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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:
Gah81 · 20/04/2018 23:28

I think some people are overreacting to other comments here:

"I work long hours" - I don't have many hours at home and am likely to be tired when I do get home

"I can afford it" - it is within my budget and therefore, as it makes my life easier, why not?!

"Everyone I know has one" - a reflection on the OP's post saying they didn't know anyone with a cleaner.

theymademejoin · 20/04/2018 23:28

@mandieleeinatree - you sound like you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder.

I dislike cleaning so prefer not to do it. Lots of woman dislike cleaning. Not all can afford a cleaner. I can afford it so I have one. That doesn't make me better or worse than someone who can't afford one, ust more fortunate.

FreeMantle · 20/04/2018 23:29

Washambo ! No way do you change bedding everyday, That's daft.

You should be a cleaner with your standards! Bollocks to bring working class - set up a cleaning venture..it's what you do anyway!

Stinkbomb · 20/04/2018 23:31

I work full time (approx 50 hrs/), single parent, plus a couple of voluntary roles on top that I can do in the evenings once DC in bed.
I don't have any interest in cleaning & housework - my interests lie in other areas that also benefit the local community- we all work to our interests and strengths, that means I need, and have a someone who comes to do my cleaning.

HuckfromScandal · 20/04/2018 23:34

Because my time is more valuable than the £20 I pay her for 2 hours work once a week
And I am creating employment
And I can
And I would get rid of most things before I would get rid of my cleaner,
She is also the most lovely person in the world and I feel really grateful she cleans for me

MissP103 · 20/04/2018 23:35

I have a full time cleaner. That's very common where I am. 5 days a week, 8 hours a day. House is spotless at all times.

Loonoon · 20/04/2018 23:37

I have been a cleaner and now I have a cleaner. She does all the bits I hate (cooker, hard floors, dusting and bathrooms ).

I only work a few hours a week and we no longer have children at home so she isn't 'needed', I could easily do it myself BUT I DON'T WANT TO.

mandieleeinatree · 20/04/2018 23:41

@huckfromscandal

Because my time is more valuable than the £20 I pay her for 2 hours work once a week

Seriously, how the hell can any 'cleaner,' clean your massive 'affluent area' houses, when they only do 2 hours a week? Confused No way on God's PLANET could anyone clean a house with so few hours, not even a small property, never mind the huge homes some claim to have!!!

This just keeps getting better. Wink

polishes shoulder chips.... I have one on BOTH shoulders as I am so ANGRY about other women having such grrrrreat jobs as well as cleaners! GRRRRRRRR! Angry

Grin
llangennith · 20/04/2018 23:41

I miss having a cleaner.

PennyDreadfull · 20/04/2018 23:41

'i’m in the 1% minority that doesn’t have a problem with cleaning my own house.'

I don't have a "problem" with cleaning my own house and I do in between cleans.
The reason I have a cleaner is because I have a disability which involves chronic pain and fatigue, my husband and I both work full time and we like to spend our spare time relaxing in a clean, pleasant house.
We are normal working class people who happen to be able to afford a cleaner, and I'm glad we have one.

Carouselfish · 20/04/2018 23:43

I'm with OP on this. The implication that your time is too important to clean up your own mess but someone else's time (who 'smokes' and is in 'need of the cash') is fine being spent cleaning up after you, is impossible to shake. I see that it's an obvious result of a whole working household with very little spare time but there's an undercurrent of presumed class divide between employer and cleaner that makes it uncomfortable. And if there's no divide and they are treated by you as your equal, then how awkward and embarrassing that they have to deal with your mess! I'd be constantly cleaning up before my cleaner came and apologising to them!
I know the argument will be that the divide is one of employer and employee, but on this thread, that is not what's been hinted at. And a regular employee in your home (not a one-off, like a decorator), a private employee, rather than one that's been hired by a company, blurs the line of impersonal/personal relationships somewhat. Like an au pair or live-in nanny or very involved PA. But I bet the class divide isn't quite the same for those jobs, is it? Because they don't involve dealing with your rubbish.
I'm not saying people who have cleaners (they don't actually NEED, just want) are in the wrong, I just wonder if they enjoy a slight feeling of superiority whilst saving their Very Important Time.

Aria2015 · 20/04/2018 23:47

I don't see it as a waste of money. I see it as allowing me more time to do other things and that has huge value to me now that I have a young family. People spend money on things I think are a waste but it's obviously not seen as a waste to them. Time is valuable to me and that's what I see it as buying me (and a clean house whoop!).

gluteustothemaximus · 20/04/2018 23:48

So basically everyone hates cleaning.

Except the cleaners?

DiegoMadonna · 20/04/2018 23:54

It makes sense economically, for me. My cleaner does 8 hours per fortnight, and I could do that myself, but by paying her, I can work those 8 hours instead, and still make a net profit. And I prefer my job to her job, so I get more enjoyment AND more money by paying a cleaner.

TodayImThisName · 20/04/2018 23:54

And if there's no divide and they are treated by you as your equal, then how awkward and embarrassing that they have to deal with your mess!

What a peculiar way to think. I pay my cleaner well. Why should she or I be embarrassed that she cleans for me. Perhaps it would be if I left the house in a disgusting state but as I’m a normal person I wouldn’t dream of doing it. Do you think cleaners feel subservient to their clients because that’s a really insulting way of looking at it.

mehhh · 20/04/2018 23:54

I have always cleaned myself and have never had cleaners, currently on mat leave but when I go back to work part time we will be getting a cleaner, because we feel the extra family time / with dd is well worth spending the extra cash... I could spend my life cleaning as I'm pretty obsessive with it so probably a good investment!

KERALA1 · 20/04/2018 23:56

Superiority Hmm ? some very odd opinions on this thread. Why would you feel superior to someone you pay for a service? People pay mechanics, hair dressers, gardners, lawyers why is cleaning any different?

TodayImThisName · 20/04/2018 23:57

So basically everyone hates cleaning
Except the cleaners?

You do realise they don’t do it for fun and that they get paid don’t you?

DiegoMadonna · 20/04/2018 23:57

Carouselfish I think you're reading far too much into it. Would you say the same about my dentist, who I pay to properly clean my teeth every 6 months? How awkward and embarrassing for her that she has to see my gross plaquey teeth!

FreeMantle · 20/04/2018 23:59

My experience is people that employ cleaners value "clean" .So mostly their houses are pretty good anyway, So basically employing someone to maintain what they would do.

Messy people see cleaners differently I think. They don't like people touching their stuff really.

It's the same with childcare care but I won't go there.

MyKingdomForBrie · 20/04/2018 23:59

Because I’m lazy, because I value relaxing time, because my DH Hayes cleaning more than I do and insists on a cleaner so he doesn’t have to do it.

Because why not.

DeleteOrDecay · 21/04/2018 00:08

People are busier nowadays and more people can afford a cleaner for a couple of hours once a week these days.

StormySunshine · 21/04/2018 00:15

I live in a London suburb and most people round here have cleaners. Not common for my friends from other areas, backgrounds and income. I am SAHM for 15years but started to employ a cleaner when my DSD and DSS moved in with us (14 and 24 yrs old then). They were both horribly messy and no amount of encouragement or telling off worked. And cleaning the bathroom of a 24yrs old was not a job I wanted to take on full-time. So I got my lovely cleaner for 3-4 h/w, who proved to be a real treasure after I got diagnosed with a life-threatening illness 5yrs ago. She went above any duty +even looking after our dog, cat and fish when we went away on holidays. So when my DSC moved out and I got into remission it didn't feel right to dismiss her. She still does all the jobs I hate (fridge, oven, grills, bathrooms) while I do ironing, dusting and other lighter chores. Now my illness has come back, I am so glad I didn't let her go!

BackforGood · 21/04/2018 00:20

I have a cleaner because I can now afford to. I don't see why that is difficult to understand.

Some people choose to spend money on the latest phone, or a particular type of handbag, or a newer / fancier car, or tickets to festivals or maybe a season ticket for a sport. Some people spend on make up, hair dos, manicures, spa days. Some people think nothing of getting a taxi, or they think it is normal to spend £100 on a meal for 2, or they routinely spend £150 a week at the supermarket.

It's called choice. Or preference.
Are you really so lacking in understanding of people that you can't grasp that just because something doesn't appeal to you, then it might still appeal to other people ? Hmm

theymademejoin · 21/04/2018 00:25

@Carouselfish- And if there's no divide and they are treated by you as your equal, then how awkward and embarrassing that they have to deal with your mess!

Should I be equally embarrassed when I ask the department secretary to take minutes of a meeting or to order some stationary or do some other work that I am perfectly capable of doing myself? Should I be equally embarrassed when I get the window cleaner to clean the windows as I could easily do it myself? Should my manager be embarrassed to ask me to do something he could do himself?

My cleaner does a job that I pay her to do, in the same way that I, the secretary and the window cleaner do a job we are paid to do. We all do different jobs for different reasons and dependent on the different opportunities and circumstances in our lives. None of it is embarrassing provided we treat one another with respect.