Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if money gets tight will you cancel your cleaner??

216 replies

Tootsey11 · 09/03/2022 13:09

I am a cleaner, and with prices of everything rising, I'm wondering if or when the cancellations will start coming.

Will you prioritise a clean house and cut back on other things?

At the moment I am not short of work, but may need to increase the hourly rate for my furtherest away clients. I'm holding back as I'm worried about pricing myself out. I charge between £10 and £11/hour. There are people in my area advertising cleaning for £8/£9 an hour.

If you have a cleaner, will you keep them on or needs must and get rid

OP posts:
Crankley · 09/03/2022 14:19

My cleaner has been with me for nearly twenty years and is more like a friend. I'm physically disabled and simply can't do all that she does.

I don't know what part of the country you're in but your hourly rate seems low. Until recently I was paying £13 an hour but I put it up a pound at the beginning of the year. £14/15 is the going rate around here.

I don't have a lot of money but I could never cancel her.

lechatnoir · 09/03/2022 14:19

We dropped down to alternate weeks when I took my current (lower paid but better work/life balance) job but already starting to feel the pinch with rising cost so I suspect the Cleaner will probably have to go before too long Sad. Yes we could cut back elsewhere but they are not on the same 'life luxuries' scale as having a cleaner - kids sporting activities, enough money for an annual bog standard holiday, running 2 cars etc. If I had to choose between things like manicures, additional trips away or swapping 5 star hotel for 4, then yes I would cut back elsewhere and keep the cleaner as our home is definitely cleaner and happier for it.

I hope your clients keep you on op

AchillesHeelys · 09/03/2022 14:21

There are other things that would go first (eating out, manicures, new clothes) but cleaner is fairly high up the list of things to cancel if money gets tight. Gym membership and TV subscriptions would come next.

veevee04 · 09/03/2022 14:21

High on up our list but I hate cleaning 🤣🤣.

Samanabanana · 09/03/2022 14:22

I would cut other luxuries before I let go of my cleaner!

namechangeanonymous · 09/03/2022 14:22

Rather live on beans on toast than give up my lovely cleaner.

veevee04 · 09/03/2022 14:23

My current cleaners are awful last week only stayed 25 minutes out of 1 hour booking there's two of them. They didn't even clean the surfaces properly ! I don't think good cleaners will lose business but the rubbish ones yes. I'm on the hunt for new ones.

Flippy87 · 09/03/2022 14:25

I’d stop other things first. Working full time we really need a cleaner so we can enjoy the limited free time we have

thedefinitionofmadness · 09/03/2022 14:26

The cleaner will be the last thing to go. I am very time poor. Her work for me means I can work a lot more - she saves me time, energy, stress.

Trytryandtryagain11 · 09/03/2022 14:27

it's so hard to get a fantastic cleaner and build trust etc. that we would definitely cut down other things first. (That being said, our cleaners charge £15 an hour so I'm now feeling like that's a lot!)

NotYourOscarSpeech · 09/03/2022 14:29

I would sell a kidney before I gave up my cleaner.

Also I pay £20/hour, that’s in an expensive part of the South East but don’t sell yourself short! Good reliable cleaners are entitled to charger much higher hourly rates IMO

dworky · 09/03/2022 14:30

I have a cleaner? Grin

Bert2020 · 09/03/2022 14:31

Ours would be one of the last to go! She is worth her weight in gold, we pay £12.50 currently but would go to £15, don’t sell yourself short!

thewhatsit · 09/03/2022 14:32

Yes but then as PP for me it’s often that I’ve only needed a little push (scary economic news makes me consider it or a small price rise) to cancel the cleaners I’ve had as I generally haven’t been happy with them (they all start fantastic and then by the end they’re not..). If it was a service I really relied on or I had a cleaner that did a consistently good job I would probably wouldn’t consider cancelling unless things got really tough.

Covid made me cancel our last cleaning service and I haven’t re-started mainly because I haven’t yet found a cleaner that didn’t end up doing half as much as they start doing a year in..

44PumpLane · 09/03/2022 14:33

Sorry haven't read the full thread, my answer is that we don't have a cleaner and it has been difficult to source one that's not from a "big company" round my way. I think this year I will be actively looking to hire the services of a cleaner.

So although some others may need to reduce hours, you may find that it simply frees you up for those other people out these who are in need of your services!

thewhatsit · 09/03/2022 14:33

Price difference between areas has always been there I think and very marked. I’m in London so in general things cost more but not cleaners.

irregularegular · 09/03/2022 14:33

My cleaning company recently put the prices up quite significantly (and they weren't low). I reduced the hours from 4 hours a week to 5 hours every other week in response.

Sunshineandflipflops · 09/03/2022 14:35

When my marriage ended 4 years ago I think I cancelled my cleaner within days. It wasn't a necessity and at that point, that's what I had to prioritise.

I can clean myself, even though I work, but I HAVE to fuel/run my car, feed me and my kids, etc.

whoruntheworldgirls · 09/03/2022 14:36

I've been without a cleaner for a few months, new one starting tomorrow, i'd find other ways to cut back first! I've really missed having one and am looking forward to a sparkling house, it wouldn't be something i cancelled easily.
So far my cutbacks (not needed but preparing myself just in case) are stopping buying coffee and lunch when i go to the office, saving me about £10-£15 a week.

Telebonn · 09/03/2022 14:36

We don't have a cleaner, but yes it would be one of the first things to go.

Thursday37 · 09/03/2022 14:37

It was the fist thing we cut when we opted for me to go slightly part-time after DD. If we still had her we'd be cutting her now.

I absolutely loved having a cleaner and would have one again in a heartbeat but it is a definite luxury. We just live in a filthy house now as we still don't have enough hours to do it. I had planned to get her back when DD starts school but the way things are it is unlikely sadly.

WanderingLost167 · 09/03/2022 14:38

No, she's grown into a friend and I hate house work

1Micem0use · 09/03/2022 14:38

I know this a tad off topic, but how do you find a reputable cleaner? If I get the job I've applied for I'd love a regular cleaner to help me keep on top of things.

LaBelleSausage · 09/03/2022 14:39

My cleaner upped her prices and I had to cancel.
Absolutely understand her need to do it, but unfortunately I can't justify the cost.

Giggorata · 09/03/2022 14:40

No, she is my friend, on a small fixed income and she offered to do it, as I find it v difficult, due to health.
It benefits both of us.