Teresa's House Cleaning
Category: Home Cleaning [Edit]
San Francisco, CA 94107 (415) 244-9367
11 reviews
Neighborhood: SOMA
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55 Reviews for Teresa's House Cleaning
Teresa's team did a great job on my roommates and my apartment. the kitchen (including the inside of our fridge, toaster oven, tea kettles..) was totally clean and organized when they were done. Our bathroom was gleaming, the shower was sparkling! We only had our common areas done - split bathroom, hallway, kitchen and they charged $70. Totally worth it!
When I first had them, I loved their work. But, it's degraded to a point that Teresita returned the keys just a few weeks before we asked for them back. Maybe it's because I don't tip, but I've never found a reason to reward mediocre service.
What we ask: Clean our 1 bedroom apartment with dusting, sweeping, mopping, changing the bed, and folding the clothes that I washed. What we get:
1) Cats locked in separate closets, once for over 12 hours while we were out of town,
2) The lights left on while out of town,
3) The front door unlocked while away (I live in the Castro--any tweaker could just walk in)
4) Cat hair tumbleweeds from under the couches and bookshelves,
5) Thick coating of powder on the pictures and brick-a-brack in the bathroom,
6) Dust remaining behind shelves (but items conspicuously moved out of place to give the allusion of a cleaning)
7) Kitty litter boxes pinned against the wall to block their entranceway,
8) Broken glassware but no note left to explain what happened.
My partner's first language is Spanish, so it isn't a language barrier here. We leave a note IN SPANISH every week for simple things, like "Clean the powder off the bathroom items," "Count the number of cats before you leave," and "Lock the door and make sure all lights are left off."
We changed the regular date of our cleaning to coincide with the telecommuting day of my partner--a NATIVE Spanish speaker. That first week with the new schedule, they handed us our key back and said that they could no longer clean the house. Good riddance!
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I always dreamed of having a magic wand that would make everything beautiful and clean in the blink of an eye... It took a little bit longer (about two hours) but I can't recognize my apartment!
Two of Teresa's angels came (on time) and left my place sparkling and organized. They really went above and beyond, doing more than I originally asked for. Total: $80 and well worth it!
They brought all the gear themselves. I'm oh so happy :)
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After reading the other reviews, I had such high hopes. *sigh* I normally clean my apartment myself but thought I'd treat myself to having a professional scrub the bathroom since I'm having house guests. My place was already neat and fairly clean, I was looking for someone to WASH the kitchen and bathroom floors and dust under the furniture. It appears they did not do either. I don't recommend them if you want a deep clean. :-(
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I called on Friday night for a Saturday appointment. I have a huge place. 2 bd/2bath, living area, dining, kitchen and a few hallways. I cannot believe what an amazing job these 2 ladies did on my place. They were on time, brought their own vacuum, cleaning products and when they left the house was perfectly clean! They found my old hair clippy thingees that I thought I lost and brought a ladder to clean the top of the fridge and other random high places. There are alot of built in shelves and high points to reach, they got all of the dust and then some. Reasonable prices and friendly service. I'm definitely hooked. My old housekeeper won't be hearing from me again. Thanks Umberto!
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Ok so before I said they were great. Second time around they never ever SHOWED UP. I even cancled an appt because they said this was the only time they had available that week. No call, nothing... I'm taking my money else where, to someone who can actualy KEEP their appts in order and SHOW up when they're suppose to.
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So far they have been good. I have learned to create a list as i am rather particular and want everything up high dusted and the fur balls from my cat out of the corner. The first time they came was the best they did get everything, and i have had them come 3 weeks apart so i have not asked for under the couches etc since. Next time I will and let you know. They charged me 120 for my two bedroom though which is more than i was expecting.
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I needed my new apartment cleaned at the last minute, and Teresa & Humberto did a great job fixing it up. I had them come by in the afternoon to do a full house cleaning and they cleaned everything from the inside of the refrigerator to the dust on the walls. I was really impressed with their efficiency, as well. They gave me a great deal and I didn't have to worry about a thing. I definitely recommend them to anyone that needs cleaning done, especially at last minute. I've heard too many horror stories about Molly Maid and missing items in my friends home after they left.
Gracias, Teresa y Humberto!
PS - Yes this is a standard write-up.... and kudos to Josh "allday28" T. for the recommendation.
I wanted to love them, I really did. And we did have a brief love affair, but it's over now and I've moved on to greener pastures. Umberto's crew cleaned our house about every 2 weeks for the past 9 months and they've failed to show up 3 times which pissed me off to no end. The first couple times were great, but it slowly started going downhill after that. In the beginning it would take 2 of them 3 hours to do a thorough job. Then he started sending just one woman, who would also spend 3 hours. Then 2 hours. Then 1 1/2. That was when I couldn't take it anymore and we had to part ways. Oh yeah, that and the fact that they didn't show up for the 3rd time the day before we were throwing a dinner party without calling or apologizing. Don't piss off a woman who is 8 months pregnant and stuck cleaning toilets and cooking dinner for 8 people the same night.
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Upon reading the multitude of reviews, it was apparent that Umberto and crew clearly rocked but I wasn't expecting them to clear out my fridge, scrub the inside of my toaster oven, wash the dishes and take out the trash. And of course they scrubbed and mopped the rest of my apartment past original condition, all in an hour and a half and for $60! Is this what cleaners do?? Maybe I should hire one weekly. I think it would greatly improve my mood.
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I hate to clean and do any type of chores. It was getting to be a problem with the chauvinistic fiance. So I called Umberto and the first time I reached him, he told he'd call me back. I wasn't in a hurry and I knew that they were getting a lot of new business so I just gave him my cell phone number. It was either later that day or the next day, we made an appointment and he and teresa showed up at our pig sty artist living quarters.
We paid $140-160 for a three bedroom, 1 bath, and 1 extremely dirty kitchen clean-up. It was WELL worth it!
They cleaned all the gank and junk out of the nasty corners that we usually ignore. I even found all my little kitchen toys lined up on the window sill, sparkling when I came home. They really deserve so many more stars but I haven't attempted to call them again... mainly because I knew Yelp would blow them up and secondly, as much as I love to pay for household cleaning, I really consider it a desperate situation or a very special occasion before I bust out some bills for an all around clean.
All in all: A+.
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After reading all of these glowing reviews, I called to set up an appointment. First call was greeted with a "I'm busy call me at 6." I called back and set up an appointment. A few days later... appointment day came. I waited until 30 min. after the apointment time and called again. The guy on the phone had no idea he missed our appointment, couldn't check his schedule because he was driving and could not tell me when he could reschedule.
Take home message: don't bother with these guys. I'm taking my money to someone who can keep an apointment (or at least realize he messed up).
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Holy @#@#! Batman!
These guys clean everything....No, you dont hear me. They..clean...EVERYTHING!. I was just expecting them to vacuum, dust a little, yada yada. No!, They cleaned out the fridge, did the dishes, straightened the closets, cleaned toilets, showers, bookshelves...EVERYTHING; all for a measly 120 bucks. Wow. Cleaning the dishes alone was worth that much.
You could go through this place with a white glove and find next to nothing.
So they came.
All three whirlwinds of women.
The kitchen is spotless. The fridge is cleaned inside and out. The trash has been taken out. The floors are spotless, the bookshelves are dusted, the window sills are clean and dust free. The rugs are vacuumed and where the cat sleeps is cat hair free. Under the bed, all the dust bunnies have been vanquished. They remade my bed. The bathroom is clean. I had it tidied up-but now it's clean. I did ask them to fold my laundry, which is something I hate to do and really wanted done. I did specifically ask for this, but it was not done. I even left a thirty dollar tip to ensure it would be done. No dice. Some of the throw rugs and some other stuff was not put back in place-like the last woman there was in a hurry. But for three hours of cleaning, I think I will invite them back for doing the laundry and organizing, because I suck at this too. My house was left locked just as I asked. Overall, they did a thorough job that I am pleased with. 3.5 stars.
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I'd really give Teresa and Umberto 3.5 five stars. They clean for us regularly, every two weeks. We were really impressed with the first cleaning. They dusted all of the light fixtures, cleaned the frig, really did a thorough job. Since then, they've been a bit inconsistent. Sometimes 2 or 3 people come, sometimes it's just 1. We often find that they've missed something here or there. Also, they often leave us wondering "why on earth would they have even thought to do that?". For example, one visit it seems that they took all of the knives out of the butcher block, put most of them back in an odd configuration, and left one or two on the other side of the kitchen. Why they thought my paring knife belonged on the shelves with my liquor, I'm not sure.
I am glad that they come every other week and we don't have to schedule each visit. The first visit, I really wasn't sure if they would even show up. Though, I did need to reschedule a month or so ago and that worked out ok.
I suspect there are better house cleaners out there. But, Teresa's House Cleaning is at least reliable, so we'll stick with it for now.
Update 9/11/07: I've moved on from Teresa's House Cleaning. On their last visit, they dripped bleach all over my brown bathroom rug and put something on my antique dresser that left a giant ring that I cannot seem to remove. I think that they have too much business and can't keep up with hiring and training new cleaners. It seems we had someone different every time for the last couple of months.
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I also found Umberto here on Yelp. (BTW, I asked him if he's heard of Yelp, and YES he has: the exponential rise in business doesn't suck.)
Similar experience as all the others: months and months of phone calls, blah blah. They finally came on a Monday morning. I've never met them but entrusted them all of my (undoubtedly priceless) worldly possessions.
Came home to a spotless apartment. Down to the coffee-maker. $80 for a two bedroom and they brought their own supplies.
But lets agree: NOBODY ELSE should call him. He's mine. Not yours.
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Why do I have to try so hard to get this guy to take my money?
Umberto is so unreliable that I've finally decided to go to another cleaning service.
The three times I've used him, I call to confirm that he's coming. When I do get him on the phone, he acknowledges the appointment, but still doesn't show up on time! (argh?!) I call again, he rushes over and drops of a lady from CC.
So why two stars instead of one? Although I run a tight ship around here, they do find crevices I forgot exist. On balance, if you consider the value of your time and amount of herculean effort it takes to get these guys to come over, you're better off looking at another house cleaning service. Yes, Virginia there are other cleaning services.
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these guys are rad. though they don't speak much English and Umberto is hard to get a hold of and understand, they do a damn good job and do it very cheap! I don't think I've ever had someone clean our refrigerator, microwave, and oven out since we moved in 5 years ago.
so yeah, god bless these people.
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They cleaned our house and did an insanely good job. Came on the wrong day at first but the price and quality of service was just great. Umberto is very easy to get on the phone. Tip your cleaners well though, because at these prices they aren't getting paid much.
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IMPORTANT UPDATE: the phone number is disconnected!!!!!!! does anyone have another number for theresa and umberto???? Please let me know. Thanks so much!!!
I really wish i wasn't in a position to write this review. i wish i was one of those people that cleans up consistently so that things never get out of hand. and i'm working on it, i really am. but sometimes, i'll get home and look around my apartment and realize that i am completely overwhelmed by my own slovenliness (word?). at times like these, i call teresa's house cleaning. they do an AMAZING job. and they only charge $75, which i think it reasonable. however, they gave me that quote before seeing my apartment, which i thought was unfair to them. so i left more money than the quote, because i felt really bad about how grossssssss my apt. was. anyway, the place was sparkling. maybe even cleaner than when i moved in. highly recommended.
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Teresa and Alberto left our place sparkling. They offered to change our sheets. And when we looked in our closets - they had even ORGANIZED OUR SHOES. Best cleaners ever!
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Mr. Umberto is going to get so much new business as a result of Yelp recommendations, he will finally be able to get that gold plated squirt bottle he always wanted. They do a terrific job, are very thorough, and will do whatever you ask of them. Upon my arrival home after that first cleaning, I was pleased to see my shiny new leather bondage suit was hung up, the marijuana plants watered, the sex swing recalibrated, X-Men action figures placed neatly in their basket in the corner of the living room, blow-up doll pumped up to full pressure, illegal handgun collection dusted, and the cat greeted me with a little bow in his hair. Needless to say, I was quite pleased with their work at my humble abode!
Update 6/1/06: Mr. Umberto appears to have taken most of my hangers.
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Teresa and Alberto did a fantastic job on my apartment. They brought all of their own cleaning supplies and charged me a very fair rate. They seemed like very kind people and I'll definitely be using them in the future. Also they showed up precisely on time, a huge plus!
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We recently moved within town, and were concerned about getting our place clean for our property manager, and minimizing the likely hit our security deposit would take.
This crew exceeded our expectations. Umberto and his team were reliable, courteous, and efficient. Our flat was spotless after they were through.
We received nearly all of our security deposit, thanks to the excellent job of Umberto and the crew.
The first cleaning was amazing and well worth the price. All common areas and one bedroom for $80? The microwave, fridge, two bathrooms, the floors, all spotless? Truly amazing.
The next visit was okay, and suddenly the price had gone up.
The third visit was mediocre, and the price again went up.
Having to repeatedly haggle over the price is not worth it. Go elsewhere and you can get someone just as good for a fair rate. Teresa and Umberto are no longer the amazing cleaning duo they used to be.
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My god, they're AMAZING.
Conversation between me and my roommate, Rosalind W., last night:
Ros: "Hey, I think they changed the lightbulb in my nightstand lamp!"
Me: "Um.... really?"
Ros: "Yes! It's BRIGHTER!"
(pause)
Me: "That's what happens when you clean the dust off, Ros."
So, yes. Theresa and Humberto's cleaning army polish every nook, cranny, and crevice in your dinky SF apartment. Wakako was right--they stay as long as necessary to get the job done. (They spent 1.5 hrs alone scrubbing our bathroom clean. So sparkly and white!!)
Warning: they are super-thorough, so you better hide anything embarassing before they arrive. Let's just say I had to learn the hard way.
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Update (April 30, 2007):
My roommate and I were a little disappointed. After doing a fantastic job in record time (2.5 hrs versus the ~4 hrs in past visits), Umberto tried to charge me $150 for the entire apt. A little surprising since earlier visits only cost $80-100. I negotiated back down to $100 ($120 w/ tip), but I guess that's a lesson I needed to learn--set a clear price BEFORE it's invaded by a cleaning army.
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Great the first time and downhill ever since. I'm thinking it's time to switch but this has happened with other cleaners, too. Is this just how it goes in SF? It would probably help if I spoke some Spanish.
update: based on other reviews, I think we're getting robbed. They charge us $120 for a two bdrm flat. And they don't even clean the second bdrm because we're in the process of turning it into a nursery! One more star removed.
I am amazed. There are too many wonderful things to say about them so I picked two things that they did that I think speaks for their service:
1: They brought a ladder.
2: They disaasembled the vent thing on top of my stove top to take out the fans and clean them.
They also don't run out when the 3 hours are up. They stay until they are done. I paid $80 for 3+ hours. You'll want to tip them b/c they did so well so the whole cleaning experience will cost around $110. I don't know how they clean so well. I've cleaned for 3+ hours straight but it doesn't turn out the same.
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HELP! I keep trying to call them because of these great reviews but all I get is a spanish language answering machine! Is the number listed above correct? Please help!!
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Thank you so much YELP for recommending Teresa's House Cleaning!!! I didn't realize the usefulness of Yelp until now! My home is just so amazingly clean. I don't even want to touch anything. I don't want to cook, use the bathroom or anything because I like the way it is right now - PERFECT, SPOTLESS, PERFECT! I think I'll ran out of space if I go in detail why Teresa, Umberto and the gang are the best! I don't even want to write this review and share them with others, but I must cuz I owe it to Yelp!
Extremely satisfied and enjoying my home as we speak,
Erlsk
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On the first scheduled visit -- nobody showed up. I had to call Umberto and ask him what was up before he rushed a crew out here.
On the second scheduled visit -- I thought I'd been stood up again, because nobody showed up after 20 minutes. Checked my voice mail... I hadn't heard my cellphone ring, but there were 3 messages from Umberto asking where I was because the cleaners were there(?!). Went out front of our building -- yep, they were still standing there -- hadn't been able to figure out how to properly use the paging system to ring me in the apartment. English is not this crew's strong suit.
Decided I was still happy enough with their cleaning and the price where I would use them. Called Umberto last week to schedule a bi-weekly cleaning and... just got stood up for the first one this morning. Not even an answer this time when I called his phone.
The cleaning quality and price was good but this service isn't worth much to me if I can't rely on them being here.
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Based off the great Yelp reviews, I called up Umberto and scheduled a cleaning. He got me in just a couple of days from when I called, and showed up on time. Then he dropped off one lady who spent six hours cleaning our not-too-big-apartment.
She did a fair job, but it was nothing special. She completely skipped the computer desk, and definitely didn't go out of her way to do anything beyond the minimum. Most of the corners were still dusty, and one of the couches never even got moved. Our place got cleaned, but I don't think it was worth $150. She did do a pretty nice job on the floor though.
WOW! Umberto and his crew are amazing...I left them alone to work their "magic" and when I returned three hourse later they were pulling things down off the top of refrigerator, dusting, scrubbing, and polishing! Who would have thought of the top of the fridge...!?! The apartment sparkled! Oh, and they are very reasonable and friendly...
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Umberto and Teresa showed up promptly at the designated time. They did a fairly thorough cleaning job of our 1000 sq. ft. loft (2 br/ 2 ba) after we hosted a large party. They swept under the couch and behind the toilets, as well as dusted the stairs and the molding. They finished everything in 3 hours. There were a couple of missed spots here and there, but their efficiency cannot be denied. They charged $100 for the cleaning service, which I thought was a little pricey, though not by much for a typical San Francisco maid service.
I would recommend them and will probably call them again.
So I walked into my apartment today after Umberto and his army had been here for the first time and wondered if I'd walked into the wrong place. I am SO impressed! Though the price was very reasonable ($70), I wouldn't have cared how much they charged, they did such a fantastic job. Highly recommended!
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Ditto what Jeremy said. Theresa and Umberto's crew did an amazing job on our ridiculously huge house when we moved out of it. Everything was sparkly, squeaky clean...every single detail was taken care of. I felt guilty....like we weren't paying them enough even with a tip well over 25%. Highly recommended! Thanks Bob for the great suggestion!
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So these guys used to be pretty good but now Umberto is getting a bit too big for his britches. I moved from a 3BR/2BA loft that they cleaned for $105 and he wants to charge me $85 for a 1BR/1BA. Also I noticed a serious decline in his services each time they came.
She did a great job. Place is very clean. 2.0 hours charged me 80 bucks for a fairly new (built in 2002) one bedroom apt. (700 sq. feet). I never use the frig or the stove so they werent so bad, but she knocked out the dust from all the places that had dust ( which was all the places) and did a bang up job on the bathroom.
She had a cousin drop her off and pick her up and she brought all her own gear (vacume, etc.) She seemed to prefer to use her stuff although I offered her a bunch of product and a vacume.
Thanks for the review Jeremy - I just used Umberto and was thrilled with the results. I gave them a key to my building and when I came home from work they had transformed my apartment! Clean floors, everything put back where it should be, they did a great job!!
Trustworthy and very reasonably priced!
Teresa & Umberto can come on over a my house anytime! Two dirty freaks vacated casa Hayes and I had to have a scrub down. I was amazed by the attention to detail, Teresa wiped down every surface, by actually moving things in order to vacuum, she found little things I'd been missing. I think they even took my toilet paper roll & polished the metal bar it resides on!I felt refreshed as soon as I walked in the door, I think I should have paid more....but I recommend them to everyone and will call upon their services any day.
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