what is the going rate for a cleaner?

[keresley]

I need a cleaner to clean my house and do my ironing. I have no idea how much cleaners cost. Can you please enlighten me? Thanks

I think we are on different planes on this one! I never give my key to the cleaner, not because I don't trust them, but they can always be called away unexpectedly to visit family and they may have untrustworthy friends who could take an interest in the homes where they work. In the 25 years or so I've had cleaners there have been few accidents or incidents, the worst was the agency cleaner who broke the antique bowl and tried to throw away the bits. So my experience is that the risk is not actually that high. I think that £16 is too high for a cleaner because it is more than I would pay someone to look after my kids and they are certainly more precious to me! I have always looked for someone who can do a reasonable job and who is reliable and I can get on with and who is as good or a bit better than I can do myself but who isn't ME.

A funny experience, it made me laugh anyway once I'd got over the shock, was the window cleaner I had who broke two of my windows! He was a one man band but legit and above board, i.e. would take a cheque, issue an invoice, was insured. When I asked him about paying for it he was very unwilling and said it would be inconvenient and cost him the excess ffs. We ended up paying for the windows ourselves and will not use him again of course. I could have pushed him and made a fuss but put it down to experience. being legit doesn't always give you much protection.

I guess we only get the horror stories because people only call us when they are dissatisfied with who they have been using for some reason or other, we will not get to hear about the satisfied customers out there, it does seem as if the worst stories I hear come from the people who hired cleaning ladies or agencies though but then their happy customers will not be seeking service elsewhere so I haven't a way to know the statistics really.

I am a bit surprised that the window cleaner was so unprofessional but there again i only know the professionals who have joined our association and we only deal with the domestic sector of the industry.

I guess its a case of asking all the right questions at the original quote and then hoping a service will stand by their promises. I can't think of a way a service can prove they will do this - I guess it would be an idea to ask about their procedures and policies in the event of breakage/damage etc and ask about how much training they implement to ensure correct chemicals are used on the right surfaces etc, also you could ask about health and safety procedures and training and ask what is and isn't covered and what they will and won't be held liable for.

This is the best advice i can think of given it is a hugely, as yet, unregulated industry, which is something that our association is aiming to put right!

We are in a village between Ripon and Harrogate. I pay £12 per hour, to a self employed who is registered. I know as she has asked me to do her tax returns. Although this is her first year trading. She brings most of her own things, however uses our hoover as it is better than her own. She is fantastic and often will spend time, helping to go through children's rooms etc. She cleans for about 5 hours per week. She is a close family friend which actually makes it easier in some ways. She always stays about an hour extra to cover tea and chattering time. I'm disabled so she knows the help I need without me feeling lazy.

I live in Bristol and I am a cleaner. My hourly rate is £10 without material. I always use my own cleaning clothes, usually my own hoover. On my first visiting i am doing deep clean (5 hours for 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms house) after i can do in less hours weekly or fortnigtly. My all customers are happy ????

I own a company that provides home help staff (cleaners, nannies, elderly care support workers etc) we charge £11 ph and all staff are self employed at £8ph minimum. When I go out and interview them I give them a huuuuge raft of paperwork on how to become self employed, who to contact at the tax office, what costs are off set for them - out of my entire team i know they ALL have registered and are self employed and paying tax.

I love my job, I love finding people who are good and make a difference to peoples lives. I know it isn't rocket science, but it really can make a lovely difference and thats,well, nice :)

I pay about 12 in central London (maybe 13?).

Nominally I pay 10/hr but she is in and out in probably 80% of the time it once took her (she's been with me about 5 years) and I am happy for her to realise that gain rather than me. I also also pay for holidays.

I am so happily recommending my private domestic cleaner for more hours. Excellent work and attitude organizing clean tidy and iron.She keep my house in good order every week.I am so proud of having her all this years.Charge is 10 per hour .Thank you all

I pay £10/ hr cash in hand (Midlands)

I'm wondering as to why you think £11 an hour and above is a lot.
Why shouldn't cleaners be paid above the average salary? because they're working-class and are looked down upon? I can tell you're one of them posh snobs. My mum is a cleaner earning around £12-13. Single mother. Had me at 18. Don't you think that someone who works harder than people that have professional jobs should earn more. She works everyday. Including Sundays. Bank holidays. Only gets a two week holiday a year and she doesn't even get paid. If she's ill, she's not fortunate like other workers to get money. She misses a whole day. How much do you get paid? I bet much higher. So why can you get paid more and others can't. Cleaners just like other people have expenses. Children. Having to pay for my clothes, pocket money, lunch money, food expenses, my makeup, rent, electricity, water, virgin Tv, Portuguese Tv, travel cost which is £30 a week. inform yourself before you talk shit "bloody hell that's an awful lot". OK mate. So much for living in London seen as prices are rising. Oh plus i have a tutor that she pays £40 and hour for 2 hours a week. God knows how hard she works and still people like you complain. Comes home late at 7.30 still has to cook, wash dishes. She pays for her mums care and medication. So before you add a comment inform yourself because it's embarassing. And just like other people, can't she have money for expenses on herself which she doesn't even buy because I'M HER MAIN PRIORITY. BY THE WAY. She pays tax. Hope you charge your cleaner more.

paulaf. This was a zombie thread that was 'reactivated' - almost certainly by people advertising their services. You'd be best viewing amounts etc in that context.

I am astonished at the discussion focussing on if the cleaner pays tax or not, should we not be focussed on value for money, do you get a great job done for a competitive price? All I'm hearing is that your worried somebody is getting away with not paying tax. Sure some people are crooks but that not my experience and the crooks will get caught in the end because one of you lot will dob them in, I'm sure. What I want from a cleaner is someone who is trustworthy, my friend caught his cleaner stealing from his wallet, someone who does a brilliant job, doesn't waste time nattering on the phone but get on with the work in hand is competitively priced and carries insurance should they cause any accidental damage, for all that being evidenced I will bay top dollar for it. If you want to pay peanuts you will get a monkey.

To pay a national franchise co over 60 quid for two people for about 45 mins and I'm bloody sick of it but can't find a reliable cleaner. In Herts

We pay our cleaner £10 p/h for 5 hours once a week and that includes the ironing. Cash in hand / London.

My Aunty lives in a hamlet in South Wales. She is 93 and unable to do much housework. She dusts and is very clean and tidy. She has to pay £12 an hour. When she is taken to get food shopping, and the cleaner does her own shopping as well, she still pays £12 an hour. I am
Sure they don't pay tax.

£12 per hour in Edinburgh, she provides everything.

£14 per hour and the cleaner provides all materials. We are in Hampshire.

Pricing really depends upon the service level sold.

A premium level of cleaning service (fully managed and fully equipped with employed trained staff) will be able to operate within the £15 - £20 per person per hour mark.

At the other end of the scale an uninsured untrained 'cleaning lady' operating alone with no equipment will probably be happy with a tenner an hour. Some cheaper agencies can make £10 an hour work too, as the staff get min wage and they supply no equipment and they supply very little in the way of management as you are matched with a self-employed cleaner to manage yourself.

And then there is everything in between.

All is fair enough as long as the price matches the service level you have chosen with regards to quality of cleaning and customer service.

It's the same with restaurants, you can pay Macdonalds prices and get a burger thrown at you by a teenager or you can have a full five star experience at 'The Ivy' - you choose and pay accordingly.

However caveat some larger franchises are known for charging the highest (as they surely must do with all the huge operating costs of running the franchise machine) but then a certain amount of service level gets 'lost' in the hugeness of the operation. High employee turnover plus high client turnover. They get enough business through their brand name to care little of this and for most of their customers they are considered 'good enough and reliable enough' to pay a premium for.

It's all down to choice really.

I mostly do it all myself. I use a lot of natural stuff as I want to be extra safe with the baby and all, but when I get too busy with the little monkey, I just pay someone to do it. It's usually 15 an hour here, and she works well.

Just search for cleaners on Thumbtack, and you should be able to find a few good ones.

I pay mine £10 an hour. I supply all the cleaning stuff.

12.50 /hr. She brings all her own stuff and is very flexible with regards to hours and time. Cleaners in my area charge from anywhere between 10 - 30 £ an hour

The 30£/hr is when they send two cleaners so works out 15£/ person

I have heard of cleaning prices of over £20 per person per hour not so much £30 per hour but someone somewhere may be charging it.

With cleaners in more demand that can be easily supplied it's kind of 'name your price' once established as a cleaning service. Most settle into the mid-range prices between £12 and £16 per hour it seems.

We used to use a cleaning agency (originally employed by my Dad about 15 years ago) who charged us £71.48 for 2 cleaners to come once a month - they often stayed for less than an hour! Managed to persuade him to ditch them in favour of a friend of mine who was looking for work - I pay her £15 an hour for 2 hours once a fortnight (so £60 a month). She does a better job than the agency ever did (and she's CRB checked etc.), and it still works out cheaper. I realise that we pay more than the going rate, but it's worth it for me to know that she'll also be looking out for any issues with Dad in my absence. We're in the south east.