To wonder about cleaners?

[Pinkfluffyhotwaterbottle]

Wondering if anyone can explain this to me. Loads of times on here I see people suggesting others get a cleaner.

I'm just wondering what they do and how it works out for people in reality.

I've got two dc and it's an uphill treadmill to keep my house clean and tidy. If I clean the bathroom it's dirty again within 24 hours with4 if us using it.

If I clean the floors or hoover it's dust and covered in crumbs pretty quickly, especially with the kids eating at the table.

Laundry, dishwasher, cleaning up kitchen, beds made, sweeping up, shopping, general tidying and picking up toys well these are all things I struggle to fit into my day to keep the house how I'd like it.

So I'm thinking is there really any point in a cleaner when surely it only lasts for a day?

It does last as you have the perception of things being cleaner under the crumbs for a few days. And it gives you one day a week where you feel in control and happy that things are nice. Then you also have a countdown to the next time it will be lovely and clean without having to carry the burden yourself.

I have just started with a cleaner. She comes every two weeks to do the 'big jobs' deep clean the bathrooms and kitchens and hoover throughout.

I then can do the 'maintenance' through out the week as needed.

What helped though was that my Landlord paid for a full house deep clean before they redecorated.

If you were to get a cleaner i would pay for a deep clean first, and as is often said on Mn - De-clutter, De-Clutter De-Clutter

A cleaner cleans. She or he does not tidy, and yes it is normal to tidy or maintain in between time. The things you mention "Laundry, dishwasher, cleaning up kitchen, beds made, sweeping up, shopping, general tidying" are not normally what a cleaner does. It's just normal home maintenance.

A cleaner cleans, she/he dusts, hoovers, mops, changes beds, cleans windows, cleans bathrooms, that sort of thing, she/he doesn't do your laundry, make your beds, do your shopping or generally tidy up,

Mine is usually messy again a few days later. But the feeling of coming home on a Friday to a clean tidy house and knowing I don't have to spend my precious weekends catching up is enough to make it worth every penny.

Plus sometimes they can just deep clean one room.

I’m a cleaner. Quite often people will have me do a “normal” clean (so proper clean of bathrooms, kitchen, dusting, hoovering mopping etc) and then an extra hour for a deep clean of one room or zone like the bathroom or kitchen or windows etc. It’s a different zone/room each week so the whole house is getting a deep clean on a 6-8 week rotation. Others will have me come weekly for normal clean and then once a quarter or every six months they’ll book me for a full day (or two) to do a full house deep clean. Most people start off with a deep clean to get them started/motivated. It really works!

The things you mention "Laundry, dishwasher, cleaning up kitchen, beds made, sweeping up, shopping, general tidying" are not normally what a cleaner does.

I do all those (apart from shopping) if requested. I do laundry, iron, strip beds and put them in machine, hang them out, make up fresh beds, I re-organise airing cupboards, storage etc. I draw the line at moving anything heavy because my back isn’t worth it but i’ll Do pretty much anything asked of me in the time I’m there.

People suggest a cleaner willy nilly when what they really mean is a tidier upperer.

I'm with you, OP. I stopped having a cleaner because I needed clean windows/floors/under the sofa...when 4 minute after she left my youngest managed to lick the inside of every single downstairs window. 😶

God I'd love a cleaner, I keep on top of the day to day tidying up fine (tidy toys, wash up, laundry etc) but properly cleaning the kitchen or bathroom is hard to do with a toddler about and it feels like a bit of a 'waste' doing it at the weekend when we could do something like go swimming/park etc.

Yep same here. I Hoover 3/4 times a day so would be pointless

Mine doesn’t tidy or clear things away (and I wouldn’t expect her to) but she does change the sheets and stick the old ones in the laundry basket.

I have never asked her to do this though. She did it of her own accord from the start and asking around, I don’t think that is very unusual.

I call it “putting the house back together”! Twice a day, after breakfast and school run and at bed time. The same dishes, wiping the same surfaces, hoovering the same crumbs. It is relentless. After I have done all of this, I have no time to deep clean anything and then mopping the floors feels exhausting. I guess a cleaner picks up this slack and keeps it clean rather than tidy.

We only recently got a cleaner about 3 months ago. Honestly, it's amazing. She's a professional. In 3 hours, she could do more than I could do in 2 full days while wrangling children, working, cooking, etc. at the same time. I don't know what she does, but it's so much more efficient than what I would do. It doesn't stay perfectly spotless for 2 weeks (she comes every 2 weeks), but the difference is still obvious 2 weeks later than if I'd done it myself. She notices things I wouldn't notice to clean or things I always say I need to clean but forget or run out of time to, etc. So it's like stupid things, like she'll pick up the stuff I have sitting on a window sill and clean around it. Or she cleans the microwave (I'll admit, I probably wouldn't otherwise do that every two weeks). I probably wouldn't, for instance, move all that stuff off the window sill and clean under it every 2 weeks. But because she does, we now get so much less dust and grime building up everywhere. The floors don't stay perfectly clean but they are still cleaner for longer than when I do it myself because I never do it as well or as thoroughly. So yes, the difference is amazing. It's best money I've ever spent and I can't believe I put it off as long as I did.

They do all the things you have listed.

I don’t.

Of course it doesn’t stay immaculate for 7 days but it’s better than me doing it. My DH and I both work long hours so how could we anyway?

About to have first child and will probs have cleaner twice a week then.

I’m trying to get through my short time on this planet with a minimum amount of time scrubbing floors!

I think the difference for me maybe is that I don't really need someone to tidy up. I'm actually pretty tidy (and having a cleaner is good motivation to have a good tidy up when I know she's coming). Mine doesn't change the bins or sheets or towels or any of that, which I know some do. She literally just cleans, which is what I struggle to do. She hoovers the house, scrubs the floors and skirting boards, cleans bathrooms, scrubs behind the toilets, wipes down windows and doors, and whatever gross thing splattered on the tiles in the kitchen that I've been meaning to scrub off but got distracted. I can do the basic day to day stuff and the tidying. It's the deep cleaning I don't have the time for.

Yes, I always think this too. I think that a cleaner works best in a household that's empty most of the time or one where all the residents tidy up after themselves.
I feel it wouldn't work for my house unless I had someone in everyday, the kitchen, hall and front room floor needs vacuuming at least once a day, toilets need cleaning a couple of times a day, there us almost always something that needs tidying.
Our friends work opposite shifts, don't eat at home on work days and the children are only in the house awake for a couple of hours a day on work days. They have a cleaner on Monday and Friday and do next to no cleaning, tidying.

There’s an element of truth in what you say but then you can reduce the weekly tasks and as children get older the problem lessens.

We have cleaners twice a week now. They do all bathrooms that have been used. They hoover everywhere. They clean inside windows. They mop all non carpeted floors. They dust and polish tables and silverware. They restock bathrooms. They empty bins. In fact, they’ll do anything I ask within reason. They’re fantastic.

Our cleaner comes Mon, Wed and Fri for 9-1. I don't expect her to tidy up if deal with dishes, so I make sure the place is tidy before she comes - e.g. no clothes / underwear left on the floor or stuff on surfaces she needs to clean. She does the bathrooms, and mops or hoovers the whole house. I go out and leave her to it mostly, though sometimes I tidy the wardrobes and kids rooms while she's there. What it means is that when I go home later, the house is ready for the weekend. It's good psychologically if you feel on top if things at set times in the week, even though the DC will make a mess when they get in from school. I do very little actual cleaning, but do change the beds. I iron a bit, bit take things like DH shirts to the steam press (50p per shirt)! or dry cleaners. All this saves so much time.

I honestly don't get how people need to vacuum more than once a day week. Unless you have dogs that shed loads of hair, how does it get dirty within 24 hours? We take shoes off as soon as we walk in the house and only eat at the table, so what is there to vacuum up?

We're also a family of 4 and the bathroom does not need cleaning every day. Again, unless you all work down a mine, how can it possibly get so dirty in one day?

I'm a self employed cleaner and when I start at a new house I will do a deep clean (if required) and then it means that weekly cleans keep everything nice.
Even the messiest family can't get a home to the state it was before the deep clean.
The best way to keep shower screens clear after your cleaner has been for the week,is to wipe down any water with a squeegee and then dry with micro cloths.
Keeps everything free of water stains for longer.
Nothing beats having a clean home to come to

Since September both of my dc have had 2, three hour sessions in pre school so I can act like my own cleaner! One day I strip beds, sort all of the laundry (I put a load on every day but only sort in out once a week! )and iron. The other day I dust all of the bedrooms, wipe down all of the paint work, hoover the house, clean the bathroom, clean the kitchen and living room and mop the floors. It takes me about 3 hours . Obviously it does need 'topping up' and maintaining during the rest of the week but one big clean is really helpful. I'd love a cleaner to do it for me!

I have a cleaner. She comes once a week for three hours. She cleans the kitchen top to bottom, mops floors, hoovers upstairs, cleans the bathrooms, and whatever else she can squeeze in during her time.

We as a family still get the kids to put things away and tidy up, wipe kitchen surfaces daily, laundry, making beds, etc. But because someone's doing a proper clean every week it means I just have to keep things ticking over.

I loathe cleaning. It's soul destroying and the most tedious thing ever. The money I pay someone else to do it is the best money I spend all week.

I'm a cleaner and I'd love to have one! I'd quite like walking in from work on a Friday and seeing my floors are washed, carpets are hoovered, bathroom is clean. I really hate the summer holidays because there is nothing worse than spending your week leaving other peoples houses lovely and clean then walking into your own that looks like I've been burgled.