Why TLB
Best house cleaning services near me,
and how to choose one
Local team, run properly.
We grew across the Northern Rivers one recommendation at a time, without ever running an advertisement. This is what people were recommending.
See how TLB compares
Every client came from somebody recommending us to somebody else.
This page is the honest version of why.
TLB Cleaning is a locally owned cleaning company working across the Northern Rivers, the Tweed and the Southern Gold Coast. Everyone who works for TLB lives in the region. Every client has a set day and a set team, a reminder before the visit and a message when we are on the way, and when something has to change they hear it from us first.
Three ways to read this page.
Start wherever you are.
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How do you compare?
A franchise, an online platform, a solo cleaner or a local team. They are genuinely different things and each is right for someone.
See the comparison -
I already have a cleaner
Most people reading this do. Here is how to change without it being awkward, and the one time of year not to.
How to switch -
Who would actually come?
The part none of the others can show you. Names and faces, before anyone knocks on your door.
Meet the team
Local and embedded, professionally run.
Two halves, and both matter.
Local and embedded
Everyone who works for TLB lives here. Our teams are spread right across the Northern Rivers and the Tweed, inland and on the coast, and they clean in the same towns they live in and shop in. Somebody you could run into at the shops, which cuts both ways and we know it.
Run properly
Every client has a set day and a set team. You know who is coming and when, you get a message when we are on the way, and if something has to change you hear it from us first. There is cover when somebody is away, and there is someone accountable when something is not right.
Family first
We are local families ourselves. We know what it is like juggling work, school drop-offs, sport, appointments and everything else that fills a week. That is why we understand what a reliable cleaner actually gives you: one less thing to organise, and a bit more time back for everything else.
Employed, not subcontracted
Our cleaners are on the books rather than sent out under an ABN with their own gear. It is the more expensive way to run a cleaning business and it is the only way to promise you the same faces.
Most people assume they have to choose between the two. TLB does not ask them to.
How TLB Cleaning compares
| What makes the difference | A national brand or app | An independent cleaner | TLB Cleaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who cleans your home | Whoever is rostered that day | The same person | Your own local team, known by name |
| When someone is away | A different contractor | Rebook for another week | Someone from your team covers, and we let you know first |
| How you book | Online only | Text or a phone call | Online, text, phone or email |
| Reminders | Automated | Usually none | Before the day, and again when we're on our way |
| Holiday lets | A standard turnover | Depends on availability | Worked straight off your booking calendar |
| Your schedule | Whatever slot is available | Whenever they can fit you in | A set day and a set team |
| Commitment | Often a subscription | None | No lock-in, no minimum term, no exit fee |
| Where they live | Wherever the contractor is based | Locally | In the towns they clean in, across the region |
A brand can be bought. A person cannot.
Everyone who cleans for TLB lives in the region, and they stay. That is the part that takes years rather than a release cycle, and it is the reason you can be introduced to the people who would be in your house before anybody knocks on your door.
It is also why the schedule holds. The same team each visit means nobody is relearning your house, nobody has to be told again about the side gate or the dog, and the person who noticed the shower screen last month is the person coming back this month.
The same faces is not luck. It is the whole design.
Cleaning has a staff turnover problem across the whole industry, driven by rigid hours and low engagement. Somebody treated as interchangeable behaves as though the job is interchangeable, and the person whose house it is can tell.
We built TLB so that people stay, and they do. That is why you are not meeting somebody new every fortnight, and why the team looking after your place this year is the team that looked after it last year. A team that loves the work does better work, and there is no clever version of that idea.
Changing cleaners is awkward. Here is how.
Almost nobody puts off changing cleaners because of price or quality. They put it off because someone has a key to their house and they do not want to have the conversation.
"She is lovely. I feel terrible."
You are allowed to change a service arrangement without it being a judgement on someone as a person. "We are making some changes at home and are going to stop the regular clean" is true, kind and complete. You do not owe a critique, and offering one usually makes it worse for both of you.
"She has a key."
Ask for it back at the last clean, in person, and have the conversation then. Handling it by message and asking for the key afterwards is the version that goes badly. If there is a lockbox or a code, change it the same day as ordinary housekeeping rather than as a statement.
"What if the new one is worse?"
Do not stop the old arrangement until you have had one clean from the new one. Book us once as a one-off, see how it goes, then decide. Anyone who pushes you to cancel before you have seen the work is selling, not advising.
"She lives around here. I will run into her."
You will, because that is what living in a small town is. Which is exactly why the in-person version is worth the discomfort. Our team lives here too and so does Teagan. Nobody at TLB wants to be the reason a neighbourly relationship went sour.
Do not do this in the fortnight before Christmas. If you have family arriving, or you are about to list the house, or you are three weeks from moving out, this is the worst possible moment to change anything. Anybody telling you now is a great time to switch is thinking about their month, not yours.
If you are changing a contractor rather than a cleaner.
Moving a rent roll or a commercial contract is a different problem. You are not managing a relationship, you are managing vacancy windows or an office that has to be usable on Monday. The answer is the same in both cases: give us one job, and not your easiest one.
Before you change anything
1. Am I locked into anything?
No minimum term and no exit fee. Skip a visit when you are away and your spot stays yours, and if it stops suiting you, tell us and we will stop.
2. Can I book one clean without committing to a schedule?
Yes, and for anyone changing over we would suggest you do exactly that.
3. Do you need to know who I was using before?
No, and we would rather not turn it into a conversation about someone else. What is useful is knowing what you want kept the same and what you want done differently.
4. Do you cover everywhere a national brand does?
No, and we would not claim to. Five Northern Rivers council areas and the Southern Gold Coast.
Switching cleaners, common questions
1. How much notice should I give my current cleaner?
Two to four weeks is the usual courtesy for an ongoing arrangement, and many cleaning businesses ask for the same in their own terms. Check what you agreed when you started, because 14 or 30 days written notice is common in domestic cleaning terms. If nothing was ever written down, a fortnight is fair and gives them time to fill the slot.
2. Will I be charged if I cancel a booked clean?
Usually only if you cancel late. Most Australian cleaning businesses publish a window of 24 to 48 hours, though some ask for 72 hours or five working days. Inside that window, fees run from 25 per cent of the price up to the full amount. Nearly all of them also charge if the cleaner arrives and cannot get in.
3. Is there anything in my current terms I should check before I switch?
Two things, and neither is obvious. Some cleaning businesses include a non-solicitation clause that stops you hiring their cleaner directly, in one published case for twelve months after your last booking, with a finder's fee if you do. Others renew automatically for a further twelve-month term unless you give notice. Read what you agreed before you cancel anything.
4. What am I entitled to if a clean is not done properly?
The same consumer guarantees that apply to any service. Under the Australian Consumer Law, services must be provided with due care and skill and be fit for the purpose you asked for, and you are entitled to a remedy when they are not. Many cleaning businesses also ask you to report problems in writing within 24 hours, so do not sit on it.
Meet the team
The one thing they cannot show you.
See how TLB compares, and why changing cleaners is easier than you think. Have a look at who would actually be walking into your house.