Why is it so impossible to find a cleaner?!

[rhino12345]

We've been searching for a cleaner now for about 4 months and it's honestly broken me 😂 For all the time I've spent looking for a cleaner, I could have deep cleaned a bloody hotel !!!!

Have asked on local Facebook group, but got 5 responses of which 3 were fully booked, 1 never replied to my message and another said she was coming and then never showed up on the day.

Asked some friends who have cleaners for recommendations, again one came for a couple of weeks and then never showed up again - can't get hold of her and neither can my friend??

Had another lady come that was highly recommended by an old colleague, she messaged and said "sorry, I can't come this week but my friend Vicky will be with you instead". When Vicky arrived, I asked how she knew the original cleaner (just making conversation more than anything) only to find she'd never met her and she was just a random woman off Facebook!!!!!! And she was sub-letting the cleaning job to her???!!!

Asked another friend who she uses, but she was very honest and said she wouldn't recommend them as they won't mop or hoover?!!!

I feel completely aghast. I've now tried three different agencies, inc a national one, thinking I'd have more luck there, but again one never replied, the other was fully booked and another local one said they only had time to do 'half' the house?!

I'm starting to wonder if I'm on some sort of cleaning blacklist 😂Our house is just a normal house, very tidy, no pets, non-smoker etc! And I'm a nice person, smiley and friendly and leave them to it.

SO AIBU? Is it impossible to find a cleaner, or is there some secret club I need to be a part of? 😅

The biggest issue is finding GOOD cleaners who are reliable.

There are a lot of cleaners around us touting their services on FB. Quite a few of them are actually not great.

There is also an expectation issue. A lot of cleaners only clean, they don't tidy/ put away/ unload appliances/ make or change beds ect - that strays into housekeeping. A lot of people actually need a housekeeping and cleaner combined. People ask for a clean, quote is given on a clean but actually doesn't get finished because cleaner is also having to tidy as they go or unload or load pots in dishwashers or wash up to access the sink. It also explains the different experiences people on mn have of cleaners with some who will only purely clean whilst others have cleaners that do lots of other household tasks. I've had 3 cleaners over the years, the first cleaner charged £70 for a 4 hour clean but always did housekeeping tasks as well as cleaning(she would load/ unload a dishwasher, put a wash on or empty the washer into a tumble dryers,would change beds if new sheets we laid out on it, empty the airer and pile it up, change bins, do light tidying ect). My second cleaner came and quoted the house for a 3 hour clean and charged £50, they only clean, no housekeeping tasks and struggled to get finished most weeks. My current cleaner charges £55 and only does cleaning tasks. Unlike cleaner 2, my current cleaner did actually explain that it's a 3 hour clean and she needed access to the sink without washing up in it and the worktops needed to be clear and not be covered in the aftermath of DH's breakfast making (DH works from home and was in whilst they were there but also has a habit of leaving stuff in the washing up bowl or on the sides after he has made his late morning breakfast instead of loading into the dishwasher).

For many cleaners it is a stop gap - generally works well around school age children or caring responsibilities. Most people want a clean between Monday and Friday 9-4 which works with school and wrap around. Many are self employed so can do the hours which fits in with their lives. It's hard physical work. Once the part of their lives where they need to be around for school drop off/ pick up or running countless errands for elderly relatives living at home with a basic care package is over they tend to find something else. I lost my first excellent cleaner because her elderly mum went into a home and so she had more flexibility and more hours for a different job. Cleaning had worked for her whilst her mum was at home with carers 4x a day and she needed to be able to pop in and out to her mum, run her mum to drs/ shops/ hospital appointments/ errand run ect. My current cleaner has also explained that she will be handing her business over to her deputy manager after Xmas as her youngest left school last summer and she no longer needs to do school times.

You’re completely wrong, you know. Most women in most social classes have always worked outside the home. The idea of the SAHM being the norm is a recent tiny blip in history. And even very modest lower-middle-class households had cheap, young servants to do the cleaning in Victorian times.

Victorian times was a rather long time ago....

In the 30s and 40s most women were stay at home mum, its only post-war that women working started to become the normal. And over 50% were still stay at home mums until the 70s. Having a cleaner has become more and more popular as more and more people work full time and get older.

In our mind we had £100 a week as a budget for 'the clean' so not an hourly rate as such, but I guess that works out at £25pah for a 4 hour clean. We've had a range of quotes from £17ph up to £100ph !!!!!

It might not be politic to say, but IME brexit caused a large contraction in the availability and quality of domestic cleaners in the UK. You always used to be able to find good quality hard working, primarily Eastern European, cleaners. When they left the agencies stepped in at higher prices paying local, less diligent on the whole, cleaners who then saw easy money by going alone, pocketing the agencies cut and doing a sloppier job. That’s not to say that there aren’t good, hardworking cleaners out there. There are just far fewer of them.

I'm going through the same.
DH and I are retired and have a large house. We don't need a cleaner but it's nice and there have been times due to health issues that I really did need help. Having someone once a month while we do the rest works well.
When we first lived here 40 years ago I had a succession of good cleaners. All left for good reasons.
I have found that they all have quirks. One used to be hyperactive and banged the furniture and skirting boards a lot, but she cleaned like a dose of salts.
One used to moan and complain all the time carrying a black cloud of gloom around with her. When she started telling DH off for something she had to go.

More recently I had a lovely woman who did a brilliant job. She had a difficult and chaotic home life with four DC who were all a problem. She used to let me down at short notice over and over but I never minded as she did such a brilliant job and I wasn't desperate. Unfortunately she gave it up in the end.

My recent search has been odd.

They all seem to want to bring their own cleaning products which I'm not keen on. One came for four hours and only managed upstairs.
Another responded to my enquiry saying she brings her baby and so needs frequent (unpaid) breaks.
One wouldn't give me her hourly rate because she "likes to look at the house first".
I've seen a couple advertised on FB with an AI generated ad, anonymous post and so no clue who they are or where from.
I have one who seems normal so far and has agreed to come. We'll see.
They all seem to charge £20 an hour. It's a rural area in the North.

Just to add that even when I was in the trenches with babies the house would be tidy. I want a cleaner to clean.