For the cleaner to actually clean for 4 hours

[Airuth]

AIBU to think that the cleaner should clean for the time that we are paying her for? Obviously she will need a rest, we're not expecting her to clean solidly for 4 hours without a short break, but for example, today she started at 9am, had a break with a snack around 10.15/10.20. I walked the dogs and came back around 11.30 where she had another (small) break with another snack and a cup of tea. When she had around 15 minutes left she was wondering around, and eventually started cleaning a couple to the windows. It's a large house, 6 plus bedrooms, so plenty to do. She is a family friend and has been cleaning for us for at least 6 years, but I have noticed over time her standards have slipped and she seems to be taking alot of breaks, or sitting down and starting conversations with us.

Sorry for the long post but I'm hoping either for someone who has a cleaner to be able to tell me how long they clean for and what kind of breaks they have or for someone who cleans, who can tell me what they do and how much time they give themselves.

I’m a cleaner. With my clean I do the coving & skirting boards, light switches, sockets etc. Always sweep/hoover and mop. Bleach their kitchen cloths etc.

House one - 3 hrs - kitchen incl hood, door frames etc, utility room, cloakrm, small lounge, big lounge, hall, study, stairs, master bed, 2 bathrms & usually 30mins ironing, sometimes change the bedding

House two - 2 hrs - big lounge, 2 cloakrooms, upstairs bathrm, deep clean kitchen floor on hands & knees, small lounge OR conservatory (which I’ll use a stepladder for to reach up high) and master bed or dining room.

House three - 6 hrs - large farmhouse kitchen, breakfast area, large bootroom/laundry/utility, cloakroom, conservatory, study, formal dining rm, formal drawing rm, inner hall, lobby, little lounge, 2 staircases, master suite with dressing rm & en-suite, one family batem, one guest bathrm and poss 2 guest rooms OR their separate barn conversion consisting of 2 bedrms, 1 bathrm, hallway, stairs, kitchen & cloakroom.

Ps - I don’t take breaks, I prefer to carry on. If I stop I won’t start again!!

Our cleaner works for 3 hours and doesn’t take a break to sit down. I think your cleaner may be better moving on to a new role.

This is why I didn't charge by the hour when I cleaned. I ascertained what the client wanted done, quoted a price, and got on with it. How long I took was my business.

Is she OK? Physically capable of working for more than 2 hours without a proper break?

If only doing 4 hours I’d not expect her to take any sit down breaks. I would expect her to help herself to a drink and sip at it while working, use the loo. I (and many people) work 9-1 then 2-6 with no other breaks apart from the loo and a drink while working.

Our cleaner works like this. She does seem to chat on the hands free, especially while ironing, but she’s not sitting about and always seems to get the required work done to a satisfactory standard. She also has a bottle of pop on the go and has a tea at some stage.

My mums cleaner was only here for an hour today and she’s paid for 4 over two days. I think she’s having our pants down. I can’t say a word against her but she doesn’t seem to do much. Just hoovers around and cleans and clears kitchen. She’s always muttering darkly under her breath and makes me feel so comfortable. She hasn’t this akward cough, like she’s complaining about the air, and she talks to my dog saying things like “isn’t it a lovely day for a walk” when I always take her I just hate the hints. I really could happily murder her. I told my mum she’s barely there and seems to always be in rush to meet her friends.

We’ve had her years now and she lives in the village. I prefer the old one she used to be lovely and not complain, we’re all messy and forgetful but she didn’t mind as she was happy to have her job and clean. The current one I’m stuck with moans and I have to get up early and clean before she comes! The old one didn’t make me feel bad, without clearly sounding awful none of my family are big cleaners, my parents are messy intellectuals and never expected me to lift finger although in fairness I do. I just hate feeling bad about mess when we pay someone to do it. I literally get so stressed I have to be out when she’s here!
the gardeners come Thursday too and with new oven delivered today as well I just wish they all weren’t here under my feet. I really need to move out, but with new baby on the way I’m stuck.

If she walk she thedog for an hour I think she needs a drink and sit down

Snack at 10 is fine and 3 hours after breakfast

Is she completing the jobs you want doing?

If you checked the gov website it tells you about breaks. What you describe is a bit much. Perhaps you should have a list of standby jobs for her to do when the regular stuff is done?
A quiet word about more work and less tea? Or a concerned word that you have noticed that less is being done and is it getting too much?
Kris, please come and do mine. You sound like a dream!

If she worked in the NHS as a cleaner, she'd only get a break every 4 hours, and she'd be on her feet, doing heavy lifting and often paid less than a domestic cleaner. She's taking the mick.

@Kriswithak yikes you must be fit to do all that without breaks

I have to admit when I clean my abode I punctuate with lots of breaks ()

Thank you for the replies. When she first started she was amazing, she was brilliant. She just doesn't seem to have her heart in the job, hadn't gone for a while. I was thinking that we should either cut her hours to 3 hours or get a new cleaner. I do alot of the cleaning during the week, the house isn't messy.
Greentulips, she didn't walk the dog, I did. She was having a break before I walked the dog and when I got back, she had another one.

How long did the two short breaks last? If 5-10 minutes it really wouldn't bother me. Longer, I would speak to her and say the breaks are getting a bit much. I wouldn't want to cut down her hours because she might just do the same thing, so less cleaning would get done.

Seek a new cleaner. Avoid friends.

She's taking the piss. Our last 'cleaner' was also great to start with, then suddenly a job that should take three hours was taking 40 minutes. She wasn't cleaning, she was doing a quick wipe down. The final insult was the week she collected the bins from the bathrooms then rammed them into the kitchen bin so she didn't have to take them outside.. really nice coming home to that.

Find a new cleaner, or have a firm word with her.

Airuth, it’s the opposite. I have Osteoarthritis and an autoimmune inflammatory arthritis that brings with it a lot of other conditions. It’s easier on ny body if I keep moving. If I sit for more than 15 minutes (even in the evening at home) my joints ‘lock’ and need clicking to get going again. I take biologics and a whole load of NSAID’s to keep pain at bay and allow mobility.

Your cleaner doesn’t know how lucky she is....unless of course she is hiding pain? Could that be an idea?

If not, sounds like she’ got too ‘comfy’ with you.

Just got rid of my cleaner. Doesn’t clean inside the microwave, cleans around things and doesn’t move them. 3 hours for a three bed house. I’d expect it to be spotless but I came home yesterday to have to clean again in some rooms. I could do it all in less time than that (and have done), I just don’t have the time right now.

Wow Kris, given your illness you could do a little less and nobody would blame you! We had a cleaner who was reasonably thorough but sooooo slow. We were only asking her to do the average-sized kitchen plus small bathroom and guest loo in 3 hours, and she complained that was too much. She wasn't goingnear the living areas! We had to let her go because we were paying a decent rate and it just wasn't worth it.

I’m a cleaner and do not take a break when working for 4 hours. One day I clean for 5 hours between 4 houses and only stop when I’m driving between them - no breaks as such. I do drink squash and/or coffee as I work though.

In 4 hours, I do a thorough clean. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, cloakroom, lounge, dining room, kitchen and hall. I clean skirting boards, ceilings, behind radiators, windows, cooker hood and extractor filters, light shades, tops of kitchen cupboards and inside kitchen cupboard when I have time, the front door inside and out, move bedside tables and other small furniture, vacuum under beds etc Occassionaly there is extra bedrooms (plus bedding), bathrooms, lounges, kitchens or other rooms (big house with attached flats) but I don’t do as much deeper cleaning if I have those to do.

With less hours the deeper cleaning would be rotated, it just depends what people want really.

You can get a lot of cleaning done in 4 hours to be honest and there’s no need to be taking sit down breaks!

Excuse my typos and poor spelling above - I didn’t check what I’d written before posting!

When I was cleaning
G I wouldn't work for friends or family as it's too awkward to deal with issues. You need a non involved person.

Cleaner here, I think imo - when you have been cleaning the same house for years it starts to feel so familiar you slack off-a bit like doing your own house, miss bits, leave for 'another day'. Leave her a list to reaffirm what your expectations are, jazz it up as a pre Christmas blitz maybe? If she is trustworthy it would be a shame to have to start afresh with a new one.
I have a coffee - as offered, on a 3 hour job but take it round with me not stand and drink it.