How to talk to my cleaner.

[Atalune]

Cleaner has been with us for 3 years now.

She is reliable, trustworthy and on the whole good at her job. We paid heron full over lockdown and she’s only just returned to the actual house.

She does 2 hours/wk for a medium size 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 reception room plus large kitchen diner.

My expectations
Vacuum top to bottom
Clean all mirrors
Proper clean of bathrooms including steam mop floors
Steam mop kitchen diner
Dust

Other things cleaner will do- but we have specified not expected or necessary,
Fluff up sofas
Take out bins
Hangout washing
Empty dishwasher.

We now endeavour to make sure the bins etc are empty before she comes. I want her to CLEAN.

Recently she has been staying more than the 1 hours and not billing is. We said- we will pay you for the time please invoice us and left her extra cash on the side. She then bought the kids fancy treats with the money and said she doesn’t wnat paying extra she just likes being here.

Problem is we are both working from home now and don’t want her hanging about longer than she needs to be; and we feel it’s a piss take when she won’t take payment!!

She’s lovely- older, chatty and kind.

First issue- she doesn’t always do the things I consider essential- like the loos, but the sofa looks like it’s about to be photographed form Elle Decor.

How can I make her prioritise what I want doing? I have asked...but clearly it’s not getting through.

Secondly, how can I make her stick to her hours without offending her? Essentially telling her to bugger off! But in a nice way?!

*Her in Not heron ffs

I'm impressed if she could it all in two hours. But maybe you are tidied and cleaner than we are!
You need to go through a list with her - I tell my cleaner each week what she needs to focus on. As for staying extra - never had this problem! I think at the end of her scheduled time you come out of your office and say 'ah thank you X, see you next week!' And walk her to the door. If she tries to chat just say you have an important call to make or work to get back to.

I get it. I’ve felt a bit like this in the past with cleaners we’ve had.

But I think the best way forward is to go with the flow. Here is this nice person who you trust and who enjoys making the place look lovely, who is efficient enough to do most of the house in two hours, and who does a little overtime for free.

I think you accept the slightly off-list work with the fact that otherwise this is a great set-up. She sounds great.

On a more practical note I would extend your preemptive-bin-taking-out policy to fluffing the cushions yourself and checking washing up and washing are dealt with before she arrives. This way less chance to deviate from your priorities.

I’m a cleaner. I’m sorry. But no way could I do a proper job like that in two hours. Not if u want it to look like it has been done properly.
Have u done this in the time u have said. I would do it one day. Have a try and see if u can do it in that time.
To me she sounds lonely.

It sounds like there's a lot for her to do in that time!

It would probably take me 2 hour just to dust and hoover a house that big 😁

Yes I can do this list in 2 hours

Vacuum top to bottom
Clean all mirrors
Proper clean of bathrooms including steam mop floors
Steam mop kitchen diner
Dust

I can’t do the other stuff on top. But I don’t want her too either.

And yes my house is very tidy in between. I am a neatnick and cannot leave a room untidy.

But I do it fast and it’s my house.

However I take the point that maybe that’s an unrealistic expectation.

And yes I would much rather she’s here and doing most of it than none at all. She’s lovely.

Actually. Not dust. Dusting is time consuming.

And there is a third cloak/wc toilet too.

I think reading back I should allow and pay for more time. Thank you! That’s been helpful.

I’m slap dash with cleaning but I couldn’t do all that in 2 hours. A basic hoover of the whole house takes 40 minutes. At least 20 minutes per bathroom. Then mopping 3 rooms is probably another 40 minutes. That’s for a very basic once over not a professional level of cleaning.

I live in a small 2 bed terrace and my cleaner takes 1.5 hours a week, not exactly filthy either (live on my own) and always very tidy, 2 hours seems a bit overly optimistic