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?

Gosh she does a HUGE amount in two hours!!

Our cleaner comes in 12 hours per week and she does everything- she will even clean the windows! We give her 12 hours so that she is able to deep clean and not surface clean. However we are very much a household of everything has a place so we tidy before she comes which is very quick and then she deep cleans all the time.

How often do you want them?

If weekly then get them to do the weekly tasks, as you see fit

Floors; stairs, bathroom clean etc

Don't get them to do daily tasks such as dishwasher loading/unloading and tidying as you will be back to square 1 the following day and i dont think this is value for money

I have had cleaners for the last 40 years and I've had my last cleaner for 14 years, she is brilliant. She cleans, irons and does some tidying if it's needed.
She also darns and mends our clothes.

I pay by the hour. My cleaner does 8 hours a week for me.

I don't find it at all awkward to ask my cleaner to do something. Lots of Mumsnetters seem to be really hung up about having cleaners as though there is something demeaning about having a cleaner or being a cleaner.

@marcopront I just much prefer to make an unpleasant job a little less unpleasant by cleaning my toilets, I'm sure others do this out of courtesy too

I’d just have a go at it yourself. For example if you’re thinking 3 hours a fortnight- set a timer and do 3 hours and see what you can do and what’s a priority.

Mine does 2 hours a fortnight and shoves all the toys/socks/whatever small bits might be lurking about into a pile in the corner of lounge my suggestion!)

cleans grubby table and dining room floor (toddler 😩). Hoovers and mops downstairs. Cleans kitchen sides/ hob and either windowsills OR does a few bits of washing up.

Hoovers stairs and hallway. Cleans bathroom. She doesn’t do anything else upstairs (it’s chaos!)

Most of the time I tidy up before she comes as otherwise she can do less but once forgot she was coming so she didn’t do the stairs- I said that was the thing she should skip if she went over time.

I tried it and didn’t manage to do as much as she does!

And it is SO lovely to come home to a nice clean home. And now I know she doesn’t get an eye if it’s total chaos I don’t worry so much.

love love love it!

I think you know exactly what I meant but got somehow offended by my word choice. My hairdresser doesn't get the keys to my house to cut my hair in my absence.

What is it you are wanting op?

It sounds like your problem is mess and clutter. A cleaner once a week won't stop you coming back to chaos in the kitchen.

Does your DH have strategies he can put into place to help?

@Abitboring I think that's a totally different concern though, someone having access to your house when you're out vs needing to "manage them like any other employee...as standards tend to slip"

My cleaner turns my house into a show-house, from whatever state I’ve left it in, every Tuesday and Friday.

Quite. Then only reason one should ever feel embarrassed is if you are paying horrible wages + behaving unreasonably to the person who is working in your home.

I pay the person who comes to clean for us well, I respect their time + (in my case) ability to do many of my household jobs much better than me - it makes them a valuable part of my life management. I think anyone who takes issue with that is having a them problem not a me problem.

I've never had a cleaner who tidies. I'd have thought it would be a high risk task for them, as they don't know where things go, and they'd constantly be getting calls from their clients asking where they'd put something. And of course some things might never turn up and they'd get the blame.
My cleaner will clean around things and leave them exactly where they are, for that reason.

I am not a tidy person, but having a cleaner has made me tidy up at least once a week, and I think that's a good thing. I've learned a bit of discipline too. And when I had teenagers at home, they had to tidy their rooms too, and they knew that not doing wasn't an option, because the cleaner was coming.

I'm gobsmacked that there are people here who have cleaners for 8-12 hours a week!

What a life that must be.

Thing is, I saitd, you dont't need to tidy up after me
Next, if You feel you have done all and the time is still not finished, please ask me what else you would need doing. Have other tasks that need attention And tell the cleaner that's what you'd want to be done before they leave early
Ive had one that used to go after they though they'd finished whith 20 mins to go
No

Whatever you want.
Having a cleaner keeps us on our toes a bit more actually as we have to have a good tidy round before they come. We wouldn't bother otherwise and the house would be a shit tip.

They alternate upstairs and downstairs each week. They do a deep clean of bathrooms, dust, hoover, clean windows and mirrors, clean and polish surfaces. Every few weeks they hoover under beds, clean out the cutlery drawer and clean the oven.

Washing up, stacking the dishwasher, laundry I do myself because I do that every day anyway. If a cleaner does it I'll only be doing it again a few hours later.

Just get them to do whatever you don't have time to do.

My DH is all about the 'clean for the cleaners' to avoid embarrassment but honestly, I couldn't care less. They'll have seen worse.

I am also slightly gobsmacked, I can only imagine they must be huge houses.

What would you like them to do?

List here and people that have had cleaners can tell you if they were similar, and more important, cleaners themselves can say if they would be happy to do that

Mine is just amazing. I'm not even sure what she does but everything is clean when I come in. Last time the kitchen was actually sparkling! Some weeks she cleans out the fridge, some weeks the oven, some weeks the cupboards. Cleans every shelf! Bathrooms. Hoovers every room upstairs and downstairs. She doesn't touch dishwasher cos I don't mind that. And doesn't change sheets. Another one I don't mind. She comes for 3 hours once a fortnight.

Use a cleaner who works for themselves not a cleaning company.
Clean should probably include
Kitchen cleaned, dishwasher loaded, bin emptied
Toilets and bathrooms cleaned
Living and bed rooms dusted and glass and mirrors cleaned
All floors hoovered and mopped.
Maybe book a one off deep clean initially to let them get on top of it. Easier to.maintain after that

All

No one should feel awkward or embarrassed about having a cleaner.

You don't need to clean before they come. Or be worried they will judge you for not doing so. Cleaners see many many different houses and lifestyles and yours will not be the most chaotic they have seen.

You don't need to go out if it doesn't suit you, but you need to be able to trust them in your house enough not to follow them around. If having someone in your house makes you feel weird that's fine, it's your home. Having a cleaner may not be for you though.

Your cleaner should be respectful of your house and professional towards you. It's always worth trying to address concerns with them directly but if they're not addressed quickly (eg on the next visit) then find a new cleaner. Don't go for weeks being dissatisfied and feeling like you can't say anything. They're in your home.

If you're not sure what they will do maybe ask an open question about "general housework", or even specifics. If they charge hourly this shouldn't be an issue (and they've got the time available). Most won't do biohazard (body fluids incl vomit) or pet waste. Basically anything that when it happens needs to be cleared up asap. Other than that it's fair game to ask, and they really shouldn't make you feel at all awkward for asking. How would you know otherwise, especially when cleaners (on this thread included) have said they do all sorts around the house.

Vacuums, deep cleans the kitchen and bathroom, organises things more tidily.

She's really nice and I make sure to get her little presents although I'm renting and technically landlord should do it

You think the landlord should clean the house for you?

No 😆

I meant technically speaking landlord should get her an Xmas present, not me.

I've had three cleaning companies now. They all start well in the first few weeks then over time they have all deteriorated. So, that's it. No more. I've accepted that I need to put time aside for those unpleasant jobs. All the cleaners couldn't seem to clean vertically, only horizontally. If a cobweb was 1 foot off the ground it wouldn't get touched!

That's equally as strange thinking!