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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect them to put the heating on for me?

275 replies

Loobyloo16 · 13/12/2018 08:04

I'm a self employed cleaner. Now its coming colder a few of my clients still don't put their heating on. One works from home but just sits in a room with the fire on, another says she doesn't feel the cold. I went to a client yesterday and it was freezing, my toes were going numb, I did tell her but she still didn't put it on.
Another has told me to put it on myself if I'm cold, which I do.

I know it's no big deal in the grand scheme of things but I hate been cold and it's miserable cleaning with numb toes. People always say 'i thought you'd get warm with cleaning" I do but not that warm!

OP posts:
Iloveautumnleaves · 13/12/2018 19:14

If you’re cleaning with some energy and still that cold you need to go and see your GP.

Why should you ‘have to’ wear thermals? You’re the one that’s cold. It’s ridiculous to ask other people to put their heating on (just for one person) while you’re cleaning the house if you can’t even be bothered to help yourself by wearing decent socks and thermals.

Original poster
Loobyloo16 · 13/12/2018 19:36

Iloveautumn I have raynards which explains the cold hands and feet but I'd feel a Wally going to my doctor saying " I clean a freezing house with a lot of energy and I'm still cold" I think he'd be Hmm

I will wear thermals next time I go though.

OP posts:
justanotherprolapse · 13/12/2018 20:00

I didn't have the heating on today in my own house whilst I was cleaning. I then sat down to wrap some presents and was instantly freezing. You need to speed up the cleaning a bit I suspect!

wanderings · 13/12/2018 20:16

Perhaps stop cleaning with numb toes, keeping them in your shoes would definitely keep them warmer.
Is this possible in MN land, with all the "AIBU to ask people to remove shoes" threads?

Ohmno · 13/12/2018 20:26

Base layer thermals and a decent pair of socks and boots will solve 90% of your issues and you won't even notice you're wearing them.

Fluffythrow · 13/12/2018 20:43

Tight sods if they can afford a cleaner they can afford to put the heating on, not expect you to dress like you are going on an expedition to the North Pole.

Original poster
Loobyloo16 · 13/12/2018 21:02

I never have the heating on in my own house during the day or when I'm cleaning but, and i keep saying it, the house I went to yesterday was freezing!! It's a relatively new built too, I have never been in a colder house, ever!
Maybe it's haunted?

OP posts:
Livedandlearned2 · 13/12/2018 21:15

I'm a cleaner too, I have two houses I go to that are really cold. And it wouldn't matter how fast I tried to go, I'd still feel cold because there is no warmth at all in the houses. These two houses would be the first to go, I hate doing them.

MuncheysMummy · 13/12/2018 21:59

My cleaner is always relieved when me and toddler DS are heading out as she arrives as that means the heating is off ! She says she’s always roasting if she has to work with the heating on and hates it.

RangeRider · 14/12/2018 13:11

So you think that although you have a condition that gives you cold hands and feet, it's up to your clients to incur a higher heating bill when they're fine? Hmm

PerkingFaintly · 14/12/2018 15:12

Loobyloo16, much sympathy about the cold extremities. It's miserable being in pain from the cold.

I think it's reasonable to at least ASK about heating, if one house is extremely cold. You might not get an answer you like, of course, and then you'll have to make a decision about carrying on or not.

I just wanted to make people understand that it's not always the case that "have a cleaner = can afford toasty heating".

For some of us, it's a carefully calculated trade off. My cleaner doesn't just do jobs I can't, she's the weekly check that I'm still alive and well – there's no one else who'd see me regularly.

mumda · 14/12/2018 17:24

Minimum working temperature

www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/law.htm

Take a thermometer.

HedgehogPoo · 14/12/2018 17:42

My house is ancient and freezing cold. If I put the heating on most days in the winter, the bills would be astronomical and not remotely affordable, quite apart from the fact that even with the heating on, the house is still like a fridge and considerably well below a more reasonable 18-20 degs. I'm not defending or explaining the situations that your employers may be experiencing, I'm just explaining that I live in a freezer in the darkest North!

As it is, I layer up, always including a thermal polo-necked top (absolutely essential and makes the world of difference) and wear loose, soft Ugg boots (other brands are available too) that I bought from eBay. These keep my feet warm with long thick socks and if my feet are warm, the rest of me is too. I hope that you find a way of keeping cosy!

CheesyWeez · 14/12/2018 17:50

I think it's inconsiderate to not put the heating on. Apart from anything else the mopped floors etc need to dry and they won't do that if everything is stone cold!

mrbreezeet1 · 14/12/2018 17:51

NO UANBU IMO!
I Have (doctor says "moderate" Peripheral neuropathy.
Now I know that's "My Problem" in a way.But like Even A/C in a car bothers me and have had to argue with friends over it.
Same deal in the winter, Im helping someone IN THERE HOUSE,and they are not cold, So they don't want to put the heat on.
That numbness and extreme cold HURTS!!
JMO now.

DBN1 · 14/12/2018 18:19

Heating is (unfortunately) a luxury

What a lot of bollocks. Having a cleaner is a luxury

Have you not thought that for some people a cleaner is a necessity (a PP has already related her situation)?

When I was receiving DLA a few years back I didn't think to spend it on a cleaner, although I wish I had now. I was unable to properly look after the house (or myself) for more than 2 years. A cleaner would have been a brilliant idea but I still wouldn't have put the heating on for them as I never put it on for myself.
Having a cleaner does not equal living a life of luxury.

jessebuni · 14/12/2018 18:20

I have to say I too am surprised you get so cold cleaning. I haven’t put my heating on more than once so far this year and I’m sat at a desk home all day. I don’t get that cold and if I do I add a layer. When I do the housework I work up a sweat quite quickly. My husband works outside all year all weather and he doesn’t usually get very cold because he’s moving around doing physical work. He finds it far harder in the summer when he can’t get out of the sun.

DBN1 · 14/12/2018 18:21

Im helping someone IN THERE HOUSE You're not, you're providing a service that they are paying you for.

DBN1 · 14/12/2018 18:27

OP I used to suffer with Raynaud's disease too whilst I was a cleaner but I can honestly say that the only time it affected me during working hours was when I was using cold water, even with rubber gloves on. I worked really fast though - big house full of antique treasures (crappy knicknacks!) and not enough time to stop to wipe the sweat out of my eyes, let alone freeze Grin

Skyejuly · 14/12/2018 18:30

Slippers? Hat!

rookiemere · 14/12/2018 18:31

I don't put the heating on for our cleaner , but to be fair I don't have it on when I'm wfh either - instead I'll wear an extra jumper. As the house is heated in the morning and evening it would be 15 degrees at the very lowest during the day, which would certainly be warm enough for me if I was cleaning.

user1471426142 · 14/12/2018 18:43

Some people don’t seem to get that different houses are different temperatures even without the variation of heating. When I was in a newbuild flat with super insulation I think we had the heating on for a few weeks of the year and even then only an hour. The place was boiling all the time. I got a massive shock when I moved to my house. We have the heating on a lot from autumn and it can still feel chilly as we have shite insulation and are very shaded.

One year we came back from Christmas visiting relatives and the internal temp was down to about 6 degrees in the warmest room. We had to have the baby in a snowsuit and then went out until the heating had warmed the place up as it was too cold to function.

I can well believe the OP has encountered an exceptionally cold house if the owners don’t ever put their heating on.

PeachyPeachTrees · 14/12/2018 18:53

If it's 16 degrees or higher then the home owner doesn't need to put heating on.

I live in an old house and I have to have heating on at least a little or else when I need more heat it won't really heat up properly. In my last house which was modern and mid terrace, I could literally just pop heating on when I needed it and off at other times.

TedAndLola · 14/12/2018 18:53

I'd never expect anybody to put the heating on for me when I was in their home for one or two hours. Confused

CottonSock · 14/12/2018 18:57

It has never occurred to me to heat the house for my cleaner. I'm not really sure what to think, but might leave her a note about how to turn it on.

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