To think a professional cleaner shouldn't need 6 hours a week to clean a regular 3 bed semi

[NorkyButNice]

I've just hired a cleaner from a recommended local firm, paying 10 pounds an hour. The boss man came round to see the house last week and said he thought it would need 3 hours a week, possibly 4 in the first week while the cleaner worked out where everything is.

I got home yesterday expecting a lovely clean house and found that she'd done the lounge, dining room, hallway and kitchen, and that was it! No bathroom, downstairs loo, none of the bedrooms - so less than half the house. She hadn't left a note, so I didn't know if she'd run out of time, or just had to leave early because of an emergency.

I texted her and rang the boss man who apologised profusely and said he'd refund me one of the hours. Her text response said that she ran out of time and that she thinks it'll take 6 hours a week rather than 3 for the first few weeks!

She told her boss that part of the reason it had taken so long was because we had lots of dust under the sofas which she'd spent a long time removing, but I've just fished out slippers and toys from under one of them so she's obviously not done that good a job.

We've got a regular 3 bed semi - nothing special at all with no fancy furniture or clutter. She's taking the mick, right?

I think that's normal-ish for a couple of weeks when a new cleaner starts. Esp if you've let things slide. Bit crap that there was still stuff under sofas though.

having said that, I always make sure every surface is absolutely clutter free. I even remove all bottles from inside showers

I would think that a reasonably thorough clean can be done in a lot less time than 6 hours. I have a fairly big 4 bedroomed house and can hoover throughout, mop all the hard floors, clean the bathrooms and dust it all in around 2 hours.

I would drop the agency and try to find a cleaner through word-of-mouth, who actually takes a pride in their work and wants to do it well.

Pay my lovely lovely cleaner £8.50 an hour, she's amazing and love her to bits. She does our whole 4bed house, including dining room, kitchen, sitting room, utility and playroom in 4hrs. Sometimes even has enough time to fit in a bit of ironing! And no, you can't steal her, she's mine!:o

I think 6 hours seems OK.

I have a cleaner 3 hours a week for a 4 bed 2 bath detached with downstairs loo and she does all the major rooms. When the kids are at uni she obviously has only 1 bed and 1 bath to clean so does other jobs in the remaining time (eg lightshades, inside cupboards. But on "normal weeks" she manages all the rooms in the house. No tidying as I don't do nick-nacks or clutter. £35 for 3 hours in the South East.

I suppose it all depends on how thorough the cleaner was being.

Our cleaner does two hours per week, which usually covers all of upstairs (four beds, two bathrooms, landing and stairs) or the downstairs (hall, kitchen, utility room, loo, dining room, living room). So each gets cleaned by her every other week. She does an excellent job, and charges £7 per hour.

We did, however, go through three agencies before contacting her. They were all rubbish. They charged at least double. One company came in and worked for ten hours, apparently, and still didn't get everything clean. Needless to say, I paid only half of the bill.

BTW, we have toddler, teenager, BIG dog and cats, so there's always dirt to be cleaned! We tend to be neat and tidy, but with various footprints and hair, the cleaner doesn't have it easy with us!

she should be able to do it in a normal week, my cleaner does 3½ hours for 3 beds. But she doesn't get all the furniture out and clean.

it sounds like she was trying to do a really thorough job to start it off
which would take longer

We really haven't let things slide - DH is a cleaning freak - we got a cleaner so he doesn't drive me crazy getting the Hoover out every time I try to put my feet up at the weekend.

Our house was at least averagely clean. I'd mopped 2 days previously, DH had hoovered - the only job that hadn't been done in the last week was bathroom cleaning and that's the one she helpfully didn't get round to.

I am a cleaner and it takes me 2 hours to give a 3 bed house a normal clean. A spring clean inc door frames/oven/moving big furniture takes 3-4 hours.

6 hours is completely silly

I've been doing my parents cleaning since mum got ill last year. They have a 4 bed, 3 storey house with 3 bathrooms + downstairs loo, sitting room, dining room, study & conservatory.

I do the whole lot in 3 hours plus a few extras like washing skirting boards or inside windows in a couple of rooms. Ok they don't have much clutter, but I do sit down and have a cuppa with them.

I'd get rid of the agency tbh.

I used to have a cleaner 2 hours a week in my 5 bed house - in that time she would hoover throughout, mop hard floors, dust throughout and clean kitchen (incl stovetop but not oven or fridge), bathroom, shower room, utility room and 2 toilets. No tidying or emptying bins. Some weeks she would also have time to clean the odd window or dust a few skirting boards.
I can't do it in that time though so I know she was speedy! But given the above I think 3 hours should be ample.
Perhaps give a list of priorities so she doesn't spend time on jobs that are not important to you whilst ignoring those that must be done?

OP its through an agency isn't it? Just ask them to get you a different cleaner. 3 hours should be more than sufficient to give your house a superficial once over.

I'd say 4 hours was a good compromise but six seems excessive. I just mentally put together how long it would take me to go over my house. But then are you asking her to do other duties like washing dishe or anything along those lines?

she is fucking taking the piss. trim her and get someone else

BTW I sacked my new cleaner as within the first ten minutes she OVERSHARED to such an extend I was staggered (ovarian cycts, ex partner, and her brother tried to murder her) and she did not even clean the bathroom floor!

I've got a 3 bed town house and my cleaner does a basic clean every week in 2 hours (hoovers all over including stairs, dusts, cleans kitchen surfaces, mops kitchen floor, cleans 2 bathrooms incl mopping floors)
A proper spring clean doing under sofas and skirting boards plus inside fridge, microwave etc would take her MAX 4 hours, probably more like 3 hours.

6 hours is taking the piss. I'd tell the agency that she didnt clean under the sofas very well and considering that is what she said took most of the time then you'd prefer to try a different cleaner that doesnt slack on the first day!

in 3 hours my cleaner hoovers throughout, dusts throughout, cleans the bathroom and the downstairs loo, wipes down the bannisters and skirtings, washes the downstairs floors, cleans the kitchen (not oven) and washes the kitchen floor, cleans the glass door to the garden and between the kitchen and playroom. We have a 3 bed, 2 reception house, one bathroom, 2 messy kids (though I do tidy before the cleaner comes)

YANBU - get a different cleaner. I did have one company come to quote me who said they'd need 7 hours a week to do our house, that included hoovering under the sofa and beds each week, dusting the tops of wardrobes, washing all the windows, individually removing each bathroom tile and polishing it - ok I'm joking about the last one. But they were so thorough it put me off. In a house full of kids and animals I just wanted someone to keep on top of things not give the house a full anti allergy, eat your dinner off every surface, disinfecting.

why are you wasting your time sitting here? you say the bathroom hasnt been done in 2 weeks and then the cleaner didnt do it either, so why are you sitting here talking about it, surely half an hour would be loads of time to do your own bathroom?

sorry im not being mean but euurgh knowing my bathroom was dirty would just give me the boke! i would have to go and clean it!

oh and having been a cleaner myself and also the supervisor of a major cleaning company i say you are being taken for a ride, at the very least someone from the agency should have come out and spoken to you about your complaints.

YANBU, our cleaner does 3 hours a week for a similar-sized house and manages to do a perfectly good job. Fair enough that she might get a bit less done the first week, but not as little as you describe (assuming your house wasn't absolutely filthy, which I'm sure it wasn't!). I'd ask them to send a different cleaner for next time.

porcamiseria slightly similar thing happened to me. As a student just before finals, I decided a cleeaner would help me keep me sane. So hired a cleaner through an agency.

She turns up, starts cleaning and then during a break, asked me if I was medical. Explained I was a student. She then went on to tell me how she was a consultant in her home country and was cleaning whilst getting her quals approved, how she had fled her husband but had to leave her eldest son there. I was mortified and have been slightly nervous when meeting consultants in her specialty just n case it's her! She's cleaned my dirty oven!

I interviewed a cleaner, for our 3 bed house, last night. She said she can do it in 2 hours, at a push. £10 p/h. The first week and maybe the second week, may take 3 hours, to get it up to scratch - i.e dust venetian blinds, clean all windows. Sounded fair to me. Dh thought so too.

My last cleaner did 2 hours on a tuesday and 1 hour on a friday.

On the Tuesday she did all the rooms, hoovered or mopped the floors and cleaned the bathroom. On the friday she did a "wipe over" and the floors again and changed the beds. But admittedly she was FAST, she looked like the Tazmanian Devil as she whizzed round and said she hated hoovering as she had never found a hoover that sucked fast enough to keep up with her! The place was always spotless.

Selfish bitch moved because did the most unreasonable thing in the world and fell in love :o:o I miss her sooo much! :o

4 bed house
2 beds done regularly
1 bed done occassionally
1 bed done rarely
3 reception rooms
Biggish kitchen
2 bathrooms
1 WC

no windows done
2 hours a week
3 hours a week to start with
Your cleaner is being rude.