Have you kept your cleaner this lockdown?

[flowerycurtain]

We've been 4 weeks without ours now. I'm struggling with home schooling and working from home and it's one thing I could do that would make life easier.

We need to keep our risk as low as possible - family run farm so not teams of staff to help if we get sick. Not sending our kids to school for that reason.

She could work just in one section of the house (ie one week do all upstairs, the next just fo kitchen/playroom) with all windows open and wearing a mask. It's a big house and there's a big hallway between us home learning in the dining room and her. We could even leave the upstairs to air for a few hours.

How risky is that? Dh and I aren't sure. She works in other houses through the week. Mainly elderly. Case rate in our area is about 350 per 100 000.

Would you have her back?

We've kept ours. We work in the dining room with the door shut and she does the rest of the house. Pay by bank transfer. No contact. I'm so grateful.

I think we'll try her back. Interesting there's so many yes.

It will make a huge difference to my life. But scared of the story of the lady up thread who knows someone who got it via cleaner though

Dh isn't keen (he has been helpful at picking up the slack) but we can't sustain this level of isolation/work forever. At some point we have to allow a certain amount of risk to maintain our sanity!

Yes we have our cleaner this time. DH was keen not to but I basically cried and said I needed her to keep me sane not proud. We have all the windows open all day so rooms are well aired for her, she wears a mask and we keep to different floors as much as possible. It's a bit like musical chairs but with WFH and homeschooling the housework just didn't happen last time.

Yes, we keep away and keep the windows open. Children and I stay in one room (which she doesn't clean) until she's finished upstairs and then we hang out there while she does downstairs. We didn't last time until June.

Yes we kept ours this time. I've got a disability and chronic pain and having no cleaner was one of the worst things last time, as I had no energy, strength or time on top of work and homeschooling.

This time - they come in pairs, masked. Their agency's protocols are pretty good. We air before they arrive, have windows slightly open during, and air really well after they've gone. We all hide in our home offices (which they don't clean) when they're here which is a pain with the children but as they're in pairs it's only 1.5 hours to hide away. If anyone needs the loo urgently whilst they're here they wear a mask to go through hall. They don't strip the beds.

Yes we have - we just make sure we go out when they come

Yes we’ve kept our cleaner - she comes every well and we just keep out of her way when she’s here. DS and I (and DDog) stay in the office while she cleans.

She wears a mask while she’s here

Yep mine is coming, didn't last lockdown at my request. This time kids are in their rooms
and she didn't do them, dh locked away and I go out.

No. We live on a working farm and our cleaner is a luxury not a necessity. I wouldn’t expect anyone to come and clean our home during a pandemic. Of course we will still pay her though, it’s not her fault restrictions are in place.

@flowerycurtain - if you're on a farm, do you have any outbuildings you could all go to or work to do for a few hours outside? Your cleaner can clean, air the place leaving windows open then you trot back 15 min later. (Sorry if I'm just imagining space that you'd love to have and doesn't exist.)

I was going to get one but decided not to. I would worry too much. Made DH and DS do the cleaning instead and will spend the money saved on takeaway.

Yes.
We stay downstairs whilst she does upstairs and then swap. She wears a mask and we keep the windows open while she’s here to let some air in.

We have actually hired a new one during this lockdown (I was on maternity leave during lockdown 1). I haven’t admitted it to anyone in real life due to feeling guilty and that it isn’t in the spirit of lockdown, especially as I work in the NHS.

DH is WFH and they just avoid being in the same room. She is an absolute Godsend and I really do feel much better for it. She seems really genuinely pleased to have the regular work and thanked me multiple times. I always do the loo myself anyway even pre-covid. I am regularly testing through work and DS has so many colds from nursery he’s tested quite regularly too.

Maybe I will be honest about it if it comes up in conversation!

Yes ours is still coming. We are very low risk to her - we simply don’t go anywhere at the moment.
She is higher risk of passing covid to us given that she frequently goes to a hospital. I just make we’re never in the same room.

Yes, with everything else I am juggling I don't have the time or head space to do cleaning too. It was one of the worse things about the first lockdown.

@MRex the kids have to be in live lessons for 1.5 of the hours she's here in the dining room. Then we have access to outside and sheds etc without going into her section of the house at all.

@WaitingOnTheDaffodils I believe it's not against the rules to have a cleaner come. We have paid her in full throughout.

I'm of a mind to agree with you it's a luxury not a necessity but if the actual risk is low then it's a luxury I'm bloody keen to have as I try to work/homeschool/run a home and do none particularly well!

Our cleaner still comes - our daughter is at nursery still so we’re hardly risk free, but she is happy to come and keen to continue working. Like others - she wears a mask, windows open and we keep out of her way. We paid her for the first month when she didn’t come during the earlier lockdown, and really missed her during that time!
Going to have to tell her to not come next week though as two year old is isolating due to Covid at nursery.

Yes. They wear masks and we go for a walk to get out of the way while they clean.

Yes, we stay out of her way. She wears a mask and all windows are open. She’s got to make a living too.

@flowerycurtain - can she come at a different time?

Ours is still coming. Everyone in the house is low risk and I've had it and have antibodies.

I would have ours back as we can easily distance from her, however she has chosen not to come annoyingly!

In the minority but we haven't had a cleaner since Lockdown 1. Previously I've had cleaners once a week for the last 20 years.

Have really tried to keep interactions with others to a minimum and therefore prefer not to have them in the house. We're also both working from home so not easy to go out when they are here. As a family we've therefore had to muck in and keep the house clean and tidy. It's not ideal but it's right for us.

It put me off when mine announced that she thought covid was a load of bullshit.