Do cleaners actually do cleaning?

[getmeacupoftea]

Probably a bit of a click bait title, sorry. Looking at the absolute state of my house last week I felt a bit overwhelmed with it all (amongst other things)so I thought I would treat myself to a domestic cleaner today. God I sound middle class 🤣🤣

I've never had one before, so I'm not sure whether it's a general deep clean they do, (like dusting, polishing, etc,) or if they do tidying as such? Like putting away things, making beds. I would be so embarrassed if this lady turned up thought I'd left it in a shit state for her, but on the flipside, it's an expensive ish company I've gone for so would like to feel like I've got my money's worth.

Any ideas? Thankyou

They won’t have time to do everything. If you want them to deep clean the kitchen fine, but they might not be able to do that and vacuum all the bedrooms. Make a list of what you want them to do and discuss it with them when they arrive.
If you just leave them to it they will just do what they think or have to ask you for direction all the time.

Guess it depends what you've agreed but mine just cleans. I tidy before she arrives. With a new cleaner or a one off cleaner how would they know where things go? I'd love a tidier, more than a cleaner but sadly not sure they exist!

Our cleaner does general cleaning but tends to move things around out of the way rather than put them in their place. She does re-make the beds (even though we have made them that morning) baffles me how she gets them so crease free.
I had a deep clean about a month ago and they cleaned things like the fridge, oven and windows in and out which they don’t do on the weekly basis.
I make sure the house is tidy before she comes so she can clean properly but wouldn’t worry if there were a few toys scattered around DS room..

My dp struggles with this but I remind him there's a clue in the title cleaner not tidier. We've had 4/5 over the years & generally they don't tidy, but might stack things to clean. Current one doesn't it's just getting used to each other and finding something which works

All cleaners have different limits. Some cleaners will only clean. There have been threads on MN where cleaners have literally hoovered around items on the floor. Other cleaners will happily tidy as they go.

The only way to get the service you want is to communicate properly. When your cleaner arrives you show them around and ask whether they will tidy as they go or whether they need everything tidied away beforehand.

Some charge per hour and some quite per job. I’m very happy to tidy as I go because I charge per hour and I don’t mind what I’m doing as long as I get paid. But the client has to understand that the more clutter there is to tidy, the less actual cleaning I can get done in the time frame.

Decide what is more important to you OP. Do you want someone to help you beat the clutter and then clean to maintain? Or can you manage the clutter yourself and you just want them to clean?

You pay for their time, so it's up to you how you want them to use it. Personally I tidy before they arrive and then they properly clean the bathrooms and kitchen, and Hoover and mop all the floors. That's enough for me and we try to stay on top of the rest.

I wouldn't want them to spend time tidying because they might not know where things go, and also because I don't see it as a good use of the time I've paid for.

There's no such thing as "general deep cleaning" unless you're paying someone for a "deep clean" everywhere...which costs more and is very thorough.

A deep clean involved carpets, oven inners, moving all furniture etc.

Just make sure you discuss it with them before they start so everyone is on the same page and you're expectations are realistic.

Mine does everything! We are lucky enough to have two sessions a week, so one day a week she does a normal clean, and the other day she does the beds plus a deep clean in an area or an indepth tidy/organisation- so for instance she's worked through all the kitchen cupboards and scrubbed them out and found the odd tupperware and out of date food

I'd love a tidier, more than a cleaner but sadly not sure they exist!

They do!! We have companies in my area advertising tidying and organising services.

They do whatever you ask them to do.

Our cleaner just does cleaning - mopping, hoovering, wiping, dusting, bathrooms. She does "tidy" as in moving papers into piles but doesn't put things away. She wouldn't know where everything goes for a start. I don't ask her to do laundry, make beds or wash dishes.

TBH it's fairly easy to keep on top of the bed making and dishwashing when you don't have the rest of it to worry about.

I make sure the house is tidy before my cleaner comes. The less time she has to spend tidying, the more time she can spend on what I actually pay her for, ie cleaning!

Sorry when I say general deep cleaning I mean "cleaning " as opposed tidying away things. X

Like most people I expect, I tidy before mine comes, put away dishes, toys etc. Although she'll put dishes in dishwasher or i leave a basket in each room for toys so she has somewhere to put them if I don't get round to it. Mine is brilliant and cleans floors, hob, bathroom, polishes coffee table, makes bed, wipes surfaces etc. If she was tidying as well she might not have time to do it all. Also I tell her not to bother with certain rooms as they are too messy and I just deal with them myself!

I've had cleaners before who did bugger all though so if you're not happy have a word and if they're still not doing a decent job get new ones. Obviously you're not going to get every speck of dust or cobweb gone or your toaster emptied of crumbs but a good one should eg wipe over the bin, clean handmarks off windows etc

I pay mine to clean. It's our job to have it tidy so that she can. She does a basic clean every week and one "occasional" like windows, pictures, kitchen cupboards etc.

Have it free of clutter and everything tidied away so they have time to clean properly.

If you want beds changed leave out the fresh set of bedding and a laundry basket for tbe bedding that has been removed.

It's whatever you negotiate. If you want them to tidy, you'll have to put up with training them how you tidy - it's much more involved than you think it is! We don't ask ours to do that, but being no-kids-in-the-house we don't get very cluttered.

Ours started off with a deep clean top to bottom which took six hours over a couple of sessions, with some questions and guidance.

Now she does the bathroom, kitchen, floors (wash/hoover), dusts everything, cobwebs, and miscellaneous other bits and bobs. We keep everything tidy and out of her way before she does all that, so she can crack on without having to shuffle things around. We have a couple of locations - desks really - which she doesn't touch apart from dusting.

Talk to your cleaner and sort it out with them.

I agree that I'd want a tidier more than a cleaner. Cleaning is easy if it's tidy but mine rarely is.

Cleaners clean, not tidy, if the house is messy the cleaner will hate you and it will take longer to clean it and everything won’t get done

Our cleaner began with a one off deep clean after we'd had plasterers in.

She turned the house from a literal sandpit into a sparkling home.

I could have cried.

Another thing to say...

Some people and some cleaners don't do tidying - they'll leave the place spick and span to clean only.

But ours has gradually picked up where we keep obvious things, and now does a LITTLE tidying beforehand and after.

Mine does a mix depending on how much of a slumheap mess my home is. My approach is that I am not prescriptive, I pay her for 2 hours & let her do what she thinks needs doing. As a minimum, the kitchen & bathrooms get cleaned & some hoovering done. Sometimes she will pick up and fold some laundry, empty/run the dishwasher, tidy a few bits here and there. If it's quite tidy, she will do other stuff instead like wipe the glass panes in the door or wipe out the microwave or spend longer in the bathroom scrubbing at the grout!

Cleaners clean, not tidy, if the house is messy the cleaner will hate you and it will take longer to clean it and everything won’t get done
This isn't a universal truth.

Who has a house that untidy that a cleaner would have to move things or tidy first? I couldn’t put with that level of mess

My approach is that I am not prescriptive, I pay her for 2 hours & let her do what she thinks needs doing.

Agreed - and as she has learned more about where we keep things, and become more efficient in her cleaning routine, I see no reason to drop her hours because of that. Instead, she does a little of what she's there for - to decrease the domestic burden on the household.

Who has a house that untidy that a cleaner would have to move things or tidy first?

Since having a cleaner, my house is very tidy indeed because we are far more able to keep on top of things.

But we still have to 'tidy' because:

1. The things we have in the house change. Who lives in a sealed environment where they receive no parcels and never take out and use the items they possess?
2. Not everything lives in contained storage. I 'tidy' away the rug, the mantelpiece ornaments, the vases on the breakfast bar because even though they belong there, it's quicker for me to move them so the cleaner can clean the surfaces.