My cleaner chucked her cigarette butt into our hydrangea bush

She sounds a bit slapdash.

I'm not the only one who suggested it.

Haha! Buy an ash tray…. Bugger off! She shouldn’t be smoking AT ALL. She’s there to clean.
I’d look for another cleaner. I don’t think I could cope with a cleaner anyway.
Wouldn’t be making her tea either 🤣🤣

I'd hate having an Ash tray around my garden and the smell of smoke on my patio furniture.

Those taps don't turn on themselves don't you know.😁

This

I’ve had a bunch of cleaners over the years and they were all big smokers! Never managed to find a non-smoker!

I think in 4 hours physical work you do need a break and something to eat or drink. We always have a coffee-break together with our cleaner.

Our first cleaner smoked outside our front door, on the street. Because i told her I didn’t want smoke in my house or garden. But i found it hard to watch, when it was cold or raining and she is lingering on the street. My current cleaner smokes in the garden, i have a small porch for when it rains and I don’t have a proper ashtray but any empty jar wil do.

Quite! My cleaner is wonderful and gets the job done (very well!) and if she wants to take a fag break in the middle that's fine with me!

Nope, I don’t want to clean minging cig ends up and most certainly don’t want to clean an ashtray. Fag ends make me wretch, no joke! It’d be a hard no from me, don’t smoke on my property, don’t leave fag ends anywhere near it, preferably don’t walk ‘fag smell’ into my home. That would go for the cleaner, gardener, decorator etc.

As for leaving cups out, what is the point in cleaning the whole house then leaving a cup on the side??!! That’s insane. Leaving me an ash pan to clean up as well would tip me over the edge.

I think I’d be having a full and frank discussion with her moving forward, perhaps she isn’t the cleaner for you.

Are you happy with her cleaning?

If so just buy a closed in ashtray for outside and ask her to smoke away from the window.

Only if you're a woman apparently

Or you could just SPEAK TO HER! Just tell her you are a non smoking property and if she smokes you prefer her to do it outside her contracted 4 hours. It really shouldn't be the mountain you are making out of this molehill.

When I was cleaning it always amazed me that they wanted a cleaner but then spent a fortune on gym membership.
Why not clean your own house, it's a better workout and more satisfying.

It's crazy to hear that people think fag butts are biodegradable! They're not.

It's littering and it is an offence. You can be fined for it.

Smokers can be so selfish.

Maybe she needs one after scrubbing toilets. It's a hard job.
Either give her an ashtray or ask her not to smoke.

People who drop fag butts are selfish morons

When i smoked, i could go 4 hrs without a cig if i was only there for 4 hrs. Im there to work. So is your cleaner. Over 4 hrs she can have a break.. I've been a cleaner, no need for this

This might be controversial but I wouldn't want a cleaner who smokes. Smokers, even if they do it outside, still bring a smell in with them which defeats the purpose of a nice clean house.

If you pay for a service, you are entitled to expect the service to be performed properly. It’s nothing to do with the OP’s “liking”, it’s to do with behaving like a responsible adult and not chucking fag butts about.

can you ask her nicely to not smoke?
no need to fire her

It’s bad behaviour to chuck cigarette butts anywhere into the environment. Even worse to do it on your property. I think even a 5 year old could tell you this. I cannot imagine why so many posters think it’s alright. No wonder the country is covered in litter if people don’t have an issue with someone chucking it.

I hope you haven’t got a dog who would eat them. They can be harmful.

those of you saying have a word with the cleaner - I don’t think op should need to have a word. It’s just basic behaviour not to litter. You wouldn’t expect anyone who comes to your house to chuck fag butts anywhere ever.

I’d sack her. You wouldn’t expect to ask her to wipe her bum. So why should anyone expect to tell someone not to chuck litter. Again, basic behaviour. I don’t understand this thread at all.

Fire the cleaner saves you £18 an hour and clean your own home.
There are a lot a threads about how bad cleaners are or they dont clean to your liking in stead of moaning about it clean your own home.

I would expect her to tidy away any cups / glasses used and I would be telling her not to smoke anywhere on my property , if she can’t manage that I’d find a new cleaner .

It's not biodegradable as several people have pointed out. It's litter.

Cleaner here. From my perspective:

• if the cleaner is charging by the hour, she should clean for that amount of time and not take smoking breaks. I charge ‘per job’ so I take breaks if I want/need to.
• You say you thought it could have been the gardener. Would you have felt different? Would you ask him/her not to smoke?
• If you agree that cleaner can use some of her paid time to smoke, she shouldn’t be doing it outside your open windows or flicking the butt in your garden
• you sometimes offer her tea or water. Would you believe hardly any of my clients offer me a drink! But I am often asked to move so they can get to the sink/cupboard/kettle to make drinks for themselves and/or other tradespeople
• I wouldn’t get hung up on her not putting her mug in the dishwasher. Does the gardener do this?