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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to fault my cleaners?

79 replies

TFC90 · 05/02/2021 11:54

We got new cleaners in October as I was 9 months pregnant. They come every two weeks so they've been quite a few times now.

It's a husband and wife team that whizz around our 4 bedroom house in 2 hours (so four man hours, charged at £15 an hour, £60 total every fortnight)

I've increasingly been noticing little things but wondered if I'm expecting too much of cleaners who come fortnightly? They evaluated our house and told us how long it would take, as opposed to us dictating how long they are here.

Anyway they came yesterday and this it the state of the shower today. My husband thinks I'm expecting too much, and in general he's cleaner and tidier than I am, so I'm left wondering if I'm being unreasonable to expect them to clean more thoroughly?

AIBU to fault my cleaners?
AIBU to fault my cleaners?
OP posts:
icelollycraving · 05/02/2021 11:57

I think once you point out what still needs doing, they will either up their game, tell you they need an extra hour or drop you.

bloodyhairy · 05/02/2021 11:59

That's ingrained grime that I'll bet was there before they started with you Hmm
2 hours gives them only enough time to do a basic clean of a 4 bed house, and YABVU.
Time to get your bleach spray and toothbrush out, OP! Not unreasonable to expect them to maintain cleanliness, but they shouldn't have to remedy this in the first place.

Teenangels · 05/02/2021 12:02

That is round the shower? That look like mould to be that will build up with every use.
I think you are being very picky as the rest of the shower looks very clean.
Do you clean in between them coming?

Original poster
TFC90 · 05/02/2021 12:04

@bloodyhairy not at all, we did a really good thorough clean before they came the first time, to make sure they knew the standard we expected.

It's 4 hours they are here between the two of them. It's only one bathroom they need to clean properly as the other doesn't get any use. There are only two of us and a baby so it's not like the four bedrooms are used, in fact one of them they don't even clean. So it's a living room, kitchen/diner, our bedroom, guest bedroom, nursery, one bathroom and one cloakroom.

Besides, it can't be ingrained grime because I've just wiped it away with a stroke of a cloth!

OP posts:
sasparilla1 · 05/02/2021 12:05

That looks like it's been there a while. Can you remember how long it's been there?

If it pre-dates them cleaning then YABU, but if not then I would have expected them to clean that. It's not hard.

Did they do a one-off deep clean to start with? That's what I have had done in the past. More cost at the start, but then really nice and easy to maintain.

MissBaskinIfYoureNasty · 05/02/2021 12:09

That is old grime!

NoParticularPattern · 05/02/2021 12:09

Have you tried to see if it does actually come off? I ask because our downstairs shower looks exactly like this and it doesn’t matter what products or tools I use, I can’t get it to shift. In ours it’s mould in the sealant combined with hard as rocks water and some rust too that is just trashing it and making it impossible. Short of taking the whole shower enclosure apart, removing all sealant, scrubbing with something really abrasive and then reassembling and resealing it that stuff on ours isn’t going anywhere. And then I expect it will be back in a few months time because the surfaces would be damaged and the root cause of the problem (lack of ventilation and hard water, neither of which I can wave my magic wand and fix) hasn’t gone away anyway.

I mean obviously if it just wipes off then that’s another matter, but if it’s stubborn like ours you’re asking a bit much. I’d look at it myself and the decide whether I should mention it- you’ll soon work out whether it’s a 5 second wipe or a 45 minute fruitless scrubathon.

SunshineCocktails · 05/02/2021 12:10

Can you show us what it looks like after you wiped it clean?

bloodyhairy · 05/02/2021 12:11

Last time my cleaner was here, he didn't do under the sofa. New cleaner, and under the sofa is dusty and dirty.
Next time he comes, I will politely ask him to do under the sofa. Communication is key, and it's not hard.
My mistake about the ingrained grime, but if this is the only issue them you're still being incredibly picky.

LaurieFairyCake · 05/02/2021 12:12

Yes, grotty - I'd ask them to clean it

HoneysuckIejasmine · 05/02/2021 12:12

We had that shower door too. It was an absolute bitch to clean, you can't fit tools down the gaps.

We just ripped it out and replaced it was a screen. When we took it out, the mould was all the way under the door frame. No wonder it kept coming back, we were just shaving the edges.

Unless you want to dismantle your shower every time you clean it, maybe think about a screen instead of sliding doors.

gamerchick · 05/02/2021 12:15

@SunshineCocktails

Can you show us what it looks like after you wiped it clean?
I also would like to see this as well
viques · 05/02/2021 12:16

“It can’t be ingrained grime because I’ve just wiped it away”

My mind is boggling about what you and your family are doing that gets you all so filthy and covered in crud that you leave your shower in such a grim state after only one use.

Original poster
TFC90 · 05/02/2021 12:18

@sasparilla1

We did a deep clean before they started because we felt it was important to show by example the level of cleanliness. So I know it's not a build up.

I did the cleaning before they started and I regularly used to get the toothbrush out and get in all the nooks and crannies, which I guess is why I find it so frustrating. I know for a fact it's not stuck on mould!

OP posts:
helpfulperson · 05/02/2021 12:20

I would expect that removed in a deep clean but it would be time consuming on a standard clean as not easy to get to.

Original poster
TFC90 · 05/02/2021 12:20

@viques that hasn't appeared since yesterday! It was there and the cleaners haven't cleaned it. The point is I haven't showered since they came yesterday so I've just noticed it!

OP posts:
PercyAndPenny · 05/02/2021 12:23

You'll find this with cleaners OP and it's why I don't have any now. I went through about 4 and all were useless. Standards dropped really quickly and they all without exception, would leave early

This doesn't surprise me. Their job is to CLEAN which some posters (who I'd hazard a guess don't use a cleaned) don't seem to grasp. They should clean what you've shown in that pic. If it IS ingrained then they should treat it as best they can with mould remover/ viakal and tell you what they've done to treat it - it's absolutely fair enough if it cannot be removed immediately and requires longer treatments or if indeed it's not possible to clear at all

This isn't the case though - you say you've removed it easily which I can well believe

Just get rid of them and try someone else - ultimately though I think you'll find they're all about the same

Teenangels · 05/02/2021 12:32

OP
If they are not cleaning to your desired standard, then either look for new cleaners or do it yourself.
As I said you are being incredibly picky if that is the only issue you have, as everything else in the shower is clean they could of wiped it and it reappeared or they missed it once.

UnicornAndSparkles · 05/02/2021 12:33

I think it depends on the rest of the house; if this is the one thing they've not done then fair enough, if there are 10 things like this it's too much and needs to be mentioned. We have a 3 bed house, 1 toilet and 2 bathrooms and our cleaners come weekly, 3h (or 1.5h with 2 cleaners) and we pay £13 per hour. They can't do everything in that time and I accept that either I pay them for additional hours or some things are missed. I find writing a priority list really useful.

FelicityPike · 05/02/2021 12:37

[quote TFC90]@viques that hasn't appeared since yesterday! It was there and the cleaners haven't cleaned it. The point is I haven't showered since they came yesterday so I've just noticed it![/quote]
So you or your husband didn’t clean it either in your big clean?
YABU.

donewithitalltodayandxmas · 05/02/2021 12:45

Your paying for a clean not a deep clean, if you want a deeper clean on the shower , you have to have more time or sacrifice elsewhere
Would also like to see picture of after clean as that doesn't look like a couple weeks worth of grime

cheeseismydownfall · 05/02/2021 12:48

You'll get slated here OP because somehow mumsnet thinks that cleaning is somehow beneath cleaners Hmm.

I've never found a cleaner that cleans to the standard I ask them and I have given up trying. It is frustrating because even when I specifically say that I would prefer to pay for an extra hour (or for however long it takes) to be really thorough, it still doesn't happen.

The worst I had was with an agency - I got home from work on the first day they were supposed to visit, and assumed that something had cropped up and that they hadn't been able to come after all. It wasn't until I got a follow up call from the owner of the agency that I discovered they had apparently been in for four hours?! I honestly couldn't tell. They didn't come back.

I have occasionally thought about jacking in my job and setting up The Really Good Cleaning Company. Paying cleaners more, charging more, but doing a really fucking good job and using an dedicated app to manage communications, set up proper cleaning routines for houses, log work done, enable clients to use photos to direct to areas they want focus on etc etc.

FossilisedFanny · 05/02/2021 12:49

Come in Op . Show us a picture of it now after you’ve wiped it - we can then pass judgment as to whether they are cleaning properly not.

Coffeeandcocopops · 05/02/2021 12:50

Next time tell them you want a deep clean of the shower. That will mean 30 mins less elsewhere in the house. 4 hours isn’t long.

Greenevalley · 05/02/2021 12:51

I agree with you op.
It looks as if that’s built up since October.
My shower gets like that if I don’t keep on top of it.

Just point it out. If it keeps happening then you have to decide it to keep the cleaners on.