Hiring a cleaner-questions questions.....

Shesparkles · 2012-10-18T15:47:37+00:00

So. After having the luxury of a cleaner on loan whilst I've been recovering from surgery, I've decided I'm having one of my own. I've had 2 people in for an hour, so that's 2 hours cleaning time, and in this to me they've done the house top to bottom (except the spare bedroom as I use it as a workroom and its a midden just now!), but not in any great depth. I need to know if what I'm thinking is reasonable. I'm looking at having 1 person come in for 3 hours a week. We have 4 bed/2 bath/1 loo/2 living rooms/hallway/ large,dining kitchen. I'm thinking to ask him/her to do the house top to bottom, and in the extra time, to do one of the rooms in rotation or some ironing kind of thing to make the time up to 3 hours. Does this sound reasonable? If anyone has anything I've not thought of, please feel free to throw your ideas in!

FunnysInLaJardin · 18/10/2012 16:50

My cleaner does 4 hours once a week and this is enough time for her to clean 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and 2 toilets, sitting room, playroom and large kitchen/diningroom. TBH I think that you won't have any extra time with 3 hours and may need more.

Helennn · 18/10/2012 16:59

I also don't think she will have any time to do ironing with a house of that size. I assume you have stairs, hard floors that need mopping, bins that need emptying etc? Very easy to underestimate all these little extras, but they all take time.

Original poster

Shesparkles · 18/10/2012 17:19

Thanks for your help, this is exactly the kind of feedback I need! Keep it coming....

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Original poster

Shesparkles · 19/10/2012 07:01

I've had a lot of emails in response to my ad and have managed to whittle them down to 4 possibles....I'm thinking of asking them to come round for a chat and to see the house and take it from there, does anyone have any suggestions about what exactly I should be asking?

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Original poster

Shesparkles · 19/10/2012 07:03

And is it reasonable to ask them to do a paid trial?

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DewDr0p · 19/10/2012 18:27

My house sounds similar in size to yours (quite big rooms) and depending on the cleaner it takes 3-4 hours.

My top tip is be very specific about how you want things done up front (unless you really don't care) - it's much harder to ask them to change it later. I had one cleaner who didn't really clean the toilets properly

pmgkt · 19/10/2012 18:42

As a cleaner myself I would say 3 hours is more than enough. You say that 2 hours worth is enough for basic clean so just say you want them to do that and then focus on extras. I do a 4 bed, 5 bath plus 1 bed annex in just under 2 hours, although no kids just 2 adults living there. It is just a basic Hoover mop dust and bathrooms, although I don't have to do the actual baths in 2 of the bathrooms as they aren't used. Maybe you have things that just need to be done fortnightly on a rota basis to keep time down. While it is fine to suggest a paid trial I have always found that it takes a few weeks to get used to a house and get up to speed. I would invite one over and if you seem to be similar in your views then employ them, I only have 1 weeks notice on my contracts so I wouldn't expect much longer cos if there is a problem neither of you wants to hang around. Check for insurance, just in case. I agree to be clear about what you want and if there is something you don't like say straight away, good cleaners know that everyone had there own quirks about what is important to them.

pmgkt · 19/10/2012 18:42

As a cleaner myself I would say 3 hours is more than enough. You say that 2 hours worth is enough for basic clean so just say you want them to do that and then focus on extras. I do a 4 bed, 5 bath plus 1 bed annex in just under 2 hours, although no kids just 2 adults living there. It is just a basic Hoover mop dust and bathrooms, although I don't have to do the actual baths in 2 of the bathrooms as they aren't used. Maybe you have things that just need to be done fortnightly on a rota basis to keep time down. While it is fine to suggest a paid trial I have always found that it takes a few weeks to get used to a house and get up to speed. I would invite one over and if you seem to be similar in your views then employ them, I only have 1 weeks notice on my contracts so I wouldn't expect much longer cos if there is a problem neither of you wants to hang around. Check for insurance, just in case. I agree to be clear about what you want and if there is something you don't like say straight away, good cleaners know that everyone had there own quirks about what is important to them.

Original poster

Shesparkles · 19/10/2012 20:47

That's great to get perspective from both sides.
I've had loads of replies to the ad on gumtree, and I'm seeing a couple of people tomorrow. They both look really good in their emails, so I'll see how we get on with a chat.
pmgkt that's a good point you make about taking time to get to know a house, I'll definitely bear that in mind.

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Original poster

Shesparkles · 23/10/2012 07:29

Just to update, I've found a lovely girl and we're having a month's trial of each other. She started yesterday, and despite me having had a cleaner on loan for a month, my house has never looked so good!
Fingers crossed it works out for both of us!

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