Cleaners - how much and how often

[mumdebump]

Having spent a depressing amount of time tidying & cleaning my house this weekend (and it still isn't totally clean and will be a sh*t tip again tomorrow thanks to DH, DD & dog), I think it's time to bite the bullet & look for a cleaner to help me keep on top of it. What's the going rate these days - both for private cleaner & agencies? How many hours a week do you reckon would make it worthwhile for me and for cleaner. We are in a rural area up north. When I was single & working full-time I had a cleaner for 2 hours a week on a Friday which meant I had a beautifully clean house (large 2 bedroom) to relax in at the weekend and it was easy to keep on top of during the week. Now am I working part-time, with lots of extra-curricular running about in the evenings, have a messy family, dog & a much-larger 4-bedroom house. I would love to have a clean home to relax in once again!

[cavkc123]

I love my cleaner she comes Tuesday and Friday for 4 hours each day and I pay her £10ph

Apart from cleaning, she changes the bedding and does all our ironing

[mumdebump]

Is that privately or agency pay please?

[magicboy79]

Having someone to clean is amazing! Takes so much pressure off! Ours is £10 an hour and comes 3 hours on a Thursday. We have 2 boys and a dog (and cream tiles in hall and kitchen) so our house can get grubby. Well worth it if you get a good one

[magicboy79]

Ours was private, a lady had dropped a card through my grandparents letter box

[LaPharisienne]

I pay my (private) cleaner £11.50 p/hr, but she's worked for me for years so I've upped her pay a couple of times and she gets a bonus at Christmas.

She does 4 hrs a week, once a week - it's just me and DP in a smallish flat but she does our laundry and changes the beds.

[mumdebump]

Thanks. I know it would make such a difference. Bloody expensive though! They earn more than I do per hour. I'll need to ask for a pay rise in my job :)

[malin100]

2 hrs, once a fortnight. That's the minimum they'd do and what we can afford. If I could have that every week though it would be lovely. £13.50/hr (agency, includes products).

[paxillin]

3h per week, £12 per hour. Household with a couple of kids, but no pets. She does all the cleaning and the ironing.

You do need to tidy up properly before though.

What a cleaner can do is directly related to how tidy it is. When we don't manage to tidy, she doesn't get through the ironing. When it is really tidy, she has time to spare for extra jobs like vacuuming air vents and deep cleaning the oven.

[FiddleFigs]

My cleaners come fortnightly and properly blitz the place (though I do tidy up properly first). A team of 2 take 1.5 hours to do a 2 bed/1 bath house. It costs £30.

[NataliaOsipova]

Can I ask - when you say £10/hr for 2 hours - is the cleaner actually there for the full 2 hours or is that just the price for the job? I'm slightly concerned that we are being stitched up a little with our current arrangement, so would be interested to know!

[GrandmaJosephine]

I pay my cleaner for 3 hours, I expect her to be there for 3 hours (obviously not solid non stop cleaning, she is welcome to make herself drinks). I don't monitor her though as I am at work. House always looks good after.

If your cleaner finishes everything early perhaps you could ask her to wash the Windows or tidy a cupboard?

[xandra588]

I have been using FastKlean for years. My cleaner Tanya is never late, and her work has been amazing. She comes three times a week for 4 hours. I would definitely recommend her to everyone.

[TiredOfSleep]

£10ph is pretty standard unless you're in London. We have a cleaner for 1 hour per week just to keep on top of floors bathroom and kitchen. Just right with a toddler and me only working part time.

[Redbindippers101]

£20 for two hours, but she is a cleaner and not a tidy upper - we have to do that ourselves.
Plus she's great and looks after the cats when we away.

[OhBrother1]

6 hours a fortnight (actually 2 people come so they do 3 hrs each)
£10.00 per hr

[ChablisTyrant]

We pay £11 an hour in the SE. 4 hours a week for a big house. That doesn't include beds or ironing or washing.

The great thing is that it gets you into a routine with tidying up because you have to do it before they come!

[HappyAsASandboy]

I have a fabulous cleaner.

She comes four hours per week and does whatever she can to improve things (there is no way she could finish everything in four hours - decorating going on, three kids, both adults full time work).

The crucial thing for us is that she tidies as well as cleaning. A cleaner wouldn't work for us if I had to ensure it was tidy the night before (which is why we didn't get a cleaner years ago!), but this cleaner is a friend of a friend and she just generally 'improves things' whether that be tidying/cleaning/doing the dishes/folding clothes etc etc. Exactly what I need - help with domestic life rather than cleaning.

We pay her £10 per hour and she uses our cleaning products. I am flexible about hours/days. She sometimes does fewer hours but still takes the full pay but then other days she will work more hours than agreed and I don't pay any extra. I basically trust her to not swindle me and she does her best to 'improve things' for me.

I know that one day the arrangement will end for some reason. I am really not looking forward to that day.

[Purplehonesty]

Our cleaner comes 2 hours a week and charges £10 an hour.
She is a private cleaner

In the 2 hours she hoovers everywhere, washes all the wooden floors downstairs and cleans 3 bathrooms incl walk in shower. She dusts and will do things like windowsills if she has time left over

It works well altho I wish I could have her for longer to do ironing and laundry but she is fully booked!!

[HappyAsASandboy]

I have a fabulous cleaner.

She comes four hours per week and does whatever she can to improve things (there is no way she could finish everything in four hours - decorating going on, three kids, both adults full time work).

The crucial thing for us is that she tidies as well as cleaning. A cleaner wouldn't work for us if I had to ensure it was tidy the night before (which is why we didn't get a cleaner years ago!), but this cleaner is a friend of a friend and she just generally 'improves things' whether that be tidying/cleaning/doing the dishes/folding clothes etc etc. Exactly what I need - help with domestic life rather than cleaning.

We pay her £10 per hour and she uses our cleaning products. I am flexible about hours/days. She sometimes does fewer hours but still takes the full pay but then other days she will work more hours than agreed and I don't pay any extra. I basically trust her to not swindle me and she does her best to 'improve things' for me.

I know that one day the arrangement will end for some reason. I am really not looking forward to that day.

[wallywobbles]

200m2, 2 dogs, 4 kids, between 7 & 9 hours a week plus ironing. She is awesome.

[wallywobbles]

She is on a salary because she also does our gites. 12€ an hour