Do you think a 22 y/o Romanian girl could be a good Housekeeper

[deliakate]

full time, and child-friendly? We are hoping to hire a live-in housekeeper for at least 6 months whilst no 2 is little. There would be some involvement with the children, some sole-care, but not much and she does have good childcare qualifications. But the main role is to "keep house" and cook occasionally.

She has applied for the job, and seems nice, and is very reasonable in her wage requirements (obv still above nat min wage).

My mum thinks this is too young, and she is just not going to have the experience to clean properly - we live in an older property, which really shows when its not been thoroughly cleaned for a week or so..... Obv I'd provide guidance, but memories spring to mind of past cleaners who have used 10 rolls of kitchen paper each week despite having loads of cloths etc, and still not managed to get anything sparkling..l...

22 y/o Romanian... Is the question about her age (I assume experience) or Nationality?... How odd.

Whats the Romanian bit got to do with the price of fish?

You're going to get very short shrift for having mentioned her nationality.

No, everyone knows there are only 3 nationalities who make good housekeepers and Romanians aren't among them.

They are good bakers and golfers though.

Not sure that her nationality does make any difference at all, but we used to have a very young Romanian cleaner (think she was 23 ish) and she was bloody brilliant! She used to move the sofa EVERY WEEK to clean underneath and behind it. She was also great at ironing if she ran out of cleaning to do! In fact - please come back! She moved home and broke our hearts!

My cleaner is 23 ( and happens to be Romanian but that has nothing to do with it) and she is an amazing cleaner- my house sparkles. She pulls out the furniture out and hoover behind it every week- (was very embarrassed at what she found behind my bedside table!!!)

She is a gem and works really hard for me and is lovely and great with 4 yr old who talks constantly and she just chats away with him.

Don't let her age put you off- just be very clear what you expect of her and I am sure you'll be fine.

That's a separate issue, Ponce, and one I'm really not asking for advice on here. Thanks anyway.

Is it her age or her nationality you are asking us to comment on?

I shouldn't be laughing but my ExH left me for a 21 yr old Romanian girl studying at Mancs Uni. She's now 22 and just about to graduate. However she is a bright hardworking girl. Shame she got involved with my H when she knew me and the kids though.

Anyway this a vague hi-jack Sorry

There is really no reason why not if you tell her clearly what to do.

(Obviously, I could comment on your mentioning her nationality, but you want an answer to a question.)

Go on: hire her. You know we want you to.

you're worried she might be too young to clean properly but not worried she's too young to look after your children?

Actually I think her nationality has a lot to do with it. And I am really not 'racist'. But in my experience, East European women (and I have a few friends who are, plus experience of cleaners/ au pair), are brought up to clean VERY thoroughly. Not going to debate whether this is right or not, but seems to be a cultural norm (unlike here). I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but it would be very different I think if it were a 22 year old English or French girl who is much more likely to have very little experience of 'housekeeping'. I live in East London and have had an au pair who was from Eastern Europe and her cleaning/ childcare was fantastic, though her self esteem was v low .

I'm sorry but it's sad so many posts are arguing the nationality of the poster they don't know. Sad.

Just joined the site as a single father with 2 genuinely well behaved children, looking for help for holiday and help organising. Any age or gender as long as they are charismatic

It's a shame your post is actually genuine

It's a shame that so many people instantly think it racist to mention someone's nationality.

In this case it's appropriate. The reason being that in this case it negates the worries of the OP regarding her age.

A neighbour rented out her house to a Romanian family and of course cleaned it ready for the family to move in.

The new neighbours spent quite a few days before moving in thoroughly cleaning the place again, obviously to their standards.

So I expect that as a cultural thing Romanian women more than most are brought up to pride themselves on a spick and span home.

Oops. Didn't realise this is quite an old thread.

What has her nationality got to do with it?

We find middle european tenants the very best, as they keep the property spick snd span.

Within this context I do think her nationality could be relevant.Generally speaking it is a cultural norm for Romanian girls to have a big role in housekeeping from a young age, and their cleaning standards are very high. So no OP, I wouldn't say her age goes against her.