Who has a cleaner? How much do you pay? and other questions....

[dirtydirtysucker]

This is very nosy but I'd like to know:

How often do they come?
Just one cleaner or a team?
How long do they come for?
How much do you pay?
What do they do during that time?
Is it worth what you are paying?
and What do YOU do round the house yourself?

Thank you!

Because, personally speaking, if I'm paying someone to do things around the house say once a week (which appears to be average), I'd rather pay them to do things that last for the week, rather than things that will only last a day. It seems better value to me. Simplified - if cleaner hoovers on Monday, I have to hoover on Tues plus clean the oven. If cleaner does the oven on Monday, all I have to do on Tues is hoover.

And yes, you're quite right about people spending that on fags&wine too. In that sense, a cleaner is a much better use of money. It's just that to me, money is very precious and scarce, and we never ever pay for anything that we are capable of doing ourselves - we just blow it all once a year on a seaside holiday

Jimswife

It sounds like you have got your housework well under control - good for you. I don't. I don't always get around to cleaning things even when they need it, sorry, I am busy, and tired. My house was frequently a tip. I employ a cleaner because hardly any cleaning was getting done at all, or it was being done by me between 10pm and midnight. For us at the moment, time is more precious and scarce than money.

A couple of years ago I couldn't contemplate employing a cleaner, I mean my nans both cleaned houses themselves, but it's made a big difference and I'm happy to give her the business while I can afford it.

Not every house gets dirty that quickly too, especially when children are a bit older.

My cleaner's in now and she's brill!

We have a possibly slightly larger than average six bedroom house. We could clean that between us, if we didn't have several animals in the house too (including large dogs), which means extra cleaning. I also like the house to be clean and tidy. I can't cope with mess!

I agree with what others have said. If you find a good cleaner, stick with them. We went through about six different agencies and they were all expensive mistakes.

God, I dont at all, I didnt mean to give that impression! We have a very 'lived in' house, not a show home. I cant settle if I know there's hoovering, washing up, or the bath needs cleaning. But other than that, we just do things as and when. Its not unhygienic I hasten to add. But I prefer to spend my spare tenner a week on 2 after school clubs for the kids @ a fiver each. If we won the lottery, I probably would get a cleaner, but just for major deep cleans! I would certainly get a window cleaner once a fortnight, as I do hate that task!

When I work full time, which I will in Sept, I dont have the energy for cleaning. Even now, I am 3 days a week and I don't Hoover every day! Maybe once a week?

We will be getting a cleaner when I go.full.time, so this thread is helpful.

I pay £10 per hour for 6.5 hours per week for one person. (quite big house)

Just lost our cleaner, again . This last one only lasted 2 weeks, it was additional to her housekeeping job and was too much. Was pee'd off she didn't give any notice though. Really hard to find a cleaner IMO.

you're not in the midlands are you willaby ? i would come and work for you :o

How often do they come? once a week
Just one cleaner or a team? one
How long do they come for? 2.5hrs
How much do you pay? 8.75ph
What do they do during that time? clean 2 bed house top to bottom (I tidy beforehand), includes hoovering/mopping/polishing/windows etc.
Is it worth what you are paying? ABSOLUTELY
and What do YOU do round the house yourself? Too much! Constant tidying/cleaning kitchen between meals/clothes washing/cooking/de-cluttering etc.

I have 3dc 3 and under and I spend our very small amount of left over money on the cleaner, but it's the best money I spend. I get to spend a bit of 1 to 1 time with the dc's instead of catching up with cleaning the bathroom whilst 1/2 of them sleep. I also work part-time and we would actually be knee deep in it if we didn't have a cleaner!

I have a cleaner once a week for 2 and a half hours and pay £20. She is FANTASTIC! She does the following:

Cleans both bathrooms upstairs, (makes the shower doors really sparkle!), including mopping floors and tidying if necessary(not usually required).
Dusts and hoover our bedroom including pulling out furniture and hoovering skirting etc.
Hoover hall stairs and landing.
Cleans downstairs loo.
Wipes down all kitchen surfaces and cleans the sink so I can see my face almost! Cleans the hob and will load dishwasher if needed( not often).
Mop the hard floors downstairs.
Dusts and hoover the living room including under and behind the sofas and under the sofa cushions! (Oh the horror the first time she did this!![cblush]

She doesn't do the kids bedrooms(they have to do their own) or the playroom (its too messy) and she can't do Dh's office cos he's usually in it!

If she has extra time she will clean windows or wash all the cupboard doors on my kitchen units for example.

She is an absolute gem and worth every penny.
I just do maintenance with the bathrooms and hoover and tidy during the week.

Mine used to come for 3hrs every week, used to leave the money for her and be out before she arrived. But suspected she was not doing the hours (seeing her out and about when she should have been at ours bit of a give away )

So a couple of times when I was home she said she could only do two hours, both times no change in the quality of the work / stuff cleaned so reduced her hours.

She now does two hours a week @ £7 per hour - since hours reduced she cleans alot better

Sorry - I dont mean to change the topic but can anyone recommend a reliable cleaner in hillingdon area? thank you

omg lily thats so cheeky!

I have one cleaner who comes twice a week for 6 hours each times ( about 12 hours a week). I pay £8/hour.

She irons (including sheets), changes bedding, cleans bathrooms 2x/week, kitchen 2x/week (inside of cupboards 1x/week), takes out garbage, sorts recycling, tidies, dusts frames (lots of artwork here)/furniture/lampshades/side thingies , cleans floors, cleans entrance to house 1x/week, hoovers 2x/week, polishes silver as needed.

I clean floors every day she isn't here (hoover 2x a day, clean floor with mop 2 times a week), clean kitchen every day she does not, clean toilets every day she isn't here (DH and DSs can't aim!), hoover carpets one additional day, and do the laundry.

hoover 2 x a day and have a cleaner for 12 hours a week? you are making me feel slovenly. My hoover is lucky if it sees any floor action between weekly cleaner's visits.

No, you are probably normal. I live with 3 males who eat like pigs and we have floorboards with quite large spaces so I need to hoover all the crumbs to prevent ants and mice from happily taking residence.

Well I live with four males and lots of floorboards too - but then I have two dogs and they save me from lots of hoovering.

Lily that's shocking!! I do some cleaning for people and granted, some days I finish earlier than others but in that case, I'll do extra like wiping down paintwork/cleaning windows inside or what have you.

A lady I do once a fortnight is always at work when I visit so she wouldn't have a clue if I do the full time - but I would know. The last time I did for her it was really hot and I stopped for a drink break/sit down and set the timer on my phone so I'd know how many extra minutes to add on!

A neighbour of mine used to have an agency cleaner who never moved even the lightest things - not even stuff on shelves. She'd dust round them. My neighbour has a small portable fan in her living room and the cleaner hoovered round it!

once a week
one fella
one hour
hoover atrocious cream carpet, mop kitchen - clean kitchen and dining room talbe

£11 - its just gone up a pound
yes. tuesday is the best day of the week.

its the best money i spend all week, i work full time and its nice to just catch my breath

You forgot to include house size in your questions, which makes a big difference!
So....

House size - tiny 2-bed, 1 reception, (2 loos though) terraced
How often do they come? - once a week
Just one cleaner or a team? - one
How long do they come for? - 2 hours
How much do you pay? - £10/hr
What do they do during that time? - cleaning only, I tidy before she comes (so she can see the surfaces that need cleaning!). Thorough clean of bathrooms and kitchen, hoover, make beds, mop floors
Is it worth what you are paying? - every penny! I work full-time and weekends are for spending with the DDs, not scrubbing the bogs
and What do YOU do round the house yourself? - I'm assuming you mean DH and I, not just me. Tidying, laundry, day-to-day surface wiping, hoovering dog hair downstairs

I have a large 3 bed terrace, 5 people, 2 digs. Cleaner just been given push as I tend to find after 6 mths or do they get slack and I won't keep them once they've been.given chance to improve.

Initially tho they've all been great and as below:

Come once a week for 4 hours
£8ish an hr
Clean whole house...sweep/mop, dust/wipe, move sofas, vacuum rugs, clean glass doors, polish SS range, kitchen/bathroom cupboard fronts, empty bins, feather duster at height for cobwebs etc

We tidy before they come, this is our old cleaning time, altho it only takes a quick tidy now we are into the rhythm!

Meant to say worth every penny, I've paid up to £10/hr for a decent cleaner. I only wipe kitchen/bathr, bleach loo, sometimes sweep floors downstairs depending on mess, in-between.