I am a self employed cleaner- AMA

[DonnaSummet]

I clean domestic homes and holiday homes..AMA

You sound similar to me 😁
I hope you're happy with what you've chosen to do now xx

@DonnaSummet

While it has its downsides like I hate all the admin etc , plus it's scary if I have quiet times, I absolutely love what I do now thank you. I'm very artistic and I get to do what I love every single day, And I help make women feel more confident and also when I'm busy I earn very well at it . In my very profitable times I do stuff like pay extra on my mortgage and put money in savings etc

I feel extremely lucky and blessed ❤️

How do you avoid getting streaks with a Karcher window vac?!

Have you ever eaten anything out of the fridge? I think if there was some nice cake in there I'd find it hard not to help myself to a slither 😂

If someone at home do they offer you a hot /cold drink

I always do to tradespeople

Don't have a cleaner. Would love one

Few friends clean but wouidnt have them as don't mix work /friends but they say often a hot day and don't get offered a cold drink. That's rude to me

Hahaha no but if there's any food or things like shower gel left in the air bnbs, I have the heads up from the owner to take it or bin it. Obviously personal items or clothes left behind we post back to them but things like if they leave half a bottle of shampoo or a box of cereal I'm allowed to take it if I would like it.

An air bnb guest a few weeks ago left a freezer full of M and S ice creams and lollies I took home for my daughter she was thrilled 🤣

Yes and I never accept as I don't have time to sit and drink a coffee and it means Washing and putting the cup away afterwards. I carry a bottle of water on me, I sometimes ask clients if I can top it up there on a hot day.

I haven't used a window vac but for glass and windows I use glass cleaner and a window cleaning glass cloth, the secret is in the buffing I think.

How do I find a good, independent cleaner like you please?
I put an ad on FB local and a criminal I deal with through work popped up saying she could do it (didn't realise who I was) and a bloke who must have posted ten times calling me "lady" and asking me to phone him.
It's a bloody disaster!
We had a gem (found by word of mouth) for eight years, but she can't do it anymore.

Ask around your friends, families, neighbours if they use anyone?
An advert in the local post office/corner shop?
Good luck 🙏
My advice is always ask for a one off clean first too so you can see how you find the cleaner and if you like them and they do a good job then approach it as being a regular thing.

There are so many cleaning products on the shelves.
What is your ‘go to’ range like?

Do you use new cloths for every house ? How many do you go through a day?!

Were you always an amazing cleaner? Did you train? My cleaning game has gotten better in the last year and at times I think of applying for cleaning jobs but worry (mostly because of stuff on mn!) that I wouldn’t do a professional enough job

My cleaners come fortnightly. I always wonder if they can tell, or have opinions, on how much cleaning has been done in between. Sometimes, it's been manic and I just know my house is filthy! . Other times I've been far more able to keep on top of things and while the house needs a clean, definitely, it doesn't have that "oh my god, this place is a hazard" vibe! do they notice? Do they think, "ooh, she must have been crazy busy/she's been a total slattern this week" or frankly, is it just all the same to them?

I chop and change around but regular products i use are- Flash lemon for floors, cif cream cleaner for baths and bath counter tops, flash spray and go for kitchen work tops, neat bleach for plug holes and poo-ey toilets 🤢, zoflora anti bac wipes, woodsilk polish, Method glass cleaner, Neutradol carpet freshener

Yes. New cloths and sponges for each house. I can easily use 30 a day. All in the washing machine at home as soon as I finish.

Find a client who feeds you! I have one client who gets genuinely offended if I turn down her offer of a cake!

I love my (cleaner). Brings me sanity. They do all my laundry as well.
i provide all the products and have a Miele vacuum cleaner.
all our products are eco-friendly which invariably means they don’t scours as hard as things like Cilit bang but I don’t want us or the cleaner to ingest nasty chemicals.
I would think there would be quite a large market offering cleaning services where it is all eco-friendly/ healthful products. Certainly where I live cleaners can pretty much name their price. £22ph

If my cleaner did that in my house and it had not been offered to them or they had asked, I would view it as theft. Integrity is everything when someone is coming into your home.

How do you know what product is safe to use on what?

Everyone's taps etc are different. Do you rely on them to tell you, or are you pretty clued up?

@DonnaSummet haha! Omg that's terrible.
I'd have 'hoovered' the lines of coke lol. Actually it might have been ketamine and Im not very good at cleaning on that!? Thank you for your answers though. Some people are just minging!

What is your holiday policy? Do they pay you if you take holiday or if you don’t attend bank holidays? We pay our cleaner when we go away, but not if she goes away. I wondered if that is usual?

I don't have one in place.
Some people still want a clean whilst they are away so in that case they pay, if I don't go, I don't charge them. And If I take holidays I never charge.
It is very kind you pay your cleaner when you go away but I do think its unusual.

I usually work bank holidays if my Monday clients want a clean that day unless they say not to come then I don't, I'm quite easy going with things like that. .. maybe too easy going 🤣