Why nobody publishes a price
Most cleaning companies refuse to put numbers on a website because two 8,000 sq ft buildings can differ by 60% in cost. That's true — but it's not a reason to leave you with no reference point at all. Here is how pricing actually works in the Columbia and Howard County market.
Typical ranges by facility type
These are the ranges we see in Central Maryland for recurring service. Treat them as a sanity check on any quote you receive, not as a substitute for a walkthrough.
- General office, 3 nights/week: roughly $0.08–$0.14 per sq ft per visit
- General office, 5 nights/week: roughly $0.06–$0.11 per sq ft per visit (frequency lowers unit cost)
- Medical or dental suite: roughly $0.12–$0.22 per sq ft per visit — protocol and documentation drive the premium
- Warehouse with office: roughly $0.03–$0.07 per sq ft, floor machine work quoted separately
- VCT strip and refinish: roughly $0.45–$0.85 per sq ft as a project
- Carpet hot-water extraction: roughly $0.20–$0.35 per sq ft
The five things that actually move your price
- Restroom count relative to square footage — restrooms are the most labor-dense area in any building
- Frequency — five nights per week costs more in total but less per visit than two
- Floor type mix — carpet is cheap nightly and expensive quarterly; VCT is the reverse
- Access and security — badge-in procedures, escorts, and dock check-in add unbillable time that gets priced in
- Specialty protocol — medical documentation, dwell-time compliance, and color-coded systems add labor
What a legitimate quote itemizes
If a quote is one number on one line, you cannot hold anyone to it. Ask for the scope broken out by area with a frequency next to every task, the products being used, whether consumables are included or billed at cost, and what the remedy is when something is missed.
- Task list by area with a stated frequency per line
- Named products, with SDS available
- Consumables: included, billed at cost, or excluded
- Inspection cadence and who receives the report
- Re-clean remedy and response window
- Insurance limits and whether additional-insured status is available
Cheapest is usually the most expensive
A bid that comes in 40% under everyone else is usually built on fewer labor hours than the building needs, subcontracted crews, or both. The service is real for about three months. Then the frequency quietly drops, and you're re-bidding the contract a year early.
Want a real number for your building? We do a free walkthrough and return an itemized quote within 24 hours.