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Original poster

Cleaners increase in hourly rate

515 replies

user1478790138 · 16/10/2021 00:14

Hello

First thread here so pls be gentle.

We have a largeish house in the Nottinghamshire, 6 BR, 4 BA and a fairly large ground floor, 2 children and dogs. Have had a pair of cleaners who come twice a week (initially three times but then it was to hectic for us) for several months now and paid £12ph, they want to increase it to 13.5 now. They do the cleaning and tidying, of which there is a fair amount but I don’t limit them time wise. Not sure now how to react, we’ve had them since March, somehow an increase of 100+ quid a month seems a bit steep in such a short period of time? What would you do??
Thank you

OP posts:
theleafandnotthetree · 19/10/2021 08:51

@PyongyangKipperbang

I'm not normally an arse about stuff like this but fuck me.....how the other half live.
Me neither but it's another world isn't it.
antsinyourpanta · 19/10/2021 09:08

You can’t make that assumption. A wealthy SAHM with plenty of disposable income may only be paying for 4 hours as she’s happy to do a lot of it herself.

OK forget the comparison then , but I would still argue anyone paying for 20 hours a week cleaning (even if they paid minimum wage!) has a fairly sizeable disposable income ....and could possibly make concessions in other areas to find the extra £30...

OhWhyNot · 19/10/2021 09:15

antsinyourpanta don’t be silly they may be living almost hand to mouth to pay for the absolutely essential service of a cleaner

Honestly some people on here are so out of touch. To the vast majority of people a cleaner is a luxury

nomoneytreehere · 19/10/2021 09:31

£15 here is the new normal. It's a lot of money though.

MRex · 19/10/2021 09:40

@MrsRobbieHart

It makes no sense that you would be happy to have the cleaner in your home, carrying all the germs they have picked up from the previous jobs they’ve been to that day (unless you make the cleaner have a decontamination shower before entering your home?) but object to having clean cloths/mops being used.
My cleaner isn't dirty!?! She leaves her shoes at the door.like everyone else. We have clean cloths here that are used only in this house, and cleaned in their own cycle in our machine, then replaced when needed. I really don't like the idea of the same cloths wiping down someone's toilet and then my kitchen counter, especially after sitting in a bucket all day and then going through the same wash cycle, even if it is 90 degrees (if it isn't my machine then for all I know they're put through at 30!). We don't even have the same cloth used between bathrooms here, she swaps to a fresh cloth for each room. If your clients are happy then it's not an issue for you, I just said it wouldn't be something I would allow in my home.
Clandestin · 19/10/2021 09:47

A lot of people on Mn tie themselves into knots about tidying before a cleaner comes — we never do. Tidying is part of her job, and has been for any other cleaner we’ve ever employed. This was explained upfront and factored into the amount of hours she (he in old place) was engaged for. Never been an issue.

ohthestruggles · 19/10/2021 09:48

Having a mop over my floor (that my baby will soon be crawling across) that's been in umpteen other peoples houses makes me feel a bit queezy. No matter if it's washed or not.

ohthestruggles · 19/10/2021 09:50

And I'm sure my cleaner doesn't rub herself over my counters of floors - so there is a difference between cleaner and mops/clothes Hmm

MrsRobbieHart · 19/10/2021 10:47

My cleaner isn't dirty!?! She leaves her shoes at the door.like everyone else.

She will have touched things in those other houses. Her clothes will have splashes from when she is washing other peoples, basins, baths, showers, toilets. The cloth I use to clean a toilet is literally freshly taken out of my caddy right before I use it then put straight into the dirty cloth tub. It doesn’t get used for anything else until it has been washed at 90 and put into the clean cloth pile. My clothes however, transfer whatever was in the previous home, to the next home. And your cleaner’s will too.

I really don't like the idea of the same cloths wiping down someone's toilet and then my kitchen counter

Urgh! Nor do I. Which is why I would never do that. Different coloured cloths means that doesn’t happen here.

MrsRobbieHart · 19/10/2021 10:50

And btw if your cleaner is removing her shoes in your house, she’s probably removing them in other houses. So whatever dirt is on their floors before she cleans them is on her socks. That she is then walking around your house in.

TatianaBis · 19/10/2021 11:54

To the vast majority of people a cleaner is a luxury

To many working mothers it’s an essential.

I think it’s a luxury when one partner isn’t working. With 2 parents working FT unless you live somewhere very small or you want to spend hours cleaning on the weekend, you need a cleaner.

marykitty · 19/10/2021 12:09

@TatianaBis

To the vast majority of people a cleaner is a luxury

To many working mothers it’s an essential.

I think it’s a luxury when one partner isn’t working. With 2 parents working FT unless you live somewhere very small or you want to spend hours cleaning on the weekend, you need a cleaner.

This is so not true It's a "nice to have", not an essential Water, heating, food are essential, not a cleaner, come on!
TatianaBis · 19/10/2021 12:45

Cleaning is essential no? If cleaning needs to be done but both partners are working long hours then a cleaner is essential.

I don’t care whether you agree with me.

If more women got with the programme they would spend less time cleaning on top of working FT while their DP puts his feet up.

cherrytreecottage · 19/10/2021 12:51

@MrsRobbieHart

£13.50 is a good rate. Good luck finding decent cleaners for less.
This! £16ph here!
antsinyourpanta · 19/10/2021 12:55

@marykitty

This is so not true
It's a "nice to have", not an essential
Water, heating, food are essential, not a cleaner, come on!

I think the same but we might be in the minority.
Me and DH work FT. We don't have a cleaner...but we don't live in squalor!

RestingStitchFace · 19/10/2021 12:57

That doesn't seem that steep to me. And with food, fuel, heating all getting more expensive, it seems inevietable that many cleaners will put prices up.

TatianaBis · 19/10/2021 13:36

@antsinyourpanta

Who does the most cleaning/laundry/ironing in your house?

ohthestruggles · 19/10/2021 13:48

A cleaner is not an essential. Only on MN Hmm

ohthestruggles · 19/10/2021 13:48

A cleaner is not an essential. Only on MN Hmm

mrsevangelina · 19/10/2021 18:11

@TatianaBis

Cleaning is essential no? If cleaning needs to be done but both partners are working long hours then a cleaner is essential.

I don’t care whether you agree with me.

If more women got with the programme they would spend less time cleaning on top of working FT while their DP puts his feet up.

Essential cleaner 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 What do you think people on extremely low incomes who work long hours do?

Long hours aren't ring-fenced by the rich and highflying, you know!

TatianaBis · 19/10/2021 20:03

Oooooh I really don't know do tell me? Confused

By people do you mean men or women because the answer to your questions depends very much on gender. Men in general still do a lot less cleaning and domestic work than women. Even if both are working FT.

If women developed a bit more of a sense of male entitlement on the subject of cleaning: that it is someone else's job not theirs: they may be less tired.

When I was young and broke I prioritised a cleaner over alcohol and cinema. It was a question of priorities.

antsinyourpanta · 19/10/2021 20:45

When I was young and broke I prioritised a cleaner over alcohol and cinema. It was a question of priorities.

You know some people have to choose between putting the heating on in winter and everyone getting adequate food to eat?
You can be as indignant as you like about the unfair burden on women but the reality is some families haven't got spare money for a cleaner (or alcohol or the cinema)
For me an essential is something you can't function without (food, water, heat, light, power, Internet etc) Our household (and many others) can and do function without a cleaner.

MrsRobbieHart · 19/10/2021 20:47

When I was young and broke I prioritised a cleaner over alcohol and cinema. It was a question of priorities.

Interesting definition of “broke”!

RosesAndHellebores · 19/10/2021 20:57

There has to be some perspective. We both work full-time, all the time. DD has boomeranged. I got home early tonight at 6.45, put a load of washing on and have roasted a chicken. DH still not home. If we lived in 1000 sq m, I'm sure we could manage. We don't.

I have no wish to clean and iron and never have, neither have I ever had a wish to live in anything approaching chaos.

Yes, I could possibly manage without any help. But I don't wish to, neither did my grannie, nor my mother. We have all has less than the preceding generation.

nordicnorth · 19/10/2021 21:00

When I was young and broke I prioritised a cleaner over alcohol and cinema. It was a question of priorities.

Yea you've never been broke then have you! When I was young I prioritised paying my rent/council tax/utilities and feeding myself one meal a day because I couldn't afford anything else. I lived on my own, worked 3 part time jobs, full time uni and had a budget of £7 a week after bills.

A cleaner is not an essential household requirement. Your replies get more goady as you go on. I don't actually believe people really are this twaty.

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