To expect cleaner to do more?

[Mum2onefabson]

Hi
I am new here so please be gentle. I would appreciate some opinions so I can decide what to do.
We have recently hired a cleaner (5 weeks ago) and i am some what dissapointed with what she manages to do within the the two hours we pay her for.
She charges £10 an hour and comes for two hours each week.
We live in a typical 30's three bed house with two reception rooms, a downstairs loo and a conservatory. The house is very tidy and I move all clutter so she can clean and not tidy.
Today she has hoovered the lounge, dining room, hsl and one bedroom. Wiped kitchen surfaces/cleaned sink, mopped floor and cleaned the bathroom. No furniture/kitchen appliances have been moved and the hoovering is a rough job ie. not done round the edges. The bathroom tiles have not been touched although the sink and bath have been cleaned. The conservatory has not been done at all.
She does not enter two of the bedrooms at my request, one is my Son's and way too messy the other is a small box room which we hardly ever use so I don't see the point of cleaning it on a weekly basis. She also doesn't go in the downstairs loo, not sure why?
We have really stretched ourselves to be able to afford this and it is a real luxury so I wanted to feel really pleased with the end result but afer today I am so dissapointed and wonder if my expectations are too high?

I have had exactly the same experience, part of the problem is that if you are quite tidy, you don't have much of a 'wow' factor (not like when my husband's cleaner used to come for three hours and turn his cesspit of a flat into a sparking lovely shiny one). But I also think she could do a little more, so hoover behind things, and perhaps do the tiles/mirror, plus the downstairs loo in that time. I don't know if I am unrealistic too though.

Have you agreed a list of what you want her to do? If so, is she sticking to it?

what about making a list of the things you would like her to do and asking her to work to the list, make sure you put it tactfully though

Thanks for the quick reply.
I feel terrible and don't want to believe that someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes but i was genuinely shocked today.
I really can't see that what has been done could have taken 2 hours.
Can i ask how you resloved it?

great minds, tia

When she was initially hired she told me she would give me a checklist although that has never materialised. I told her to do what she thought as I wouldn't want someone telling me what to do and as it's her job thought that would be OK.

Was thinking that this weekend will spend two hours cleaning and see what i manage. I am rubbish at cleaning but want to know if my expectations are unreaistic or not.

I dont think your expectations are too high but it would depend (no offence intended) on the state of the house.

I wouldn't expect a cleaner to move furniture, I would expect a cleaner to move kitchen bits and bobs (juicers, the old george forman, coffee maker etc) maybe not a microwave. I take it you surely dont mean moving fridge/washer etc?

My own house has suffered recently, I was pretty ill in the summer to the point where my legs weren't working properly and it has taken me until now to get the house in any kind of order/properly clean. It has taken so much longer than I thought it would. Pets make so much mess for starters!

Hecate

If she promised a checklist, then that would seem to be a good place to start - do your 2 hours cleaning and see how you get on, then ask her to bring the checklist - you can then use your cleaning times as a benchmark for whats reasonable on the checklist?

No I don't mean large appliances but ketle/toaster and microwave. She did this the first week but not since (now 4 weeks since then). Also first week she moved sofa and said she would do that again Today but hasn't. No offence taken but honestly the house is really tidy, i even emptied the bins and made the bed before she came Today to save her time. Again she did both these things initially but not since.

Thanks for replies, I will time myself at the w/e and then suggest a checklist. If things don't improve will prob save money and do it myself. Feel lucky that we have been able to try having a cleaner as always liked the idea until now.

You should feel delighted, not hacked off. Don't think your expectations are unreasonable at all. I'd certainly expect bathrooms to be done, surfaces to be wiped/polished, a good hoover and one additional thing a week on a monthly rota.

sweep and mop floors downstairs
hoover house (not pulling anything out)
wipe down kitchen worktops and cupboards
wipe down utility room worktops and cupboards
clean bathrooms, 3, and downstairs loo
tidy childrens' bedrooms
wipe dado rails and bannisters
hang any wet laundry
dust and polish
She also has a bit of a put straight and tidy

She has a list. That takes four hours - 6 bed victorian house over three floors. Certianly don't expect furnitire moved or corners to be immaculate. I know I couldn't do all that in four hours.

I wouldn't expect a cleaner to move a microwave, move a sofa or make a bed tbh, and i'm not sure why she said she would do those things because they take time that could be used elsewhere. Does your sofa really need to be moved every week? (mine doesn't, I used to do it but it didn't need it).

Think it may be a lack of communication somewhere.

I live in a 3 bed, 1 bathroom and with 2 reception rooms. My cleaner cleans everything spotlessly in 2.5 hours including needing to sweep and mop 5 of the floors, windows, cleans kitchen and bathroom very well - tiles/moves kitchen things etc. She even moves beds/sofas to do under those. I do think she's superwoman

I do some cleaning work inbetween my fulltime job for extra cash, i've done this for years. I was also trained by a cleaning company, although tbh that doesn't say alot!!!

I would expect top dusting to be done, skirting boards to be cleaned with a long fluffy duster, all rooms hoovered and dusted, but wouldn't move the sofa each week, also wouldn't use hoover attachments for corners/edges each week. I would expect appliances (counter top ones) to be moved in kitchen when cleaning, i also wouldn't expect cupboard fronts to be cleaned each week maybe every other. I would expect each room to be cleaned including bathroom/kitchen tiles and all floors hoovered and mopped.

Things like windows/moving of furniture should be classed as an extra job and something missed to enable her to do this or you pay her an extra hour or so.

It takes a while to get into a routine with a cleaner but communication is the key!

well - I clean for 2 hours a fortnight in an erm lived in house

I do the following -

wash any dishes if there are some (not expected of me)
Clean and take apart cooker top (not oven)
Clean all kitchen sides, moving toaster etc
Mop floor, clean kitchen window

Clean windows in dining/living through room
vac and polish in said rooms and usually move sofas
general quick tidy - more a neatening up.

vac and polish hall
vac stairs
full bathroom clean

polish/wipe main bedroom/quick vac - maybe more depending on tidyness!! and maybe childrens rooms, depending.

But it is a well lived in house, and I only go once a fortnight - so technically I have more to clean!!!

We hired my mother to clean for us , and she works flat out when I'm at home working and does the following , for the same pay in two hours -

Vacuums hall, lounge, kitchen, utility room , three bedrooms and two bathrooms . Not moving furniture or using attachments .

Mops hall , lounge, kitchen, utility room .

Cleans one bathroom

Polishes lounge and our bedroom

Cleans sofa

Cleans kitchen and utility room surfaces

Re makes our bed ! My attempt must not be good enough .

Empties bin

Combs dog

And then extra odd jobs like windows , wipes down bin , removes fur from blinds , dishwasher, etc if spare time .

She also had a cuppa and break for ten minutes . Made her redundant last week though as started maternity leave .

We live in 3 bed with front room, kitchen, dining room, conservatory and downstairs loo.
I felt disappointed too until I stopped them for the summer. I thought they were doing just a general dust and vac, cleaning bathroom, kitchen and toilets.It looks ok when I get in from work but never spotless.
However for 6 weeks in the summer they didn't come and the window sills, windows, kitchen tiles, banister etc were in need of cleaning badly. They keep on top of all of these things, something I don't do and things that go unnoticed until they arn't cleaned for ages.

Antarctic?

I started cleaning 6 months ago, after deciding to work at something I loved :)

In 2 hours I can clean a tidy 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2 reception room house.

The tidier the house the more it gets cleaned

Very odd not to clean a toilet

I would leave a note with specifics like the other toilet, and other things.

Or tbh find a better cleaner!

I have been recommended by all my clients as I work bloody hard and have great pride in what I do and would hate a client not to be happy. But it is a balance between their expectation, 99% are very grateful & don't take the piss.

But I would much prefer a Clint to tell me they are not happy. On occasion I have missed something as I have not seen it from the same angle as someone who lives in the house. A classic being when people are sat not he loo they see the bathroom in a totally different way than I do when cleaning! But I try and see things from all angles, but when on a busy job you just go go go.

thecleaninglady can you make a decent living from it? I only ask as I pay for a company to clean and they send 2 women for an hour. I love cleaning but don't get round to it as have busy FT job. Would love to give up work eventually and do this.