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

Well I’d never expect her to clean it off! Bleach only!

Ex cleaner here of about 5 years. Definitely clean the loo, not shiny clean but not smeared with shit. I can't help but feel a bit 🤮about people that leave the loo like that and still remember the. 20 years later!
I now occasionally have a cleaner and tidy and put some things on the bed so they hoover thoroughly. And always give the toilet a quick scrub.

Oh and I told the cleaner never to empty our bathroom bin as I wouldn’t expect that at all

I'm in between cleaners atm 😭 but DH and I always tidy up before the cleaner comes - we have young kids and the house usually ends up with their toys and books etc everywhere, as well as just general clutter. We like to put away things in the kitchen, leave the bathroom and house in general tidy. So that the cleaner can actually spend the time cleaning.

As for the toilet - we scrub skid marks as we go along, it's disgusting not to. So I would double check there were no skid marks we'd missed. But I wouldn't clean the toilet, pointless when that's what we are paying the cleaner to do.

I make the kids tidy up. Things like tidying clutter in the living rooms/cleaning up any skid marks we would do as we go anyway. We clean very halfheartedly once or twice a week between her visits but the whole point of paying for the help is to not do it ourselves so it’s very minimal. I do also do a full on spring clean a couple of times a year, usually right before she comes and avoiding the bits she will cover.

I've been a cleaner and I've employed a cleaner.

One job I did, I was employed for 3 hours per week. It was untidy. I didn't judge (I couldn't care less if you are messy) but I did have to spend an hour tidying up before I could clean. This meant a 2 hour clean. Best believe I wasn't staying longer than my paid hours because the cleaning wasn't finished.

For this reason, my house will ALWAYS be tidied before my cleaner comes.

Same thing, surely?

Errr... I definitelt don't clean before the cleaner, what a waste of money and energy that would be. She is fantastic and will clean and also tidy up, I also have to say though that I like to live cleanly so I maintain it during the week so it's not actually disgusting. I do empty the bins but again just because I do that every day anyway. She also gets paid for 3h and it's plenty time for our small house hence she has time to tidy up, fold clothes, etc if needed. If I had to clean/tidy up before hand, I would rather pay the cleaner for an extra hour if I could - it's their job! Also, if a cleaner judges me/the house because it's dirty/untidy, then said person should do a different job imo

Yes this sounds good. For example I clean the toilet (separate room) but don’t always dust round the back and the pipes etc. And I would like a better clean of the bathroom but it’s a rented house and really the grouting needs redoing so it will never be all white. But I think a fortnightly clean plus oven and fridge would be good. Although we’re meant to be saving to buy. Definitely getting one when we move though!

I'm a cleaner and I have to admit I did once judge when there was green mould in someone's sink and there were kids living there. Other than that I don't think there's been a time where I've judged anything

I wouldn’t expect my cleaner to do anything “gross” so I give the toilet a quick clean, empty the bathroom bin and make sure the toothbrushes are clean and away. I’m pretty tidy anyway so the only room we have to tidy specifically for her coming is DD’s, and she does that the night before. Usually!

Tidy and toilets here too. I used to clean at uni, anything sex related is just disrespectful, and I don’t want to pick up your dirty knickers.

I tidy just so I can maximise their cleaning time, if they’ve got to pick everything up then they won’t have the time to do everything else I want done.

I'd say a cleaner is definitely worth it. Think of it as a way to offload cleaning jobs onto someone else!

My cleaner comes fortnightly to do all my bathrooms and hoover/mop the entire downstairs (tiled floor throughout). I do clean as I go, but not thoroughly everyday. I tend to clean up spills/messes from the floor but not a full mop each time. Same with bathrooms, I keep on top of the sink and loos, but my cleaner will get rid of all the dust that lives behind the loo/sink, polishes everything e.g. shower hose/taps/any chrome in the bathroom.

I also arranged for her to do a deep clean of the oven/fridge ever few months. It's just another thing I don't have to think about!

Edited to add I do not clean before she comes.

We have a cleaner for four hours a week, so quite a lot. Our toilets don't get particularly dirty with that level of cleaning. I certainly wouldn't clean before they get there.

I tidy things away before cleaners come, but that's more so they have more time to tidy rather than clean.

Aren’t you both saying the same thing?

I tidy up so the cleaner can spend more time cleaning. I don't feel judged. She's lovely, and good at her job and she knows how much she's appreciated.

Is it worth getting a cleaner? We have an 11 year old and work ft. I’m also doing a course so would appreciate the extra time but I wouldn’t say our house is dirty. It’s things like scrubbing the kitchen and bathroom and cleaning skirting boards and windows inside, sliding doors etc. Also surely you clean the toilet as you use it?

Do you have a cleaner come round daily or do you just leave your toilet dirty until the cleaner is next in?

I tidy things away, and check that there are no poo smears in the loo. That's it.

Cleaners are human too and isn't it common courtesy not to leave poo for the next person? How bad is your poo left behind if a quick wipe round yourself (so the cleaner can scrub it!) is too much hassle... I'd like to think anyone who has anyone round to their home wouldn't leave skidmarks on show. That's all I've got to say in reply, we clearly have different views on bathroom etiquette!

All these people saying they clean poo from the toilet have shocked me. I literally pay a cleaner so I don't have to clean my toilets. What's the point of scrubbing poo from a toilet then having your cleaner round? It'd be scrubbed clean

I make sure the floors are tidy to hoover, that washing up is put away and surfaces are clear. And make sure toilets are looking OK but that's just out of respect rather than thinking they would judge...

You loons - you need to tidy, as your cleaners won't know where to put stuff, but you don't need to clean - they are CLEANERS

I did cleaning and babysitting to pay for my university studies - and I didn't care or judged people homes. I just did the job.

I find MN attitudes towards cleaners quite patronising.

They are there to do a job, in your workplace do you expect other people to do half of it before you arrive?!?

As long as you are not being disrespectful e.g leaving things out like sex toys or dirty underwear on the floor then just leave your cleaner alone and stop feeling sorry for them!

It’s really condescending - most cleaners are running their own businesses or doing work they find flexible around their children’s needs. There are tonnes of service workers in the UK, but MN have this obsession that cleaners are to be pitied and are some kind of helpless sub class of humanity. Stop it