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Original poster

how long should it take a cleaner to clean a 3 bed house?

35 replies

fridayschild · 10/11/2010 13:33

I'm working on the principle that the mumsnet advice is that cleaners and childcarers are different people, so it's a logical sort of place to ask the question! Fingers crossed anyway...

I've moved house and would like to employ a cleaner once a week. 3 beds 2 baths, kitchen, sitting room. Not a tiny cottage or an enormous mansion. No ironing, just cleaning.

I saw someone today who told me it would take her 5 hours (and that was without going upstairs). I'd thought 4 hours max, on the basis that in my old house which was bigger, my cleaner did the whole thing in a mediocre way in 2.5 hours. Any views?

Today's cleaner also thought £10 per hour was about right (SW London). It might be right for her but not for me! That's another thread I think.

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Beccaboo11 · 15/06/2021 20:53

I’m in Lincolnshire.
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lounge, dinning room, kitchen. £14.50 an hour 1.5 hours a week an then 6 hours a month (this is for a deep clean once a month)

Still1nLove · 06/06/2021 01:00

Omg, this thread is 11 years old! Plus, why is it on childcare 🤣

IgglePiggleHater · 01/06/2021 10:18

Didn't see zombie thread Blush. Pleased it is though...£10 an hour!

IgglePiggleHater · 01/06/2021 10:00

Sw London here. We pay our cleaner £14 an hour. She's great. She does five hours a fortnight (4 hours cleaning, 1 hour ironing). She cleans a 3 bed, 2 bath house (lounge, kitchen diner). She makes the beds up. She cleans the oven and the microwave.

£10 an hour is cheap.

Structuredsward · 01/06/2021 09:33

Oh didnt spot that Lobotomised! I thought it was a bit odd!

LobotomisedIceSkatingFan · 01/06/2021 09:32

Thanks god this is a zombie thread. All these people balking at a tenner an hour for a London cleaner!

Structuredsward · 01/06/2021 09:28

How long is a piece of string?

It depends on the number of bathrooms, the size of your kitchen, how much clutter you have, and how tidy you are.

I also think if you want a good responsible cleaner then you have to pay them a fair wage. Its a hard job.

Orf1abc · 01/06/2021 09:26

Zombie thread!

Kattya · 01/06/2021 09:23

£10 is great. I pay £13 for 2.5 hours e dry week 4 bed detached. Best place to look is local Facebook groups

MaryBoBary · 01/06/2021 09:17

?n!g

ausernams · 26/05/2021 08:21

Personally, I wouldn't look at it like this. I would make a list of ALL the things you need cleaned and be very specific. Of course a cleaner could clean in 2 hours, but it won't be good. So, make a list and let the cleaner do it and just see how long it takes. That's what I do. Sometimes the list is longer ( when I need a more thorough clean- think, cleaning behind the sofa or cleaning under the bed or degreasing the tops of the kitchen cupboards etc ) and other times I just need the basic clean. I pay for how long it takes. Each cleaner is different. The best cleaner I ever had, also took the longest. But she cleaned, as if she was cleaning her own house. No shortcuts. I used to have cleaners who I paid, say for 4 hours and they'd tell me they were finished after 2 and everything was done. It doesn't work like that. Just my two cents. Good luck !

Eviethyme · 13/05/2021 16:18

I would have thought £10 an hour was a normal rate and would expect 4 to 5 hours for a 3 bed house

Smartiesclub · 26/04/2021 12:22

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sassyminder · 13/11/2010 22:37

Why do people pay £10 for a cleaner and complain when it is childcare?

Cant imagine a childminder or nanny asking for £10 per hour...

Original poster
fridayschild · 13/11/2010 21:49

Thanks - I got Mrs £50 from a postcard outside the newsagents. There is somewhere else local I can try, and a colleague has recommended an agency who charge £8 an hour. The agency fees seem a bit low, actually, because their staff have to be on minimum wage, and I don't think that's a living wage in London. I'll keep hunting but the feedback is really useful.

OP posts:
myboysarethebest · 12/11/2010 23:48

We pay a private cleaner £8.00 per hour for similiar size. 3.5 hours. I always 3 was rushed, half hour gives a bit more breathing space. 4 would make time for extras each week - or detailed in some areas.Ask around if anyone locally has someone they can recommend.
Or does your area have a local online forum - ours in w. london is great for finding these sorts of things.
PS I won't pay £10 per hour

gizzy1973 · 12/11/2010 22:03

I clean a 5 bedroomed house with 3 bathrooms, 3 reception rooms, large kitchen over 3 floors

In the holidays when not doing other stuff I can do it in 6.5 hours and that is a good clean including hoovering and moping all wooden floors and their are loads of them

nannyl · 12/11/2010 21:17

i have 3 (big) beds, 2 bathrooms

a lounge and a kitchen diner...

nice size but not enourmouse

My cleaner does it all in 2 hours (including changing my bed linen)

so hoovers and dusts every where.
cleans all the bathrooms
cleans kitchen, hob / sink and washes the kitchen and bathroom floors

Blondeshavemorefun · 12/11/2010 07:57

i have a 3 bed house and would say it takes me 2hrs to clean/hoover/polish/wash floor etc

maybe try on 3 and if does it quickly then ask her to clean out fridge/oven/iron every now and again

ojmummy · 11/11/2010 22:23

p.s. I am in east mids

ojmummy · 11/11/2010 22:23

I have a cleaner 2hrs a fortnight & pay £8ph, she only does the basics - floors, kitchen, bathroom, some dusting. Occasionally I have 4hrs (maybe 3/4 times per year) and then she does pretty much everyting. (3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom small house).

nannyj · 11/11/2010 21:56

I'm in north London and pay £10 an hour.

chandellina · 11/11/2010 10:53

our cleaner does our 3-bed SE London victorian in four hours and I reckon she could really do it in three.
we pay £10 but £8 or £9 an hour is what a lot people i know pay.

Julesnobrain · 10/11/2010 23:17

You need three hours. I made a list of what I would do in each room, timed it and added it up. I then knocked off jobs that were a nice to have to make sure it was within time agreed. In reality our cleaner did more because she was faster and more proficient than me. One reason I did that was that my friend kept having cleaners leave and it was because she wanted too much done in too short a time so I wanted to be sure I was not asking a cleaner to do more than I could do myself. It was also a useful tool when recruiting as it gave me confidence to confirm I only needed three hours for my 3 bed house.

PositveOutlook · 10/11/2010 20:39

i just thought that at 10 quid an hour 8 hours a week is a bit excessive

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