To feel sad & horrified by these comments from a former cleaner

[strivingtosucceed]

twitter.com/TabitaSurge/status/1260647664565121027

The lady in the tweets is a former cleaner who has spoken about the issues she had during her time as a cleaner. She's spoken of horrific things like clients leaving, sick, skid marks and crusted over appliances for her to clean. Others have also spoken about being 'tested' with money left out and casually followed about the house.

Judging by the amount of people who have cleaners on this board, she's probably one of you. Would anyone admit to it though?

I might book a one off clean from one of those hoarder environmental health firms. They would be grateful it was just some crumbs under the cooker 😂

If we had a cleaner they would probably be permanently insulted. My husband sheds lose change and there are little piles of change all over the house.

I cleaned as a teenager for a very wealthy, well to do family. Very nice people... the husband would twice a day drape his dental floss over the bathroom sink and let it collect all week for me to dispose of each Saturday morning. 14 odd used bits of dental floss... there was a bin directly below where he used to leave them... sicko

I worked as a cleaner while I was doing postgrad and now I have a cleaner. My husband always asks why do we have to clean before the cleaner comes, but I've been in her shoes and wouldn't want her to do anything I used to find disgusting plus I don't want to live in filth on days she doesn't come. And if there is anything really heavy to do (scrub the oven, clean the fridge), I always ask if she'd be up for it and pay more for such jobs.

@Aneley I'm like you. Not home cleaning, but I used to work cleaning in a school. Now I'm still working in the same school but as part of the school staff. I always make sure my room is tidy, and if the bin is heavy I will empty it before the cleaner comes in. If you've done the job yourself, you know what it's like and know what preparation is appreciated

Someone used to urinate in the shower for me to clean it seemed deliberate because one week I went on a different day (early) and they hadnt done it I found it particularly disgusting as it was the kind of shower you had to climb into to clean

Another place I cleaned, when cleaning the urinal the men would insist on coming in getting their cock out and using them while you were cleaning the cleaners walked out refused to return until the men were told they couldn't do this along with shitting on the toilet floor because we were cleaning the toilets

People don't respect cleaners

Am I the only person who cleans their own house these days?

I hate when people class their cleaner as below them. When our cleaner is here, and someone comes, maybe a friend or a family member, i don't introduce her as out cleaner, i say her name and "our domestic goddess"

Nice try, but if you really thought your cleaner was your equal, you wouldn’t add ‘our domestic goddess’. She isn’t YOURS - she is a PERSON! Why can’t you just introduce her by name? Why do your friends and family need to know she undertakes domestic tasks? Are you scared they might think she’s a friend on an equal level to you? Why are you diminishing her in this way? Don’t you care?!?!

Blimey!

Now, I don't have a cleaner, never have, nor have I ever been a cleaner, but those x cleaners on twitter are delusional imo.

There was a job opportunity because of those skanky george foreman grills. If the houses had been tidy, then there would have been no job. Do they not grasp that?

I’d be pretty annoyed if my cleaner expected me to clean before she arrived.

Between her efforts and my own, my house is generally clean and tidy, she comes most days and she both tidies and cleans, but of course she cleans the odd pube off the bathroom floor

I appreciate her work but it’s a business arrangement, we’re not friends and I barely know her as I’m usually at work.

@StillCoughingandLaughing oh yeh, I get that. It seems like a distinction but I wouldn't bother to labour the introduction. Just say 'this is claire' Move on.

Years ago, My friend as a favour looked after another working friend's child ONE day a week. We were in the park and met the father of this child. He introduced my friend to the man he was talking to as ''the childminder''. He had reduced her to staff. My friend changed her mind about looking after the child.

Yes some people are grim and their cleaners have a hard time but this just isn't true for everyone. Our cleaner brings back presents for the kids when she goes on holiday so I doubt she wants to lob a brick through our window. Also I thought it was widely accepted that your house is tidy for the cleaner but not clean (though our toilets are always clean as I'm capable of putting bleach down it).

Hm, I dare say if you're really affronted by 'crusted over appliances' and having to clean things, then cleaning is probably not the job for you.

I cleaned for a bit. Shit and piss is pretty much what you expect to find in the toilets, so long as it's not on the walls (it happened, and worse) then I'm not going to be freaking out about it.

Am I the only person who cleans their own house these days?

Are you accusing me of not cleaning? [looks shiftily at the unhoovered floor behind her]

'So they expected their clients to clean before they came to clean?'

Well, yes; under normal circumstances, you should not leave things absolutely disgusting and filthy for the cleaner. If there are really exceptional circumstances (e.g. a severely disabled person who is doubly incontinent), of course they may need someone to clean some bad stuff. But they may need specialist cleaners, and any cleaners would need to be told of the circumstances before agreeing to the employment. But most of us are fortunately not in those circumstances.

@StillCoughingandLaughing

Very clever..... 🍪

@StillCoughingandLaughing

Ofcourse shes my equal !
We have a great relationship

No-one should think someone is below them, no matter what they do

I know what i do and you will do what you do.

Can see both sides
Our toilets are normally clean as I give them a wipe over and pour a bit (a lot) of bleach down every night
But if for some reason someone used the loo messy ,say after I had gone to work I wouldn't expect my cleaner to moan
The clue is in the job title
Anyway I doubt she would,she is well paid and if she was unhappy she would say

Hm, I dare say if you're really affronted by 'crusted over appliances' and having to clean things, then cleaning is probably not the job for you.

Agree, some people really aren't cut out to be cleaners. Most people would say, 'I'm so embarrassed at the state of my house, but since my injury/operation/disability/children it's just got out of hand!' and I really, truly would never judge. It's a job, you just get on with it, even the nasty stuff and the tough jobs.

But you'd know when someone didn't respect you. It was the ones who argued (not haggled!) about my rates, wanted unrealistic amounts of work done in a short time, would follow you around and dust check every corner (I always smiled because they never could pull me up on missing anything ) and yes, they were the ones who would do the extra disgusting things.

I never got the money test though. Or maybe I did, and I just never noticed, because I'm not, ya know, paranoid?

Blood puke and shit are things home health care workers are usually expected to clean up, not house cleaners. Though in my mum's experience home health care workers are usually expected to also clean the house.

I am faced with needing someone to come in and clean the floors because I can't do it any more. I have put it off for far too long.

What is the point of this thread, I’m confused.

Is it to draw attention to cleaners in a negative light or is it to highlight the things they go through with some clients.

Huh? Bodily fluids and public hairs no but I do expect my cleaner to clean my kitchen appliances after I have used them

That's why I pay for a cleaner for fucks sake

I had a cleaner for a while, she was lovely but I know that they must work very hard and be expected to go above and beyond by some. I think it’s more the attitude she resented.

“Very well paid” erm I doubt what cleaners get is very much even if you go one or two quid above the usual

Twenty pounds an hour is the going rate here for house cleaners. Twelve pounds an hour for home health care.

@tehbewildnerness

I’m guessing you’re in London then

Thing I’m thinking is although it may sound a lot theyre travelling around doing a couple of hours here and there for different clients but if they get sick or lose a client or two it’s a very unstable job.