figure is not a negotiation but a joint estimate. Here is how the conversation could sound (green messages can be copied directly):
Message to your cleaner
Maria
online
Hello Maria, I've written down the tasks: bathroom, kitchen, floors, dust, beds. Plus inside windows once a month. I'm counting on 3 hours a week. Does that work from your side?
18:02Hello! 3 hours works well. The first few times I might need a bit longer until I know everything.
18:10Of course, no problem. If time gets tight: bathroom and kitchen first, then floors. Windows can wait. I'll put a note on the fridge.
18:12Very good, then I know what matters. Thank you!
18:14After four weeks we'll have a quick look at whether the 3 hours are enough. I'll register you with the AHV this week, then everything is properly set up.
18:15Whoever has the order and the hours in writing does not argue about them later. The rest belongs in the employment contract.
More ready-made messages for cancellations, holidays and wage questions: WhatsApp templates for household help.
Hours and obligations: what your weekly hours trigger
The hour figure is not just a question of cleanliness: in Switzerland a few obligations hang directly on it. The figures apply for 2026.
From the first hour
Register with the compensation office. In a private household there is no trivial-amount threshold: AHV contributions are due from the first franc, even at 2 hours a week.
Read more →2From 5 hours a week
The standard employment contract for domestic work (NAV) applies: binding minimum wages, holidays, notice periods, sick pay. Almost every cleaner with a fixed weekly workload falls under it.
Read more →3From 8 hours a week
Non-occupational accident insurance (NBU) becomes mandatory, in addition to occupational accident insurance, which is always compulsory. A leisure-time accident of your cleaner is then insured through you.
Read more →4Up to CHF 22'680 annual wage
That is how long you stay in the simplified payroll procedure. At CHF 30 an hour that is around 14.5 hours a week. Above it, the ordinary procedure applies, with pension fund and source tax.
Read more →The planner above shows you live which of these thresholds your hour figure touches.
And what does it cost?
Hours times hourly wage is only the beginning: add the holiday supplement, AHV/IV/EO, ALV, accident insurance and, depending on the canton, family allowance contributions, together about 15 to 20 percent on top of the gross wage. The wage calculator shows the exact amount for your hours and your canton.
Household wage calculator · What a cleaner costs · Hourly wage calculator · Minimum wage for cleaners
Frequently asked questions about hours and expectations
What does a cleaner get done in 2 hours?
In a 1-2-room flat the full weekly base: bathroom, kitchen, floors, dust, bed. From 3 rooms up, 2 hours only cover bathroom, kitchen and floors, without extras and without monthly tasks. Laundry, ironing or all windows in one go do not fit into 2 hours.
Are 3 hours a week enough for a 4-room flat?
Yes, for the weekly base with beds and a small monthly rotation, such as the inside windows room by room. With laundry and ironing, children or pets, 3.5 to 4 hours are more realistic. The planner above works it out for your selection.
Weekly or every two weeks?
Weekly is more efficient: less dirt, a fixed routine, no laundry piles. Every two weeks works for singles and couples in small flats, but with a longer visit: about 1.5 times as long as weekly.
Should I agree fixed hours or pay by effort?
Fixed. A fixed weekly workload gives both sides certainty, is the basis for the employment contract and the payslip, and prevents the argument "but today it was less". Extras such as a deep clean or a guest room you settle separately at the same hourly wage.
What if my cleaner regularly finishes early?
First, be glad: she is fast. Then bring a monthly task forward or add an extra to the plan. The agreed hours are paid even if she finishes 20 minutes early. Reduce the workload only if it is permanently too big, and in conversation.
What if she regularly does not finish?
First look at why: unplanned tidying, added extras, missing materials? Usually the plan is too full, not the person too slow. Drop a task or add half an hour. Only when time and plan are right and the quality still is not, is it a performance issue.
Are laundry and ironing part of a cleaner's tasks?
Only if you agree it. Both are common but not a given, and both cost time: laundry about 25 minutes of hands-on time per load, ironing 45 to 90 minutes per basket. With laundry and ironing a 4-room flat needs 4 rather than 3 hours.
What is the maximum number of hours my cleaner may work for me?
The NAV limits the weekly working time for full-time to 45 hours. More relevant in practice is the wage cap of the simplified procedure at CHF 22'680 per year: at CHF 30 an hour, around 14.5 weekly hours. Above it you switch to the ordinary procedure. Not a problem, but good to know.
Read on: all about your cleaner
- Find a Cleaner in Switzerland - Best Options 2026
- Cleaning Checklist: Standard or Extra?
- Employer duties in the household: the complete 2026 overview
- Cleaner Salary Switzerland 2026: CHF 20.35–33/hour
- Free Holiday Calculator for Household Staff 2026
- Cleaner cancels same day - what to do?
- Cleaner sick - what now? Employer obligations
- Cleaning Schedule Template - Free Generator 2026
Hours agreed? Then only the registration is missing
Clino records hours and wage, registers your cleaner with the compensation office and produces the payslip every month. Nothing is charged before day 30, in all 26 cantons, cancel anytime.
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