What's your opinion ?

[LyndsayLoLoSWLondon]

Hi
I currently employ a cleaner for 25 hours a week 5 hours on a Monday- Friday. (especially before and after the weekend!). The trouble is I don't know if I am being unrealistic about what I'm expecting her to do and not giving her enough hours or if she just isn't as good as my last amazing cleaner who sadly retired 4 months ago after working for me for 12 years prior to me having kids (just cleaning my apartment) and the last 10 years with an ever expanding family! So here's the jobs I ask. I pay £12 p/hr so £300 a week.

1. Change my bed and all 4 kids beds once a week on a Friday and nanny's bed. All sheets are sent to the dry cleaners to be washed and pressed every week so all she needs to do is strip he beds and bag up and leave in the utility. All clean sheets are left in airing cupboards. Sometimes there's the guest bedroom to change also. I don't think this is difficult I just don't have the time to do It myself.

1. Clean kitchen 'generally' Hoover and mop tiles, clean skirting boards, wipe over splash backs clean gas hob. Wipe over ovens and dust over the AGA, clean microwave. Empty the dishwasher if finished. Empty bin, Clean the dining table. Clean bi fold doors. I ask all this to be done on a Friday and then again on the Monday because everything marks easily. Clean out fridge empty out of date things and clean with anti bac spray.

1. Clean and dust the best lounge - not much mess in there.

1. Clean and dust the main lounge and Hoover.

1. Dust and Hoover the kids rooms.

1. Dust and Hoover my bedroom and dust and Hoover my office.

1. Clean 4 bathrooms and 3 separate loos.

1. Clean guest bedroom if it's been used and their bathroom.

1. Hoover all stairs and dust banisters.

10. Hoover sofas.

Note: there is never Outside doors or windows to clean. Never and deep thorough clean of ovens as I have someone in every 3 months to clean the ovens professionally.
There is no ironing or washing to put on or hang out, I have someone collect and drop of ironing and nanny puts it away.

What do you think ?

Thanks in advance.

As everyone else have said she is taking the piss.
Mine comes 14hrs a week spread on 4 days and she does the same as yours plus ironing.

Because you are never there (you are at work) she can fibs you. You trusted her because thats the relationship you had with the previous one.

I d get rid. Now.

For your next one, starts at £10-11 and then up after a few months/year. I did that with mine and i am in SW London too.
Mine has been with me for 3 years now. I love her.

That's the thing that puts me off agency cleaners...cleaners work hard (well all but my one hey!) they don't deserve to be paid pittance in my opinion. I'd prefer to find someone independently

I pay my agency £10/h and always have the same cleaner. It will be very difficult for me to go back to hiring cleaners directly. The agencies train them and if you have complaints, they can send you a new worker until you find the right one. My agency just sent me a replacement cleaner today who I found better than the one I normally have. I asked if I could have her regularly instead and the agreed. Win-win.

I think your cleaner is taking the mickey... And you'd be doing your older dcs a favour by making sure they learn how to do a few basic tasks. Running the Hoover around, tidying, perhaps sorting a load of laundry out. They at going to need to know how to do these things when they leave home, after all, even if that is still a long way off

dirtyharriet are you in London?

Need to prep myself for the chat with her tomorrow...might ask the nanny if she wants to earn some extra money in the meantime by doing a bit of cleaning, until I find someone else...

Yes SW London

I think your cleaner is seeing herself as more of a housekeeper than a cleaner in regards that she does x number of hours a week and she has that time to complete the list. The fact that she isn't completing the list makes me think she may be doing other things she sees as necessary instead of cleaning ie tidying, general organisation etc.

I think you need a new cleaner. I'm familiar with the size of house you talk about and about 15 hours is needed. You can't compare to a family of 4 living in a semi.

I also think your children are old enough to do some chores.

My nanny isn't particularly good at cleaning / tidying the kids areas but she is a fantastic nanny who the kids adore...and she's been a bit of a rock for me when I was going through a divorce...I don't want to be critical about minor things if you see what I mean.

Yes I have never thought at all I could expect my house to be cleaned in 4 hours or anything like that...and I do have a lot of quite expensive collectables around and large mirrors and expensive wood which I know takes extra time and attention. I just basically want to cut out 10 hours!

I am in North London, yes. I know I have a very good deal. It is a small agency and the owner is my friend. But I also know other agencies who charge this little. You just have to look around. Expand your search.

Just ask a few neighbours for recommendations, I'm sure they have cleaners who would be delighted to get 15 hours a week regular work in one location.

Call an agency for an emergency cover until you find someone?

dirtyharriet oh, the stories I could tell from trying out agencies. What a mess.

I have a great cleaner now and I and my neighbours are holding on to her for dear life!

That's plenty time to do all those things. Does she have some physical issues(may be gets tired quickly or can't bend over a lot or something)? But definitely talk to her about it.

Firstly your children need to learn to pick up after themselves. I don't think it's fair to expect a cleaner to have to pick up all their stuff and tidy up before cleaning.

I know you need the staff to keep your house going but your children are in danger of becoming quite entitled and thinking 'oh the cleaner will sort that' and not actually taking any responsibility for themselves.

One of my biggest gripes at home is having to move other peoples stuff dps paperwork just to clean a table. It doubles the time to do it.

I do think you need to advertise for a new cleaner or as someone else suggested, a housekeeper who could work their hours as it suits them Monday to Friday but be able to do your online shop, laundry, cleaning etc. You may find that the money saved from outsourcing laundry could be used to fund another person at home who will deal with everything.

There must be loads of people happy to work 9-2 Monday to Friday! It's pretty much dream hours and you seem like a great employer who pays well so get an advert out and organise a day of interviews.

Maybe email all candidates a list of chores to be done each day/week and ask them to bring a sort of timetable of what they would do each day and how they would fit it all in.

Thanks, BestBefore.

OP one final thing--if you're planning to dismiss your cleaner tomorrow, please don't. Based on what you said it seems very important for you to make an unhurried decision about your next cleaner. You need time to decide what you want and find someone suitable for the job. Or you risk making another decision that doesn't work out.

If you prefer to cut back immediately, use your "chat" tomorrow as an opportunity to change her hours to 10-15 per week. Eliminate the children's rooms from her list of duties, for a start, and let them live in relative squalor for a while.

Have the nanny manage the fridge and food waste (as I assume she does meals for the children as part of her duties).

Seriously, you should keep cleaner on until you can replace her. You'll be miserable otherwise.

You had your previous cleaner for 22 years wow

How old are DC can they do rooms maybe?

You could get other companies to price it up, giving them the list of your requirements and see what they come up with.

I find this thread fascinating. And I don't mean this in a bitchy or judgy way. But it is like a window into a world so far removed from my own it is just fascinating. :o

25 hours a week is heaps of time, even for a large house. But I agree with whoever suggested the nanny/housekeeper combo and then a seperate cleaner for just a few hours.

How much is expected of your nanny in terms of ferrying children around?

I can understand why you are a bit of a pushover at home though. It is your down time, you shouldn't be having to be the boss there too. But sadly it looks like you are going to have to get tough.

You have one less child and one less bedroom than me and my cleaner gets paid £50 a week for 3 hours!

Just seen what you have said about the nanny, otherwise I would have suggested a mother's help type role so there would be some cleaning/tidying as well as childcare.

My SIL's cleaner does all their sheets for them, ironing and changes the bed.

If you were determined to have a spick and span house then 5 hours Monday and Friday is more than enough. Stop sending your sheets to the dry cleaner's you crazy woman!

Sounds to me like she is watching Netflix for 3 hours a day :)

I first read through the list and thought it sounds a lot but in reality it really isn't!

I spent 6/8 hours this weekend doing a good clean - I do go hell for leather and get a good work out mind you.

But... I live in a 3 bed, 3 bath townhouse all the bathrooms have been used this week and my Sewing room/office was a tip

In brief I tidied up everything, changed, washed, ironed and put fresh sheets on two beds. I steam cleaned three bathrooms, and the downstairs loo. Hoovered everywhere and dusted/wiped down skirting boards/banisters polished, scrubbed tiles (I'm very particularly and use a toothbrush on my shower drains and sink plugholes) steam cleaned the bathrooms, vax-ed my carpets, hoovered sofas, blinds and anything else in range :) cleaned up cat boxes and their room (mucky pups) and deep cleaned my kitchen, sorted out cupboards, cleaned my fridge (oven was not too bad so just gave it a spritz) and loads of other stuff to make it smell lovely and clean :)

Steam cleaned my wooden floors and tiles in kitchen/bathroom

The cleaner is definetly watching Netflix...

If you ever watch that C4 programme obsessive cleaners your house should like the show homes on there as they spend about 25-30 hours a week cleaning!

I'm a bit surprised that keeping the children's' areas tidy isn't part of your nanny's responsibility to be honest - it always was with ours (and even more so once the DC are all school aged). That would solve a lot of your problems in terms of access for the cleaner to actually clean. Likewise the fridge as she'll be using the items in it more frequently than you will?

Like a poster upthread mentioned, if you can bear it I would look at maybe doing three 5hr days instead of 5x 3hrs - that way your cleaner can get properly stuck in to the things that need doing, and even possibly do some loads of laundry etc in that time as they'll be there long enough to turn it around.

But mainly I think your current cleaner is taking the piss. It's not like they're coming once every two weeks and the house is having a lot of time to properly deteriorate - if they're wiping around the bathrooms every day then it shouldn't take as long as it does if they're being done sporadically, ditto the kitchen or dusting.