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.

That floor isn't clean, no, but that's what she's got a cleaner in for. It won't take any more time to hoover up a lot of crumbs than it will a little. Sorry OP, you've been leapt on here,! The company are thoroughly unprofessional and I'd write a letter scaring them about the legalities of them posting photographs on social media.

@Superhotpoet can I ask for the model name too please. I need to replace my robot mop.

OP. I have 3 kids, a dog, a cat ,a farm, a pretty much undomesticated husband and a FT job.

I have a clener that comes on Friday morning and I hate Thursday nights as I usually spend most of the night tidying, putting wsahing away.

Last year I hired 2 different cleaners to do a deep clean of kitchen and utility only - we had a big family event coming up - paid quite an amount to both. Both done next to nothing. I was fuming and when I complained one of the cleaners - produced photos pf all around my house which I hadn't tidied beforehand as she wasnt supposed to be in that part of the house - including one room that we use for storage of business supplies. I was very angry.

You do realise the cleaner swept the entire floor to one corner and took a photo? Our kitchen is a 6m extension with a large floor surface area and as I said our floor did not look that dirty when I left. Yet she swept it and took a photo to send to the agency.

As I said before posters think my entire house looks like that one photo and it's just not true.

And again you clearly haven't read any posts as she doesn't clean any bathrooms. She's only contracted to clean our downstairs, no bedrooms.

Getting tired of this thread now most of you are not able to understand a simple post and are just judgemental 😔

i don’t get all the hand wringing about the state of the floor. It was hardly like it was covered in piss and shit. Even if it had been swept up a bit it would still have needed cleaned.

I have a cleaner but still need to run the hoover around daily as I have a large family and pets similar to op I couldn’t have that much mess lying around and the hoovering literally takes a couple of minutes

Op, no offence but I used to work as a cleaner to supplement my income whilst I was studying, I left clients like you.
No wonder you got the response you got.

That is absolutely disgusting of them and a complete invasion of your privacy. I feel your pain ❤️ I had no idea cleaners take pictures of the house and misconstrue them so you can't complain, it's complete fraud and manipulation.

Were the ones you used through an agency or self employed?

Hopefully you were able to get better cleaners xx

And yet the cleaning company rang OP wanting her to hire the cleaner again. Stop making up stories.

I agree - a floor can get messy very quickly…
my kitchen floor was that bad two days after the cleaner had been - because of messy kids!

Some posters really struggle with basic reading comprehension.

You don't sound like a professional cleaner if you are doing it on the side as a student. I would cringe to think of the standard of cleaning of a student. Cleaners are proper professionals and those who are good at it are like gold dust magic fairies.

No OP would not hire you either.

Op people on mumsnet are so judge and obviously live in immaculate dream houses. I sweep and mop my floors daily and with 3 small children my floors will look like that picture atleast once maybe twice a day! Some days I'm running around that much doing life that I don't get chance to sweep/ tidy/ clean. Don't feel judged for being human, it sounds like there are a lot of people in your home and it's a well used area, so your always going to get mess!

The cleaner should not have taken the photos and the company should have been professional. Their job was to clean not to walk round an already clean home.

😊Have a look at a Robot vacuum and mop! I love my Eufy.. that floor would be spotless! You can sent it round on a daily schedule to keep everything nice and clear!

If it would take the OP a “couple of minutes” why would it be such a big deal for the paid cleaner to spend that “couple of minutes” hoovering herself?

Sorry I’m with OP here.

Any specific models? There are so many I have no idea which one!

It's disrespectful to leave mess "because the cleaner will do it."

I think people have obviously had different experiences with cleaners, but around me good cleaners are highly sought after. They can and do pick and choose clients. I’ve always had good cleaners and had a good relationship with them. There are some things I just would not expect cleaners to do. These include:

• clean obvious poo/ wee off toilets;
• washing up;
• clearing kitchen surfaces (food/ pots/ pans);
• tidying clothes etc off bedroom floor;
• making beds;
• sweeping large debris etc off floor before hoovering.

In my view I am paying the cleaner to clean- and not get the house tidy before it can even start.

Obviously we can’t see the rest of the house but I do think that the floor in the pic, especially plastic bag, tissues as large debris would raise eyebrows in my area.

I’d advise being really honest with the cleaner and getting their feedback on what’s achievable. Your old cleaner sounds exceptionally tolerant/ efficient, I’m not sure they are the norm.

What is "large debris"? Is dried pasta "large debris"? Or a morsel of dry dog food?

Some of the posts on here are utterly ludicrous.

'large debris' 😂It will take seconds for the cleaner to pop the plastic bag into a bin and then run the hoover. A cleaner is not a snowflake.

@welshmiss10 Can I ask the model of your Eufy please?

They were self employed.

In my opinion as so many of us are desperately in need of help absolutely anyone can get work as a cleaner. Many of these people are very workshy and not very good at actual cleaning.

I found a new cleaner she has been twice - so far, so good👌

Is your dad Persian by any chance?

My partner is Persian and when we met had never cooked or cleaned because it was the women’s responsibility in his family.

It’s taken time and I had to go on strike occasionally but he loves cooking now and pulls his weight when needed with cleaning, he is now responsible for windows, the oven and bins but I do the rest as I have OCD (diagnosed) and it’s hard to meet my standards. I’m due to have surgery soon though and he knows he’s going to have to take over all the household jobs.
We also do a deep clean every fortnight and he helps with that and actually does a great job, he loves the steam cleaner it was one of the best things we ever bought.

It sounds like you are happy enough with your living situation and if you don’t pay rent or bills the it’s fair enough you help out round the house.

The situation with the cleaner is ridiculous, I used to be a holiday home cleaner and my friend currently works as a domestic cleaner and said she wouldn’t have been bothered about your floor and expects mess as that’s what she’s there for! I’ve helped her with deep and regular cleans and it’s actually more satisfying when you have actual mess and dirt to clean as it’s satisfying to do a good job and see the difference. My friend loves cleaning floors and said she’d have enjoyed cleaning such a nice kitchen and seeing it transformed.

Don’t be put off getting another cleaner and ignore some of the ridiculous comments on here, you aren’t asking for much and it’s not like you left a filthy toilet. I’ve seen some truly disgusting things and that floor is nothing compared to the states some people expect you to clean.

Some of you are acting like this kitchen was from one of those hoarding shows! If I had to clean the floor for the cleaner, what would I need the cleaner for? (I do not have a cleaner.) I could get someone to force me to do it myself for cheaper.

I know people who have been house cleaners and they only care if the mess makes it impossible to clean. Basically, hoarding. This is totally doable. They're being paid to clean. Since OP didn't want her whole house done, just the main floor, I don't think 4 hours is unreasonable.

I wouldn't find this acceptable, and I would have complained too. I might want a robot vacuum/sweeper anyway though.

Deebot / ecovacs have good ratings. Good deals on Amazon at the moment. I've recently got my second (first is 7yo and going well). New one has better sensors so is used in my main area (50 sq metres or so) every day. Transitions easily from carpet to hard floors. Mine is a cheaper model, N10, it just depends what you need it to do. The more expensive ones self empty, clean the mop pads etc. Definitely an easy way to keep the floors tidy.

Google robot vacuum and read reviews to see what would be best for your household.

You sound like you were a shit cleaner. Glad you found something else.

After this thread I can no longer take mumsnet seriously. If OP didn’t have a dirty floor she wouldn’t have needed to hire a cleaner to clean it would she?

OP don’t sweat it, this company sounds nuts- better off without them. Although I would be furious they took unauthorised pics of my home!!