To expect my cleaner to clean under the table, the sink, not leave smears on the shower door, wipe window sills and skirting?

[ChickenLickenSticken]

Am I?

I feel funny about pointing stuff out to her, plus her english isnt very good so I thibk it will be awkward/painful getting her to understand... Do I just get a new cleaner?

dirtyface I need a Cleaner asap
Where are you based? :)

breadnamebread i was going to say the ''piece of string'' saying

£16 for 2 hours hard cleaning seems a bit mean to me. Is this through an agency?

2 hours for a house is not enough. I pay for 3 hours and would not expect all you ask for every week. I also pay £12 an hour.

When I had a cleaner things like under the table, cleaning the sink etc were normal jobs. She came twice a week for 2 hours one day and 1 hour the other day, she did the proper clean on the Monday and a whizz around with the hoover and changing the sheets the other day (I had severe PGP/SPD and was in a wheelchair for 6 months). Then once a month she came for 4 hours and did things like windows, skirtings, hoovering the light fittings etc.

Perhaps you could do that where she come for an extra 2 hours one week a month and does those jobs that she cant fit into the 2 hours. It does seem a lot to expect her to do in that time. Our house is a small 3 bed terrace btw.

I paid £8 per hour too, in the north/east midlands.

4 bedrooms, but she only does 2.
1 bathroom
1 cloakroom
1 playroom
1 kitchen
1 lounge-diner

I don't think two hours is enough for a house that size. I have a largish three bedroom house and my cleaner does four hours.

Sorry just seen she only does two bedrooms but still, bedrooms are the easy bit.

Viakal for glass shower panels.

2 hours is pushing it for that sized house.

I have
3 bedrooms, she only did 2
1 bathroom
1 kitchen
1 lounge/diner
1 conservatory that only need a quick going over with the mop

And as I say, she came 3 hours a week including changing the beds.

I suggest agreeing a list of jobs with her and which are essential every week, which are if she has time and which are worth an extra monthly visit/longer hours

To the people saying op isn't paying much, she has said the cleaner came up with the rate so is obviously ok with it

Re the table, I mean the floor. So there's a gap between the table and the wall where dd's high chair goes. We have an oilcloth mat thing underneath the high chair which sits flat on the floor. From what I can make out she doesn't move the mat or the table when she hoovers/mops.

The fact that she doesn't do a FULL 2 hours makes me think she could give the skirting boards a quick wipe as she's walking past.

I know £8ph isn't much but it was her suggested rate - and she brings her 3yo most weeks, I make them both a drink, have a chat then leave them to it (cleaner cleans, 3yo plays with dd's things in the playroom, I shut my office door and stay in there). I don't think I'm being a meanie as such but maybe I need to do a list. Or maybe I take the easy option and get another cleaner - one has been recommended - £10ph who is English (and apparently fab). Current cleaner is my first ever cleaner so I think I'd have more of a clue as to what to ask going forward....

Well I wouldnt move the table either! I would just mop/hoover under it. Perhaps she thinks the mat is part of the flooring, and if you havent told her that it needs moving then YABU.

If you work from home and know that she isnt working for the full time and havent said anything then she probably thinks you are ok with it as long as all of the work (that she thinks needs doing) is done. That is a seperate issue tbh. It seems that when she is there her work is sub par, but that could easily be dealt with by giving her a list and clear written instructions about your expected standards.

The fact that she isnt there for the full 2 hours would mean a word in her ear about time keeping and then let her go if it doesnt improve.

I get the feeling that you have assumed she knows everything she should be doing without being told and that you dont actually want to say anything to her! You are hardly being fair on her by complaining about her standard of work to everyone except her!

She doesn't sound good, full stop.
Yes 2 hours is not a lit for the rooms that she's expected to clean but there's no excuse for not cleaning under the table or not knowing how to get the shower cubicle clean.
I think you're making the same mistake I always make with cleaners: I treat them so well that I feel I can't complain about anything and so after a while I just fire them. Awful I know

We paid our cleaner £25 a week while DD was tiny then we stopped due to finances.

Last month stuff got a bit hectic so I didn't do any major housework for about two weeks. The day before I cleaned it was still cleaner than when the cleaner finished. Never again.

In two hours I can clean a two or three bedroom, two bath, house unless they're very messy or have lots of hairy pets.

This includes:
Wiping down the kitchen, including the cooker top and the sink. Basically all exterior surfaces.

Clean both bathrooms thoroughly, including the grotty corners of the showers.

Dust the whole house, unless there's a lot of stuff that needs moving. Window sills, shelves, furniture, etc.

Hoover the whole house, and wipe a fair number of skirting boards (I sort of rotate them so they all get done once a month.)

Mop hard floors.

I can also clean some windows if needed, or maybe some other extra thing like tgat

The key is to wear a toolbelt/apron that has all the tools I need, and to use the right chemicals and tools for every job. Also to follow a clockwise, top-to-bottom system that cuts down on the amount of unnecessary movement.

Katy, can I hire you?

How much do you charge Katy?!

I'm surprised when I hear how long some cleaners take. I quoted for a job, and the lady told me her previous cleaner charged £9 an hour for three hours. I charge £30 and am done in less than two hours. 90 minutes, maybe? The lady says she's happy with the cleaning, so I guess I'm doing a good job. I avoid hourly charges because I don't want them to look at their watch and think about how much it costs in time. I also have slow days where I'm taking longer. They just pay for the results.

Some houses take longer than I'd estimated, especially in the beginning. But I don't mind. I know that over the week, I average my goal of £15 an hour.

I have two other clients where I'm the same total price as a "cheaper" previous cleaner, and one where I am slightly cheaper (four hours for £50 vs me at £45 and I am taking 2.5 hours).

But I do have to be vigilant and make sure that I don't cut corners. It's hard to avoid complacency over time.

My minimum is £30.I have one house that takes me one hour to clean! I am always looking for something extra to do there. Last week I cleaned the fridge inside and the week before I scrubbed these pipes running beneath the skirting boards with a brush. Just because if I only do the basics it's only one hour and that seems a bit crazy.

I don't have any houses that take more than three hours, unless it's a one-off deep clean. Those are all day. I would get really bored cleaning in one house for so long every week.

I also won't clean more frequently than once a week. I would get bored and, since my max is 12 regular cleans a week (three a day, leaving Mondays for one offs), I don't want one client to have that much of my schedule/income.

But, I don't do ironing or tidying and I don't attract the clients who want more than once a week.

Katy: My house is not that big and it takes 4-5 hours, you must just be efficient. Do you gain speed as you come to "know" a house?

My house is extremely vertical - 5 small floors. I think this makes it harder.

That would definitely slow me down! How big is the house, how many bathrooms, and how many people and pets live there?

I do gain speed. Partly from knowing the house and partly because some things you do once and then they're easy to keep topped up. Like cleaning the shower door tracks out or removing soap scum build up.

So my cleaner is definitely taking the piss then. She used to so the house in 2 1/2 hours. Recently she's been taking over 3 hours and she's not doing a better job if anything she's getting worse.
I don't know how to tell her?