To think cleaning is a skill?

I've met a few people who try to get out of cleaning because "you're just so much better at it". Men, and women roomates some years ago. I agree that we're all different and some of us are better, and I can believe some people have genuine conditions meaning they don't "see" mess like I do, but I'd say there's a lot of people using weaponised incompetence.

Ooh can you link to the line spray??

I think some experienced cleaners have a skill, or at least a knowledge about how to tackle certain things to get the best results and be efficient. I have had cleaners in the past year who didn’t have this at all, and others who are amazing at it. I am ok but clearly don’t know all the tricks of the trade, so I can get the glass on the stairs sparkling but I’m not so good at the shower. And I couldn’t get round the house in the time the good ones can. I think a reliable cleaner who really knows how to clean is a rare and valuable thing.

Professional cleaners are absolutely skilled!

They have knowledge of what products to use and a process of how to clean. I struggle with processes and have executive dysfunction.

I get overwhelmed by tasks - so something that would take a cleaner 15 minutes would take me hours and I still wouldn’t finish.

I’m in the hairdressers and don’t have my glasses on. Thought it’d make you chuckle to know that I initially read this as that you need to moisturise yourself for hours first which did puzzle me …😂 x

Same! Definitely think there's a skill to it! Although tbh our house is the kind of old house that never really looks completely clean even when it's literally just been cleaned. 😄

I always like to watch a few reels or TikTok’s on cleaning to get myself in the mood. I do find them interesting to learn what works for others.

Yes and no. I think a lot depends of using right equipment, good hoover, right products and amount used for different surfaces

It’s ok - if cleaning is redefined as a skilled activity then women can be praised for doing it so well and can take pride in their great cleaning skills when forced back in the home

No. Anyone can get good at cleaning. It just takes practice.
If your livelihood depended on it you would clean to a higher standard.
It depends how motivated you are.
I can never be arsed to clean my own house to a really high standard but when I used to rent I left every place looking perfect because I wanted my deposit back. The only difference was how much time and effort I put in.

There are skills involved, of course, but I think more important than that is the will to do it well. I absolutely loathe housework, and do the bare minimum once a week, cursing the fact that I can't currently justify having a cleaner. The only part I find vaguely tolerable is laundry and making the beds, and even then I don't iron (we send out the things that absolutely have to be ironed).

YANBU- there is a lot of skill involved.

Skill that links to organisation. Write everything down: daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal tasks. You know your own home better than anyone else. I’ve worked out over time for our home, usage and habits exactly how often things need cleaning.

Have a base weekly routine (dust everything top to bottom, hoover, clean the bathroom, clean the kitchen, mop floors) then add in a different extra task or two each week, eg clean out the fridge, hoover the blinds, clean the oven, clean the inside of the windows, declutter wardrobes. Nothing ever gets out of hand then, or feels like one mammoth task.

Also working out the rights products, cleaning tools and techniques for the right task requires skill.

Smells good

I think so
I clean my house but it never looks as good as if my cleaner does it

Is that skill or effort? There isn't really a skill in dusting!

I’m with you on team “must be a skill”. There is a bit in Lorna Sage’s autobiography where she talks about her parents moving into a new modern house in the 60ies and she says her mum was awful at cleaning, she only managed to move the dust around, it seemed never to be clean. That’s me: I move dust and other things and you can see where I’ve been but it doesn’t look the way it does when the cleaner has been.

I fell down a Traveller Tiktok cleaning rabbit hole and realized that cleaning must be something engrained within you from an early age. I don't think it's a skill as such, but I wouldn't dream of taking my shower doors off weekly or the rubber seals on fridge/freezers fortnightly to clean them. These women (and girls) did these things very swiftly and effortlessly as they've been doing it for years. It's very nice to watch but I could never be bothered to do half of it.

itsthetea
Eating with a knife and fork is a skill also
anything we learn to do could be called a skill
like cleaning - it’s one that most people can learn to do without difficulty
but there’s not really gradients to how well most people eat with a knife and fork whereas if you even look on cleaning threads, some people have a flare to make a place look like it’s from the cover of a magazine, others have the same time and leave smears/ marks etc (me!!)

My sister and my brother in law (no connection!!) can have a place looking like it’s had a team of professionals in after an hour or so, actually bil said he’d clean up for us the other day while I walked the dog and I got back and was in shock at our kitchen! I take hours and still only get to that ‘it’s a bit of a mess’ stage. Cleaning and cooking definitely come naturally to some people

@TheNinkyNonkyIsATardis that's a great tip, using a rubber glove on pet hair. My desk chair is thick with cat hair- it's one of their favourite spots. I will give that a try. Thanks for sharing

I try but am not good at cleaning and can never seem to get on top of everything. In the last couple of months I have made a bigger effort to de clutter so it is looking cleaner in general. I also go the extra mile now eg yesterday cleaning the sitting room I wiped down every window sill, pulled out the timber basket to clean underneath. They are things I would have cleaned around before.

I agree with pp, it can be learnt. I never had anyone to teach me general cleaning and housework norms and I think this is why I have fallen behind in things. I only recently learned about using detergent and fabric softener. I used to only use fabric softener 😌

It's really just doing everything as you go. Put stuff straight away, leave sink clean every time you use it, wipe worktops all the time. Dust regularly (light fittings etc). I keep a cloth and spray in the shower room so I can give it a quick wipe every day or so. If you do little jobs all the time, it doesn't get too bad (and I do work full time and have 2 cats and the house is always fairly clean). Me and husband do a bigger clean every weekend - takes about an hour.

This, you just squirt it straight on the floor to mop

https://amzn.eu/d/00RFqP23