To say that it’s really hard to find a good cleaner

I bet you wouldn’t say this to a businessman.
Why shouldn’t anyone pay for a cleaner.
Ridiculous.

What on earth is wrong with you - you don’t want a cleaner and want to do it yourself then super duper for you, the OP and many of us for many, many varying reasons do not. I’ve read some rubbish on mumsnet in my time but seriously….

in answer to you OP - it is very difficult to get good cleaners - I have had 2 out of about 10 in my time of using cleaners who I have thought were genuinely good. It is actually a real skill to be able to prioritise and use time wisely when you have a set number of hours. Training is so rarely provided and agencies will hire anyone who wants a few hours work and then by and large pay the cleaner very little of what we are paying the agency. I try and do it direct and not via and agency but good cleaners do not often have gaps!

I have a cleaner but I don't need one. I could do it myself but I don't want to. I'd rather do something else. I also have manicures and pedicures that I could do myself but I pay someone else instead. I could do my own hair but I pay a hairdresser. I could go to the supermarket but I pay to have it delivered.

It's called choosing what to spend your own money on.

OP isn’t being princessy. Don’t be so rude. Why don’t you take up another hobby?

I don’t think agency cleaners are good in general because they underpay the cleaners generally and take a huge cut/don’t really train well and then you end up with lots of random people in your house if cleaner is sick or on holiday. Agree re word of mouth - there are some amazing cleaners out there!

And it’s you who has chosen to ignore how princessy you’re being. And also telling miss truths about a cleaner being a one off. How on earth did you let it get to that state in the first place?!

Time.

YANBU, @EalingLucy . I’ve given up now but I go back to work in a few weeks and I am going to hunt a good one down!

I also have a cleaner, is that Ok with you?
Actually don't answer because I don't care.
To answer OP yes, it IS hard to find a good cleaner. I have had some awful ones and now have a wonderful one so they are out there

Using an agency might be a way forward or otherwise as above, word of mouth. I adore my cleaner. She makes my life so much easier and loves nothing better than the opportunity to deep clean when I’m on holiday.

Agree that good cleaners and gardeners are like gold dust.

@EalingLucy hope you feel better quickly. Agree your cleaner did a poor job and doesn’t know how to clean. - no one seems to train cleaners how to do the job anymore, there used to be nvqs in cleaning! Agencies just hire people who are available and have two hands. Even in dedicated settings which hire in house, new domestics are somehow expected to know about cross contamination and how to actually clean a toilet ( and no, it’s not just a quick spray and wave a wipe at the seat!).
I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few years explaining and showing cleaners how and why things have to be cleaned a certain way or with certain products.

Am I the only one thinking that the skirting boards, floorboards, windowframe and walls would be almost impossible for a cleaner to make pristine and that a decorator might be needed first?

Seriously why the snipe? I’ve been post op and done it myself, I’ve been pre op and done it myself (which was worse - emergency op for pelvic ulcer) just crack on and do it.
or sit on your work chair pretending to “work” and carry on getting embroiled.

My cleaner came on a friend's recommendation. I'm very happy with her.

Sorry you are disappointed op... I am a cleaner.. Usually get new customers by word of mouth!.. Don't give up hope!!
There are good ones out there!

If you want a professional job, then you need to pay professional wages. I'm going to say at least £30 per hour, equivalent to what you pay a tradesperson would be appropriate. Are you paying those sorts of wages? If so, then I would say you have cause for compliant. If not, you get what you pay for.

Good cleaners who are quick, thorough, reliable and knowledgeable should be paid proper wages imo. It's not an easy job and as you've found out can be done really poorly.

That's exactly the kind of things DH and I do regularly. But if you look at it a different way, the cleaners are there to reduce the level of overall cleaning needed in the house. If we don't have them, we'll never get to the high shelves or behind radiators.

Totally agree. My experience with cleaners are they are only good for the general wipe over kitchen and bathrooms, and mop the floor kind of clean. DH and I still go around regularly cleaning bits they don't do.

Same with gardening. All my experiences with gardeners have been poor. They general don't do proper gardening.

You really can't think of any reasons why someone would employ a cleaner? 🤔

I really don’t get why you don’t just do it yourself. It’s not difficult.

I agree. I have a nice cleaner atm in that she’s reliable and ‘normal’ (I’ve had some bad experiences), but she was recently away and so I did some cleaning and noticed she hadn’t been cleaning certain areas that weren’t ‘obvious’ like a high shelf or behind door in bathroom.
id rather someone ‘decent’ whose not as thorough than a cleaner who cancels half the time or who I can’t trust.
Doesn’t make sense when they don’t understand products if you’ve shown them.