What happens if a house cleaner breaks something in your home
Updated August 16, 2026
The short answer
What if a cleaner breaks something: in the US the cleaning company usually pays, through its own damage process or its general liability insurance. Bonded covers theft, not accidents. Photograph the damage, keep the pieces, and report it to the company in writing the same day you find it.
A chipped edge on the cooktop. A hairline crack in the toilet tank lid. A floor lamp that met a vacuum cord and lost. It happens, even to careful people. What separates a decent cleaning service from a long afternoon is the next hour.
Two people read this page. One is standing over the pieces right now and should go straight to the first-hour steps. The other has not booked anyone yet and should read the insurance table twice. M.I.L. Cleaners is bonded and insured. More about the company if you are still sizing us up.
What if a cleaner breaks something
Start with who pays. When a crew member damages something on the job, the cleaning company owns the problem first, through its own damage process, or its general liability policy if the repair is big enough to claim. Most breakage never reaches an insurer. It gets repaired or replaced, because the deductible is worth more than the lamp.
Your job is the boring part, which is also the part that gets paid. Photograph it before you move anything. Keep the pieces, including the small ones under the radiator. Note the room, the time you found it, and what was being cleaned nearby. Nothing goes in the trash until the claim is settled.
Then put it in writing. If the crew is still there, say so calmly and ask them to report it to the office. You are starting a record, not a fight. A company that calls broken items the homeowner's risk is not quoting a policy. That is a shrug in a polo shirt.
What bonded and insured actually means
People say bonded and insured like it is one blanket. It is four things, and one of them pays for the lamp.
| Coverage | What it is | What it pays for | What to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| General liability | The company's damage policy, with a per-occurrence limit, an aggregate limit and a deductible. | Accidents on the job: a chipped counter, a cracked screen, a broken lamp. | Can you send a current certificate of insurance? |
| Janitorial bond | A dishonesty bond, also called a fidelity bond. A surety product, not an insurance policy. | Theft by a covered worker, often only once the theft is proven. Not accidents. | What does the bond cover, and which workers are named? |
| Workers' compensation | Coverage for the crew's own injuries. Rules and thresholds vary by state. | A cleaner hurt in your home, so that bill never goes looking for your policy. | Do you carry workers' comp for the people you send? |
| Your homeowners policy | Your own coverage, with your deductible and your claim history attached. | A backstop if the company is uninsured, denies the damage, or stops replying. | Does my policy cover damage by someone working in my home? |
What to do in the first hour
Order matters more than speed here.
Photograph before you move anything
A close shot, a room shot, and one showing where the item sat. For a scratch or a chip, set a coin beside it for scale.
Keep the pieces and the proof of value
Hold the broken item, plus the receipt, warranty, or the model number stamped on the base. Replacement value needs proof of value.
Report it in writing the same day
Text or email the service date, what broke, where it was, when you noticed, and the photos. Facts only. Save the speech.
Ask for the damage process by name
Who reviews it, what they need from you, when you hear back. A company that handles breakage often answers all three without stalling.
How to verify a cleaning company is insured
Do this before you hand over a key, a garage code or smart lock access.
Ask for the certificate, not the slogan
Anyone can type bonded and insured on a website. A company that carries the policy can email the certificate within a day or two.
Check the name on it
The business named on the certificate should match the entity servicing your home, franchise or LLC included. Not a personal name you have never heard.
Use these words
"Before I book, please send a current certificate of insurance showing general liability, and confirm the business name that will be servicing my home." Polite, specific, hard to dodge.
Listen for the dodge
"Everyone's covered, don't worry" is not an answer, and neither is a reply that never arrives. Run this alongside the rest of the questions to ask a cleaning service.
When your homeowners policy comes in
Your homeowners policy is the backstop, not the first call. It generally covers sudden accidental damage, subject to your deductible, so a claim smaller than that deductible pays you nothing and still sits on your claim history. A cracked tank lid rarely clears that bar; a cracked quartz counter might.
Call your own carrier when the company is uninsured, denies the damage, or stops answering. Ask two things: whether the policy covers damage by someone working in your home, and whether filing would move your premium. Get the answer in writing.
Breakage or just a missed spot
A cracked tank lid and a skipped baseboard are different complaints, handled through different doors. Lint on the wobbly shelf above the washer, crumbs under the toaster, a ring of dust where a candle was moved: that is quality, not damage. The Mother-in-Law Test names those spots on purpose: the fan blade, the shower track, the grease film above the range, the baseboard behind the door. Walk the house after a visit and check them.
If something on that list got skipped, say so. It is the same background-checked crew every visit, working from a written room-by-room list, so a note you give once still holds in week six. And no contracts: if the standard stops being met, you stop booking that week.
Damage takes the claim route instead. The habit is the same either way: look before the day ends, photograph it, send one clear message. If you cannot tell which you have, our room-by-room check guide sorts a skipped task from real damage.
Why M.I.L. Cleaners
Ask us for the certificate before you book
Both routes need the same thing behind them: a company that can produce the paperwork. M.I.L. Cleaners is bonded and insured, and the certificate goes out on request, before anyone sets a caddy down near your cooktop. That is the reason to hire a company at all rather than a careful stranger with a mop, and it is the one claim you should never take from a homepage.
Insurance answers for the lamp. It does not tell you who was holding it. The same background-checked crew comes back every visit, so the person who chipped the cooktop is the person who hears about it, and the person at your door next week. Names, not a rotating list of strangers. Book a crew, then ask for the certificate in the same message, and see how long the reply takes.
Questions people ask after a breakage
Who pays if a house cleaner breaks something?
What is a janitorial bond?
Can I ask a cleaning company for a certificate of insurance?
What do I say if a cleaning company damaged my property?
Should I stop payment on the clean if something broke?
Also answered on this page: cleaning company damaged my property · how to verify a cleaning company is insured · certificate of insurance house cleaner · does homeowners insurance cover a cleaner
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Book a crew you can hold accountable
Bonded and insured, with a damage process you can ask about by name before you book. Then check the house the same day, while the crew is still a text away.
Bonded & Insured · No contracts, no surprise fees. The only inspector is her.