To think cleaner should try not to clean in the room I am using

[JuJuPanda]

We've got a cleaner for the first time and she comes for a full day. I've noticed that she often ends up cleaning in whatever area I'm in - AIBU to tell her not to do that?

It's not like I expect her to be silent as a mouse but it's a bit annoying when I sit in the living room to call my mum and a couple of minutes later she appears with mop and hoover or DD decides she wants to play outside and within minutes there she is to noisily sweep the patio. I'm grateful for the work she does but it seems unnecessarily intrusive!

We keep out of our cleaner's way. When we are working from home we usually ask her to skip the home office that week. If we happen to be off work we aim to go out while she is there.

@Fetchthevet

Say something like "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't clean a room while I'm in it. Thank you."

That sounds pretty rude to me, because it's highlighting that she's done something "wrong".

I've always found it's easiest to give our own location as the instructions e.g. When DS was little "I'll play in here with DS most of the morning so we'll be out of your way, then we'll go to the kitchen for lunch at 12 followed by a nap upstairs and back in here at 3pm. Is it ok for you to arrange your cleaning plan around that?" Then she gets to think if she can make it work or ask for any adjustments like "is it ok if I'm still doing the kitchen / going through with laundry at 2.30?" And you say "no problem / please leave any laundry and I'll finish it off because a friend is popping in", whatever suits on the day.

We’ve had our cleaner for over 10 years and she’s amazing. She had issues over lockdown as some of her clients moved away and she needed to rebuild her client base. As a result she asked to change the time she comes to us so she could accommodate her new clients - even though the new time is not convenient for us ie when we are usually all home particularly in the winter, we accommodated her request. So as far as possible we try to be out, but if we need to be in then we have a chat when she arrives on where is best for her to start and then we just work around that. She’s happy, we’re happy and we value each other. Communication is key and better to have a quick 1 min chat than getting irritated and letting things fester.

Stay out of her way or offer her a cuppa. Bloody hell.

@Fetchthevet

Say something like "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't clean a room while I'm in it. Thank you."

So rude.

Speak to her- say you've noticed you might be getting in her way so you'll stay in X room and she can clean that last. She'll appreciate the direction and you'll both be able to get on with your tasks.

Thoughts and prayers OP

I don't know you just need a system. I wfh, our cleaner does the sitting room first, tells me when she's done and I go in and work from there.

Absolutely your job to stay out the way. I go out when mine is in.

Would you like her to wipe your bum too? You seem so annoyed I thought you were WFH....no ringing your mum. Obviously a cleaner is a domestic skivvy who should be honoured to work for you and ask permission to enter any room

You should go and sit on the toilet seat to call your Mum, she won't come in the bathroom I don't think ! You must have a very large stiff brush for sweeping the patio, if it sounds too noisy for you. You could sweep the patio yourself,in the fresh air, whilst the cleaner gets all the rooms done.

Op are you saying that she deliberately comes to clean in whatever area if the house you are in?

I hate it when the staff get in my way. they should be seen and not heard. fire her.

Do you want her to be like an invisible fairy who magically cleans without being seen?

When mine comes in I am WFH (not calling my mum....) and we have a system whereby she will clean downstairs while I work in my office upstairs, and then we switch when she has finished downstairs and I go and work in the kitchen. If I can make it work while I'm on meetings etc I'm sure you can come up with a similar system.

@SallyWebsterr

It is your job to move out of her way. We actually do this by having one room that the cleaner doesn’t clean. It’s my home office and I am in there wfh so i just clean it myself. When the cleaner is coming, anyone who is home has to come do something quiet in my office while she works.

Blimey, I came here ready to be on OP's side, because my cleaner does piss me off with this.

I've been off sick before, and left a note saying that I'm resting in the bedroom with a migraine and not to disturb. Only for her to "just check", aka thump on the door and ask loudly if I want the bedroom doing whilst "joking" about me skiving.

But yes, YABU.

Do it yourself then If you're gonna moan, for the Christ sake she's just doing her job doesn't need to tip toe round you, lazy lazy lazy ...

**for Christ's sake

@JuJuPanda

We've got a cleaner for the first time and she comes for a full day. I've noticed that she often ends up cleaning in whatever area I'm in - AIBU to tell her not to do that?

It's not like I expect her to be silent as a mouse but it's a bit annoying when I sit in the living room to call my mum and a couple of minutes later she appears with mop and hoover or DD decides she wants to play outside and within minutes there she is to noisily sweep the patio. I'm grateful for the work she does but it seems unnecessarily intrusive!

Would love to have this kind of problem 😂 can you not just go out whilst she is in? It's probably more annoying for her to have someone in the way when she is trying to do her work

I grew up with a cleaner who came into our house one day a week. You have got it the wrong way round. It isn't her who has to keep changing job to avoid you, you are the one who has to stay out of her way so that she can get all cleaning and other jobs done in the one day.

@FastFood

Thoughts and prayers OP

@JuJuPanda

I don't need her to be ultra efficient and work to a routine though. As I said, she comes for the whole day so I guess she's more of a housekeeper than a cleaner.

I don't think the arrangement will last tbh, if this is normal (which clearly it is!) it obviously doesn't suit me. Thanks for the judgement on me "sitting around at home" looking after my toddler btw!

Housekeeper?

[quote JuJuPanda]@morechocolateneededtoday I asked because I wasn't sure if I was being unreasonable wanting her to adapt her way of doing things to whatever I happen to be doing. Based on the majority I am very unreasonable to ask that of her so I won't.[/quote]
Well, when you think about it, if you're cleaning a whole house there will be a system, so that's what needs to be worked around. Not a random phone call.

I don't need her to be ultra efficient and work to a routine though

But she does. When you're a cleaner or similar, you have your own routine. It makes life easier.

I tend to use the time my cleaner's here, to do errands. If I'm home and have a meeting or a call, I warn her and she'll do rooms out of order to accommodate me. Likewise if I'm going out for half an hour, she'll offer to do the living room while I'm gone so that I can have it to myself when I get back. Otherwise, when it's time for her to do that room, I simply go upstairs to the study.

There's nothing remotely difficult about it. Just communicate.