New cleaner

[Myriade]

So for the first time in my life, I will have a cleaner coming.

Can I ask how much can she do in 2 hours?
Is there stuff I really can’t ask her to do?

Background is that I’ve been ill for a while so only the minimum has been done. I want her to do all the floors and the bathroom.
If possible all the dusting.
Is there time to do more? What else?

How big is your house?

My cleaner did a 2 hour slot every fortnight in our 3 bed semi. She tended to focus on upstairs or downstairs but always gave the bathroom a thorough clean.

So in 2 hours she'd do:
A) bathroom + living room, kitchen and hallway (all surfaces and floors thoroughly cleaned)

or B) bathroom + stairs, landing and 3 bedrooms (all surfaces and floors thoroughly cleaned)

Aahh she was amazing, I miss her!

It’s a 3 bedroom house but dcs don’t want anyone in their bedrooms so... only 1 bed to do!

When you say all surfaces do you mean dusting?
Does it mean moving all the appliances in the kitchen to do the cleaning? And cleaning the kitchen doors too?

There is so much to do :( DH has been doing some of the cleaning since I had to stop doing it and it’s so hit and miss. The whole house needs a deep clean but managing to convince DH to have a cleaner has already been a miracle (and finding someone too!!) so there is no way I can also ask her to start with a deep clean which would probably be a whole day worth of work.

Your cleaner may or may not move appliances (I wouldn't have when I was a cleaner).
In 2 hours then you're probably looking at a few minutes left over per week to tackle one at a time, eg kitchen woodwork one week, kitchen windows week after, tiles week after that, etc.

Rope DH and DC I before the cleaner is due to make sure the house is as tidy and clutter free as possible. This means the cleaner will be able to concentrate on cleaning, rather than tidying.

Sorry, that should say one deep-clean job at a time.

By appliances do you mean kettle and toaster or fridge? I’d expect them to move the first but not the second.

By second I mean fridge.

why shouldn’t she start with a deep clean? Only you have to tell her before hand and sh’ll need more than 2 hours on that occasion. 2 hours is weekly or bi-monthly top up job.

I’d prepare for trying out different cleaners or having one for 6 months then it deteriorates and then you need to find someone new.

I just had a cleaner in for the first time recently, it was a one off.

I have a small one bed flat but I asked her to do specific things that needed more attention. I think make a priority list. the one who came here did have extra time to do more stuff, so you never know! Obviously the place is small though.

Wish you a speedy recovery

I have a cleaner for 2 hours.
She cleans the bathroom and toilet.
Wipes down the skirtings and paintwork on staircase and hall
Cleans Kitchen and living room. [dusting and polishing]
Vacuums and mops all floors.
i don’t ask her t do bedrooms.

My advice is that on the first two weeks you get her to do slightly less as the first two cleans always take longer until they get not a routine.
Get everything ready for her before she starts and be super tidy so that she can Clean quickly.
In my case I put everything on the bathroom and toilet shelves into a box the night before she arrives. I love how my bathroom sparkles after she cleans it. I pick up anything in the downstairs rooms that may get in her way.

Last bit of advice on s don’t hesitate to say if something is not done correctly. I use an Agency and the latest one was doing the stair case with a feather duster. I really needed washing down with detergent which does take a bit longer.

I us d to have a 3 hour clean, which included bedrooms and some window cleaning.

One other thing,. I found having a cleaner makes us all tidier. After she has gone the house looks and smells wonderful. This inspires me and gives me time to deep clean a room that needs it.

Thank you. Very helpful!

@BiscuitDrama and @gobbynorthernbird, I thinking about toaster, bread maker and the like. Moving the fridge didn’t even cross my mind

I really like the idea of putting all the bits and pieces in a box the night before. That’s something I can do and enrol DH and the dcs in too.
And yes I’m hoping this will also give a push to everyone to be a bit more careful.

@DrinkFeckArseGirls, I’m hoping you are wrong re things going down hill after 6 months. Cleaners are like hens teeth where we live...

@Myriade that makes sense! Yes, they should move the stuff that sits on the kitchen worktop.

I’m a cleaner & I hope my standards don’t go down after 6 months! In fact I got a bottle of wine this week for doing such a consistently good job.
I find that clients change the goalposts - what started out with 5/6 items of ironing becomes an overflowing basket or 1 bed change is now 3 & I’m expected to do it all in the same time !
I move everything on surfaces to clean/dust .
Make sure you have lots of cloths if you are providing them & lots of Viakal !!

She said she will provide all the cleaning products etc... so I’m assuming that includes cloths too.

Does anyone have any other advice or things that can make it easier etc..?

I’m thinking that I would like
All floors cleaned (hoover or washed)
Kitchen cleaned (worktop and tiles at the back of the cooker)
Bathrooms and downstairs loo
And as much dusting she can do in the living room.

It sounds feasible doesn’t it?

Definitely does sound feasible. I have had cleaners for over 20 years and in all that time only one was not suitable. Make sure the cleaner knows you value her. The occasional box of chocolates and a good thank you go a long way. One of our cleaners was so amazing that we gave her a bit extra money each month. Like you say that are like gold dust.

Do the clean yourself. How long does it take you to do. When I have new clients and they ask me if that is the right amount I time I ask them that. If you can do it in two hours they can as well. If u can’t then they can’t

Errr... the whole point for me to have a cleaner is that I can’t do it myself.
To do all that would take me two days with plenty of breaks in between. I’m sure my cleaner wont take as much time as that