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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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Applemuncher · 10/11/2010 20:07

I have a cleaner who does the 'keeping on top of it' cleaning - no windows or anything like that - it's £10 per hour for 2 hours a week.

PositveOutlook · 10/11/2010 19:37

is that 4 hours twice a week or 2 hours twice a week

Original poster
fridayschild · 10/11/2010 19:14

thanks all. I offered her the opportunity to look at the house to see if she thought 4 hours was enough and she wasn't interested, so I think it was £50 that she had in mind.

Will keep hunting!

OP posts:
booyhoo · 10/11/2010 17:32

£10 hour is about right here in northern ireland.

it does depend on what cleaning you mean.

i have 3 bed terrace with downstairs loo, ensuite and bathroom. to do windows, dusting, hoovering and mopping and bathrooms i reckon 4 hours.

frakkinup · 10/11/2010 17:28

£10/hour sounds standard. Remember she's paying her tax and NI and any business expenses out of that.

4 hours is adequate for a high-standard maintenance clean but sone things may not be done every week.

Danthe4th · 10/11/2010 13:53

I clean my parents house which is a 4 bed 2 bathroom 2 reception and I take 4 hours to do upstairs and downstairs to a reasonable standard, every couple of months i take 5 hours to clean behind all the nooks and crannys which hide the dust.
If I charged it would be £10 per hour

PatriciaHolm · 10/11/2010 13:52

We used to pay £10/hour for 3 hours, and our wonderful cleaner could do our old terraced house - double reception, 4 beds, one bath and one separate toilet - in that with no problem.

appleshrek · 10/11/2010 13:41

Have always had a 3 hour cleaner once a week for my 4 bed, 2 baths, 1 cloakroom, kitchen, two lounges in W London. None of my 3 cleaners have been outstanding though. I can imagine a perfectionist could take 5 hours.

I pay £10/hour. I looked into others recently, found that some in the area charged £25 (agency), some £13 (private), some £7.50. £9 seemed to be most common for private cleaners.

WhyHavePets · 10/11/2010 13:41

4hrs to do it all to a reasonable degree, proivided it is tidy and she does not have to pick up after you all should be plenty IMO.

£10 ph sounds pretty good TBH. (for your location)

thisisyesterday · 10/11/2010 13:39

£10 isgood value i think, esp for London. I pay that and am in south east

my cleaner does 3 hours and doesn't always have time to do the entire house.
i think 4 would be adequate tho