who cleans your aupairs room..your cleaner (if you have) or your aupair?

Get a new cleaner... what a nasty and high n mighty attitude.

Yes... the room needs to be cleaned by cleaner if the aupair is not cleaning properly... it's your property plus a hygiene risk... not only in her room, but could spread elsewhere. Best if aupair does it (lazy sod!!!), but if she's not doing it.. then you have every right to ask the cleaner to clean. Dust mites... asthma due to dust et al... far too risky to leave.

FWIW I also tell AP cleaning room her own responsibility and not that of the cleaner, but that's beside the point.

Get. Rid. Of. Your. Cleaner.

She's interfering, judgemental and thinks she's 'better' than both your Au Pair and you. Who the hell does she think she is telling you how to run your house.

Can you imagine what stories she is telling others about you?

Seriously, you do not need that kind of person in your life. Get rid. Being good at her job does not entitle her to treat you like this. And make no mistake, it is you she is being aggressive towards, not your AP.

Then, next task is to haul AP over the coals. Tell her if she doesn't start getting her act together in general cleanliness (tidyness less of an issue) then she needs to go home.

TBH if cleaner had said she didn't want to clean the room because it was too dirty, or felt she was uncomfortable invading the privacy of someone she didn't know, I'd have had some sympathy.

I expect my au pairs to clean their own rooms once a week and I set aside time in their hours for them to do it. It is on their list of jobs. I only occasionally check up and but necessary I will tell them to clean up and change their sheets etc.

TBH they dont do a very good job, but I disagree on principle with me or my cleaner cleaning up after my au pair. IME if you start cleaning up after them you will rapidly find them 'leaving' jobs for you to do when you get in

My mum used to clean the rooms at a hall of residence and felt very awkward cleaning a room if the occupant was still in bed. She was also told by the warden that she was there to clean, not to pick up after students, and if their rooms were a tip, to let him know and leave that room until it was tidier.

Perhaps that might have some bearing on your cleaner's reluctance?

Mmm tricky one. We have now instructed our cleaner that she MUST give the AP room and bathroom a basic clean at least once every other week even if that means turfing the AP out if her bed. we pre warn the Ap's that on Wed am their room must be ready for cleaning.

I take note of the posts re privacy however as lovely as the AP's are we find that 6 or 9 months of non hoovered carpet is not only disgusting but extremly hard to clean and as much as we requested, asked and nagged them to clean their own rooms they do not.

At the end of the day when the AP leaves, the new AP expects and has every right to expect a pristine fresh bedroom and bathroom. I can't maintain that standard if I can't keep it basically clean and repaired.

OP I would insist the cleaner clean the room and if she refuses then replace her

Gosh, I don't have a cleaner but if I did I would dam well expect her to clean the whole house to my direction or bugger off and I find another.

The au pair sounds like my older kids and I dam well insist they clean their rooms once a week to MY standard as its MY HOUSE!! Their hovels at uni I care not a jot but my house my rules!!

The fact that it is "her" space is immaterial when it comes to hygiene.

It seems like your aupair thinks she keeps the room clean enough herself? It is "her" space, and she's not a visitor, but a paid family member, so she should have some control of the space...
Perhaps you can tell your aupair what standard you expect her room, and she can choose whether to do it herself, or allow the cleaner do it? The aupair needs to be awake, and the room vaguely tidy ish, when the cleaner comes... but the cleaner should not be able to decide where she will clean.

I have to say I find it very odd that your cleaner feels she can choose whether to clean the room depending on who is using it! So if you had guests staying there she would clean it but not when the au pair is there? I understand that you don't want to be harsh as she has been with your for a long time but as Rubirosa has said you really need to tell your cleaning lady that she is employed to clean your house and that does not depend on the pecking order (as she views it) of the person occupying it.

I have to say our current au pair is really messy, our previous one was a complete opposite. I would prefer her to keep her room in a better state but it is her room and I feel it is up to her. That is precisely why the cleaning lady has to do her job in there too. Then I know that the room is never in a terrible state.

Au pair should probably keep her room in a better state.

Cleaner needs to get over herself.

Personally I'd tell the cleaner I expect all rooms to be cleaned and if she has a problem she can leave. You could easily find someone who is prepared to clean all rooms.

*disclaimer- I have neither a cleaner or an au pair!

It's your house and you are paying both these people. If maintaining a particular level of cleanliness throughout the house is important to you (and it does seem to be!) I would tell the au pair that the floor and surfaces need to be clear, and she needs to be out of her room, at 9am on a Thursday (or whatever day it is).

Tell the cleaner you want the au pair's room cleaned and bed changed.

I think your other option is to just stay out of the au pairs room so you don't notice the mess.

golf, it is your house & whilst the aupair isn't exactly a guest - you are the boss of her! Don't ask her, tell her that you expect her to hoover her room once a week & this is part of what being an aupair in your house involves.

I'm all for aupairs being well treated & not being used as cheap slaves, but cleaning her room once a week is perfectly reasonable.

OP - your cleaner is being all princessy about having to clean for another member of domestic staff - her ego is hurt as she thinks the au pair is beneath her in the pecking order.

I would have another go at explaining that your cleaner is employed to clean your house, which includes the room in which the au pair sleeps.

offer

Sounds like the cleaner is wondering if she should be an au pair instead...

Maybe it's worth spelling out to the cleaner what hours the au pair does since she clearly doesn't see her working.

I have some sympathy with your cleaner - it sounds like your au pair's room is pretty grim - so presumably this would be extra work on top of what she used to do before you got an au pair? Are you paying the cleaner extra for the extra work?

Personally I'd either pffer the cleaner a bit more money to compensate for the extra time spent on the au pair's room, or I'd ask the au pair to keep it cleaner herself (definitely she should be using a sheet, ugh). However if it was the au pair cleaning her own room I'd apply lower standards, eg I wouldn't be asking her to hoover once a week - once a month maybe.

If the cleaner is long-standing, trustworthy & reliable - I wouldn't bother fighting this battle with her. Just ask the aupair to clean her room once a week.

the cleaner needs to keep her beak out of things, none of her business.

Our au pair doesn't have any general household cleaning duties unlike some others (no hoovering etc). The only cleaning we ask her to do is looking after her own personal space, which I think is reasonable.