Hiring our first ever cleaner - what do we need to know?

[MamaChris]

We are thinking of hiring a cleaner for a few months after our twins are born. We've not done anything like this before - what should we ask them to do/not do? How long should it take for basic cleaning of a 3 bed house (proper clean of kitchen, bathroom, and hoovering other rooms/hall)?

When we had a cleaner in our old 3 bed house it took 2 hours and she came every other week. I asked her not to touch laundry etc just to do a basic clean of the house and a deep clean of bathroom.

we do it the other way round ie she comes for 2h and does as much as she can, whivh in our house is hoover throughout, sweep amd mop kitchen, and clean bathrookm and cloakroom

imo it is most useul to get them to do stuff you won't
making beds, emptying bins, wiping kitchen surfaces etc is a waste of her time

thanks. The "as much as you can in 2h" sounds a good plan. Then she could always alternate mopping kitchen/bathroom floor if it's too much for 2h. I don't think it is too much, but then I know what shortcuts I find acceptable, and she won't, I suppose!