What does your cleaner do?

[MrsRoxkwell]

We have decided to get a cleaner as 100% of our arguments are about the state of the house. We’re both really nervous about having a stranger in the house when we’re not there but it’s either cleaner or divorce at this point!

My husband thinks asking them to do all the jobs we hate doing is cheeky, and they probably follow a set routine?

I just want to come home to a tidy house so I can relax after work.

What sort of things does your cleaner do and what sort of price should I be looking at?

Makes up beds
Hoovers
Washes floors
Dusts
Cleans bathrooms
Cleans mirrors
Cleans kitchen surfaces
Changes throws on sofas

Does not:
Load or empty dishwasher

I also realised early in that I like her coming on a Friday. And then everything is sorted for the weekend. But I know that some people like a cleaner coming in a Monday so that they can spend some of Sunday having a good tidy up. And some friends have a cleaner twice a week, and split the normal hours they’d do once a week over two days.

Mine cleans. 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, vacuums and dusts throughout upstairs. Vacuums and cleans all downstairs floors, plus dusts, cleans kitchen, vacuums furniture etc. I make sure the house is totally tidy before she arrives - I want her to spend her time actually cleaning. She did offer to make beds etc, but I'd rather do that. She'll do whatever I want her to, but all I want her to do is clean.

I'm currently tidying the house, cleaning all the toilets, emptying all the bins and putting the dishes away as my lovely cleaner just asked if she could come at 8.30am tomorrow instead of Thu! She does a 2 hour clean everything other week and once a month a couple of hours of ironing

Why are you cleaning the toilets?

Your cleaner won't tidy. You need to do that first. My cleaner does 2 hours a week and cleans all the bathrooms, kitchen/diner and hallway. Leave me with hoovering and dusting which I don't mind doing.

Despite several cleaners on here saying they do tidy?

Yes, a deep clean followed by a weekly clean would be great.

just bear in mind as others said - don’t expect cleaner to tidy up. They won’t necessarily know where all your mess is meant to go and will either clean round it or will just refuse to come back after a couple of times in my experience.

make sure all is reasonably tidy is the most important thing. And yes, cleaner will load dishwasher etc if you’re clear about what needs to be done and all is reasonably accessible.

this is a very open question OP. How much you pay will depend on location and expectations.

I live in Surrey. My neighbour pays her cleaner 13/hr to hoover / mop and clean the bathrooms + kitchen

I pay mine 17/hr. She cleans but also tidies, she’s here for 5 hours and will always put on and hang up a couple of loads of laundry in that time - as well as change the beds, tidy a bit if we’ve left in a rush (we never leave her total chaos - but if we did, we recognise that we’d be paying for her time to tidy not to clean that week)

she organises the children’s wardrobes / does a bit of ironing / is our dogs all time favourite human.

If you are reasonable + ask nicely then your cleaner is, in my experience there to help!

as with any service, get a couple of quotes, chat to some people. It might be trial and error to find the right person.

don’t do that very English thing where you’re too embarrassed to ask directly for what you need + then get annoyed because you aren’t getting what you want!

Wherever needs doing. I let her roam free. If there is some ironing, then she'll do it, if I've left the dishes she'll do those too, but that's very much ad hoc.

We generally keep the house tidy, but I won't expect her to tidy up.

Thought as a cleaner (who knows a lot of other cleaners) some suggestions to make the most of the time might help:

• tidying takes a LOT longer than cleaning, if the house is untidy I gently suggest that a longer time slot would be a good idea (personally I'm happy to tidy though as it's the client's choice how to use the time)
• go for personal recommendations or ask on a local Facebook group
• I always allow longer for an initial clean to get it to a standard I can maintain on a regular basis, have found I'm playing catch up over several weeks otherwise trying to get on top. Generally 2x the time for first visit.
• many cleaners don't offer carpet cleaning or oven cleans (specialist equipment to get the best result) - some do, but I'd still recommend looking for those separately as more efficient and also less regularly so just pay as a one off
• for a large house often worth going for a company/small business who can send out 2 or more people per visit to cut down on time
• you will pay (sometimes a fair bit) more for a company than a self employed individual per man hour in general due to overheads but less risk of skipping weeks due to sickness etc so weigh up what's important
• don't worry about state of house but def do be as clear as you can about it up front as it helps to estimate time needed
• cleaners don't enjoy cleaning spotless houses (it's boring 😂)

It depend on the cleaner, ours is self-employed and will do what we ask, so that includes some tidying. Usually that's the kids toys if we haven't had time, and she does all our laundry including putting stuff back into drawers/cupboards, same for the dishwasher (however you have accept that sometime stuff won't be in the right place!)
She also does all the cleaning, but we only have her for 2.5h each week (about 13£/h) so we have to make choices if she runs out of time.
She tends to do the same thing every week but occasionally does some deep clean of the fridge, oven, windows...

Generally she cleans to the same standards as we do, whereas an agency might do a better job. But the priority for us is, as you said, to come back to a "tidy home" and that's what she does. We prefer the flexibility to a perfect clean.

I think you need to be really clear what you’re looking for. It sounds like you need more than a cleaner. I have a cleaner but the house is very tidy (yes I tidy for the cleaner).

I'm sure there are cleaners that DO tidy.

But if I'm paying my cleaner for 3 hours, and she has to spend an hour tidying up, then I can't moan at her when half of the cleaning isn't done.

@Abitboring most people don't "employ" a cleaner, they are self-employed or work for a company that offer a paid service. They are there to provide that service on different terms than an employee and may leave if you treat them like one. Have you ever referred to your hairdresser as an "employee" because you are buying their service?

The only thing I have never been asked to do is wash dishes

My cleaner washes up sometimes.
She is wonderful. Like many cleaners, she is self employed. She doesn't mind what she does - I've known her for years and knew her before she became my cleaner, so I had quite a few chats in the early days about what she might, or might not do. Her philosophy is 'you pay me for my time - I don't mind' . It has varied over the years. When she first started, the dc were younger and the house was a bit of a messy tip, so knowing that she was coming prompted us into a mad tidy up the night before she came, so she could crack on with cleaning, but there have been times over the years where she has happily done a real good tidy up for us (and we've accepted that not so much cleaning happened that week). We don't iron much, but she has happily ironed a few bits on the odd occasion we've asked.

I do agree it helps if you can be there the first couple of times, as everyone has different priorities. I'd also agree with having the "please do these jobs every week, and these as and when you have the time, jobs" as she will get quicker once she knows your house. First week will be slower.

We have a big house, lots of animals, both run own businesses so we have a cleaner twice a week. She tidies a little but more like straightening sofa, plumping cushions type of things, dusts and vacuums, then mops everywhere. (Tiled floors.) She cleans bathrooms, kitchen, and does all ironing. Sometimes a few extras. Worth every penny.

she isn’t the world’s greatest cleaner but she is really nice and totally trustworthy so that’s worth a lot to us.

@NeverDropYourMooncup never heard anyone describe my job as "scrubbing shit off the toilet" before. That's what a toilet brush does.

I wasn't saying there's anything wrong with cleaners washing up or that they don't wash up, I was just saying in my experience I've never been asked to so I don't think many people expect their cleaners to wash up

My cleaner is a "friend of a friend" and someone known to me for 10 years. He does 3 hours every other week and does whatever I want him to do that week. Sometimes its clearing out cupboards so I can declutter. Sometimes floors, dusting and hoovering. Sometimes helping with odd jobs like helping to take out rubbish or put away my Tesco shop. I am disabled with mobility problems so there is a lot in the house I cant do. If I need him to dust I tidy up first and put ornaments etc out of the way. Basically he will do whatever I ask within reason that does not involve climbing up a ladder. I have a handyman for that.

You will probably find that most cleaners will tackle any general household jobs that dont involve putting themselves at physical risk.

I was a self employed cleaner for several years. I will say if I ever had to tidy that was my least favourite job, trying to tidy up someone else's stuff when you have no idea where most of it goes is annoying as hell.

In the vast majority of houses I would:
Clean kitchen (including washing any dishes)
Clean bathrooms
Dust all surfaces and get rid of cobwebs
Hoover
Mop
Clean mirrors/door handles/light switches etc

I ironed in a couple of houses too but also hated that. Much preferred a house where I could just get on with the cleaning side of things.

I would really hope that people have the basic decency to do that themselves. I hate to think of the state of some people’s homes.

15 pounds an hour here. She comes weekly for 3 hours. I tidy the evening before and then just leave her to it and she cleans and hoovers / mops. She doesn’t deep clean there wouldn’t be fine so skirting doesn’t get cleaned or windows and she doesn’t do dishes if there are any she leaves them in sink but my house is lovely and tidy and clean once a week for about a day at least ! She definitely doesn’t need direction from me. If I’m not in I leave a key and if I’m in I work in the spare room which doesn’t get cleaned and I barely see her except to offer her a drink which she always refused !

And OMG I always make sure the toilets are cleaned before they come - I wouldn’t dream of letting someone else “scrub my shit off the toilets” my son has an en-suite and I always make sure he has cleaned his toilet on cleaning day !

Our cleaner is probably more of a housekeeper really and DOES tidy. A lot. As I want the same as you. I come home to a tidy and clean house, loo rolls refilled, playroom orderly, dishwasher emptied and reloaded, washing turned around and put away, deliveries brought in, beds made, bins emptied, shopping away, note of low stock of eg bin bags - I would marry her if I could.

This is what you need .