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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to find a 20% increase in cleaner's fees too much? How much do you pay?

91 replies

applesauce1 · 05/03/2018 17:00

My husband and I are average earners (I'm a non-SLT teacher). We've had a cleaner for about 3 years after I found I couldn't juggle all of the housework with my teaching work, and my husband doesn't get home from work until really late and does what he has time for. He plays sport every weekend and after a day of school work at the weekend, I'd actually like to do some things for myself!

Anyway, our first cleaner was £9/hour. Our new cleaner has been £10/hour. She's asked us to up the rates to £12/hour. I'm desperate to keep her, but we just can't afford the 20% increase when we scale it up to the yearly cost.

What do you pay for your cleaner's hourly rates outside of London? Am I being unreasonable to not stump up an extra £4 a week for someone who makes my life so much better?

I do nursery paintings as a hobby, and did realise that I am selling my paintings for less per hour than I pay the cleaner currently which really highlighted how much the increase meant for us...

OP posts:
whereiscaroline · 05/03/2018 17:06

Ours was £11ph, East Mids...

Ted27 · 05/03/2018 17:06

Maybe you are selling your paintings too cheaply ?

Havingahorridtime · 05/03/2018 17:08

Is this the first increase in 3 years?

Enni2S · 05/03/2018 17:08

£8.50 for an independent, £10 for an agency

Raven88 · 05/03/2018 17:09

I don’t have a cleaner but I think 10ph is pretty good. You could also check with other agencies there hourly rate.

feathermucker · 05/03/2018 17:11

It's £4 a week and you've said she makes your life a lot easier. I'm sure you can find an extra £4 a week!

Original poster
applesauce1 · 05/03/2018 17:11

For this cleaner, it's the first increase in a year. If it went up by 20% each year, I'd give up teaching and become a cleaner myself! I actually quite enjoy cleaning; it's a time issue rather than reluctance.

Yes, I probably am selling them too cheaply.

OP posts:
extinctspecies · 05/03/2018 17:12

I pay mine £10 an hour (by bank transfer, it's all above board).

BUT she does charge for holidays - so taking that into account her hourly rate is a bit higher.

If you can't afford the increase OP, could you suggests she reduces her hours slightly so you end up paying the same but she still gets a higher hourly rate.

In my opinion good cleaners are worth their weight in gold - so if you like her & she does a good job, I'd try & find a compromise.

saoirsesoige · 05/03/2018 17:12

I do nursery paintings as a hobby, and did realise that I am selling my paintings for less per hour than I pay the cleaner

That sounds about right. Why would you think your hobby would net you more than her job?

ScottishInSwitzerland · 05/03/2018 17:13

I used to pay £10 per hour seven years ago. I think £12 per hour sounds ok. Would she meet you in the middle at £11 if you really can’t afford the full £12?

Blankscreen · 05/03/2018 17:14

If you can't afford m extra £4 a week then you can't really afford a cleaner in the first place.

Original poster
applesauce1 · 05/03/2018 17:16

@saoirsesoige

I'm not saying that I should be paying myself more than my cleaner.
I meant that if I'm paying the cleaner more than I'm making from the paintings, it doesn't make economical sense for me to be using my time keeping up with painting orders, and should do our own cleaning instead. Does that make sense?
I was trying to make extra money with the paintings, but if I did our own cleaning, I'd be making us more money by just doing the cleaning myself.

OP posts:
Guardsman18 · 05/03/2018 17:16

I pay £12 per hour and I'm in Wales. Worth every penny!

ssd · 05/03/2018 17:17

you grudge her this money, dont you?....

I'd give up teaching and become a cleaner myself! I actually quite enjoy cleaning

I do nursery paintings as a hobby, and did realise that I am selling my paintings for less per hour than I pay the cleaner currently

good for her, sticking up for herself

ssd · 05/03/2018 17:19

I was trying to make extra money with the paintings, but if I did our own cleaning, I'd be making us more money by just doing the cleaning myself

do it your bloody self then and let her clean for someone who will pay her what she's worth

billysboy · 05/03/2018 17:22

Pay my cleaner 12.50 hour worth every penny and she has a stack of clients, I am near Amersham

Original poster
applesauce1 · 05/03/2018 17:22

The point of the thread was to find out what is an average rate that cleaners charge.
I'm trying to balance our finances, hence why I'm trying to pick up extra money by doing painting. I think PP was right in saying that if the extra £4 a week is too much, then we can't afford her.
I apologise if anything I've said has been offensive. It wasn't meant in that way at all.

OP posts:
slookiroo · 05/03/2018 17:24

In the North East and £12/hr is about right. Actually I think it's pretty cheap. Could you look at changing to fortnightly rather than weekly or change the arrangement in another way?

mickeysminnie · 05/03/2018 17:26

As a previous poster said, ask her to meet you in the middle.
Then sell your paintings for more so that you can afford the next increase the following year!

Original poster
applesauce1 · 05/03/2018 17:27

@ssd I absolutely adore our cleaner and appreciate everything she does. But having a cleaner for us is a luxury because we had to make sacrifices to afford her in the first place. You're right. She is worth every penny, but we just can't afford to pay her what she's worth. I'm sorry if I've upset you in the way I've worded my posts.

OP posts:
Original poster
applesauce1 · 05/03/2018 17:29

@ssd I've written that badly again! I meant, having read PPs, I can wholeheartedly say that she's worth the same and more as the national going rate, and that I'm sad that we can't afford that price difference. God I'm mucking up this post...

OP posts:
FloydOnThePull · 05/03/2018 17:33

£10 an hour and we're also in the East Mids. She is very unreliable and doesn't do the time we pay her for but I think what she does is enough for £20. If yours is a good cleaner then I think £12 is a good deal and can I have her number?

Guardsman18 · 05/03/2018 17:34

I don't think you are apple. I get where you're coming from.

For me, she is worth every penny because I would rather be doing anything else than clean and she does it so much better and quicker than I ever could.

If I had a painting hobby, I would much rather do that than clean a house and you can paint in a clean house. Win win!

Lovestonap · 05/03/2018 17:36

I think £12 per hour is too much (charges vary between 8-10 per hour in South West Round here). It's unskilled manual labour and if we only pay our carers £8-9 pounds an hour why should cleaning net more?

Having said that if there are people willing to pay that then it makes sense for cleaners to charge that, but I don't think you're being U to query the increase and figure out if you're getting value for money.

Also will depend on how much you hate cleaning as to how much of an improvement a cleaner will make to your life and how you value it.

Also, to the pp who said 'if you can't afford £4 extra a week you can't afford it at all', that's very weird budgeting logic.....

JackieReacher · 05/03/2018 17:39

What you and your husband earn and what you sell the products of your hobby for are irrelevant.
£12 is going rate; you might find a pound cheaper or you might pay£18 through an agency. She's not unreasonable and she can certainly get the rate she's asked for from someone else.
You need to work out if you can afford her, and YABU to expect her to work for less than she can earn elsewhere so that your husband can play sport instead of clean