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

cleaner wants extra money

97 replies

scrubdaddy · 05/05/2023 15:36

I own an Airbnb.

I have a cleaner... we agreed on a set price per clean, which she makes out most of the time because the cleans are usually anywhere from 6 to 8 hours. The set fee means I pay her 10 hours per clean. She hasn't been the greatest at checking inventory and cleaning inside kitchen cabinets, making sure pots and pans are scrubbed clean and everything is put in it's place and I have to constantly remind her.

Anyway, she has been with me going on 2 years. We originally agreed on a set fee and that would include the oven and gas bbq grill. She recently, about a year ago, had a baby so she dropped all her other clients and she has only cleaned for me... We also got a second cleaner to fill in.

Her husband is a handyman and works all the time, but doesn't offer her money to manage groceries and personal shopping so I understand she feels uncomfortable asking him. It's just not been her way. She has always worked hard and always had her own money. This last clean only took her 6.5 hours, but at some point while she was cleaning the oven, texted me a picture and said she needed to charge me £40.00 extra because the oven required so much scrubbing. I didn't respond with anything other than wow!

I have a hard time with people trying to get more dollars out of me for frivolous things when I am already paying them more than I should. I don't want to make her feel bad, or create an uncomfortable situation between us. I'm not the best diplomat because I tend to be frank and honest. I'm looking for help in the best way to communicate to her that I don't feel she should be charging me £40 extra dollars when I'm already paying her 10 hours for a 6.5 hour clean. Please any suggestions???

I can just pay her the extra £40.00, but I don't want her to look at me as a cash cow whenever she needs money and start charging me for things I'm already paying her for. I don't want to start resenting her.

AIBU to say no to her?

OP posts:
JMSA · 05/05/2023 17:01

That is a low hourly rate and a professional oven clean would cost you more than £40!

BungalowLil · 05/05/2023 17:04

Seems reasonable after two years that you should have a proper sit down chat to talk about what's expected, what's going well, what you and she want. Can't you just do that rather than send cryptic texts and both feel hard done by?

Seems a bit mean that you've not considered a pay rise or the cost of living.

ActDottie · 05/05/2023 17:09

£13.07 is low I’d expect at least £15 an hour probably more though given it’s london

MelchiorsMistress · 05/05/2023 17:15

This just sounds like yet another cheeky fucker cleaner to me.

£13 an hour is plenty of cleaning, especially when you’re giving her a full days work and she doesn’t ave to consider the time she’d need to travel in between clients. £13 an hour is more than than the nursery workers and TAs who care for and educate your children are getting, and they need to have skills and qualifications. What’s more important, a rental property or your kids?

Putyourdamnshoeson · 05/05/2023 17:22

MelchiorsMistress · 05/05/2023 17:15

This just sounds like yet another cheeky fucker cleaner to me.

£13 an hour is plenty of cleaning, especially when you’re giving her a full days work and she doesn’t ave to consider the time she’d need to travel in between clients. £13 an hour is more than than the nursery workers and TAs who care for and educate your children are getting, and they need to have skills and qualifications. What’s more important, a rental property or your kids?

It's not a race to the bottom.

Softoprider · 05/05/2023 17:24

Two things OP

  1. Her personal life is none of your business
  2. You are not paying her enough
CantFindTheBeat · 05/05/2023 17:27

I'm in the suburbs and pay £15.50 per hour.

My cleaner does not do inside the oven and obviously wouldn't do a BBQ.

Your rate per hour is too low. You are
taking advantage.

You're requiring an 'end of let' type clean each time.

NettleTea · 05/05/2023 17:29

wow, Im in SE and we pay our AirBnB cleaner £20 an hour.

Scotty12 · 05/05/2023 17:30

I think you need to agree an actual hourly rate going forward - paying her to work 8 hours (or whatever) at an agreed rate per hour. The arrangement is too vague.

CantFindTheBeat · 05/05/2023 17:33

How many cleans per week does she do for you, OP?

caringcarer · 05/05/2023 17:35

I'd text back asking her if the cooker cleaning took her over the agreed 10 hours? You can always look for someone else.

GeneHuntsCowboyBoots · 05/05/2023 17:40

It’s a tough one because if she was using the extra hour/s each time to keep on top of the oven, it potentially wouldn’t need a big clean.

I’m not sure what I’d do but I’d be a bit miffed too.

NewNovember · 05/05/2023 17:58

Why are you wittering on about dollars?

FMLWTF · 05/05/2023 18:14

£13ph is not peanuts. It’s very normal. Posters outside of London possibly think London cleaners get more (for some reason) but actually the opposite is true.

Supply and demand.

trebarwith1 · 05/05/2023 18:37

I do cleaning work in Cornwall and charge £20 an hour at least. You are not paying her enough.

Mooshamoo · 05/05/2023 19:34

I don't think £13 pounds per hour is cheap.

I've just been offered a job, with quite a lot of responsibility. The salary is £11.50 per hour.

GoodChat · 05/05/2023 19:39

NewNovember · 05/05/2023 17:58

Why are you wittering on about dollars?

There's no need to be rude, and OP has already answered this question.

Wexone · 05/05/2023 19:39

sorry I missed the air b and b part. you are so under paying her. I am sure you are making enough money on it to pay her more.

GoodChat · 05/05/2023 19:40

The oven isn't a big job if she's cleaning it every time. If she's not cleaning it every time, that's her lookout. She's being paid 3.5 hours more than she's working.

GoodChat · 05/05/2023 19:42

Mooshamoo · 05/05/2023 19:34

I don't think £13 pounds per hour is cheap.

I've just been offered a job, with quite a lot of responsibility. The salary is £11.50 per hour.

You're being underpaid.

FirstnameSuesecondnamePerb · 05/05/2023 20:01

I agree that a full oven clean is £40 plus. But surely the oven is cleaned each time? Get some disposable oven liners for the bottom of the oven.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 05/05/2023 20:26

For everyone saying she's not paid enough and £20ph would be more like it, she already is receiving that amount - last time I looked £130 divided by 6 or 7 is roughly that

I agree though that it's all become a bit of a mess, so would suggest a review's needed to fix the hours at 6, 7 or whatever and then pay separately for extra jobs if you want them done

DahliaRose3 · 05/05/2023 20:43

I’m not in London and cleaner charged £15 per hour for light cleaning. Oven and windows are usually a separate job. When I clean my own home I clean the oven as part of the clean, but I wouldn’t say it’s standard for cleaners.

It’s a slog to do that (or any kind of deep clean) on top of the whole clean, so generally it is done on a separate day and charged separately.

DahliaRose3 · 05/05/2023 20:44

Also, if she manages to clean in less hours good for her, but perhaps you need to renegotiate hours and rate.

Irritateandunreasonable · 05/05/2023 21:11

Why don’t you offer her a pay review and go over expectations again.