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Original poster

Things that have shocked me as a cleaner

263 replies

CleaningDiscoveries · 25/04/2019 19:54

I have 15 clients a week

95% use ‘disposable ‘ wipes

90% don’t recycle (I root through their bins & recycle but it’s obviously only 1 day a week)

OP posts:
misper · 26/04/2019 19:37

*posts

Aldicheckoutworkout · 26/04/2019 19:42

I dont have a cleaner (am i the only 1 who doesn't....?) I recycle but i do use toilet wipes - i dont flush them down the toilet.

ShowMeTheKittens · 26/04/2019 19:50

Terrible bloody things. They should be banned. Along with 4 by 4s. I can tell that's gonna be popular.

brizzlemint · 26/04/2019 20:06

I make cleaning cloths out of worn out clothes that aren't fit for the charity shop, I hope I don't get judged for that Blush

gladiolus · 26/04/2019 20:13

I dont have a cleaner but if I did, I would expect them to do the job I do i.e. clean the damn house without any judgement. That's what I'd be paying them for. Why would you clean before the cleaner comes? Why do a job you're paying someone else to do? I must be missing something.

CatchingBabies · 26/04/2019 20:17

I don’t believe for one second that a hospital is cleaning with water. Every single one I’ve ever worked in has anti-bac’d everything in sight. Milton for sterilising, bleach for blood or other bodily fluid spillages etc. CQC would shut us down in seconds if we were cleaning with microfibre cloths and water!

maysiemay · 26/04/2019 20:40

I clean i have steered my ladies into buying extra kitchen roll for cleaning around loos rather than wipes. Don't even flush kitchen roll. I want that type germ gone and never spread about. Toilet roll is a bit too flimsy for that job. I use a lot of cleaning cloths as well but i hate the feel of them. If they are washed with fabric conditioner then they leave smears and a bit of a flim when you clean. Useless for mirror and windows. The cheaper ones are horrible they catch hairs and dirt and its all stuck in the cloth and hard to get out.Yellow Duster material i like but everyone seems to buy the horrible ones that are microfibre. I dont' moan about it though. When your wiping down kitchen cupboards you need something to bring a shine not spread stuff about. If you constantly rinsing your cloth and rinse in water its going to take longer and you get less done. Maybe exstectations can get confused if not much looks done are because of how its been done and what with.

Worst i saw was the soakaway under the shower.... lid pulled out and displayed with a 4 inch matted slug of hair still attatched. I did sort it out heaving away.

I recycle its easy once you know where its kept.When in doubt i ask. Smaller bins when emptied just pick out the recyclable they are never full it does not feel icky at all. At home I keep a bag on the back of the bathroom door on a hook for recycling. A pretty bag! Saves traipsing up and downstairs with stuff.

Skandiminsk · 26/04/2019 20:40

Where are you guys living? We recycle in our household & I have a compost bin, garden bin & recycle bin amongst a normal bin. We use washable eco cloths and lately we have been using white vinegar in cleaning chores

Finebyme99 · 26/04/2019 22:43

For those of you that don’t like disposable wipes a quick Facebook search will find you loads of pages that sell reusable wipes. This one came up first but there are loads on there
www.facebook.com/thecomfycushionco

MockCroc · 26/04/2019 23:02

If you care about the world (as those of you who profess to care about recycling and disposable wipes seem to suggest you do) then surely the most important thing is to be kind to one another? I employ someone to clean my home. I adore her. She is careful, kind, courteous and supportive. In return I value and respect her and am always pleased to catch up with her. I would be horrified to discover she was judging me and my home and then sharing her thoughts with the world, anonymised or not. I have three children and a stressful job and I am sure I am frequently imperfect and occasionally thoughtless. Perhaps if you value the environment so much you simply suggest to your client that you would be happy to clean with a cloth and spray and to help with the recycling. I am sure that busy probably overworked family would be grateful for the suggestion. Sometimes I think we could all do with walking a mile in each other’s shoes before jumping on soap boxes, band wagons and high horses and aim for a bit more support, understanding and teamwork and a bit less judgment, criticism and sniggering. But maybe these are the overwrought musings of an overworked mum who is so very very grateful for all the people who support me to try and keep achieving for my family and as a role model (who wants that job eh?) for the young women behind me but mostly feels like she is failing on all counts.

SaveOurSausages · 27/04/2019 07:48

I would be horrified to discover she was judging me and my home and then sharing her thoughts with the world, anonymised or not

Agree actually. Doesn't bother me in an anonymous forum but I think I will rethink a cleaner (was considering it) as I can't really risk them gossiping to their friends about my house. I hadn't considered that. Stupid really as of course lots of people will gossip in any profession.

I love my home and don't want to feel like someone has invaded it and slagged it off so looks like I will be doing my own cleaning Smile

bibbitybobbityyhat · 27/04/2019 08:39

Oh give over! Why would you let the thoughts that your cleaner may or may not have about you stop you from employing one? Can you only bear the idea if they think you are perfect and wonderful? Do you feel the same way about junior colleagues at work? I've seen some self pitying comments on Mumsnet in my time but the penultimate one on this thread is up there with the best of them!

TheNavigator · 27/04/2019 09:00

I think anyone that uses disposable wipes deserves to be judged - I judge them and I am not a cleaner. There is no excuse for using disposable wipes - we only have one planet, let's try and take a bit more care of it.

Livedandlearned · 27/04/2019 09:09

Agree actually. Doesn't bother me in an anonymous forum but I think I will rethink a cleaner (was considering it) as I can't really risk them gossiping to their friends about my house.

I don't think they would care enough to gossip to their friends.

Catchingbentcoppers · 27/04/2019 09:43

I don't think they would care enough to gossip to their friends.

I agree. One of my friends is a cleaner and I've never once heard her comment on a client's home. She's said before that she's 'seen some sights' while cleaning but would never ever say what or where. She's very discreet and frankly we have better things to talk about.

Catchingbentcoppers · 27/04/2019 09:47

@TheNavigator absolutely agree 100%. The attitude of some people is shameful. They genuinely do not care about the shit show of a planet they are leaving their children, grandchildren etc. I said up thread that there are always excuses etc., I don't know what they think people used before these wipes were introduced.

Bignosenobum · 27/04/2019 09:58

ffs are you a cleaner or eco warrior?
Jesus all you talk about is recycling and others bind You sound like you don't like your clients very much. If only they knew what you really think about them. I wouldn't employ you.

JuniorAsparagus · 27/04/2019 10:15

I hired a cleaner and she brought wipes with her. She only came once and I often wondered what was so wrong with our house that she never came back. She also took a long personal call while she was here, about what she had done on a night out...
Current cleaner likes eco cloths so I just put them in the machine with the towels. Is that a Mumsnet crime?
I do use toilet wipes, but never flush them.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 27/04/2019 10:23

Agree actually. Doesn't bother me in an anonymous forum but I think I will rethink a cleaner (was considering it) as I can't really risk them gossiping to their friends about my house

I think you'll be fine unless you leave used condoms around and don't flush the loo.

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 27/04/2019 10:41

My husband has a cleaning business, they take cloths and cleaning supplies to the customers in most cases. He keeps bags full of cloths, some of which are microfibre cloths, some old tea towels, some old t-shirts/bed linen that has been cut up into useable pieces. They go in the washing machine for a boil wash when there's a full load.

He has often said that the houses with the most fancy cleaning stuff are usually the filthiest (especially when they clean student lets at the end of the academic year; cupboards full of cleaning stuff that has hardly been touched) Grin

user1487194234 · 27/04/2019 10:50

I couldn't care less what my cleaner thinks of me as long as she does a good job

SihtricsHorseWitnere · 27/04/2019 12:50

Where are you guys living? We recycle in our household & I have a compost bin, garden bin & recycle bin amongst a normal bin.

Some people live in not very large or even overcrowded flats with no garden that provide only general waste collection. Not everyone lives in a house with a garden.

SaveOurSausages · 27/04/2019 15:33

Oh give over! Why would you let the thoughts that your cleaner may or may not have about you stop you from employing one? Can you only bear the idea if they think you are perfect and wonderful? Do you feel the same way about junior colleagues at work? I've seen some self pitying comments on Mumsnet in my time but the penultimate one on this thread is up there with the best of them!

You what? What a lovely way with words you have and what a complete overreaction.

I don't care what a cleaner thinks about me but I do care about them bitching to others. I'm ok with my feelings about that, I think outside mumsnet most people would only allow people they trust into their houses.

Thank you to those posters who also reacted to my post but with politeness. I don't leave used condoms on the floor and I do scrub the toilet Wink

Cherrysoup · 27/04/2019 17:17

Is it Switzerland where over 90% of household waste is recycled and you're fined for putting recyclable stuff in the landfill bin? We are wrecking our environment and saying you're too tired/can't cope with doing more is terribly sad.

Re cloths for cleaning, it's recommended to wash them at 60 degrees, not very environmentally friendly. Bacteria also gets transferred between washes, so you're meant to add disenfectamt, again not eco-friendly.

MotherOfGodFella · 27/04/2019 17:47

I wash my cloths (and towels and bedding ) at 40 with normal detergent and we’re all still here to tell the tale.