Am I expecting too much from a cleaner?!?

[MumOfLittleOnes]

I had the same cleaner for the last 10years who unfortunately retired she was absolutely amazing!

I found a new cleaner who started a couple of weeks ago I’m paying £15 an hour for 4 hours and I’m totally unimpressed just wondered if I am being picky or if some of these things are unacceptable. (I have a 4 year old and an 8 week old so things have been a bit manic lately so some toys do get left out as sometimes as you know it is impossible to find the time to tidy every single one away before the cleaner comes!)

I asked if she could do the beds (not change them just make them) she said she charges extra for doing beds I found this really bizzare?!?

When moping the floor in our kitchen they are tiles she has obviously used the wrong type of cleaning product or mop and left it horrendously smeary meaning I had to re do myself.

When cleaning the bath she didn’t actually move any of the kids bath toys from the side of the bath she just cleaned around them.

The glass sliding doors in our kitchen hadn’t been cleaned and had hand prints all over them still

I left to pick my son up from school and during that time she left (before the 4 hours was up)

I text her saying how much do I owe you and she said I did 3.5hours today.

Surely if she has left early then in those 30mins she should of been here she could of made the beds and quickly vinegar sprayed and wiped the glass doors?!

Charge extra for making beds?? And she left half an hour early . Sorry I'd be looking for someone new!

We have exactly this situation right now - our old cleaner was amazing, she was apparently a witch because she made our whole house sparkle in 2.5 hours.

The new cleaner takes the full three hours, doesn't clean the showers, misses the mirrors, skirting boards, several surfaces, the bath and leaves smears on every shiny surface.

I asked if she needed longer and she just said 'no, I got it all'.

She did not get it all. I end up doing lots of bits again.

I'd love to find someone else but we live in a small village and she's very popular amongst people locally. Not sure how we could go about asking about new cleaners without her hearing about it.

If that's not a factor for you, get rid!!

I agree that she's there to clean, not to tidy.

If you want the bath cleaned properly, move them toys.

Making beds isn't her job and will take you all of three seconds.

I do think the doors should've been cleaned if she hadn't taken the full 4 hours, but at least she was honest.

I go into a house in a professional capacity and often overlap with the cleaner. She changes beds, irons, puts things away and if she's got time after doing everything she's there to do, she'll put something in the slow cooker for the family coming home.

I'm guessing she'll be on more than £15/hr but I obviously don't know for sure. She's worth her weight in gold.

Sounds like maybe you are after more of a housekeeper or mother's help who will do "housework" rather than strictly "cleaning"?

We used to use an agency, so different cleaners would come each week. It was super amusing to come home from work one week to find someone had clambered up onto SDDs very high sleeper bed to remake her bed perfectly smoothly, plumped pillows, arranged blankets and lined up stuffies

I’m not sure if there is any unreasonableness from either party, but it sounds like this cleaner is not the fit for you.

I briefly had a cleaner and hated it. She used to tell my children off for their messy rooms even though she didn't have to go in them as they weren't part of the clean.

I used to feel so bad that she had to clean the loos etc and id end up cleaning before she came. '😖

Also, she never emptied any bins (I mean bedroom and bathroom bins, not the kitchen bin). Is that standard? Im thinking of having another go at having a cleaner and litterall have no idea what they normally do.

Get a new cleaner, this one stresses you out. Cleaners are hired to alleviate some stress on household chores.

I had no idea cleaners don't make beds generally.

I've had two different cleaners and they've either made the bed (if I'd forgotten to do my sons) or made our already made beds look even nicer.

Ugh! I’ve gone though this too with a new agency cleaner. “No I don’t do beds, it’s an extra charge”. “No I don’t wipe down the fridge, it’s an extra charge”. I don’t know when cleaning got all politicised and jobsworth.

The last agency cleaner picked up shoes (that were lined up by the wall) and chucked them on the bed so she could hoover - which dirtied the sheets I had just changed. Just pure stupid.

I had two cleaners for years and they both did the beds - either making or changing. One stopped cleaning and one retired. Since them I’ve used agencies and this is where oh I don’t do that, crap comes in. In my case I just want a sensible and helpful approach to cleaning the house!

I think the lesson learned for me is don’t use agencies!

It won't get better

Every cleaner I have had over about 25 years has changed the beds (aid I have never thought of asking for it, they have just done it).

I remember a colleague saying she got on well with her cleaner when she realised that cleaners work for themselves. Once you have realised that, she said, you get on fine.

She does work for herself and she is entitled to set whatever limits she wants around her work, what she charges extra for. If that doesn't suit you, you are entitled to look for someone else.

Personally I would have thought that tidying before your cleaner comes so that they can clean is a basic expectation. Its why I don't have a cleaner

I don’t think you are unreasonable in your expectations. We had a cleaner and it drove me mad when I’d come home and the sofa cushions weren’t arranged or beds made. It’s about the first impression you get when opening a door after a long day and if it’s messy, then I don’t care much about how much you’ve scrubbed the shower.

We have a lovely cleaner now who understands that some days there will be kids toys or some mess, if we had to leave in a hurry.

No she's crap OP.

Of course cleaners make beds, I've had gazillions in my time.

Cleaner here, did your cleaner do a walkthrough with you before starting?
I always advise this as the cleaner and client then know exactly what is expected.
Every house is different and every client has different priorities.

Could you get a recommendation from your old cleaner? I’ve found this too - in the words of my cleaner you want a cleaner who is passionate about cleaning not someone whose just doing it until they get something else. So provided you don’t have much clutter they will tidy up as they go. I, however, have never met a cleaner who wouldn’t charge extra for beds but maybe that’s a local thing

My cleaning lady cleans the home, and she also changes the bed linen (just me and my partner's bed). I leave ironing and if she has time she does what she can with the ironing.

I don't think you're asking for anything unusual, but I do think you just need to find a cleaner who is on the same page as you.

Mine is a treasure - she's doing this while she's at college and although I want her to graduate with flying colours because she's a lovely person, works very hard and absolutely deserves to, I'm living in mortal fear of the search for a new cleaner when she does graduate and stops cleaning.

@pegasus78

Cleaner here, did your cleaner do a walkthrough with you before starting? I always advise this as the cleaner and client then know exactly what is expected. Every house is different and every client has different priorities.

Yes, this. OP I always go through walkthroughs with prospective cleaners. My family laughed about it until they realised I got my money’s worth in terms of what I wanted each week while they didn’t.

@SprayItOnMe

I briefly had a cleaner and hated it. She used to tell my children off for their messy rooms even though she didn't have to go in them as they weren't part of the clean.

I used to feel so bad that she had to clean the loos etc and id end up cleaning before she came. '😖

Also, she never emptied any bins (I mean bedroom and bathroom bins, not the kitchen bin). Is that standard? Im thinking of having another go at having a cleaner and litterall have no idea what they normally do.

To give you a breakdown:

I live in a modern, two bedroomed/two bathroom apartment. 2 adults live here. My cleaner:

Cleans the hard floors with a mop and hoovers the carpeted floors (the two bedrooms)

Cleans the bathrooms including mirrors/glass surfaces

Dusts and gives the kitchen a clean

Irons the bedlinen for the main bedroom, strips and changes the bedlinen

Empties the bins

Finishes with ironing - usually she gets half a dozen shirts done, a couple of pairs of jeans and a few tops.

This is 2-3 hours a week and I pay £17.50 an hour (home counties). She has a friend who covers for her when she's on holiday who is nearly as good. I pay them both when she's on holiday (ie she gets holiday pay) and I also give her a birthday and (I think) generous Christmas present. I also give her the day off around Christmas / NY and pay her for that.

She's a lovely person, a brilliant cleaner and I know I am very lucky, and privileged, to have her look after the home.

Sounds like you expected her to do what your previous cleaner did. I'd probably fall into the same trap thinking I was paying for 4 hours so, so.long as its vaguely cleaning related, that would be OK to be on the list of things to do.

I can see now why that might not be the case! So if her cleaning work was OK maybe start again and see what she will do from your list. If it doesn't fit then sounds like you need a different one.

My cleaner is fanatically tidy. Last week I left out my friend’s birthday gifts ready to wrap. When I went to do so they were gone. The brand new with tags jumper was tucked into the charity bag and the book was neatly filed into the bookcase among a few hundred other books.

Definitely have a list but I’ve no idea how to solve the over zealous tidying up.

I wouldn't expect a cleaner to make beds unless explicitly agreed.

They don't normally pick up your stuff either - if you leave things out, they will clean around it. You have to tidy before they come (again, unless explicitly agreed).

It's a mismatch of expectations and you need to talk to them about exactly what you want beforehand.

The smeared floor and leaving early aren't good though.

On MN there are always a lot of people horrified at expectations for a cleaner to do more than pure cleaning. IN real life, like any self employed person, I think it's about expectation management and agreeing what is and isn't in scope.

This cleaner isn't for you so find a new one.

Also, when you find a new one, spend a bit of time discussing with her what you want done and whether that is okay for her. If it is not, keep looking. As you have very young children, I personally would think you want a cleaner who is quite happy to get on with a few tidying bits and to just muck in.

I run a small business. Within the broader scope of my business, there are a few things that I can do but choose not to. If clients ask me to do those things I tell them no. It is 100% reasonable for them to ask because many people with a business like mine would absolutely do those things. Cleaning is no different.

You need to give her a list as you do sound picky. And making the beds is a strange request I'd say.