Experienced Solo House Cleaner - AMA.

[Lexibletheflexible]

I've also been a house cleaner for about a decade altogether. AMA anything about that!

What the filthiest thing you've been expected to clean?

Did you go back a second time?

Whats the oddest thing/habit/request you've come across in someone’s home?

The filthiest places have always been end of tenancy cleans so you arent planning to return anyway.

I recently did an EoT for 3 young women who just graduated. They'd lived in the place for 2 years and didnt have a hoover or mop. It was absolutely filthy. Everywhere. I cant believe they were bringing men back to that place. The old blood, urine and faeces around the toilet was awful. The smell was terrible.

I filled 2 hoover bags with the dust and hair.

People who really don't have clean homes but are very particular about hygiene. Like they have colour coded cloths and sponges for wiping off the kitchen counters, but the tiled walls are coated with thick grime.

Or their floors are absolutely filthy, but they find mops unhygienic and insist on hand washing with a sponge.

Top tip for a clean kitchen please 🙏🙏🙏

What 20 min job makes the most impact?

Reduce clutter. Put things away. Don't have more than you need. Next to nobody really has 12+ people round for a sit down dinner and if you do, then you only need that 12 set dinner plate set and no others. That frees up cupboards to store appliances and other things that live on kitchen counters collecting grease and dust.

Hoovering with a proper hoover. Honestly sometimes I've only hoovered and people have marvelled at how much cleaner it looks

Why do you think it’s so common for cleaners to leave jobs early? What are they frequently so reluctant to work for the full amount of time that they’re being paid for?

🤢🤮🤢

I'm rubbish at cleaning. It is like a mental block. It isn't there until it is visibly minging and even then I'm reluctant.

I've bribed my partner and friends to do it (good bribes I might add). I wish I was one of those people who took pleasure in it and I do appreciate the cleanliness once it has been done. Could you give me any tips? I'm never going to be Mrs Hinch of course.

I was going to suggest you were baiting with this post, but sadly it's my own experience and the friends of mine with a paid cleaner. Both ended up sneaking away early if they thought we weren't going to catch them.

So my question to the OP is, do you do the set tasks and finish or do you work a set number of hours and find stuff to do until the time is up?

How many different cleaning products do you use?

I can't speak for other people.

I can tell you that when I started out, I struggled in homes with lots of clutter when I knew the client had a fixed budget. I knew I want being paid for the time it would take to move everything and put it back and I woukd get into a situation where they've paid me for say, 3 hrs, but 2hrs in, I've really done everything I can feasibly do in that time.

Now I am better at being honest about that and saying that the areas which need to be cleaned to make the home look and feel cleaner are inaccessible. If the client is understanding about this, I'll make suggestions about how we can work within their budget to get to a place where there is a point to me being there.

Some people arent amenable to those changes and so I part ways.

It's simple, if you want to keep everything trinket and photo and whatever from your whole adult life, then you will have loads of dust on your shelves unless you keep on top of it weekly.

If you add kids to that, it's going to be a nightmare.

Have a system. Go top to bottom, and left to right. Dust and hoover first. Have a few things like a long handled duster and a good corded hoover with all the nifty attachments so you can get in the cracks and crevices.

Watch videos of people cleaning homes and mirror them.

For most cleans, I use a degreaser mixed with a disinfectant, both food and pet safe. I use this in a stronger concentration for floors. For mirrors and glass I use a mix of white vinegar and fairy liquid and water.

I use a stronger cleaner mix of hydrogen peroxide and degreaser for heavy soiling. I also use barkeepers friend original powder.

I use essential oils to give a nice scent in my cleaning products. Season dependent.

I was about to start a thread so I am delighted to see this. I am going to be moving soon but the place I am moving to is very dirty (it's empty now). My fragrant mild cleaning products are not going to work this time. A complication is that I am disabled so I am looking for things that really work powerfully and easily. Unfortunately I am not going to be able to afford a cleaner (though that was the original plan). What are the ultimate products in your opinion for very dirty:
oven and grill
ceramic hob
laminate floors and tiled floors
carpets
walls
bathrooms
doors
and
blocked interior drains

Do you think it's possible to keep on top of a house with 30 mins cleaning a day? What would you advise needs doing for that?

I will come back after work and answer all this.

Yes. Whatever your standards of "on top of" are, you can maintain that with 30 mins productive housework per day. But that's assuming you start with it in that state.

So if I came over and did a total deep clean and organisation on your home which could take a day or two, you could then maintain that to a decent standard with 30 mins a day if you also follow an organisation system. Like putting dirty laundry in a hamper and doing it at least once a week!

What vacuum cleaner would you recommend?
I usually just use a non corded Dyson stick, but it sounds like a plug in one might be better?

Thank you @Lexibletheflexible there's no hurry: also any tools you think are worth considering (those white scrubby sponges? even wipes as a one off? I expect microfibre cloths?)

How much ‘prep’ do you expect clients to do before you clean - ie tidying, cleaning anything that’s particularly dirty?

and looking at the photos of the place I'm moving to: very dirty windows.

Do you have any concerns about your prison sentence potentially causing concerns with clients who give you access to their homes? I can’t see if you’ve said on your other thread whether you moved away from where you’d lived previously after being released.