Abusive cleaner took pics of my home

[ChicExpert]

My lovely self employed cleaner went back to her own country. New cleaner started this week. House is tidy but dirty floor and surfaces, needs a good vacuum/mop/wiping up. We hire 4 hours a week for a deep clean of the downstairs(kitchen dining living room)/hallway and stairs. Standard 3 bed house in London with kitchen extension, takes me 2 hours to do but pay for 4 so the job gets done properly.

New cleaner came and in 4 hours couldn't clean what we asked which is just vacuum/mop and wipe down all surfaces. Had to ask her to clean individual window seals as she didn't and when she left I noticed the living room window seal wasnt cleaned. She broke my glass chopping board and didn't say anything and left chemicals in the oven which I told her not to clean. Last cleaner was able to wipe the skirting boards and didn't leave a spec of dirt in corners, this cleaner left many areas dirty.

I said nothing and thought I won't hire again. The company messaged me why I don't want to hire again and I said I wasn't happy with the clean nothing else.

I then get very abusive messages and pictures of my floor being dirty saying my house is disgusting. Didn't get to respond before I was blocked by the company.

AIBU? I feel completely violated and want to complain some how. She took photos of my home without permission.

Don't even know what to do now and feel uncomfortable using another cleaner. Husband says I'm over reacting :( am I?

FYI I've added a photo of my home before the cleaner came. Floors are clearly dirty but the kitchen is tidy/needs wipe down.

The kitchen floor, whilst it looks bad would have taken no more than 20-30mins to sweep, hoover and mop.

😆 hysterical at these comments!

I think they probably do take photos to cover themselves in a way- like if someone says that a job wasn't done, they have before and after photos as proof of what they've done. I think the message was very unprofessional though.

Wow lot of people who clearly clean before the cleaner. Just love on the cleaner is deluded you payed for double time and my floor looks like that at the end of the day with a household full, and pets.

Probably less time than that. My very professional and talented cleaner would be able to tackle that and all kitchen surfaces in 20 mins max.

The thing is, it will take only marginally longer for a cleaner to sweep/hoover than with a floor that did not have crumbs etc. So I am not sure why the OP is getting a hard time from some 'weirdos', as one PP who is a cleaner put it.

You have 5 adults, one child, and a baby on the way living in a 3 bedroom house?!?

Do you have to live together? The men sound bloody awful! I wouldn't want my kids seeing that kind of example where the women cook and clean and the men do nothing.

Self confessed slob here 🙋🏽‍♀️ even my floors don’t look like that. Cripes, that’s proper disrespect on the floor there.

It's good to get a perspective from another cleaner. Regardless of the state of the floor, the cleaner was very unprofessional and I would not be calling them again.

shes blocked…

Serious question. If the three men who do nothing to help with household chores failed to empty the dishwasher on their allotted day, would you consider not cooking dinner for each of them the following day? i.e. cook just enough food for everyone, minus the one who hasn't emptied the dishwasher the day before, and explain to him why he's got an empty plate. I reckon all three of them would learn pretty quickly. 😉

Eh? Nothing on that floor is beyond a hoover and a mopping. Easily cleaned up especially by a professional cleaner. She wasn't going to have to get on her hands and knees and scrape up the dirt.

The ott reactions on the holier than thou on this thread are amusing.

Op, the cleaner was shit. And clearly doesn't like a bit of graft for which she is being paid.

Just move on, get another cleaner.

I think it wasn't fair to get rid of your cleaner after just 1 clean.

I think it takes a few times for a cleaner to get to know your house, particularly if it's a full on job, which your house is

Honestly don't think you are wrong here op. It's dirty yes but not untidy. You pay a cleaner to clean ffs.

Ive worked in private homes a fair bit and that floor doesn't shock me at all

Our last cleaner was absolutely amazing, I don't think all are bad but I am now anxious too about finding another. Never did I think someone would intentionally take pictures of my house to shame me. And make it look worse than it actually was 😞

Id say stay away from agencies and try go for self employed. We found our first on bark!

Don't feel ashamed, not everyone is privileged enough to have a sparkly home 24/7 I think most of these posters are very unrealistic and judgy. Nothing wrong with asking for help and absolutely no reason to hire a cleaner with a clean home..

Hope your cleaner search goes all well ❤️

Please don't get upset, @Darkdiamond . I'm sure you can find a good cleaner, as @ChicExpert says. Nothing wrong with getting help, we all have challenges.

I would write a negative review online if you're able to. I wouldn't be happy that a cleaner is taking photos of my house without consent.

I thought she asked them to?

How exactly was the cleaner or the cleaning company "abusive"? That's what puzzles me, along with what kind of pigs live like that, with all that crap all over the floor? It is disgusting. That is the thing I'd be ashamed of and I'd never have posted photos of it here. Jesus wept!

This wonderful cleaner sounds like what used to be called “ A Treasure “ .

Is the owner name Didi? I had similar experience with female owner. She didn't believe me the cleaner did a bad job and was super arrogant. I just moved on to the next cleaner but was really pissed off at the time.

Did you say this to the cleaner or did you say deep clean, like you say in your OP. It can take me a couple of hours to deep clean one room with sweeping, hoovering, mopping, wiping walls, cleaning skirtings, wiping, dusting, polishing, scrubbing grout, cleaning windows, febrezing soft furnished, dusting radiators.

If you ask a cleaner for a deep clean I imagine they would start and get as far as they can within 4 hours. This might mean some bits are left dirty when other bits have been deep cleaned. It might take a few cleans to get everything to a maintainable standard.

If you ask for more of a spring clean, wipe down, hoover and freshen up that’s a very different request and then I’d expect everything to be at a basic level of clean, but not detailed.

4 hrs for just downstairs in a 3 bed house with a kitchen extension shd be enough time to clean even with that mucky floor. My cleaner does all of our whole house to a good standard in 3 hrs. We found ours via recommendation. So no agency. Find someone else.

She abused OP's trust by taking photo's inside her home, without her permission, and sending them to her agency who, unless there's a clause in OP's contract with said agency allowing this, are in breach of the UK GDPR by holding these photo's when they have no lawful basis for doing so.

I can’t help but feel this thread is a good example of why mumsnet is accused of being a nest of vipers.
@ChicExpert I really hope this hasn’t overly upset you because whatever some sections of the internet may have you believe those pictures don’t come close to looking like you are living in squalor. I can think of a half dozen people we know with small kids that have loads more mess/dirt than that in between cleaning days and it’s not because they are lazy slobs but because they are busy and they have prioritized other things. This is allowed! It’s absolutely fine to prefer to clean every evening and keep things pristine and for some people they need that to feel comfortable and relaxed at home. It’s absolutely fine to hate housework and to do the bare minimum to keep things ticking over because cleaning makes you feel miserable and you’d rather put up with more mess than have to do it more often. It’s absolutely fine to be somewhere in between. The only thing that isn’t absolutely fine is to be horrible and judgemental about anyone who has a different approach to you.

You have 6 people living in your house and if a cleaner didn’t come then cleaning would only take you - one person - 2 hours per week total? 🤔