As our baby is due in a few weeks, we decided now is the time to get a cleaner to clean our flat every fortnight, to help us out and make things (a little bit!) easier when baby arrives.
Anyway, I woke up today feeling really relieved that someone else would be making our flat lovely and clean. But, alas, the day hasn't quite gone to plan!
So I don't end up going out and leaving the cleaner alone as planned (thank goodness), as I was feeling very tired and one of my feet was swollen, so I decided to chill on the sofa instead and let the cleaner get on with her work for 2 hours. She cleaned the bathroom and toilet first and then went straight into the bedrooms to work in them. I noticed that she came out of the toilet and didn't wash her hands, but assumed she was wearing the new pair of rubber gloves I provided her with (as most people would wear gloves when cleaning a toilet - especially someone else's - right?!) and had taken them off, so didn't think much of it... She then came into the lounge to clean and then walked into the kitchen. It was at this point that I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water and noticed that she was about to pick up a sponge from a bucket - and it was the same sponge she had used in the bathroom and toilet!! SHOCK, HORROR. My OCD then kicked in and I started feeling really hot and my heart rate went up. She didn't speak very good English but I managed to explain to her that she needed to put that sponge in the bin and not use it anywhere else in the flat. I just about got her to understand this but she didn't understand that she needed to wash her hands too. I gave up in the end, knowing she only had the kitchen to clean and just telling myself I would have to reclean it afterwards (a complete waste of money and time I know, but I was frustrated and tired!).
But then it gets worse... As she was leaving, I noticed the rubber gloves still in their packaging, hiding under some sponges on the kitchen table. OH MY GOD... So she had cleaned the toilet with no gloves on, then cleaned our two bedrooms and our lounge (and touched dozens of personal items in all of these rooms) with "dirty" hands.
I quickly gave her the money and got her out of the house, then spent about 15 minutes fighting off tears (I didn't have the energy to go the other way and be angry!), knowing I then had to go around and clean everything she could have touched with antibacterial wipes... This process then took about 90 minutes and I must have used about 40 antibacterial wipes!!! But I obviously can't clean all the cushions and the sofa she touched, so I guess if I drop any sweets on the sofa over the next few weeks, I won't eat them! :)
What a complete waste of money and time. I am now going to complain to the agency (which had so many fantastic reviews on checkatrade!) and tell them how bad (and potentially dangerous to health) what she did was. I didn't see the point in telling her, as she couldn't understand what I was saying anyway.
It just makes me wonder how many other cleaners do this. Perhaps it happens all the time and people are not aware, as they are not at home when the cleaners work. I really hope not, but I am not going to trust anyone now without watching over them and giving very clear instructions at the start. I might even say leave the toilet altogether!
Sorry for the long post - but I feel a bit better now I have shared the story! Still very frustrated though about the whole situation and the amount of time I have wasted cleaning after a cleaner... Aaaagggh.