3 hours cleaning

[BaconsLaw]

I'm in the market for a cleaner (aren't we all!) and I've asked for the main bathroom, en-suite, downstairs toilet, kitchen and floors in kitchen, hallway and living room to be done.

Without seeing my house, the company I've contacted has suggested it'll take 3-4 hours. AIBU to think there's no way it'll take that long?

How much can your cleaner do in 3 hours?

Doesn't sound too bad to me.
My cleaner takes 5-6 hours to do
Kitchen
Lounge
Hall
3 x bathrooms
4 x bedrooms
2 x staircases.

We pay £12 an hour. We had a cleaner who used to power through it in under 3 hours and she was shit.

£12/he
3 hours:
Hoover the 3 bedrooms in use (not the spare room), hoover lounge kitchen hall & stairs, playroom
Clean the main bathroom. Clean downstairs loo.clean kitchen (inc spray mop floor) & lounge. Mop utility floor.

Mine tidy quite a lot and are proactive ina good way, they do what needs doing, variable week in week out. They will occasionally chuck towels in the machine or wipe inside a window if it's looking grubby.

Mine does 3 hours every week and does:
Hall/landing
Kitchen
3 reception rooms
Downstairs loo
Main bathroom
DC’s room.

£10 per hour (north of England)

@Ihatemyseleffordoingthis

I think expecting someone to come to you for less than *@3* hours work at that rate of pay is taking the piss.

Well, I can't exactly take my house to her, can I?

And what rate of pay? I've said the quotes I've received (as in, they told me what they charge not me telling them what I'm happy to pay) to illustrate the difference between them, not how much I'm actually paying...

Oh and I have hard floors which take a lot more work than hoovering (high gloss tiles 🙄🤦‍♀️).

3 hours sounds about bang on.Break it down into tasks. How long to do the kitchen? Mop the floors? Bathroom etc. Include the time it takes to actually fill buckets, get appropriate mops out, vacuums plugs in etc as that eats into time way more than you think. I'm not sure how it could take less than 3 hours to do it properly tbh unless you want just a quick flick around. But who employs a cleaner for a quick flick?

We have a biggish house 3500 as ft.

Tuesdays: cleaner does: hoovering, hard floors, bogs, bathrooms, kitchen - 3 hours.

Fridays: kitchen, bogs, bathrooms, dusting, paintwork, mirrors, one week our bed; one week DC's beds - occasionally gently vacuuming lampshades and curtains.

Mondays: ironing

Oh and when she's here she unloads dishwasher and sets washing to dry.

8 hours in total. I have no guilt - I work 50+ hour weeks.

I'm quite shocked. I had a cleaner last year for a while and she did kitchen, downstairs loo, two ensuites and all hoovering including stairs in 2 hours. She mopped floors and cleaned two reception rooms. I paid £10 to her and a standing charge to the cleaning company. I would not have expected her to take 3 hours. I can do it in 2 hours so I don't see why a cleaner can't do it in that time.

No need to get shirty, OP, but if they say it is 3 hours work it is 3 hours work.
I pay my brilliant , lovely cleaner £35 for a similar amount of work (no ensuite, but she hoovers the stairs instead. Originally based on 3 hours work, is more like 2.5 but she has been with us for 12 years now. NW, and she lives 5 mins away.
But, my point was, presuming that you are not covering travel costs or time, expecting less than around 3 hours work is unreasonable when you're paying any of the amounts you mention.

I'd say maybe 2 hours if they're quick (but thorough oviously).

I'm a self employed cleaner and some households expect more than others. I find most take the piss a bit and expect you to be Superwoman but I'd rather get done!

One very large bungalow I do, I have to clean utility, main bathroom and en - suite, hall, 3 bedrooms (one with en - suite), large dining, kitchen, 2 sitting rooms, bathroom, separate toilet room, entrance hall, music room and study.

*obviously

Book the initial session and assess how long it takes, whether it can be done in the way you want in the time...and go from there.

I can do a 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 3 reception house in 3 hours (including kitchen) I am very thorough but I couldn't do all of it in that time when I first took it on. As you become familiar with the house you get much quicker. No wonder I put on a stone in lockdown

Yes thank you for correcting me!

Actually that sounds like nothing, could be done in an hour and a half, but you're best saying 2 hours so that they're not rushing and they do it properly!

The number of hours and the degree to which it is a superficial clean or a "deep clean" is down to the expectation of the person whose house it is. In a busy family home, a deep clean one day will not stay that way for long.

I did our cleaning during lockdown, and found that to do a proper job - which included hoovering and dusting behind doors, along skirting boards where possible and sanitising light switches, was taking me a full 3 hours (and I needed a sit down afterwards!). I was actively going round looking for dirt/cobwebs/fly pooh!

There are loads of threads on MN about cleaners who whip through the house at breakneck speed, but I bet you they are only doing the basics and not really doing a proper job. I would rather pay my cleaner for a full three hours and know they are doing a thorough job than scrimp with a two hour clean when that often means they cut corners and only have the motivation to do the minimum.

It isn't a "deep clean", it's doing the job properly.

Ours is smaller than yours and takes 3 hours, but then we get the cleaner to tidy as well as the kids' crap is left all over the place. It would be less if they only vacuumed and wiped surfaces, I'm sure.

Quite differing responses. I'll see how long it actually takes when she has a trial this week. I was just asking out of curiosity, really, as I wasn't sure what to expect.

@Ihatemyseleffordoingthis I don't agree with that, really. If it doesn't take three hours then it doesn't take three hours - I'm not sure how that makes me unreasonable. If the cleaner then decides it isn't worth their time then that's their prerogative - I'm not forcing her to take the job!

It's £12 per hour, but direct to the cleaner. The agencies take a massive cut, so while you might be paying £15, the cleaners may only be on minimum wage.

Mine does kitchen, lounge, hall stairs and landing, bathroom and 2x bedrooms in 90 mins. I pay £13ph and she provides her own cleaning products. Initial clean was 4hrs but this was a deep clean including appliances/windows/skirting boards/etc. She usually only does one of these 'big jobs' each week to keep on top of them.

How long does it take you to clean it yourself? I don't have a cleaner but spend about 4 hours cleaning my house at the weekend then top ups during the week. My house isn't massive though, certainly nothing like the homes described on this thread!

We pay £45 for 4h in the NE. For that we get 2 bathrooms, one toilet, four bedrooms (including changing the sheets and washing them), two sitting rooms, utility and a large kitchen/dining room. When it was lockdown we realised there were things they did that we hadn't considered, like dusting the doors and skirting boards and cleaning the inside of the windows. They also clean the fridge if I ask them or other jobs as and when. I love my cleaner.

I'd say it's trial and error. Some cleaners will charge a higher rate and motor through it efficiently, some will be slower and more methodical. Our house is approx 3000sq ft so our cleaner does upstairs one week and downstairs the other, 3 hours a week

My house isn't massive. Really. When we were looking to have the bathroom remodelled the guy from B&Q commented on how small it is.

It's honestly been so long since I've been able to clean more than one room at a time that I've no idea. That's why I need a cleaner!

I just really want that feeling of it all being done at once instead of cleaning the kitchen, then thinking "balls - the bathroom needs doing still" then doing the bathroom when I next get a chance and the kitchen being a mess again!

Oh and when she's here she unloads dishwasher and sets washing to dry.

Oh, I forgot, she does this as well.

Cleaner generally comes for 2 hours each week for our small 3 bed

However

Every 2-3 weeks she will stay longer and do a deeper clean on certain areas