No 3am app pings. No guessing what you'll earn this week. Flat pay per job, a real route, and a schedule you can plan a life around.
Routes we run most weeks
Recognised for our work in New York
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Rated by New York clients
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Neighbourhood referrals
The work our people do
Before you read about the job, read what people say about the cleaners already doing it.
Jessica M.
Upper East Side, Manhattan · same-day clean
Green Hands saved the day when my in-laws decided to visit with only a few hours' notice. They arrived quickly and transformed my cluttered living space into a spotless, welcoming home. Now my mother-in-law can't stop complimenting how clean and organized everything is.
David K.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn · end of lease
I was completely overwhelmed packing for a move and had no energy left to clean the old apartment. Green Hands came in and handled the end-of-lease cleaning flawlessly, getting every corner of the kitchen and bathroom spotless. Thanks to their detailed work, I got my full security deposit back without any issues.
Sarah J.
Astoria, Queens · party deep clean
We were hosting my daughter's first birthday party at home and the house was a disaster zone. The Green Hands team arrived early and did a fantastic job, making the place look perfect for our guests. The deep clean made the entire apartment shine, and we were able to enjoy the party stress-free.
Limited-time
Tap a code to copy it, then mention it when you book. One code per household, and they do not stack.
New clients
10 % off
Code FIRST10
Ten percent off the first visit, whichever service you start with. The easiest way to see how we work before you commit to a schedule.
Most flexible
5 % off
Code FLEX5
Give us a four-hour window instead of a fixed hour and we can route more efficiently. That saving comes back to you on every visit.
Biggest saving
$30 off
Code RESET30
Thirty dollars off a first deep clean or a move-in / move-out clean, the two jobs where the difference is most visible when you walk back in.
Marisol P. walked into our East Elmhurst office on a Thursday in March with a folder of pay screenshots. She had been cleaning apartments through two different apps for about fourteen months. One week she made $780. The next week she made $210, because the app quietly gave her routes to somebody newer with a higher star average. She was travelling from Corona to Bay Ridge to Astoria in a single day, eating the subway time herself, and paying for her own sprays out of a job that paid her by the hour minus a service fee she never fully understood.
What she wanted was not complicated. She wanted to know on Sunday what she was earning by Friday. She wanted the same buildings each week so she was not learning a new lobby, a new super, and a new radiator every single morning. Marisol has been with us since that spring. She runs a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday route through Sunnyside, Woodside and Jackson Heights, and she has had the same six homes for over two years now. Two of those clients ask for her by name and wont take anyone else.
That's who this page is for. If you clean well, show up when you say you will, and want to join the team at a company that puts the schedule in writing, keep reading. We are Green Hands Cleaning Services Corp, at 22-16 79th Street in East Elmhurst, and we have been running house cleaning service New York City routes across Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan since 2015. Roughly forty cleaners work with us. Most of them have been here for years, and that number is the whole point of this page.
Why our cleaners stay
Most people who leave a cleaning job dont leave because of the cleaning. They leave because the hours moved, the pay changed, or nobody answered when something went wrong. We built the whole thing around fixing those three things.
We are …
… roughly forty cleaners working out of East Elmhurst, most of whom have been with us for years. If you join the team, you become one of them: trained on the same checklist, on a route that's yours, backed by the same office.
How hiring works
Most people go from first call to first paid job inside of two weeks. Sometimes faster if you already have experience.
Ring (212) 812-9418 or use the contact form. Tell us where you live, what days you can work, and whether you've cleaned professionally before. That's the whole first step.
Fifteen minutes on the phone or in the office at 22-16 79th Street. We ask about your schedule, your travel range, and whether you're comfortable in walk-ups. We run a background check because clients trust us with their keys.
Two or three shadow days with an experienced cleaner on a real route. You get paid for these days. You learn our written checklist, our order of work, and which products go on which surface.
We hand you a cluster of homes near where you already live and travel. It starts small and it grows as you want more. You keep those homes.
Hover a room to see what you'd cover
The money
We pay flat per job, not per hour, because a per-hour rate punishes you for being fast and good. If you finish a two-bedroom in two hours instead of three, that hour is yours. Rates below are what a cleaner takes home per job, before tips. Tips are yours and we never touch them.
A cleaner running a full five-day route with us typically books between $1,150 and $1,600 a week before tips. Part-time people doing three days land somewhere around $650 to $900. Those are real numbers from real routes, not a best-case fantasy. Pay goes out weekly by direct deposit, every Friday, and it has never been late in ten years.
What comes with the job
You get your week by Saturday evening, and it doesn't change on Monday morning. If a client cancels late, you still get a portion of that job's pay.
Every dollar a client tips you goes to you. We don't pool it, split it, or take a cut. Regulars on a good route tip often.
If something breaks, it's covered by the company, not taken out of your pay. That's the difference between an insured bonded cleaning service and a gig app.
We buy plant-based and fragrance-free lines by default. Cleaners with sensitive skin or asthma are common in this trade, and we plan for it.
We build routes around your home address. If you live in Corona, your route is Queens. We don't send Ridgewood cleaners to Tribeca to save five dollars.
Three of our current route leads started as cleaners. Lead cleaners train new hires, handle the harder jobs, and earn a premium on every job on their route.
The work
Real homes on our routes, the hour our cleaners finished. Nothing staged, nothing borrowed from a stock library.
Open roles
Most people start on one and add another later. You tell us which ones you want on your route.
Recurring homes on a fixed weekly or bi-weekly rhythm. Kitchen, bathrooms, dusting, floors. The steadiest income on the team because the same clients keep booking.
View the serviceOvens, fridges, grout, baseboards, behind furniture. Longer jobs, higher pay per job. Good for people who like seeing a dramatic difference by the end of the day.
View the serviceCleaning plus laundry, linens, dishes and light tidying. Suits people who've done private housekeeping and like knowing a household well.
View the serviceEmpty units, cabinets and closets inside, timed to lease dates. Usually two cleaners paired up. Great pay for a hard day's work.
View the serviceOffices, studios and small shops after hours or before opening. Perfect if you have daytime commitments and want evening work instead.
View the serviceRenovation dust removal with a HEPA vacuum we supply. The best-paid job type on the board, and the one people train into after a year.
View the serviceAlso on the board most weeks
In detail
The hardest day and the best-paid one. You go into an empty unit and you clean the places furniture was hiding for four years. Two cleaners, one job, split rate.
Renovation dust is finer than house dust and settles again hours after you finish. It's a technique job, not a muscle job, and we teach it.
The bread and butter. Same homes, same days, same written checklist. Clients get to know you and they tip like it. This is where the steady money lives.
Checkout at 11, check-in at 3. Fast, repetitive, and easy to get very good at. If you like a tight clock and a clear finish line, this is your work.
What clients say about the team
My wife just gave birth and we needed a nesting clean before bringing our newborn home. They used safe, non-toxic products and sanitized the nursery thoroughly. Such a relief coming home from the hospital to a fresh, clean environment.
I booked them after a long business trip. The dust and clutter had piled up, but they restored my place to pristine condition. I can finally relax and focus on the jet lag.
We hosted Thanksgiving and the kitchen was a nightmare after prep. They made the whole house look and smell amazing. The high-traffic areas were especially spotless.
Post-renovation dust nightmare, a fine layer of grit on every surface. Their deep clean went above and beyond. My newly renovated space feels brand new again.
I couldn't find time to organize my home office. They cleared the space beautifully, perfect for client calls. Their attention to detail made my workspace productive again.
My elderly parents can't keep up with cleaning anymore. Green Hands comes regularly and treats their home with care and respect. The difference in their quality of life is huge.
After surgery I came home to a house that needed a lot. They arranged a last-minute clean for my recovery and it was spotless. I could rest in a clean, clutter-free home.
Our basement had a minor flood and the musty smell was overwhelming. They cleaned and sanitized the whole area. They saved us a huge headache and left it fresh and safe.
Getting my apartment ready for an open house, it had to be perfect. Phenomenal deep clean, especially the kitchen. They definitely helped me sell my apartment faster.
Spring allergies hit hard because of dust and pet dander buildup. Their sanitizing service removed the allergens from carpets and furniture. I breathe so much easier now.
What we ask of you
We don't hand you a mop and hope. Every cleaner works the same written checklist in the same order, top to bottom, so nothing knocked loose lands on a surface already finished. Deep and move-out jobs are this list plus the extras below them, not a different list. You'll learn it in training and you'll have it on your phone.
01
The recurring visit. Every item, every time.
02
Everything in the standard clean, plus:
03
Everything in the standard and deep clean, plus:
Show up in the window we gave the client. Text the office if the train breaks, because everyone understands a delay and nobody understands silence. Never mix bleach with ammonia or an acid cleaner, in a windowless bathroom that is genuinely dangerous and the CDC's hygiene guidance explains why in plain language. Treat somebody's home like somebody's home. That's basically it.
Legal side: you must be authorised to work in the United States, and we file everything properly. If you want to check your own rights around pay and hours as a cleaning worker in this state, the New York State Department of Labor lays it out clearly and we encourage people to read it.
In detail
a day on route
A typical day starts around 8:30 or 9. You pick up your kit if you keep it at the office, or you keep it at home if that's easier. Three homes, sometimes four if they're studios. You're usually finished by 4 or 5. The office texts you the night before with anything unusual, like a dog that needs the bedroom door shut or a super who needs a buzz code.
See the pay
the buildings
In a pre-war building in Astoria or Sunnyside, plaster sheds a chalky dust that lands on frames and sill tops, and the radiator bakes it on all winter. In a newer LIC tower it's the opposite problem: sealed windows, HVAC vents holding dust, and floor-to-ceiling glass that shows every single mark. Same checklist, different technique, and you'll know which is which after a week.
Routes run through Astoria, Long Island City and everywhere in between. See apartment cleaning in New York City for what those jobs involve.
Discover now
training
You ride along on a real route with an experienced cleaner for two or three days, and you get paid for every one of them. Day one you watch and help. Day two you do a room and get corrected. Day three you do most of the home. Then you get your own.
If you've never done this professionally before, that's fine, and honestly some of our best people came in with zero experience and a lot of care. What we can't teach is showing up. Everything else is learnable.
Start the conversation
schedule
Plenty of our people work three days and study, parent, or run something else the other four. Some work five and want a sixth. Some only want evening commercial work. We route all three. What we ask is that once you pick your days, you keep them for at least a few months, because clients pay for consistency and that's what your route is built on.
Time off is straightforward. Give us a week's notice and we cover your homes with someone from the same route cluster. See how the client side works on our custom cleaning plans page.
Read the questions
moving up
After about a year of clean work and good client feedback, you can train into lead. Leads take the harder jobs, run the shadow days for new hires, and earn a premium on every job on their cluster. They also get first pick on the high-rate post-construction and end of lease work.
There's no cap and no politics involved. If clients keep asking for you by name, you'll be offered it.
Meet the cleanersmore work types
Client calls before 11, we route it same day. If you're free that morning and want an extra job, you get first refusal.
See this service
The checklist and nothing more. Studios and one bedrooms run two to three hours solo. The most common job on any route.
See this service
Condos, lofts, townhouses and brownstones. Stairs hold more dust than any surface in the building, so treads and banister every visit.
See this service
No plan, no commitment from the client. Often before a party or after one. Slots in nicely when a recurring home skips a week.
See this service
Same day every week, same home. Upkeep rather than rescue. Clients who travel constantly or work very long hours.
See this service
Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. This is the work that makes a route predictable and makes your income predictable with it.
See this service
Turnovers on a tight clock. Linens, restock, staging to the listing photos, damage reported to the office before the next guest arrives.
See this service
Shared building spaces, lobbies and stairwells on a fixed schedule. Steady, unglamorous, and very reliable income.
See this service
Offices, studios and small retail after hours or before opening. The route that works if your days are already spoken for.
See this servicegallery
Where we're hiring
Most of our cleaners live in Queens, so that's where the most routes are. North Brooklyn is growing fast. Manhattan below 96th Street we cover every day and we need people who can get there easily.
Questions
Q Do I need experience to join the team?
No. About a third of the people we hire have never cleaned professionally. You get two or three paid shadow days with an experienced cleaner before you take a home on your own. What matters far more is that you show up when you said you would and you care about the finish.
Q How much can I actually earn in a week?
A full five-day route usually books $1,150 to $1,600 before tips. Three days lands around $650 to $900. Pay is flat per job, so if you're fast, that speed is yours. Direct deposit goes out every Friday.
Q Do I have to buy my own supplies?
Never. Sprays, cloths, sponges and paper towels all come from our supply room at 22-16 79th Street in East Elmhurst. Clients provide their own vacuum and mop for hygiene reasons, which we explain to them when they book, so you're not hauling equipment on the subway.
Q Will I be sent all over the city?
No. Routes are built as tight geographic clusters around where you live. If you're in Corona your route is Queens. Travel time inside a route is usually ten to twenty minutes, not an hour on the F train.
Q Can I work part-time or evenings only?
Yes to both. Plenty of the team works three days. Some work only evening commercial and office jobs. Pick your days, keep them consistent for a few months, and we build your route to match.
Q What happens if a client cancels last minute?
You still get paid a portion of that job. That's the whole point of a route instead of a gig board. We also try to fill the slot with a same-day booking near you before the day starts.
Q Do you run a background check?
Yes, on everyone. Clients hand us their keys, so it's not optional. It's a standard check and we cover the cost. We'll tell you exactly what it covers before you agree to it.
Q What if I have asthma or sensitive skin?
Tell us on the first call. We stock plant-based and fragrance-free lines as our default set, partly because so many cleaners in this trade develop sensitivities. We'll build your kit around what works for your hands and your lungs.
Q How do I apply?
Call (212) 812-9418 or send a note through our contact page. Tell us your neighborhood, the days you can work, and any experience you have. Most people go from that first message to a paid shadow day within two weeks.
Testimonials
Getting the apartment ready for my new roommate was daunting with my hectic work schedule. Green Hands took over and did a fantastic job on the room and common areas. My new roommate was so impressed with how welcoming and clean the place was.
We had a family member recover from the flu and the whole house needed deep sanitization. They responded quickly and used hospital-grade methods to make the house safe again. We were relieved to have a completely disinfected space to recover in.
Third booking this quarter and it's consistent every single time. I never have to re-explain the apartment, because the same person knows it. That's worth more than the price difference with anyone else.
I have hired cleaners in this city for eleven years, and this is the first team where the same person keeps coming back.
Daniel R.
Recurring client, Park Slope
The team arrived exactly in the window, worked through the checklist without me hovering, and left the kitchen better than the day I moved in. You can tell they're trained the same way.
Something got missed on the first visit, I mentioned it, and it was handled the next day without an argument. Nobody blamed the cleaner and nobody blamed me. That's rare.
Three short-term rentals turning over weekly and they have never once made me late for a check-in. The same two people handle all of them, which is exactly why it works.
Ready when you are
Tell us your neighborhood and the days you can work. One short call, paid training, and a schedule you can actually plan around. We hire year round, all three boroughs.
22-16 79th Street
East Elmhurst, NY 11370
Green Hands
Cleaning Services
Insured, background-checked cleaners serving Queens, Brooklyn & Manhattan since 2015.
📅 Book a cleaning →22-16 79th Street, East Elmhurst, NY 11370, United States
