New cleaner took 4.5 hours instead of 3

[Plum02]

I contacted a cleaning company to arrange a weekly house clean. I gave a detailed breakdown of each room and what I wanted in each room and was told it would take around 3 hours at a cost of £20 per hour but they couldn’t say for sure the length of time it would take the first time. It actually took 4.5 hours and that was with me telling them not to bother steam the living room and hallway floors and not to bother hoovering the playroom (which were on the original list) because they’d been here so long. There were also things on the list that I realised weren’t done after they left - e.g. I specifically asked them to hoover under the sofa, beds and other furniture which wasn’t done. The person I spoke to who gave the quote / estimated time wasn’t the cleaner who came.

As a result of it taking so long I was charged £30 more than expected for less cleaning. They did explain they couldn’t say the exact time before seeing the house, however given I’d provided such a specific / detailed breakdown I don’t think it’s reasonable for the estimated time to be so wrong (half an hour or so out would be fine) and if they’d realised it was way out when they arrived at the house it should have been discussed again when they arrived to agree how long it would take and see if I still wanted everything done or what could reasonably be done within around 3 hours.

I live on my own. 3 bed house. I do one major clean per month and spot cleans in between where and when needed

I am tidy and very clean

it takes me 4-5 hours to clean my own home once per month. That includes oven, high and low level, cupboard doors and usually a window or two in rotation. I have to do it in 2 stints as I’m exhausted after two hours ! I don’t move all sofas or beds though, do that maybe once per quarter in rotation. As much as anything shifting heavy furniture on my own can put my back out. Bear in mind I am using bathroom and other rooms by myself …my mess in a month is two people’s fortnightly mess, or a family of fours weekly mess. So believe me it’s not at all bad after a month !

I frankly can’t see how anyone can clean a house even fortnightly if there’s more than a single person living there in 3 hours. particularly to standard you want .

in my previous home when I had dh and 2 ds we had cleaners every fortnight. They took 4 hours each time ( 2 people 2 hours) and that was pushing it. They didn’t do high level cleaning, inside cupboards or even cupboard doors , nor inside oven , let alone move sofas etc ( a lot of cleaners wont) . I had 5-6 different cleaner companies ( some different locations) over 26 years, and this list of exemptions is pretty standard

sure, people are right that cleaners speed up. But mainly , IMHE, because you prioritise what’s included and what’s not !

I have my cleaner twice a week for 2 1/2 hours each time. She always cleans my kitchen and vacuums the sitting room, dining room, hall and 2 flights of stairs. I have 4 bathrooms and she cleans 2 each time she comes including steam cleaning floors and cleaning inside shower screen. First day she cleans a teen bedroom and changes sheets, pillowcase and duvet cover, cleans skirtings and banisters, cobwebs around house and window sills. Second visit she wipes down doors, dusts and polishes coffee table in sitting room and dining table in dining room, hall mirror, steam mops dining room and sitting room floors. She cleans inside windows and when cleaning in kitchen cleans microwave and sometimes I see her cleaning in fridge. I'm very pleased with her and just let her get on with it. Her husband pressure washes and re sands the driveway twice a year, cuts the lawn and keeps the garden tidy on one of her visits each week provided it's not raining. They are both such hard workers. She won't stop for a quick coffee until she's finished.

What’s it to you? 🤨

We used bright n beautiful and they require an initial deep clean so they a) get to know the house and its cleaning requirements and b) get it to their standards from that point. We had them for three or four years but gradually they got worse. Eventually we decided £240 a month was crazy if it’s not as good as it was so now we do it ourselves.

Very! Building creates lots of dust.

I agree with you op. You will always get people resent anyone with a cleaner and find ways to argue with you and exaggerate the situation.

I’m a carer and had never cleaned for a living , and I was asked by one of our admin team could I take over from their previous cleaner. 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms, living room, big dining kitchen with a range always full of bits of food, hall stairs landing and utility room . So many mirrors and glass doors. I was expected to do it in 2 hours, it nearly killed me. She even messaged me once asking had I cleaned the kitchen flour as her feet were dirty!! Put up with it for about 6 months then told her to find someone else

If you agree on 3hrs then thats all you pay for in future. If they choose to work beyond what you've agreed, then tough but be clear with them on this for the next visit.
Ask the cleaner if your list of jobs are realistic for the time frame allocated. Be honest with yourself as to how achievable this is. Not everyone can work at 110% consistently, every single day however, a reasonable work rate is to be expected.
If they are substandard/sloppy, then politely decline their future services and find someone else through recommendations

I own a cleaning company . We offer a no obligation walkthrough and we don’t clean house unseen . One clients idea of “ clean” isn’t another’s and isn’t ours
Average first cleans even on a new build are usually double sometimes triple normal times.
there can be a lot of dust .
If you were in and saw that they worked full on without stopping then the time was obviously needed .

That’s uncalled for. It’s clearly not a mansion and £30 more than expected is quite a lot tbf. Not everyone who has a cleaner is loaded.

Whenever I have a new cleaner, the first couple of cleans always take longer.

My current cleaners take 3 hours to clean my home weekly, and there is 3 of them.

Are you sure what you are expecting of your cleaner is feasible within 3 hours?

@Plum02 I wasn't trying to justify anything. I was giving an answer to your question of how dirty a new build could be. Sorry ma'am I'll get back to scrubbing the bogs.

To be honest three hours is absolutely standard for a regular clean of a house of your size. I think charging you for 4.5 is not on given the tasks not completed. I think you will be lucky to find a cleaner that will do everything you have listed but I would give this one the boot!

The first clean always takes longer though. YABU.

Your post makes you sound like you have very exacting standards Re the cleanliness of your house.

No one here can say for sure, but I suspect it was never going to be good enough?

But maybe I'm off base and they took an age to clean very little. If that's the case, chalk it up to a bad experience and ask your friends/family to recommend someone good in the area.

My cleaner keeps the house clean and tidy, always hoovers/mops, does bathrooms and surfaces... 3 hours for 4 bed house. I'm very happy, but equally, not someone who is going to be expecting the skirting boards when she leaves

Is there any need to be so rude?

Tbh I had almost exactly this situation so I think this is normal.

Cleaning picture frames and light bulbs...

You're either a troll/baiter or a snob

Exactly. How can you expect a cleaner to do detail cleaning on top of a pretty hefty list. Poor woman. 4.5 hrs cleaning would be exhausting. Did you make her a cup of tea?

Pay her for 2 hours and when she questions this point out the jobs that she failed to do. Perhaps next time she'll stay for 3 hours and clean the house thoroughly!

Im

@Plum02

This is no different to employing any tradesperson to undertake a specific job. I’d go back to the company and negotiate a reduction in the fee rather than pay up in full.

You’d asked for an estimate and as they're supposedly the professionals, I’d expect them to be able to fairly accurately price the job and they should have made it clear what the options were if it was going to take a lot longer to complete it.

If you were having any other tradesperson in to do a job they would normally advise you early on if it was going to cost more to complete the work.

I agree that they’re either very inexperienced or taking the piss.

Exactly! Why anyone needs furniture moving to clean underneath when they've only lived in it 5 weeks is bemusing.

Mumsnet are very "Yes Mrs Levinson" when it comes to their cleaners.

Some clients want what they want. Nothing wrong with that. The trouble is when clients want constant deep cleaning and expect that to be done in 3 hours. It's simply not possible.