To ask: if you are a cleaner, what are the things in the house that would make you judge someone?

[Eastie77Returns]

I spend about an hour doing a pre-clean/tidy before our new cleaner arrives. There are some things I think look too messy for her to deal with and I also worry she will judge me on the general state the house has fallen into in between her visits.

A friend who has the same cleaner thinks I'm nuts for doing this.

Can I ask, if you are a cleaner are there certain things that would make you think someone is an absolute slob or you don't think you should have to deal with? I know surfaces should be as clear as possible and also cleaners should not be expected to tidy up,fold clothes etc (unless mutually agreed).

This is why I have an anonymous cleaning company with different cleaners. I world hate to have a personal relationship with my cleaner been there done that - disastrous

Surely skid marks are something you take care of when you use the loo so it’s fit for the next person and not stinking out the house?

Once kids are using the toilet unaccompanied they need to be cleaning up after themselves. And if a dh isn’t housebroken he can use the garden.

What do you mean? Are you saying you just use a skiddy toilet all week and leave it for your cleaner to deal with, rather than just clean your own skidmarks as and when they appear? If so, that’s thoroughly disgusting!

When I cleaned a few years ago I remember a few houses for the following reasons (and yes I did judge) :

One left a turkey in their oven from Christmas for me to sort out in January.

One had a downstairs loo that was always absolutely gross. She had small children but was a SAHM.

One was so terrible I just couldn't face going there after 2 visits. She WFH some of the week and he was in the military. Their kitchen was awful, just awful and the most memorable part was the overflowing cat litter trays by the front door

The whole house stank and yet it was a relatively new house.

Yeah, I don't get this either. Thinking about judging, I retract my comment. My friends never clean the toilet except before they host a party. I do judge. The rest of the house is chaotic and I am OK with that. They are a lovely family and the house has always been a safe harbour for people over the years. It has character and the chaos adds to that but why wouldn't they clean the toilet after going?! I haven't a clue.

We tidy so she can clean, otherwise she wouldn't have time to do what we most want her to take care of! She has been cleaning for us for 6.5 years and we have an 8 year old and a 6 year old! She knows sometimes it's messier than others 🤷‍♀️.

We tidy so she can clean, otherwise she wouldn't have time to do what we most want her to take care of! She has been cleaning for us for 6.5 years and we have an 8 year old and a 6 year old! She knows sometimes it's messier than others 🤷‍♀️.

I put stuff away, clear floors and surfaces of paperwork and junk, then she can clean

i wouldn’t leave a giant skid of shit in the loo, but I’m not cleaning it as such.

She empties bins, changes bed, hoovers, dust, mop, windows, ironing.

I love her.

Spread beds
Give toilets quick clean

TRIGGER WARNING

I run my own cleaning business part time along with an office job. I see all sorts and in all honestly nothing phases me. Some people clean up a little before I go, others don't but I know all of my clients really well and know what sort of stresses and strains they face.

The one thing I cannot abide, which I have had from previous clients is when they don't clean up after someone has vomited. Years ago, a client asked me to go over an area where her daughter had vomited, I politely refused. More recently I went into a family bathroom, and someone has vomited in the loo, but pretty much missed most of it! I gloved up and cleaned it but completely refuse to do it since. It's a basic thing, you clean it up.
Other than that, I've found dirty knickers, sex toys, and signs of a normal life everywhere but I don't really bat an eyelid. I just put the dirties in the wash and leave the toys where they are.

Overall, you really don't need to clean beforehand, but tidying is a must if you want a clean house. If I have 2 hours, I don't want to spend an hour tidying things away. I used to do a house where they had 3 kids, so that's 3 bedrooms, 2 playrooms and a lounge full of toys, after id picked up loom bands and Hamma beads it didn't leave much time to clean.

Leaving dirty boxers on the floor so you have to put them on the washing bin. Disrespectful. Even more grim when they have skids in them, combined with toilets in a similar state 🤢. Repulsive that grown adults are so gross.

Out of interest, do corporate cleaners get paid more?

You can guarantee that the managing director isn't going to go around cleaning any skid remnants off the office toilets before the cleaners come; or the cafe owner.

I'm absolutely not saying that you should leave it meefing with clear skiddage visible - as you wouldn't want to live with that between cleaner visits anyway; but surely it's part of the general job - the same as people who work in early years childcare know that changing pooey nappies is a standard duty?

If my car needed new spark plugs or a new exhaust, I wouldn't dream of cleaning up the old ones first to make it a less messy job for the mechanics.

I wonder if there's still an instinctive sense of 'shame' for some people with cleaners, as they see it as 'their job' and feel guilty for not doing it themselves; whereas with a mechanic or boiler service person, you wouldn't dream of doing it yourself - thus you happily hand the entire job over to the professional without a second thought?

Maybe (or not) there's also something in the fact that mechanics and boiler engineers are mostly men; whereas cleaners are mostly women?

WTF!

Yes, this is 100% my position.

I mean, I am not the tidiest person and there’s definitely more dust in my house than I’d like there to be but I draw the line at shitty skids in the toilet! Surely it’s the responsibility of whoever left them there, or their parent/guardian/carer if they are unable to do it themselves. Nobody should just be flushing and leaving.

Same with cat trays, I scoop poo and wee as soon as I see it, I hate it when you go to someone’s house and they’ve just left it there in the tray. Not nice for anyone, least of all the poor cat who has to dodge their own shit the next time they want to use the tray!

I used to wonder why people would leave the house REALLY untidy and have me waste half my time tidying rather than cleaning! Your money I suppose but I did judge people who let their kids leave dirty washing or towels in the floor, unmade beds, trash not in the bin when they had laundry baskets and bins in the bedroom!
As a result we now tell our kids if they want the cleaner to go in Their room ( they do!) then it has to be picked up a bit so she can actually clean. I’m not having her spend half her time lifting their rubbish! Both kids keep room quite tidy now in general.

Then only other thing - I would prefer if people didn’t leave a bathroom bin full of ‘personal’ waste ie used tampons, used pads, used condoms etc. It’s a nice thing if the owners just put that stuff in the big bin themselves…

A cleaner is supposed to clean, so the house shouldn't be so messy that it's hard to actually clean.

Oh, and I would absolutely have judged any adult who left dirty underwear on the floor for me to lift. Not talking about the odd sock that gets dropped, but proper thoughtlessness.
I used to clean hotels rooms, as a student job, and you wouldn’t believe how disgusting people can be when they think there’s someone else to clean for them.
If you stay in a hotel even just making sure your rubbish is all in bins, your personal items Put away ( used dildo in the bed was a lowlight for me at 18) and the dirty/ used towels are in the bath or shower really helps your housekeeper out.

Am a cleaner, and only things I find really icky are not flushing toilets, very soiled spattered toilets, underwear hung where i have to touch to move it (used in shower or in kitchen for example!), poop on floor, animal poop on floor/beds, and someone who left sex toys out, lined up proudly, 'to dry'!

(Although if it's a genuine situation eg I had a client going through chemo, I'll happily do extra to help with bodily messes if necessary)

Otherwise life is manic and here to help! Dump clothes/kids toys on beds as tidying up takes time out of cleaning!(unless you don't mind that, a few don't!)

And am amused at a lady with a lego mad son who gets a broom and just sweeps me a path so I can dust bedside table/drawers!

In many workplaces you have to take your cup back to the kitchen and in some you have to wash it too so same principle really. It's not because people feel sorry for the cleaners, but because higher ups decide what they want the cleaners' time spent on.

If it's always clean then you ARE cleaning it before the cleaner comes, just not immediately before.

Everywhere is tidy as a cleaner can’t clean otherwise. No messy toilets as they are cleaned up by whoever uses it last. Don’t make the beds as the cleaner changes the bedding, loads the washing machine, tumble dryer.

It's OK to do some tidying before the cleaner arrives. They are a Cleaner and not a Servant.

I always tidy up on Thursday night before my cleaner comes on Friday. I want her to clean, not tidy up our belongings. Plus it has the added advantage that the house always looks fab on Friday because it's clean and tidy. It also means there is never more than a weeks worth of 'stuff' lying around.

Screw that. I pay a cleaner so I don’t have to do it. I wouldn’t leave anything disgusting like skid marks in the loo or toothpaste spit in the sink or something, but other than that, that’s what she’s paid for. I wouldn’t expect someone to do half my work for me before I got there.