What do cleaners clean ?

[MiniPumpkin]

2young kids and feel the house is like a tip. Would love to hire a cleaner to help out a few hours a week.. I feel a bit uncomfortable/unsure what I should ask them to do.. would be interested to hear peoples experiences,. We have a 4 bed, things like skirting boards and so on barely get touched 🤣 I feel like I’d maybe keep the place a bit cleaner too..
thoughts please.. I know this will be different for everyone.

No tidying up here, I do that beforehand. Everything cleaned, floors, tiles cleaned and polished with a tea towel, mirrors, bathrooms, toilets, skirting, cobwebs, everything hoovered and dusted.

Things not cleaned probably easier to list - window glass not cleaned and beds not changed.

They will do most things but you need to find a good ‘fit’.

I am disorganised and my boys are like wrecking balls so keeping tidy is near impossible sometimes.

My cleaner does a bit of tidying in my boys rooms, hoovers all floors, mops the hard floors. Dusts throughout. Full clean kitchen, bathroom and downstairs loo.

Mine isn’t necessarily the best cleaner in the world but she needs no direction, does tidying which is extremely valuable to me, is very trustworthy.

The fit is perfect for us and I wouldn’t be without her.

Pretty much whatever you ask them to, as long as you agree how much time is needed to do a proper job.
Cleaners should not be expected to tidy though. The space should be tidied ready for them to clean.

Whatever as long as its reasonable within the hours and not completely gross and shouldn't be asked of another person.
The point is to discuss the responsibilities I think.

I give my cleaner a check list and every week ask her to do something specific. Eg all cleaners don't seem to get into nooks or crannies which annoys me. Eg hoover the skirting, hoover behind the bin and move it out thr way to hoover, wipe the counter under and behind the microwave.

So each week I ask for something specific in addition to the general hoovering and dusting. Don't forget you're paying them to clean so don't feel embarrassed by asking by asking specific cleaning.

Our cleaner does all bathrooms, floors hoovered and mopped, dusts all ornaments, sides, cleans all mirrors every week then every second week does skirting boards, insides of windows etc. she also asks every week if there’s anything specific I would like her to do.

I ensure everything is tidy for her so she doesn’t waste time moving stuff etc.

Our cleaner vacuums and dusts throughout, does the bathrooms and has a good go in the kitchen.she works her way around the windows over 4-6 weeks or so and does extras if asked eg changing a bed. She also irons. I pay her £50.00 a week for abou 3 hours in a 4 bedroom house.it isn't time for a perfect job but it does keep things going

Large 4 bed 4 bath house. We have a cleaner 3 hours a week. She does kitchen, bathrooms, main living areas inc hallway and landing and 2 x bedrooms inc changing bedding.

We tidy prior and strip bed but she does also tidy up a bit as she goes such as making cushions on sofa all pretty and neat etc. I'm sure she'd tidy also but that's her time and that costs money qnd tidying isn't a massive job for us.

She also does things adhoc so if she has time I'll ask if she can do x y z. Or I'll say instead of doing Y can you do X this week. As skirting/inside of windows and stuff like that is a now and again thing. For me she's the person that keeps the house in a nice basic clean condition. It gives me a chance to do a deep clean or tidy of bits as needed like the oven.

I wouldn't be without her though. There's something amazing about coming home to a clean tidy house once a week.

We're quite organised and have no kids so not much tidying but my cleaner tidies things like the bathroom shelves when she cleans them. She does the bathrooms, hoovers upstairs and cleans the floor downstairs, dusts and cleans ornaments and picture frames, wipes all surfaces in bedrooms and downstairs. She doesn't do the kitchen because I can manage it but she has done it before.

A lot of cleaners tidy and do extra jobs especially for clients with kids. My neighbour's cleaner does things like washing toys and organising their playroom as part of her job. You can ask them to clean what you need and they'll usually do it. Skirting boards would be done as a standard for most cleaners.

I tidy. Mine does hoover, dust, skirtings, bathrooms, kitchen. She changes beds. She mops the downstairs. If she has extra time she cleans windows, microwave etc.. she does 3hr each week. 2 bedrooms but I have a dog so lots to clean!

Make a list and check it with prospective cleaners to see if they are happy to do those things. I’ve read on here that some cleaners won’t change sheets but as that’s one of the things I want to avoid doing I would need to keep looking.

I just wondered when you have a cleaner, I pay £20 an hour, she cleans all floors, bathroom, wipes tops. She doesn’t seem to do behind things, that’s harder to see, also the ornaments, picture frames etc, after she’s done the tops. Is this normal or should I say?

I'm a cleaner and do basically what the client needs, if you need housekeeping (tidying as well as cleaning) that perfectly fine, if you go through an agency they will advise how many hours you will need

We have cleaners every 4 weeks. The advantage for me is that it makes me tidy up. I do not clean but I do tidy up. I strip the bed and they remake it.
It is just me and my wife but she does nothing as she can't stand up or walk so I do all the housework. (I love her and she matters more than dust)

I just let the cleaners do what they can and am always happy with a cleaner house

It just the things like pic frames, glass lamps etc are still really dusty, my house is tidy, so she doesn’t need to do any of that, I also change my bed and do the kitchen. Everything else I leave as I waiting to have spine surgery, so can’t do them.

They will focus on what you ask, but mine does hoovering, dusting, cleans kitchen and both bathrooms, mops floors. It’s a surface clean, so if I wanted her to tackle the shower as it’s got some mould I’d have to specify that, and she would have to leave something else to fit it in. You can do a deep clean every so often too

Whatever you ask them to do, in general. Some things take longer so you have to bear that in mind. Mine doesn't move furniture, not even light furniture, so we just make sure dining chairs are off the floor. I only have mine for 2 hours a fortnight, so I ask her to clean the kitchen, 3 bath/shower rooms, and all floors in the public areas. Occasionally I will ask her to do another hour (if she can fit it in) to do something else specific. she will usually give the visible skirting boards a quick swish over when she does the floors. We always tidy up before she comes.

I get an oven cleaning company in once a year to do a thorough oven clean and another company in once a year to clean the carpets and sofa thoroughly.