Page 7 | Am I expecting too much from a cleaner?!?

13yearslater · 09/02/2022 02:02

math the lower to middle classes are embarrassed by nothing. Not even their own shit-stained Calvin Klein knickers left out for the 'cleaner' to pick up. (been there)

For instance: 'Lots of us have cleaners..you're pissing in the wind'.
That's just rude. Stupid. Common. Zero class.

They expect the skivvies to do all manner of dirty work. Then they critique them online and ask 'AIBU to expect my cleaner to clean under Crispin's bath ducks and change my semen-stained bed sheets'?? '

And then.....wow, all those who can afford 15 quid an hour for a woman to pick up their shit (how many of you have male cleaners? Do tell, oh feministzas) pile in and tell all and sundry what cleaners defo do as standard.

Meh it's pissing in the wind trying to educate the entitled. Believe me, most of their cleaners would rather not be cleaning.

And 'cleaner' is soooo old-fashioned. 'Domestic Technician' thankyou very much. Accountants are bean counters.

13yearslater · 09/02/2022 02:09

It's a laugh discussing it all in private groups. Which I am organising to be localised so that domestic technicians know exactly what rates of pay and acceptable work patterns and jobs they should demand.

13yearslater · 09/02/2022 02:23

luredbyapomegranate you have no idea what normal is. A week's worth of crockery is totally normal in many minted households who employ a 'cleaner.'. Usually the plates are thick mould. Lots of pukka teabags.

It takes two trips carrying them all down from the third floor..then soaking and scrubbing.

Meanwhile, the four dogs' water bowls are green with mould. And the fridge is stuffed with mouldering Charlie Bighams.

And the sheets need changing. They stink and are stained with makeup and covered in dog hairs and semen stains.

The bins (daughters) are crammed with Aveda and Liz Earle empties, bloodied tampons...recyclable cotton pads which they've not recycled.

But these sorts are so bang on with saving the environment and equal rights...

Full
of
shit

camperqueen54 · 09/02/2022 02:31

I've had a few cleaning companies but none of them made beds. In fact they didn't seem to clean anything that was vertical only horizontal. Really bizarre. I just do it myself now because I was getting too frustrated. It seemed also they started well but then apathy crept in.

mathanxiety · 09/02/2022 02:50

@Luredbyapomegranate, I believe it is you you who thinks a cleaner should find and deal with a week's worth of dirty dishes and crusty mugs.

Unless your cleaner comes every day, then that is what your weekly cleaner should deal with if the homeowner so wishes, according to you.

If you allow your family to live like pigs, then every time your cleaner shows up she will have to face a pigsty.

Kanaloa · 09/02/2022 03:56

@Luredbyapomegranate

Get shot of her. Changing beds is part of her job, moving toys to clean the Bath ditto.

As PP suggests, write a clear list for the next one.

Well changing beds isn’t part of her job if she didn’t agree to do it before she was hired by the op

Kanaloa · 09/02/2022 04:02

Changing beds, filling the dishwasher, emptying bins, bringing down dirty crockery - yes these are all standard parts of a cleaners job. Ironing is not - some cleaners will do it, others won’t. Laundry is not standard, and would be unusual.

Bringing down dirty crockery? So do you just eat and drink in bed and leave the dirty plates and cups for the cleaner to get? I wouldn’t have done that when I was cleaning.

I do think what a lot of people are missing is that there’s absolutely no point saying ‘cleaners do x. XYZ is standard.’

It doesn’t matter. This specific cleaner is refusing to do it. She is not offering this specific service. It was not agreed that she would do it and she does not want to. That’s her choice. If op doesn’t like it then she can advertise for a cleaner and specifically ask at interview/arrangement ‘do you make and change beds and tidy toys up? Because that is a necessity for us.’ Whether or not other cleaners iron/change beds/go to the post office/perform gymnastics for your entertainment is entirely irrelevant. You haven’t hired someone who wants to offer that service.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 09/02/2022 06:12

It really is just lazy to leave dirty crockery out for a cleaner to pick up. I'd be so embarrassed doing that.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 09/02/2022 06:15

No one is too busy to take an empty cup into the kitchen. Ridiculous.

chaosrabbitland · 09/02/2022 06:25

@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?!

i was a cleaner for a mum of a 3 and no i wasnt asked to make beds , its not really cleaning as such i did clear off or move objects to clean and dust and then move them back however i was supplied with the products that she wanted me to use in her house i didnt bring anything to the job except myself , she had specific things she liked used to clean her tiles for example and yes i would have considered it part of a clean to wipe the handprints off sliding doors , and my clean was a 4 hour for a 3 bed large house and it used to take me all of the 4 hours

Luredbyapomegranate · 09/02/2022 06:36

@Kanaloa

Changing beds, filling the dishwasher, emptying bins, bringing down dirty crockery - yes these are all standard parts of a cleaners job. Ironing is not - some cleaners will do it, others won’t. Laundry is not standard, and would be unusual.

Bringing down dirty crockery? So do you just eat and drink in bed and leave the dirty plates and cups for the cleaner to get? I wouldn’t have done that when I was cleaning.

I do think what a lot of people are missing is that there’s absolutely no point saying ‘cleaners do x. XYZ is standard.’

It doesn’t matter. This specific cleaner is refusing to do it. She is not offering this specific service. It was not agreed that she would do it and she does not want to. That’s her choice. If op doesn’t like it then she can advertise for a cleaner and specifically ask at interview/arrangement ‘do you make and change beds and tidy toys up? Because that is a necessity for us.’ Whether or not other cleaners iron/change beds/go to the post office/perform gymnastics for your entertainment is entirely irrelevant. You haven’t hired someone who wants to offer that service.

@Kanaloa No of course not, because I’m not a teen.

However families with teens might expect cleaners to bring down the odd plate or cup as they went, and it would be normal to do this, and not leave it where it was. No one is suggesting a weeks worth of crockery.

Stop fighting imaginary battles..

.. and actually read the thread. It’s about a cleaner who wasn’t doing a good job, and nothing to do with refusing to do specific jobs. Those responses were to a PP writing funny pissed posts accusing everyone with a cleaner of having downton abbey fantasies.

Finally, of course there are standard jobs most domestic cleaners do. Same as there are standard jobs most PAs and dinner ladies do. No one is suggesting it can’t vary.

Luredbyapomegranate · 09/02/2022 06:41

[quote mathanxiety]@Luredbyapomegranate, I believe it is you you who thinks a cleaner should find and deal with a week's worth of dirty dishes and crusty mugs.

Unless your cleaner comes every day, then that is what your weekly cleaner should deal with if the homeowner so wishes, according to you.

If you allow your family to live like pigs, then every time your cleaner shows up she will have to face a pigsty.[/quote]
@mathanxiety

No, as I just pointed out to the bonkers poster who suggested this, no one is suggesting that cleaners should bring down a weeks worth of crockery. Just that it would be normal to pick up the odd plate or cup, not leave it there.

And no, for clarity I don’t personally leave plates or cups around the place, and neither do my family.

So perhaps you could also lay off the imaginary battles, and actually read the thread if you are going to comment on it.

This is entertainingly mental though, I have to say.

Grapewrath · 09/02/2022 06:52

Cleaners clean imo. Glass, hoover, mop polish etc
Housekeepers tidy, arrange, change beds, do laundry etc
You need to talk to the cleaner about your expectations and if she’s not the one be specific when you go to the agency about your requirements so they can find you someone suitable

crosbystillsandmash · 09/02/2022 06:56

I'm embarrassed for you that you think it's your cleaners job to make your bed

Grapewrath · 09/02/2022 06:58

And I would be mortified to ask anyone to clear crockery from my teenagers rooms. How embarrassing and what a way to make your kids entitled. My teenagers are never too busy to bring down their own cups and empty their bins. I wouldn’t expect anyone to pick up after them in that way (including myself).

girlmom21 · 09/02/2022 07:00

@13yearslater plates don't get 'thick mould' after one week.
Water bowls don't get green in one week.

If you're changing the sheets it doesn't matter what's on them because you're not cleaning and replacing with the same sheets.

Households who expect what you're claiming have housekeepers and they're there more regularly than once a week.

'Domestic technician' is not a phrase used by any self employed person where I live.

Luredbyapomegranate · 09/02/2022 07:11

@crosbystillsandmash

I'm embarrassed for you that you think it's your cleaners job to make your bed

No one said that.

The original poster was talking about cleaners changing beds.

Read the thread.

girlmom21 · 09/02/2022 07:15

@Luredbyapomegranate the OP said I asked if she could do the beds (not change them just make them)

Luredbyapomegranate · 09/02/2022 07:23

She did. I stand corrected.

Orangepen13 · 09/02/2022 07:27

You’re paying for a service - totally reasonable to ask for how you want time to be used, and totally reasonable for your cleaner to have her boundaries. In this case, your needs just don’t match

BUT using the wrong floor cleaner is a big no and would do my head in!

BlueBellsArePretty · 09/02/2022 11:26

I would have thought that if cleaners we're being paid for a deep clean or end of tenancy clean then cleaning is all they would expect to do. If it was a regular domestic clean for people with busy lives then I would expect the cleaner to have a more holistic attitude in relation to light tidying or bed changing. Also a Google search of housekeepers, which is what some cleaners are telling posters to get if they want anything else other than strict cleaning, just brings up a list of people calling themselves cleaners who state that they also do beds, ironing etc.

crosbystillsandmash · 09/02/2022 21:13

@Luredbyapomegranate
I suggest you read the thread actually
In the original post, op clearly states she doesn't want her beds changed, just made.

Whiteminnowfish · 09/02/2022 21:23

Where do you live? I'd be happy to work for you with that salary.

Will make beds wipe windows...stay an extra hour 🙃

whateverintheworld · 09/02/2022 21:32

Not only does my cleaner move the bath toys to clean, she puts them back colour coded - she is a legend!

mathanxiety · 09/02/2022 21:36

Changing beds, filling the dishwasher, emptying bins, bringing down dirty crockery - yes these are all standard parts of a cleaners job.

You said this, @Luredbyapomegranate.
Also this:
No, as I just pointed out to the bonkers poster who suggested this, no one is suggesting that cleaners should bring down a weeks worth of crockery. Just that it would be normal to pick up the odd plate or cup, not leave it there.

And just to repeat, a cleaner who comes once a week is going to have a week's worth of dirty crockery to deal with, because they come once a week, not every day, and an odd plate or cup multiplied by seven is a tray full of dirty crockery, and that's just for one family member with slovenly habits. How many odd plates and mugs would be generated by a family of slobs comprised of mum, dad and three teens, in a week?

I honestly don't know the answer to that question because I did not allow my DCs (now aged 20-31) to eat anywhere except the kitchen and dining room.