What EXACTLY does your cleaner do???

[Meggymoo777]

Have engaged a cleaner for the first time. Full time working single Mum and sick of spending my free time with DS trying to catch up on house jobs.

The lady seems lovely and is due to start next week... we've agreed a deep clean next week, 6hours or so, and then maybe 2/3 hours weekly or fortnightly.

But!... what does a cleaner do??? 🤣 For those of you who have cleaners, what does yours do? I'm expecting that she won't do laundry/make beds etc.? Which is totally fine, just want to get a gauge of what to expect.

Also, want to get the house in order before she come next week - assume nothing on floors, rubbish taken out etc but is general 'life clutter' okay?

I'm aware I sound dim but I'm honestly very excited and want to make the relationship work!

Make one bed, change another.
Dust, vacuum (uses our vacuum)
Clean kitchen and bathroom (brings her own products and cloths)
Empty bins
For other customers she irons, tidies up, puts a wash on.
Nothing outdoors although she has offered to clean our front door once. Nothing involving step ladders, standing on a stool etc, so no taking curtains down.

I think its best to ask for what you want, as every customer has different needs. My neighbours cleaner puts the wheelie bins out, but I dont ask for that.

Thank you - so should I maybe just leave her to it on the first day for the full clean and see what she does and then have a chat with her about what we could do with the weekly/fortnightly cleans?
Do you ask your cleaner for different jobs depending on the week?

I'd have a list tbh, clean bathrooms, hoover downstairs, iron etc. I think leaving it vague leads to erm vagueness!

Ya, definitely a list going forward... guess I just don't know what's reasonable to ask for 🤷‍♀️

I would list out everything in priority and ask her to say how much she can get through in the time

I used to be a cleaner. So come from it from that perspective. Don’t be vague. That doesn’t help. Have a list. Exactly what u want done. That way u can check if it is done.
The first few cleans always take longer as u get into the flow of the house , where everything is plugs etc.
She can get more done if there isn’t stiff everywhere. If she has to spend five mins clearing ur dresser that’s five mins she doesn’t have to clean.
Agree an amount of time. But that may change. As I got more used to the house and did things on rotation I didn’t need as long.

Some cleaners leave early. As I said before. Things get quicker as they go. If ur unhappy with that. Make sure u have a ‘if ur finished ‘ list for her to work her way through.
Tell her how exact u want her to be. As an example. One person may only want the tops of the units cleaned but cobwebs etc can be done the side. That takes extra time. So make sure you tell her exactly what u want.
I was always happy to change beds. But be aware. Super king duvets are hard to change on your own as an example.

Just be clear and know what u want. Any questions just ask abs I will try abs help u.

I think most cleaners are happy to do different tasks as needed as long as its not one of those agencies that does a quote for a set 'job'. I have a regular cleaner who's been coming for years. She does the same every week and I just leave her to it, but sometimes I ask for different things. But there have been long periods when she's been sick and I had different agency cleaners coming in every week. I learned to ask them to do more of what they were good at and less of the stuff they did poorly. Changing beds is a good task to give a cleaner because its either changed or it isn't whereas its a matter of opinion whether your bath is clean enough or not. Although I did have one girl who only changed the bottom sheet 'because thats what other customers had'. Don't expect anyone to be willing to get down on their hands and knees to scrub your kitchen floor (although you may get lucky). But I do expect them to scrub the bath, not just wave the floor mop at it. Forgot to say mop floors in kitchen and bathroom and clean hob. Ovens tend to be a matter for negotiation. I clean the inside of my fridge myself (personal prefernce). Takes my regular cleaner takes 2 hours to do a 3 bed house minus 1 room. Some cleaners just rush round and its impossible to get them to go slower and do a deeper more thorough clean. I just cut it down to one hour in that case. (Negotiate in advance on that).

@Paranoidandroidmarvin Thank you so much, that's really very helpful. You and PP are definitely right with the list - should I just let her to it for the first day, see what she does and then do a list from there onwards?

I wasn't aware that bed changes would be okay to request so that's really good to know - would I leave the clean linen on the bed in the morning for her? Would a cleaner wash the old linen or just leave in the basket? Sorry if I'm asking really silly questions but I've never done this before and I really am very excited to have the help and want her to be able to do a good job within reasonable expectations and be happy doing it so want to get off on the right foot!

I would definitely love to take you up on your offer of help - if I were to draft a list of tasks in the next few days and give time and layout of house I'd be delighted if you (and other PPs) would glance over it and tell me if it's reasonable?

Thanks so much @Willdoitlater - mopping floors would be a dream as I really hate that job so will add that to the list.

Think if I prioritize the jobs I hate the most, that would be a good thing!

Is folding laundry an okay task or not? If it were washed and dried? I hate that job too! It's okay if it's not though

Always happy to help. I would leave the linen out. And just get her to leave the other somewhere. If u ask her to wash some people are not as careful in terms of care labels etc. So I wouldn’t go down that road until u know her.

Have a list of jobs u would love her to do. All she can say is no. I personally find folding laundry a nice thing to do ( yes I’m weird ) so if I saw some hanging up I would do it even if not asked.
Some people used to ask me to hang washing on the line.

Basically in my eyes as long as it was to do with the house and u were paying me I did it.
But remember making a bed takes time. So weigh that up between that and something else being cleaned.

Ask them not to use the cloth they have just cleaned your bathroom with to clean your kitchen and vice-versa. Show them where your outside drain is so they don't empty the mop bucket down the just-cleaned kitchen sink.

Also. Please don’t worry if your not happy with ur cleaner. Not everybody suits everyone. And if they are doing a rubbish job move on to someone else

Well,OP, think about it -would folding laundry, tho you might hate that job, take priority over mopping a floor, given the time constraints? For you to decide...
This week I asked mine, after she'd vacuumed through and polished, to concentrate on cleaning the kitchen including the cooker, racks and all. She came on Tuesday morning and the cooker's now so showroom gleaming I've been eating soup and sandwiches ever since - nothing's going to spoil that pristine look

Dusts including high dusting
Polishing including silver
Clean bathrooms including bath, showers, basins, lavatories. Restock and change hand towels.
Clean worktops, clean sink, empty/load dishwasher, clean fridges.
Hoover everywhere.
Change flower water and tidy flowers.
Clean windows inside.
Polish wood surfaces
Clean skirting boards
Mop floors
Spidering
Sort laundry sometimes
Swap washing around
Pet the dog
Make a coffee

I use a separate oven cleaning service.

spidering -

Agree with Paranoid I'm a cleaner and that's all sound advice.

Ideally you need to have a conversation with the cleaner about what you need before asking them to start but oh well

I'd advise going through with it all on the phone or being home on her first visit? Make clear where everything is as well and establish who is providing cleaning materials.

Be realistic about what can be done in a 2 hour visit. Some of my clients like to micromanage me with lists each week, some ask for washing up, unloading dishwasher, dusting, hoovering and a thorough clean of bathrooms and kitchen each time, so a list isn't required. Some clients might text me the night before if they think of something e.g. "Please iron the 2 shirts I've left out"

I change beds, do laundry, iron, feed the dogs, empty bins, I've taken Christmas trees down, I've even fished a dead rabbit out of one lady's pond.

Plan what your priorities are. I hope you're happy with your new cleaner

Honestly does depend on the individual.

My cleaner is fab. She works for herself and isn't restricted by any agency rules on what she can or can't do. OTOH, it would also leave her free to refuse to do a particular job if she didn't fancy it.

We don't iron, but my cleaner also works for a friend of mine, and she happily irons for her. She will also change beds. My cleaner will also happily tidy / sort - she loves a messy cupboard or room to tackle but obviously you might not consider this something you want to do. Mine will also wash up or hang washing out if you want her to. She just works on the principle she is there to help you for 2 hours.

My Aunt had a cleaner who was really specific about tasks she would or wouldn't do.

Neither way is right or wrong.

I do agree with the "it takes longer at first and then they speed up" so have a think if you want to pay for the person being in your house for 2 hours or if you want to pay them for certain jobs. My cleaner is really fast and never stops for a coffee or to answer her phone. I'm more than happy if she leaves 15 - 20 mins early, (I'm at home) as she will still have done more than I would have got done in two hours.

We have two cleaners that clean for two hours a week, so the equivalent of four hours. They do upstairs one week and downstairs the next. Cleaning everything, woodwork, windows, bathrooms, dust, vac and tidy. Downstairs weeks include the kitchen and utility (also have a wet room that they do downstairs) they don’t have time for washing or ironing but they will empty the washer and dryer if they get chance. My kids love that they fold the loo roll into points!

This is all such fantastic advice and suggestions, thanks so much ladies!

And I'm loving the 'spidering' and 'pet the dog' suggestions! Too cute ☺️ Might ask if she'd occasionally chat to my guinea pigs when she passes them! I joke! (But they do love a good chat! 😅)

We've agreed a fee per hour which we both think is fair and she will be providing her own products and equipment. When she called I was entertaining DS and 2 friends so was hard to have a proper chat about specific jobs!

I definitely agree with the washing/drying clothes and linen - think I'll keep this job for me as it's not something I mind and maybe even the folding is something I won't loathe so much once I have a bit more free time!

Thanks again ladies, really appreciate the advice and I'll pop back with the list I've done up for you guys to give me feedback on and I'll let you all know how she gets on with the big clean this week! ☺️

All the best, OP. Hope all goes well.

The best cleaners I’ve had have had a set list of things they do every time (floors, bathrooms, clean surfaces, dust, bins, etc) and then a list of less regular tasks that they rotate through doing one or two each time (clean inside of fridge, microwave, windows, etc)

@AliceSprings123

All the best, OP. Hope all goes well.

Fingers crossed 🤞🏻 I'm honestly hoping it's the start of a beautiful relationship! 🙈 I'll let you know how we get on, she's due in on Wednesday so will update in the evening!

Our cleaner cleans the kitchen and bathrooms, does a thorough hoover, dusts and wipes down surfaces, makes up the beds with clean linen (I've stripped them myself since Covid to minimise the transmission risk) and does our ironing.

Mine does polishing, hoovering and mopping all floors, clean bathroom and kitchen including cupboard doors etc and then do another job every other time. So one time they might do all the Windows, another time the skirting boards. Sometimes they make the beds sometimes they don’t, and I always tell them to leave the bins / any dishes as it’s just easier for me to put out when full / put the dishwasher on. I make sure no clutter on surfaces / floors and be prepared for tings moving around, I always have to move my pictures / ornaments back to where they usually are. But they do it quicker than I would and there’s no better feeling than walking into a clean house

The deep clean though first time round was amazing - so will be booking another one of those before Christmas

Oh... and just had a thought, for those of you letting me know what your cleaner does, if it would be okay for you to also tell me a rough layout of house (no. of beds, bathrooms, living areas etc) and the time and frequency of the cleans that would be really great too! 🙏 Thank you all again!