If you have a cleaner, what do you ask them to do?

[ItscoldinAlaska]

I have just had a payrise and stopped drinking alcohol (106 days and counting) so with the extra money I am going to hire a cleaner. I work full time in a stressful job and have 3DC and chronic inflammatory illness that is made worse by stress, so I think this will help my stress levels. I am not feeling very comfortable asking someone else to clean up our family's dirt but I will have to get over myself (my mum has already shamed me about it so I am feeling worried).

What do you get cleaners to actually do? I was thinking of asking them to clean the skirting boards, mop and hoover the floors and clean the bathrooms, as these are the dirtiest areas. Is that too much? Not enough? I literally have no experience so I don't know how long it will take, how much is paid etc, how often they come? Please help me out.

[Mybestestfriend]

In three hours you could expect floors, bathrooms and kitchen, and quick dust.

[ItscoldinAlaska]

Thanks. Does the cleaner you choose usually come, look at your house and tell you how long they will need?

[Timeforabiscuit]

Basically - its whatever works for you! The only sticking point for us is being out of the house, or upstairs out of the way, when the cleaner is round - which is tricky now we all work from home.

We only ask for the ground floor to be cleaned including bathroom, this is two hours every two weeks.

This includes thorough clean of family bathroom and kitchen, hoover and mop through, dusting the living and dining room. We have a standard 3 bed victorian terrace.

We clear and tidy (including washing up) before she comes, and somehow she clears it even more

Our cleaner is magic (really, she has powers) - our home is so much nicer because of her.

[Timeforabiscuit]

We started with having a cleaning agency which worked really well, they visited, gave us a quote and a better idea of what we wanted - it is daunting first time round!

Once you know what you want and how long it takes, its easier to find someone local or via recommendation.

[sylbunny]

Mine comes for 2 hours. She cleans the kitchen (wipes everything down, cleans the sink), both bathrooms (full clean) and does a quick dust in the living areas and halls. She then mops and hoovers all floors. She doesn't do our bedroom or windows or skirting. I find that's enough for me to then keep on top of the rest. Best thing to do is ask for local recommendations and then ask the cleaner what they can do for you in the time.

[ItscoldinAlaska]

Ours is a 3 bed, 3 floor standard Victorian terrace too @Timeforabiscuit, thanks for the advice. Good to have a cleaner then? I was thinking weekly. I am guessing Thursdays and Fridays are competitive days and everyone wants their house done for a weekend? I am excited that my Saturday mornings will be released from cleaning!

[Changingwiththetimes]

I have a new cleaner come over to see the size of house and just meet them to see if we'd get along. We are a messy family but I don't want her to tidy but clean, so I make sure the floors are clear and the washing up is done etc. I told her that the vacuuming,/steam cleaning floors and bathrooms are her one priority. Then kitchen. After that it's whatever she gets done in terms of dusting and so on. She doesn't do the skirtings and shutters every week for sure. She doesn't do our bedrooms because I have two teens who can do it themselves.
When my husband was alive our cleaner ironed his shirts.
I hate housework and I'm happy to pay someone a good wage (12.50/hour) to do it. The hours can be very convenient and flexible for people, especially if they have kids or another job or go to uni. There's no shame in employing a cleaner or in being one.

[sylbunny]

Oh and I'm south east, we pay £12/hr but round here it's £11 - £15 /hr. she comes once a week. Sometimes cleaning companies will send 2 people for 1 hour so you pay the same but get it done in half the time.

[Timeforabiscuit]

Yup I have a Friday morning clean, it's the best feeling stepping through the door at the end of a hard week, and it smells glorious without a pair of shoes in sight!

[lubeybooby]

I used to have one pre covid, she used to do 2 hours twice a week and she would do hoovering and floors, bathrooms including loo cleaning, kitchen, litter tray checks (we used to have 4 cats and 6 litter trays) bins and recycling, odd jobs like skirting boards and cobwebs etc

I would strip beds and she would put new sheets on if I left them out for her

I used to do just laundry and cooking, and dp would put laundry away and do the washing up

She would sometimes come an extra day too and do basic gardening

Gawd I miss her

All the above was agreed with an initial visit where I explained what I was hoping for, checked what she was happy with, and hourly rate etc

She left as was also a cleaner for some CEV sheltering folk and she wanted to avoid any possible spreading. Could probably get her back now but finances are tighter and not sure I can justify it for a while yet.

[ItscoldinAlaska]

I said exactly that to my mum @Changingwiththetimes but she said its ridiculous that I would pay someone to clean up our muck when we can do it oursleves but my mum has always worked P/T and has always been house proud. I honestly think if I can maintain a baseline of cleanliness with a cleaner my weekends would be miles easier. It is the skirting boards that drive me nuts.

[Triffid1]

Absolutely the cleaner will do whatever you need. Figure out what would be most helpful for you and then find a cleaner who is happy todo that. Timing wise, they'll advise, but obviously ou can get a sense - how long would it take you? A cleaner should not be hugely different.

Personally, my order of preferences are:

Vacuum and mop
Dust/wipe surfaces
clean bathrooms
change bedding
clean kitchen

The reason I have this list is because vacuuming and mopping is essential weekly but we find it hard to do for whatever reason (easier for the vacuuming since we got a robot vacuum). Dusting ONLY happens if I do it and it annoys me so I'd want someone to do that. Kitchen/bathrooms we're actually quite good at keeping on top of and if I had to choose a task I HAD to do weekly, cleaning the bathroom is the one I'd choose. I hate changing bedding but DH finds that one fairly easy and so again, he is happy to keep on top of it. Someone else might rather run the vacuum round than ever clean a bathroom.

We are currently cleaner-free but I am considering getting one for just two hours a week to do the floors, dusting and kitchen.

for a long time we had a cleaner for four hours a week so she did all the above and also did "extra" every week eg she'd spend a few weeks cleaning all the windows or sh'd clean the fridge or she'd spend two weeks cleaning inside the cupboards in the kitchen. It was bliss.

[TotorosFurryBehind]

Why should I be cleaning my skirting boards? (Misses point of thread)

[cudbywestrangers]

Ours is brilliant. But slightly different to others on here she didn't want telling what to do, the deal was that we are a fee and she cleans the whole house. And for us that's worked well. Kitchen/ bathrooms/ floors done every week and then she doors occasional jobs like the oven etc on some sort of rota. I basically don't need to think about cleaning other than remembering to pay her

[ItscoldinAlaska]

@cudbywestrangers that sounds ideal!

I don't know why the skirting boards get filthy in my house. I can't remember them being a big deal but they are the one thing that drive me nuts here. Maybe it's because we have a cat.

[SecretWitch]

Our lovely cleaner comes for three hours on Friday ( she’s here now) She vacuums every room, mops kitchen and bathrooms, throughly cleans kitchen and bathrooms, tidies up living areas, dusts living areas and changes bedding if we leave clean sheets out.

[Oblomov21]

Entirely depends on who you get / what kind of company they are / whether it's an individual.

and also what you want.

some of my friends hire from agencies and they have a list. Or friend gives the agency a list of what they want done.

I have a cleaner of a friend and she very occasionally comes and I don't say anything to her, I just let her get on with it and what she can fit in in the time.

depends how you want to do it!

[user1471538283]

In 2.5 hours my ex cleaner could Hoover, sweep and mop our 3 bedrooms home, polish, clean the kitchen and bathroom and strip and make my bed! I miss her so much!

[Bimini]

I am a cleaner and for a large three-bed I do:
Clean bathroom and cloakroom
Clean kitchen
Dust whole house
Clean mirrors/indoor glass
Hoover
Mop bathrooms and kitchen
Mop wooden floor downstairs
Change two beds
Empty bins
This takes me 2.5 hours and I charge £12 per hour. My plea to anyone employing a cleaner - please tidy the evening before! There is nothing most frustrating that wipe, pick up, wipe, pick up, Hoover, stop, move box, Hoover, move box back. You get the gist