To ask: if you are a cleaner, what are the things in the house that would make you judge someone?

My 'cleaner before this one' cleaned for me for 15 years. When she came to meet me to talk about the job, she said that she didn't tidy, she cleaned. She explained that as soon as she put something away, it would be in a different place from where the householder last saw it, so it would confuse the client. And of course she couldn't be certain of where the item 'lived'.

When she'd tidied in the past, she'd had to field phone calls asking whether she'd put something. And several times it was something she'd not seen, never mind put away. She said it made her feel vulnerable to people losing things and blaming her.

That was fine by me. She was a great cleaner, I trusted her implicitly, and she'd always help out with random things outside her cleaning hours.

It’s just bizarre to me that people don’t clean their own mess as they go and just leave it there for the next user to discover, probably hoping that they will have higher standards and clean it up. Even if you live alone and pay for a cleaner, why would you want to spend the rest of the week in a dirty environment?

• If you leave skidmarks in the toilet, you clean them before you exit the bathroom.

• If your toothpaste spit doesn’t wash away when you rinse the basin, you wipe it up.

• If you stand up to wee and miss the bowl, you don’t just leave piss on the seat/floor!

• If you use a cup/plate/item of cutlery, you don’t just leave it in the sink and walk away. You wash it up, or put it in the dishwasher if there is one.

• If you clip your toenails, you pick up the clippings and put them in the bin.

All of these things take seconds to sort out and I judge people harshly if they just leave them for someone else to deal with, paid or not!

When I did have a cleaner I preferred to look after my own body waste, a quick wipe whatever bowl, didn’t and still doesn’t hurt.
Times have changed and I now clean for myself and I object if any of my family, (including DC over 8) or visitors aren’t on the same page. However, of course if they are young, ill or convalescing I accept that is not possible.
i did have one man who had left my home, leaving his trace in the toilet, I was so disgusted and I still have no respect for him.

I am a lot less punctilious than some people on this thread. I pre-clean the toilet (ie so no visible poo, but I would do this anyway regardless of cleaner), and make sure sanpro and nappies are in the main bin. I also clear clutter but mainly because I generally want it to be sorted in a certain way, rather than because I would feel bad about the cleaner doing it. I don't make beds etc (never do this anyway tbh). There are definitely times when I am too busy to do the de-cluttering. As long as you are paying fairly or better than fairly and there is nothing smelly/biohazardous/gross I feel it's ok to ask the cleaner to just do their thing. I am quite messy and quite busy and I appreciate the weekly clean which our cleaner does so so much.

That's a completely bizarre POV to me. My own toothpaste marks in my own bathroom basin have nothing to do with my 'self-respect'. People get things dirty by using them. That's why people hire cleaners.

I did house cleaning for awhile .I saw some disgusting things but got used to it.The worst was finding a used condom in the bedroom.

How people can leave their marks on the inside of the toilet bowl, toothpaste spit in the handbasin nor their hair on drain hair catcher is beyond my comprehension, don’t they have self respect?

Surely your cleaner should be moving your appliances and wiping under them every time. I wouldn’t be happy with a cleaner who just wiped around them. I can do that myself in a rush. Also I would expect them to empty the bins.
I would make sure loos are decent - no poo inside or wee drops from my boys.

I've had various cleaning jobs over the years and I can honestly say I've never judged anyone on their home. I did work for a very quirky old lady years ago who I thought was fascinating, but I didn't judge her. She kept all her money in a biscuit tin and she used to ask me to do things like rinse her vests out in the sink or trim her hair! Sometimes she asked me to mow her lawn with one of those old fashioned mechanical lawn mowers or scatter Vim powder over her patio. It seemed to make her happy so I just did it, but I never judged her. I can honestly say that in my past life as a cleaner, I have been more worried about my employer judging me for not doing a good job!

Tidy yes, otherwise they can't do their job properly. Clear floors / tables ideally

Clean no, that IS their job by definition...

You clean your toilets and sinks for the cleaner?! Crazy stuff

With the vac 🤣

I've been a cleaner for about 15 and don't judge anyone as my house is probably the worst!
However I do expect the house to be tidy, toilets flushed and bitey dogs kept at bay! If I have to spend time picking things up and moving stuff of surfaces I'm not going to get much done cleaning wise. And no one wants to lift a toilet lid and see what someone has left there.
Other than that..the dirtier the better as I enjoy the difference I make

This.

I tidy up clutter and get the kids to sort out their (disgraceful) bedrooms. I also empty bathroom bins and bleach toilets.

i used to clean for a family that left dried cat turds behind the sofa 🤢

Exactly this.
I don't want to be tidied so I pick up before she comes and I don't want to put obstacles in the path of her cleaning

It's disrespectful for anyone old or fit enough to clean up after themselves to leave a toilet or bathroom in a state.

I would certainly look down on anyone who has skid marks on their loo. That includes people who leave public toilets in a state. Absolute animals.

We tidy worktops so our cleaner can actually get to the surfaces. We only have an hour a week for essentials and the messier it is the less time for cleaning. If we had more hours then maybe we’d tidy less but I couldn’t leave the place in a tip. Funnily enough it’s DH that clears everything off the floor if he’s around before she arrives.

My cleaner says this to me! “Vicky, I am the cleaner! Put it down and leave it to me!”

I tidy , get rid of empty shower gels and deodorants from husbands bathroom as he’s incapable and clean the toilets

The poo-er needs to clean the poo from the toilet after they have pooed. If its my youngest then I clean it. If its my teenagers or husband I would expect them to clean the poo immediately after pooing. Do people really leave dried-on poo inside a toilet!!?!?!

You're 100% right! It is the job. And we've certainly had different experiences with cleaners. You know what, I think I should just take your advice and cut myself some slack!!!!

Please could someone help with the abbreviations... Cheers

You're more than welcome to come live here in Brazil!!! Now, about the spiders, I guess it depends on the region. I'm sure you'll love it here tho!😅

Well, I'm not from the UK either, though I lived there for years. I have several Brazilian friends, including a couple in São Paulo, and from what I've observed, I don't notice any great difference with the way they relate to cleaners. And I've had a Brazilian cleaner -- two, actually, a husband and wife couple who alternated cleaning, and who were living in London for a few years because she was studying. They were great, actually. I didn't ever have the impression they were thinking judgemental thoughts about my house, but then again, I didn't ask them! To me that seems a bit like worrying that you're grossing out a surgeon by having a suppurating appendix that needs removing, or bothering a plumber by having a leak. It's the job!