Am I justified to ask my cleaner to do these things ?

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Cleaner has a long journey on public transport plus we are the last call of the day twice a week.
I have asked her to take shoes off in the house, please wash hands on arrival and to not hoover the doormat first as then she is hoovering round the rest of the house with the hoover head having been all over outside bacteria ? I’ve been rolling up the mat after she arrives as she kept doing it despite me asking !

I offered to provide some indoor shoes if she wanted but she declined. Am I being over the top?

No. I have the same requests re shoes and washing hands, it’s common sense. As for the mat, also pretty straightforward, she should be able to do as you requested.

You know scientists found a link between childhood leukaemia and growing up in an excessively clean home

You'd hate my house, OP. I moved in 25 years ago and still have the carpets from the previous owner.

This is a crazy response. It’s not about trust, it’s about basic hygiene.

Of course it’s about trust if OP doesn’t trust her to do the things she’s asking, regardless of if any of them are silly or not.

It’s not trust - what I meant was a) OP’s requests are very reasonable; b) if the cleaner does not honour them, then yes, possibly time to look for a new one

Shoes off and hands washed when coming in from a city journey are basic hygiene in any household, let alone one with a baby.

The doormat thing is less obvious, but I do see your point.

I’ve never known a cleaner not change shoes and wash hands. It’s totally normal and necessary.

Yeah if she can’t trust the cleaner to do as she asks then time to find a new one… so I don’t think the poster saying if she doesn’t trust her (obviously to follow her hygiene rules) then she should get a new one, is a ‘crazy’ response.

If you either bring other shoes or walk around in socks, what happens when you walk on floors/carpets that have not yet been cleaned and then walk in other houses on their carpets in said shoes/socks?

👍

I don’t let my cleaner employ the dishwasher because I don’t trust her to wash her hands first and I don’t want her handling my cutlery and crockery with hands that have just cleaned the rest of the house. She won’t wear rubber gloves. You’re absolutely right to tell her to wash her hands and if she can’t follow your other simple instructions then she has to go.

I think she should definitely wash her hands before emptying the dishwasher! Surely everyone does that?

Do you actually think it would make you unwell if your cleaner touched your dishwasher?

Also, if she won't wear gloves then her hands are likely covered in disinfectant and as germ-free as they've ever been!

Really! I put my whole hoover in the dishwater. Much easier.

More likely to cause negative health impact of some kind with that kind of obsession, than letting normal exposure happen thay humans require to develop immune systems properly.

Agree

It's quite standard advice to keep the home clean as possible. It sounds like your child's medical team lapsed in that area

Thankyou for the kind responses I really appreciate them. I’m feeling a bit fragile and the other thread in AIBU has made me feel a bit upset as a lot of posters on that seem to think I’m crazy. As I said though I do appreciate the kind responses but I’ll probably step away from this thread now

It isn't crazy. It's common for parents of NICU babies to become fixated on things like cleanliness or weight.

As a cleaner I can tell you that things like this can cause people to get very defensive. They feel called out. It's part of the reason that many of my clients don't have any idea that I have an attachment at each home reserved for their bathrooms. When I've shared information like that in the past, people have bene quite patronising in telling me it isn't necessary.

I agree with you op. Some posters like to act all superior, accusing people of being overly anxious.

At this time of year, there are so many germs around. I always wash my hands when I come in the house. It's basic hygiene practice. You've got a crawling baby who is vulnerable.

Wow, yeah take a valium and let her get on with it.

You would think so…

😂

Why are so many brittons so set against washing their hands? I just don't get it. Especially combined with the "you can't ask an adult to wash their hands" - why couldn't we?

I can understand that not everyone has this habit at their own home, but surely you would want to know that it is a standard at a home you are visiting.

It sounds to me very much like the doctors killing women by refusing the idea of hand washing at maternity hospitals. "You can't possibly ask doctors to...".

Disinfecting the hoover? Are you joking? No NICU in the history of all medical advances would suggest this.

And not fine at all to start throwing accusations around without knowing the full story- my medical team were excellent! And gave proper age appropriate real life advice. Besides which, as many people are pointing out, this baby is now crawling about, we’re not talking about a 26 weeker here.