Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to wonder why everyone has cleaners these days!

648 replies

Storm4star · 20/04/2018 21:49

Ok, please don’t take offence, I say this somewhat in jest. But my goodness how many of you have cleaners?? I have been utterly ripping the pee out of a male colleague at work because he and his wife have a cleaner but I hadn’t realised how common it’s become until I joined MN!

I personally struggle to justify spending my hard earned cash on things I could do myself (also do most of my own decorating and DIY). But have I missed something? Is a cleaner now the new must have?

OP posts:
SoyDora · 22/04/2018 08:22

I think the only thing i negatively judge is shopping as a leisure activity

But why would you judge that negatively? I assume they’re paying for the items, not stealing them?
It’s not for me (I bloody hate shopping) but if they enjoy it why the hell would you judge them for it?

FleurDelacoeur · 22/04/2018 08:53

I think as well people are getting things out of perspective regarding the cost with comments about having a cleaner meaning you're "rich" or "posh".

We pay our cleaner £30 a week. We would pay that for a takeaway for the five of us. Or having a night out locally. Or having brows / nails / waxes done. Or buying new clothes each week. People who are pouring scorn on us lazy people having cleaners probably spend on some of the above.

missymarmite · 22/04/2018 10:54

I don't know anyone who employs a cleaner. Must be the social group you have. All the working families I know are struggling to make ends meet. But, if I had the money to spare, I would definitely pay for a cleaner.

PookieDo · 22/04/2018 11:32

I know lots of people with cleaners IRL. My neighbour has one and her house is smaller than mine, no kids but they both commute full time. I am jealous of her slightly Blush
I can’t afford a cleaner but I would have one if I could.

I decided long ago I hated living in a horrible gross house as a child so my kids would live in relative tidiness and cleanliness. We all do it between us, and they get pocket money. I think it is important for them to learn life skills and also the element of working as a team - for a nice end result is good for us. I still hate cleaning though 😂. I try not to let it degenerate too far into a pit of hell because the it just takes so much effort to get it back to normal! I clean and tidy most days but don’t spend hours on it. Then at weekends I will spend one morning doing all the major laundry and maybe the bathrooms.

ethelfleda · 22/04/2018 11:51

I don't know anyone who has a cleaner but we will be hiring one when I go back to work full time after mat leave. I don't want to spend what precious little time I have with my family cleaning.
I also get shopping delivered. So there.

DanglyEarOrnaments · 22/04/2018 12:19

sun those are all basic legal obligations that ALL cleaning business owners must ensure in order to trade legally unless of coursethey use self employed contractors in which case they are morally and ethically obliged to pay around 25% above the min wage to adequately compensate for employment benefits.

We are on the panel of a trade association for domestic cleaning start ups and all of our members are acting responsibly and meeting their obligations as they should - but I have to say i am also aware of other cleaning business owners that do not meet all of these obligations! However that was fortunate for me because i have ended up with some of their staff (without poaching I hasten to add) who responded to my job ad for a better rate of pay and fair conditions.

The two main business models to consider are:

Private company - usually have employes staff, fully managed by the business owners and fully equipped to do the job.

Agency - just act as a match-maker for self employed cleaning operatives and clients. Cheaper than the fully-managed option above obviously but no real management or equipment supplied and a 'hands off' approach to the staff. The management is client driven in this case and this is why it costs less to run.

Neither model is wrong when implemented correctly and ethically, there is a relevant market for either and high demand for each model, some services are a mix of both, which ca still be done correctly.

Obviously when hiring and paying for a company - the most obvious benefit is the management of staff which is definitely (and notoriously) the most difficult part. Even with the agency model you can ask for a replacement if your cleaner is not a good match.

The crucial thing about choosing is to find a good match for your own needs. Get a few quotes in and see who is offering more or less what you need personally and whether the service level they describe is the right one for you. Every client is different and every service is different. There's always more than enough work for every service to enjoy healthy growth and enough services around to choose a great match for yourself. If you do a bit of homework first, chances are you'll enjoy a great and long-term relationship.

ALittleAubergine · 22/04/2018 12:24

I don't think anyone of my rl friends have a cleaner. I'd love one if we could afford it. I'd also have lots of other help like an au pair or a nanny, pa etc.

Pinkvici22 · 22/04/2018 12:27

Izzy24

It’s because many people work long hours and would rather spend their time off with family/friends/on enjoying life generally than cleaning.

THIS ....

TomRavenscroft · 22/04/2018 17:26

Best money I spend. It means no one in my household has to think about it or argue about it.

I am from a working-class background, have been a cleaner myself and am in my forties.

TopSop · 22/04/2018 17:30

I work freelance from home. Contrary to what many people think, this is not a chance to be a lady wot lunches - it means I get up between 5.30 and 6 am to get some work done before the school run and dog walking, and often work till 10 at night, and at weekends. Half term week I worked. Easter holidays I worked. Plus my husband goes away on business a lot. We used to spend our weekends cleaning. Now I have a cleaner to do the things I don’t want to do, like cleaning woodwork and windows. She also makes my bathroom sparkle and leaves the house smelling of bleach, which I like :-) yes, I could do it all myself, and am doing a lot of cleaning at the moment as we’ve got our house on the market - but it’s more time I have to take away from working. It’s a no brainer for me.

QueenAravisOfArchenland · 22/04/2018 17:34

Literally what is there not to get?

Because it's boring, relentless work which other people are willing to do for you in exchange for money.

CalendulaFlower · 22/04/2018 17:35

Why is it any different to buying a ready meal or paying a window cleaner? These things save time. Lots of people work long hours in stressful jobs and spend loads of time commuting to work. Also it’s women that end up doing most housework. Mocking someone for having a cleaner is a form or inverse snobbery IMO.

Bluntness100 · 22/04/2018 17:37

t’s not for me (I bloody hate shopping) but if they enjoy it why the hell would you judge them for it?

I guess it's because it's all they do, every single weekend, only that. They never do anything else. I guess I just find it a bit strange. But each to their own. It's all "we went to Marks and Sparks this weekend and bought x" or "we went to x place and they had a new Debenhams, we were so happy, it was brilliant, you need to go there " or " "we are off to Bicester, what are you doing". It really is their sole leisure activity.

KM99 · 22/04/2018 17:52

I work long hours, I can afford it and I help a really lovely local lady find work that fits around her family.

I've had a cleaner since we'll before having a child. My husband and I did an experiment the first month we live together. We split all the household chores 50/50 (still do). He hates cleaning so much he was in total agreement on getting a cleaner.

I'm bemused as to exactly what you'd take the p*ss out of?

Lekky12 · 22/04/2018 17:58

We have a cleaner. She does every other Thursday, cleans the bathroom and kitchen top to bottom incl floors and hoovers everywhere else. We dont have time working full time with 2 kids. Its the best £40 a month we spend !

Singadream · 22/04/2018 18:02

I used to think like that but I became resentful that dh didn’t do his share when we both work so in the end decided a cleaner is cheaper than marriage guidance!

YoloSwaggins · 22/04/2018 18:08

I think the only thing i negatively judge is shopping as a leisure activity.

Whoa, this coming from the person who is the quickest to tell off ANYONE for judging ANYTHING!

FYI, I spent every weekend shopping as a teen/student. Not because I wanted to buy stuff, I usually bought nothing, but because for me it's sort of therapeutic and like looking around a museum. Charity shops are like museums of random tat, and clothes shops museums of clothes. With the added bonus that if I REALLY like something, I could buy it. Vintage and designer-village shops are also fascinating to look around because the designs are so weird.

I don't do any sport or hobbies so aside for socialising, that was my hobby. Judge away....

Bluntness100 · 22/04/2018 18:24

Sure, I'm not saying it's right, but being honest...

My38274thNameChange · 22/04/2018 18:24

Yeah, almost everyone I know has a cleaner too. The only people who don’t, either aren’t home owners or don’t work full time.

We both work (more than) FT hours, have 4 DC & a dog at home and a large house.

We have a cleaner, dog walker, gardener and dog sitter. And I STILL end up cleaning daily.

ChocOrCheese · 22/04/2018 18:38

I've had cleaners in the past. It was hellish. Stuff all moved to make it obvious they'd cleaned there. Ornaments and hoovers constantly broken. Unbelievable amounts of products used. And when I started working from home they expected me to chat to them. I mean a lot of chat; not just normal polite greetings and brief questions about the family. I hate cleaning but I would rather clean than have a cleaner. Maybe I was just unlucky.

mumof2exhausted · 22/04/2018 18:50

Everyone I know has a cleaner, my reasons are I work, have two young kids and am crap at cleaning. Best £40 I spend every week. I work for myself and would rather work bit extra to pay for it as bloody hate cleaning and I love our cleaner, she’s so good at it.

ilovechocolate07 · 22/04/2018 18:52

Can I ask, those who have a cleaner, do they clean while you are home or do they let themselves in while you're at work. I've been thinking about having a cleaner for a little while now but not sure how it works. Do you give them a list or do they say what they offer and you choose?

80sMum · 22/04/2018 18:54

I would like to have a cleaner but I don't like the thought of a stranger being in my house and potentially going through my stuff. How do you get around that?

KERALA1 · 22/04/2018 18:57

Mine work for a company on a very tight schedule. Couldn't be less interested in my stuff and if they were so what it's pretty dull.

Shitshitshitty · 22/04/2018 18:59

I don't know anyone in RL that has a cleaner. No one. Seems common on MN though I've quickly come to learn the general demographic of MN are not the type of people in my own social circle.