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Original poster

Why do cleaners always start off cleaning well and gradually get worse?

57 replies

Sophiathefortyfirst · 09/03/2019 12:38

Yep, first world problem I know!

I've had a few different cleaners over the past few years and they all start off really well, cleaning very thoroughly and then over the course of a few months do less and less cleaning whilst they're here and less of a thorough job.

Current cleaner was brilliant at first; the house would be sparkling but she's started to miss off things that she always used to do and doesn't seem to be cleaning other things instead of the things she's missing off.

I pay her well and our house is very, very tidy, so it's not like I pay her a pittance and leave her a shit tip to clear up.

Does anyone else have this problem with cleaners?

OP posts:
Livedandlearned · 09/03/2019 15:49

I agree with @TAmumof3 and i didn't interpret what she said as the cleaner stealing.

ourkidmolly · 09/03/2019 21:54

@Livedandlearned
generalised pilering in a desperate attempt to heighten self-esteem.
Surely that means pilfering?

ourkidmolly · 09/03/2019 21:55

resulting in the search for some little edge that makes it bearable (think dustbin men taking home a good "find")
What else could this mean? Confused

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Cleaning
VanillaBlossom · 09/03/2019 22:54

ourkidmolly
What a view you have of cleaners ..I would hate to be employed by you,!! 😬

ineedaknittedhat · 09/03/2019 23:46

Familiarity breeds contempt unfortunately.

EmperorBallpitine · 09/03/2019 23:50

I never thought of asking the cleaner to clean inside my fridge... Shock mind blown

ILoveMaxiBondi · 09/03/2019 23:56

Hmm yeah cause it’s only a matter of time before cleaners are dipping their mucky hands in the silverware drawer. Please!

Fucking hell.

Tell me is it just the lowly menial workers that have petty theft in their blood or are all pharmacists itching to get into their stock after 6 months too? What about professors? Accountants? Boredom must set in there too. Better stick an extra lock on the stationery cupboard.

ourkidmolly · 10/03/2019 05:42

@VanillaBlossom
I was quoting @TAMumof3.

rookiemere · 10/03/2019 06:30

We've had this. In the new year I stopped our cleaner of almost 10 years as although we were paying for 2 hours (and it was a decent rate ), now that I'm doing it myself I realise she was doing about one hours work - probably less as she would be quicker than me, and she was so good in the earlier years.

I think it's because it's a lonely job. You don't get much in the way of feedback and the only positive is a christmas bonus. Also I suppose its human nature to do as little as you can.

TheSultanofPingu · 10/03/2019 07:53

I clean in a school, so I suppose it's different, but I find I'm more thorough now than when I first started. It's probably because I know the routine and manage my time better.
I can honestly say that I would never contemplate being a private house cleaner. There's no excuse for laziness I agree, but the contempt oozes from a minority of posters, and there's always talk of theft.

Enb76 · 10/03/2019 07:58

What you need to find is some who loves cleaning. I’ve only met one and she really got enjoyment about everything being clean and in the right place. I’m not sure she really needed the money but she was the best cleaner ever. Never found anyone else like her.

BeardedMum · 10/03/2019 08:01

Good cleaners are far and few between in my experience which is why I now also sadly do it all myself and save the money. I found that most cleaners would never stay the hours Inhad paid for. I used to pay for 3 hours and they would leave after 2 or 2 1/2 even when I was in the house. I always thought it was a way of bumping up the hourly rate.

mustdrinkwaternotwine · 10/03/2019 08:14

This used to annoy me too but then I realised that they need managing in just the same way as I manage my team at work so, if things aren't being done as they should be, I raise it. So if they keep missing something which I think should be a part of the core clean, I will message them. If they keep doing something I'm not bothered about, I'll ask them not to do that but to do X instead. I'll make sure that they are routinely doing something before I correct them. The exception is time keeping. I am rarely here when they are so I just have to trust them. If I do ever come home and they've left, I message them to say that I noticed they had left at least 15 mins early and presume they will make up the time the following week or reduce the following month's invoice.

Dontgiveamonkeys1350 · 10/03/2019 08:19

I’m a cleaner. And this is why I clean the houses I look after in a different pattern each week or it gets boring. I will do different rooms first. Or clean the entire house and then Hoover after wise it does get boring. But if I don’t clean properly I don’t get paid.

Also. I deep clean every house first. They look sparkly. But then the hours are cut down to the normal hours they want. And I don’t have time to clean like that every week. But some people expect the same level of cleaning every week.

Sometimes my clients will say ‘can u add this on this week’. Yes I can. But. I then don’t have the time to do something I would normally do.

VanillaBlossom · 10/03/2019 08:21

Apologies ourkidmolly, I'd read it wrong.
I shouldn't Mumsnet and wine Wine

Dontgiveamonkeys1350 · 10/03/2019 08:25

I also don’t leave before my time. There is always something I can do if I have the time. I do get a bit fed up with comments on here about cleaners and tarring them all with the same brush. I don’t steal. I work my hours. I take pride in my job. And I would never ever steal from my employer. I rely on my reputation. I have been called Mary poppins and trust worthy. And some of my employers have used me for other jobs such as house sitting and being in the house to recieve parcels etc if needed.

CherryPavlova · 10/03/2019 08:34

I think that I too would find a snow covered shoe rack quite funny. I certainly wouldn’t have “spoken to them about it”. That makes them sound like a naughty child.
I think, as with any other job, there are good and bad. I also think how they are treated affects how well they work for you.
We now use an agency but usually have the same women each week. They arrive, do their job without fuss (OK, the dog gets a huge fuss) and go. If we arrange an extra session I’ll usually ask for specific work but mainly it’s a routine that works well. They work hard and are always willing to do extras like make beds if we’ve people staying.
Definitely treat well and treasure the good ones.

emelsie · 10/03/2019 08:36

@VanillaBlossom I'm pretty sure your right the pp is just making a comparison of a cleaner cutting corners to a dustbin man finding something nice that's been chucked out , finding something to make the job more bearable not literally throwing something out for the dustbin man to find Grin

sueelleker · 10/03/2019 08:42

CherryPavlova
It depends whether it had shoes on it at the time!

DonDadaOnTheDownLow · 10/03/2019 08:49

Every single time.

First 3-4 sessions are great and the house is sparkling. Then they come 10 minutes later or leave 10 minutes early.

Which I'm actually fine with - if you finish what you've been asked to do early - well done you. But when they slam the front door in their haste to leave and I notice it's left a giant cobweb flapping over the front door and the downstairs WC has murky water in the sink and under the toilet seat hasn't been done... I am less impressed.

In my defence I always pay for a deep clean the first time and then ask them how many hours they'll need for weekly maintenance - and I have a very small house not a mansion. I also have a list of things I expect to be done to eliminate ambiguity.

I've just got a new one and she's done 3 weeks so far. This week she was an hour late - texted me 5 minutes after she was due. To some that wouldn't be a massive problem but it fucked up my schedule as I WFH.

I'm sure it's only a short matter of time before I decide I'll do my own shit job of cleaning and save my cash.

The idea of just paying for a big deep clean every quarter is genius. I can mostly keep on top of the weekly stuff and I'm militant about toilets. But it's stuff like pulling the dining table halfway across the room to really get at the floor/walls goes past me.

alaric77 · 10/03/2019 08:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Livedandlearned · 10/03/2019 10:13

@alaric77 has got it spot on! I did love cleaning other people's homes, but 4 years down the line I'm definitely past the point. It's boring, lonely, monotonous, no thanks (very little anyway) people sit and watch me clean, they leave me a note asking for some long task to be done alongside my normal clean, or they are home with extended family.or having a children's party, they leave a turkey carcass from Christmas dinner in the oven when it's January 4th, dead mice under the table, poo in the toilet- actual poo, kids skid !marks always, bins with maggots, cat sick on carpets.

Sometimes I'm tired, sometimes I've had a shit morning or I'm running late, sometimes i feel full of energy but that is hard to keep up every single day.

TheFaerieQueene · 10/03/2019 10:16

I’m pretty sure this isn’t something confined to the cleaning industry.

Toddlerteaplease · 10/03/2019 10:58

Mine is amazing!

CountFosco · 10/03/2019 11:14

We've used the same agency for years and they have maintained standards, we've had a bit of a rotation of the cleaners. They clean in pairs which I think is probably nicer for them and it means they can mix things up a bit. I do ask them to do different jobs every so often but they do bigger jobs (like cleaning the windows) without prompting as well every so often. I ❤ my cleaners, they do a fab job.