Who is a housekeeper and who is a maid? Are they the same? Is there a difference between them? Should I go for a maid or a housekeeper?
If you are searching for answers to any of these questions online, this is the right article for you to read.
In this article, we will compare housekeeper vs maid and see the differences and similarities between the two of them. Keep reading!
Compare: Housekeeper Vs Maid
In the cleaning world, you are bound to regularly come across the two words “housekeeper” and “maid.”
At a point, you will start wondering if those words mean the same thing. If they can be used interchangeably to refer to the same kind of domestic staff found in most homes.
On this webpage, you will find a complete explanation of each of those words. You will also learn about the full work of a housekeeper and that of a maid. What makes each of them unique and so on.
That way, you will be able to choose which of them you need at any point in time to take proper care of your home.
Who Is A Maid?
The description of who a maid differs from person to person and from place to place.
In many parts of Europe for instance, a maid is usually a woman who is given charge over the entire house. She cleans, shops and cooks for the entire family. She is well paid and respected.
To help her meet her daily tasks properly, the maid is assigned one or two other workers often seen as housekeepers in this same region. With these workers under her, she successfully keeps the house in order 24/7. While these other domestic workers report directly to her, she reports directly to the lady of the house.
Away from Europe to other parts of the world and the definition of a maid changes entirely.
In many places, a maid is often seen as just a “house help.” She lives with a particular family, usually one wealthier than hers. There she runs all kinds of errands, takes care of the pets like cats and dogs, and cleans every part of the house that needs to be cleaned.
Most times, the maid is left to do all these without any form of help from either the owner of the house or other domestic workers.
Due to the nature of the job done by maids in these other parts of the world, being called “a maid” is often seen as a very derogatory name. Most people see the name as just a camouflage for a “paid domestic slave.”
In modern times, these perceptions of who a maid has greatly changed.
Who Is A Housekeeper And What Does He Do?
Just like a maid, the definition of a housekeeper and their full job description varies from place to place. In a few places, the housekeeper is seen more like an assistant to the maid. Since the maid is placed higher than him, the housekeeper takes instructions from her.
The housekeeper’s daily tasks in such places are assigned to him by the maid whose job it is to meet with the owner or lady of the house and finds out what needs to be done per day.
In several other places around the world today, the housekeeper is seen as a worker whose job is to render professional cleaning services to a household. He may live with the family for some time or come from the outside, however, he ensures that the whole house is well cleaned to the expectation of the homeowner.
The housekeeper can be a worker from a janitorial company. When you call for the services of a cleaning company, the company sends a qualified staff or a team to attend to your cleaning needs. These housekeepers are well paid and respected just like other workers in society.
Is There A Difference Between A Maid And A Housekeeper Today?
Based on what we have seen so far, the two words mean entirely different things to different people across the world.
Especially several years ago. However, in recent times the two words are beginning to be used interchangeably to mean the same thing.
This is evident in the fact that most cleaning services refer to themselves as maid services or professional housekeepers. So whether you address them as maids or housekeepers, it doesn’t make so much of a difference today.
As long as what you mean is a worker who is paid to clean the house, hotel, school, etc.
Unlike before, the work of a maid or housekeeper today has been limited to cleaning and putting the house in order.
We now have other domestic workers whose job it is to cook and handle other things at home. The maid or housekeeper doesn’t do everything there is to do in the house anymore.
What About A Live-In Maid And A Live-In Housekeeper
This is another set of words that people are searching online for the full explanations and their job descriptions. If you followed the explanations given here on who a maid and a housekeeper are, you won’t many problems with this.
Just like the name suggests, a live-in maid or live-in housekeeper is a maid or housekeeper who gets paid to live and work in the same home.
Unlike ordinary maids or housekeepers that come to work from outside of the house and leaves once their time is off, the live-in maid or live-in housekeeper doesn’t leave anywhere.
The live-in maid or housekeeper resides fully in the house where they are working. Their works are often far more than those of regular maids or housekeepers. That is the major reason it cost more to hire them than the others who just work one or two hours in the house and leaves to somewhere else.
Which Of Them Should I Hire: Regular Maids Or Live-in Maids?
When it comes to choosing between the two to take charge of the chores you have at home, no one can decide which of them is best for you. That is a decision you will have to make yourself based on many things.
Your Need
For a person with a very small family, having a maid who just comes in the morning, cleans your house and goes, maybe all you need to keep your house constantly clean. The same cannot be said for someone with quite a large family.
In a home where there much persons, the chances of the house becoming dirty now and then is high. You may need to have it cleaned a few times a day. Hence the need for a live-in maid.
Your Budget
Calculate the cost of hiring a regular maid and a live-in maid and choose which is best for you based on your budget.
Can you afford to have another person living with you even though that doesn’t mean you will automatically have to take care of everything about them?
Whichever one you feel you feel is best or you and you can comfortably shoulder the responsibilities involved, go on with it. Though nowadays, people prefer having a domestic maid or housekeeper who works for a few hours in the house and leaves. However, people’s needs are different.
So choose the one you know well you require and can handle the costs.
Where To The Services Of Maids & Housekeepers Online
There are several places to hire the services of professional housekeepers or maids online. One such place is social media. You can make a post about needing the services of a maid or housekeeper and watch the responses you will get.
The only disadvantage with using the social media for that purpose is that you may not truly know the performance level of the maid or housekeeper you will be hiring through there until they show up at your door.
Your best bet when it comes to hiring maids and housekeepers online is to go through websites offering maid services online. You can easily find such by searching for either “housekeeping services” or “maid services” on Google, Bing and other search engines out there.
In Summary
There have always been arguments about the scope of work of housekeepers and maids. While in many circles, a maid is often seen as the higher domestic worker who is in charge of everything at home, the housekeeper is also seen in other circles as the superior one.
So, the understanding of who a maid and a housekeeper are varies from place to place.
However, in modern times, the two words are often used interchangeably to mean the same since the nature of their work these days is almost the same.
In this article, we have discussed the different opinions that people have of a housekeeper vs maid. I hope this helps.