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.

It is a three bedroom house. Hardly a mansion.

It's very likely that they're neither. An extra 1.5 hours on top is nothing. 5 or 6 extra hours is extreme but 1.5? It's easy to give a rough estimate but impossible to be accurate. I've gone in to houses and the hoover is full to the brim and needs cleaning before you can even start. Where hoover cords tangle and you can't get going. Where there are no plug sockets and you have to look for an extension lead. Where the hoover power is shit and you have to go over and over the same spot. Where you expect to just empty a bin but the cheap flimsy bag tears and the contents spill everywhere. Where you expect to do a normal shower clean but the drain is filled with hair and gunge and takes 15 minutes to clean. You really are talking out the top of your hat saying that they're inept or taking the piss.

3 hours should be plenty to clean a 3 bed new build, especially if you only moved in 5 weeks ago. I used to do a 4 bed new build in 3 hours and they used to leave a weeks worth of pots in the kitchen.

Were you happy with the work otherwise than missing the few bits? If you were I would have them back, leave a little note asking for the specifics and a general clean, phone the company beforehand and advise you can only budget for the 3 hours so no longer please. If it happens again, speak to another cleaner. I would go with an independent rather than a company.

It can take longer for the first clean as they come and try and do absolutely everything in one go. I've done it myself and time has just ran away with me - however, I only ever charged what I had quoted. And I never took on a cleaning job without visiting the property first, they should have done that to give you an accurate quote.

This is usual for a first clean. They do a deep clean which is then easier and quicker to maintain. Much as we'd probably like to think a deep clean every week is possible, it isn't.

My daughter was a cleaner for a while and got treated horribly, with people following her round, picking fault, asking her to hurry up.

They were clear with you, its not like they missold it as 3 hours. If you're not happy, move elsewhere. But please dont take it out on the poor cleaner who is just doing their job. 😔

First clean will take longer, but they’re not going to get it down to 3 hours. Whether that’s reasonable all depends on what you’re asking them to do, and how cluttered it is.

I’m not really sure why you ask them to clean every time rooms you don’t use, I’d ask them to do those on rotation. And finally cap them at 3 hours. They stop work when the time limit is reached.

Cleaning under sofas and furniture isn't something cleaners generally do and the cleans are usually quite "superficial " (not saying bad...just not "deep cleaning "). The rest
...its costing you more so Yanbu* re this. The other bit yabu a bit. Your expectations are a bit too high.

The company asked of a list of what we wanted doing so they could quote. The list was like “bedroom 1: hoover including under bed, wipe down bedside tables, general dusting. Kitchen: clean worktops and sink. Clean microwave. steam kitchen floor”.

The sofa is on legs so every time I hoover the living room I’d automatically push the hoover under the sofa too - it takes an extra 2 mins so I don’t see why it’s too high an expectation. I’m not expecting them to move any furniture. Also, surely if I tell them this in advance when they ask what I’d like so they can quote, it’s up to them to say if they’re not able to do it - they agreed to it beforehand.

I didn’t ask for the oven or windows or the things you’ve listed to be cleaned. I also didn’t ask them to move any furniture. I also didn’t ask them to do it in 3 hours - I just asked for a quote for what I wanted cleaning and they told me it would take them 3 hours.

I didn’t ask for any bedding to be changed, just to hoover under the beds. The beds are on legs and if you didn’t hoover under them regularly would gather dust underneath. But you don’t need to move them to hoover underneath them, just use the long hoover attachment. I do it when I hoover the bedrooms and it only adds on a few mins.

With cleaners you need either a set time or a set list of tasks. It’s unreasonable to do both.

Think people are missing the point. The cleaners knew what was requested and agreed to it. Whether other people agree it’s “standard” or not doesn’t matter. The fact is they didn’t communicate it was going to take longer than quoted. At approx hour 2 they should that realised - hmm this won’t be done in 3-3.5 hours, I best contact my boss to communicate with owner (who is out) and agree a new time or priorities.

We have a 4 bed house, we only get 1 of the bedrooms cleaned.
Bathroom (barely gets used apart from the bath), ensuite and downstairs small loo, Living room, kitchen and hallway.

They do it in 2 hours but have said they'd prefer longer to be more thorough and do 'extra stuff'. We remove all clutter out the way... literally all. Our kitchen is cleaned nightly. They don't move furniture.

Most cleaners start with a longer deep clean as part of their contract..

Dirty enough to require the beds and sofa to be pulled out to hoover under?

How often did you do a thorough cleaning in the five weeks since you moved in?

A lot of that list might involve moving stuff in order to get to the surfaces. If they had to hoover or sweep the kitchen floor ahead of steaming it, for instance, that's not just 'steam the kitchen floor', and 'general dusting' isn't wafting around with a dust wand if they have to poke at lampshades or move your bedside book or jewelery tray and then put stuff back.

Agree with this. I’ve lived in a new build for 6 months. Initially it certainly looked clean, but start going over things with a cloth and some hot soapy water, and you soon realise how everything is coated in a thick layer of site dust. And the dust continues for the length of the development. It took me significant time on my hands and knees to get it thoroughly clean, and I’d expect a paid cleaner to work as hard as I did.

Robot hoover for under furniture. So much easier and you just set it to go off at the same time each day. Will save money in the long run!