Do cleaners not do dishes?

[Fifi00]

My new cleaners seem a bit rubbish. I clean the loo , move clothes, I had already hoovered a couple of days ago and gave everything a proper scrub/mop there wasn't much for them to do but DD and DH had left breakfast dishes in the sink. The dishes were untouched and the cleaners left 30 mins early. I pay for 2 hours a week , 2 cleaners so 1 hour. Is washing some dishes and cleaning the sink really unacceptable?

@journeyofinsanity

Please see attached pics - left for me by (several years ago) by a weekly client on the third clean I did for them. Sink full plus extra next to sink … and mould. Oh, and broken glasses in sink too just for good measure. Agreement re. dishes was ‘small amount of breakfast items’.

Cleaned it up, got paid, never cleaned for them again.

Sack your cleaners!

I'm sorry but no house is ever THAT clean that the cleaners leave 30 minutes early!! There is always something else to dust, another surface to clean, a shelf to wipe, etc - or do the damn dishes (exception or not).

No, I wouldn't normally expect my cleaners to do my dishes, nor would I leave them for my cleaners (but I do have teenagers and sometimes there are dishes in or near the sink however hard I try). I think that 30 minutes could have been put to better use and for this I would be re-thinking my cleaners.

I've had a few cleaners over the years and they ALL did dishes. You are right to be cross - especially as they left early! My cleaners have done everything requested including doing windows, and even cleaning an 'overdue' oven. .....and a bit of ironing! Depends on the cleaner or company they work for I guess. Maybe you would be better off with a privately hired local Mrs Mop?

I’ve had cleaners all my working life.

Modern cleaners talk about deep cleaning. Deep cleaning is just a decent clean. When a cleaner says they think a deep clean is needed then they’re not the cleaner for me. Cleaning is always a deep clean otherwise what’s the point. If not deep cleaning then it’s just tickling the clean.

when I first had cleaners many years ago, they did the domestic work like washing the floors, skirting boards, of course the dishes, the entrance to the house etc., then as years went on I heard no - I can’t do that when I’ve asked why there’s dust under the chairs.

Seems to be the more I pay, the less cleaning is done.

That is absolutely minging!

My rule of thumb with my cleaners is to treat them with respect and never ever expect them to do anything disgusting! Whether that's dirty toilets or gross items!

Christ a little bit of common decency doesn't cost much!

No wonder you never went back....

I was a cleaner. I got far less real cleaning done in houses that were untidy. Tidying first takes a lot of time!

You need to communicate. When my cleaner started she had a whole list for me to tick which I wanted prioritising and a box to fill in for specific requests. Also. If they left half an hour early they only did HALF the time? So each cleaner only did half an hour. I wouldn't particularly be pissed off about the dishes not being done but I would be pissed off about that. There's ALWAYS something that needs doing to take up the time. Blinds, tops of kitchen cupboards, inside cupboards. It's endless.

We always do a thorough tidy before the cleaner comes. The cleaner is there to clean (hover, mop, dust, sweep, wipe down, dust). Not to put away.

I don't have time to do breakfast dishes before we leave for work/ school so our cleaner does do them (2 kids plates or bowl, 2 kids cups and 1 glass). If the cleaner wasn't coming, the breakfast dishes would be loaded in to the dishwasher in the evening when I come home from work.

I think what your looking for OP is a housekeeper not a general cleaner-there is a big difference. I have done lots of domestic cleaning in the past, in both homes and offices, and I never did dishes- I would however empty/ load a dishwasher if there was time. Ive also been a housekeeper, and I did everything from laundry and ironing to cleaning outside windows.

Not acceptable to leave 30 minutes early though, but I know plenty that do this. I wouldn’t dream of it, but then again I charge well above MW. I don’t know what you or their agency pay but a good wage can make a big difference in a service someone is providing.

I don't dispute that but surely that's up to the person paying to decide?

As long as its nothing gross that is...

Yes, absolutely! But if you want everywhere cleaned as well as possible, you'd need to add on tidying up time!

If you had already cleaned, moped and hoovered before cleaners arrived seriously, what are they going to do? Leave it for them to do. Do your own dirty dishes. Most cleaners don't do dishes. You tidy before they come and then let them clean.

Sacked a cleaner cos she never did the dishes. I can’t understand a cleaner who leaves dishes undone and sink uncleaned. Makes zero sense to me. To each their own. I now have a new one who cleans dishes and leaves my kitchen thorough. As it should be.

Mine does, but I try not to leave them for her. I tell her to leave them to but she's an unstoppable force and an amazing person who I'm lucky enough to now call my friend.

In the past I had a few different cleaners sent from the same agency who would look so baffled that there wasn't a dishwasher (to unload - no random dishes then as was at home with the babies.

If I was a cleaner I would have done the dishes if nothing else to do, providing not a huge amount. And you are not the only one to clean round before cleaners come lol, u did at least have a fairly valid reason to do so , but I still wonder why people clean their house before cleaners come, what is point of having one.

I used to do a bit of cleaning. Dishes were only done if asked (and it was usually only a few breakfast bowls). There was never any expectation.

I did clean the sink if it was empty though. That to me was part of the bare minimum.

You need to have good communication about what you want doing. It’s no good saying “I want the kitchen cleaned” as it’s a bit vague. What in the kitchen would you like doing? Oven, sink, cupboards, floor, dishes etc. Cleaners aren’t mind readers.

My cleaner would do dishes if I left them in the sink but she's been working for me for about 40 years.

You have two different issues:

• your cleaner is leaving early but still expects to be paid for two hours which is not acceptable. She should have asked you if anything else needed to be done if she had finished her basic tasks early.

• the dishes: this is not usual something that cleaners would do. If you wanted her to do that, you should have made it clear to her.

It doesn't sound like she is the right person for you so find someone else and be clear from the start about your expectations.

But this isn't about doing a few dishes. This is about grubby people. No one I know leaves a week's worth of dishes sitting out like that.

Who cooks? Stop cooking for DH the twat. And there should be consequences for dd too, she needs to help eith age appropriate chores.

That's is awful professional cleaning, my 12 yo boy would do better, ya need to contact the agency and let then know they are leaving early when plenty left to do and ask for new cleaners or take yer business else where. Think ya need to be more clear in what you want doen, maybe leaving a list they can work through so they ain't doing what you have already cleaned.

Our cleaner doesn't do dishes, we usually have some out but dont expect her to do them. You mentioned skirting boards - I know the company we use bill that as a deep clean item so she doesn't do that either. We don't pay for a set time though she just cleans until she's done, so don't tend to feel hard done by! She cleans bathrooms, hob, worktops, mops kitchen, vacuums carpets, dusts. She tidies up a bit and changes beds too! Officially they said change one bed is included but she does 2 for us because she is nice. We sometimes leave our table messy and she leaves that as it would be difficult for her to do much with that! We generally try to tidy up a bit to make the cleaning easier.

A cleaner that doesn’t do dishes? That’s like a gardener who doesn’t mow lawns. Of course they should do it.

Agreement re. dishes was ‘small amount of breakfast items’.

I think you missed the above in my original post - you replied to @RedLorryYellaLorry ’that’s nonsense’ when they mentioned a similar scenario. I tagged you to illustrate that it is not nonsense.

Perhaps nobody YOU know would leave a weeks worth of dishes, but then I’m assuming you aren’t a cleaner with direct experience of what some people absolutely WILL leave - despite what might have been agreed.

Just to also counter your 'nonsense' claim @journeyofinsanity here's a pic of a property I recently attended. I was told just needed 'a quick dust and mop'

Cleaners are treated as mugs, like we don't know the difference between reasonable everyday dirt and an absolute dive. Luckily I have a set of terms and conditions that all clients must agree to before I start any work. Terms and conditions I introduced because I was coming across this shit far too often. I'm a skilled and highly sought after professional. People who try this crap with me won't get away with it. It's written into my T&Cs that I'll either walk out and still charge the quote, or I stay, do what I can and charge more.

Just because you wouldn't do it, doesn't mean LOTS of other people wouldn't. And you'd be surprised at how many people you meet, who look like well-groomed well- presented well-spoken educated professionals, live like this and expect cleaners to practically wipe their arses for them.

I drop these clients like hot potatoes.

(And just in case of any lazy journos... this photo is MY intellectual property and I DO NOT give permission for it to be used anywhere** else)