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

[DeleteIt]

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?

If something isn't clean, how is it going to clean things ir continue to work effectively? Hair gets trapped for example and stops wheels turning as well as they did. It's part of the maintainence and also reduces bad smells from the hoover.

So every time is excessive - we both agree, OP is being really OTT.

Do you follow her around when she is cleaning ? If you are so particular maybe you should do it yourself. When my cleaners come I scarper to work (work from home) I don't see them till they finish and have no idea what they are doing and don't care . My house is spotless

I’m from a ‘shoes off inside the house’ culture, so everyone who comes here takes their shoes off. My cleaner brings her own house slippers.

The washing hands thing also seems fairly standard to me.

I have never thought about vacuuming order, but it’s no particular hardship for her and seems important to you, so I don’t understand why she wouldn’t just do that last. Have you asked her why?

Yeah and the worst thing is that it isn't even logical stuff to reduce germs.

But aside from.that, everyone should be cleaning their hoovers every 4-6 weeks or so

If she hoovers the door mat last, is sh e then expected to thoroughly clean the hoover attachment so it is perfectly clean before she hoovers the baby areas next time?

I think monitoring whether an adult has washed their hands before they start cleaning up your dirt is wrong in so many ways. I can’t even think of a polite word for it.

Why is your cleaner emptying your dishwasher for you? That isn’t cleaning. That would be something a housekeeper would do. Pay for one of those because I don’t think you will ever be satisfied with a cleaner.

I can't speak to your anxiety about the hoover head (I've honestly never thought about that!) but yes - if you have requests, she should listen. My cleaners always remove their shoes when they come in. They have a regular routine (start upstairs) but always ask if it's just the usual or anything they should pay particular attention to. Then they listen. That's not an odd interaction. Nor should your conversation with your cleaner be. Perfectly fine for you to ask. Unreasonable of her not to listen.

Outside bacteria? Is that a thing?

Unless you disinfect the vacuum head between uses then it doesn't matter what order she vacuums. If she does the doormat last then the "outside bacteria" is still in the head waiting for for wherever she does first next time.

You are way ott.

Also, emptying a dishwasher isn’t a cleaning job.

It is if it’s one of the jobs you’ve agreed with your cleaner.

Shoes off yes definitely.

But I have never in my years of vacuuming washed the head or disinfected my vacuum head.

She said she disinfects the vacuum head after every use

Personally, I like to have a route through the house. Like top to bottom preferably, or less preferably, bottom to top. So in some houses, the front door would be last perhaps but others, they will not. I know some cleaners are happy to do all the bathrooms, then the kitchen, then the bedrooms, regardless of the "flow". I am not. If it doesnt
Make sense to do that front door area last, I wouldn't be happy to do it.

I've never disinfected a hoover in my life. Or thought about the order of which rooms it is used in. Completely OTT.

Shoes - she might need to wear outdoor type shoes to support her feet or protect them from dropping things. I couldn't work all day in stockinged feet. But you could offer to buy her a new pair of her choice to keep at the house or provide shoe covers. Handwashing isn't unreasonable but you can't reasonably insist she takes rings off and that she does it hospital style. Well you could but you'd probably find yourself needing a new cleaner.

I think the fact she has ever hoovered the door mat is crazy tbh.
No outdoor shoes indoors is a perfectly reasonable request.
As for hand washing, if she isn't wearing gloves (which she should for her own sake using cleaning products) again not unreasonable to ask she does on arrival.

Back to the door mat, could it not be shaken out outside door or swept with a brush just for that instead?

I'm assuming (as someone who has germphobic OCD myself) that your concern of germs maybe started or heightened after birth? May be worth a chat with your GP if it is something causing you significant distress. Edited as just read your last update about 24 week preemie, this sounds like post partum anxiety to a level beyond normal and i really do urge the GP visit as medication could really help.

Why is it odd to hoover a door mat? We have an outside doormat, which I don’t hoover, but the inside one I do.

That makes sense! Thanks for explaining.

Wtf
do you buy a new hoover every week so it doesn’t get contaminated with “outside bacteria”?

Whether or not the requests are ‘extreme’ (the doormat thing is a bit eccentric, but I follow your logic), you are paying for her service and if she can’t or won’t do as you ask, find someone else.
There is nothing onerous to do, so if she wants to be ignorant, great - do it elsewhere. When you interview your next prospective cleaners, explain your reasoning and hopefully you can find an empath who will work with you, not against you.

PS it’s your hoover head - clean it as often as you like, but you could also buy an extra head and keep it for the sitting room only.

I think maybe you have some residual trauma from your babies start in life which us morphing into contamination ocd, and you may need some help

YANBU. Irrespective of whether you are a germophobic or not, these are a few simple instructions and a professional cleaner that you pay to do the job should be able to follow them.

You know, you're not always using cleaning products. Especially harsh ones..and if you were gloves, you have to make sure youre using them correctly by changing them often to avoid cross contamination. That expense will ultimately go onto clients. You're better off using gloves when you have to such as in bathrooms and washing your hands often between tasks. I don't need gloves to wash off your kitchen table with a bit of fairy.

OP if its a coir doormat you have or one with deep surface,
turn it upside down, then ask cleaner to stamp on it to release
the dirt then sweep it away onto your path/soil/dustpan, this
is what our cleaner does. I saw the result once, was amazed
at the dirt grit dust disgorged, why would you want all that in
your vacuum cleaner.

I think you’d be doing her a favour by letting her go. I couldn’t work for you with those ridiculous rules.

I think you need help for your health anxiety not with the cleaning

Who vacuums the door mat ?. And as for the shoes off thing - I insist on no riding boots or wellies but we have two Labradors and 5 cats, you gonna disinfect their paws every time they come in and out ?. Personally I was just happy that our cleaner got it all done.

This is off the charts bonkers.