I need a cleaner !!

[OliParkstone]

Excuse me gatecrashing as a Dad but I don't know if theres a Dadsnet and I do a lot of the house stuff to ! We have a crazy house like most people and we need a cleaner to help keep it under control so we can spen our free time with the kids not hoovering. I thought it would be easy to find a cleaner but its not and I'm stumped.

Does anybody locally have a good one they'd like to share or have any tips on where I should go to find one please as Gumtree seems to be a risk and I don't want a company.

In a perfect world we'd find someone who wants a few hours once a week plus maybe a bit of dog walking if they're up for it, usual stuff probably.

We're very nice and normal, as are the dogs !

Any suggestions I would love to hear them please.

Thanks

Where is local?

I've hired lots of people of Gumtree (carers) long as you interview and take references no problem. I prefer to find people myself than use expensive agency with different people all of the time.

Or place an advert yourself with what you want lifs of people want local part time regular work especially if can fit around school hours.

It has added advantage that you can add dog walking must like animals. Most cleaning agency's will not do dog walking and may not let cleaners work where animals are there unless in garden say.

Sorry, thought my postcode would show up, Parkstone in Poole ! Thanks for the tips.

Will give Gumtree a go but i'd prefer to find someone who has a good one looking for extra work tbh

I'm guessing you've already asked all your local friends/colleagues etc if they have one?
What about an agency was putting you off? If you can't get one though a recommendation then an agency might offer some level of protection.

how about asking around other parents at school if anyone knows someone who has a cleaner they can recommend?

Please don't be put off by Gumtree. I advertise on there, and I pose no risk. Just available for extra work. Several people have contacted me through there and I work for them now without problems. I am in NI so no good to you, but give people a chance to prove what they can do, or put an ad on yourself and go through replys. Happy hunting!!

There arent actually any private cleaners on gumtree in our area strangely, only agencies, but I'll keep an eye on it . . Thanks for the responses :)

what about an ad in the local shop window? or the local evening papers

Hi Oli just a word of caution from someone within the domestic cleaning industry - I own a private cleaning company - not an agency but we employ our staff directly, and I also have a role advising start up cleaning service providers within a domestic cleaning trade association.

If you go with a private individual service provider, please make sure for your own security that they are registered to operate a legitimate tax paying business and are not committing benefit fraud or working 'under the radar' of HMRC because if you are trustting someone to come into your home they need to be honest.

They should have received documents from HMRC when they first set-up. Also make sure they have public liability insurance to protect you if they cause massive damage (fire or flood or if they break a large expensive item like a television then they are covered, these things happen!).

These two things are both requirements of any start-ups wishing to join our trade association as they are the hallmarks of a professionally and legally run service. You definitely don't want the 'other' kind and neither do we. One way to find out if a cleaner is registered as a legit, self-employed business is to not pay them in cash, anyone who wants cash only has a reason to ask this, they should be offering other methods to pay them too.

Cleaners are very hard to find by all accounts, hence my own business doing so well, and we are not cheap, but do not get so desperate as to hire someone dodgy, they will be coming into your home and touching and seeing all your possessions, the relationship relies upon trust both ways so take these steps to make sure you get someone who's intentions are above board.

Thanks for that DEO, I kind of had it in my mind that I was looking for a little old lady looking for extra pocket money and some dogs for company and we'd take the risk of her breaking the telly but thats not looking likely unfortunately :)

Wow I don't think a 'little old lady' would be suitable for domestic cleaning it is very hard physical work!!

I am 46 and find, although I can still clean myself at a pace, the younger staff can clean rings around me! It is definitely not a job for the elderly at all!

Dangly your like a broken record! I'm a self employed cleaner I have insurance & declare my earnings, though I get paid cash in hand by most clients, just easier & myself or client have never questioned it, just never occurred to me or them.
I do think you go a bit OTT. anyone would think we're all going to go through people's drawers & rob them of all their valuables.

Oli How about advertising on Facebook? Of course you will get,your usual 17 yr old who've never cleaned a thing in their lives but they, may, then again be excellent cleaners! ? I've got a few jobs through Facebook, happy client & more work for me.

Loooby I am indeed like a broken record which is exactly my intention since not everyone has seen my previous posts and I am in a position to arm them with these facts to protect themselves.

Anyone who takes their business seriously and means the best for their clients would strongly agree with me on this. I apologise if I do repeat the message over and over but it is important to know and unlike yourself not everybody does have this information when they are looking for a cleaner and could get stung.

Most cleaners are honest and would not steal but several of my own clients have experienced this themselves and other unfortunate things when their previous cleaner was just a 'cash in hand' type as opposed to someone who is insured and declaring income like yourself. A person who is dishonest with the tax man or benefits system is much more likely to be dishonest in other ways.

There is nothing wrong with a cleaner taking cash as one option to pay, we allow this option ourselves but if no alternative option is forthcoming you can bet that it is undeclared income and you can also bet they do not operate professionally with insurances in place.

If people don't care then that is their look out and their own risk, if they want to let these people into their home and give them a key, but in most cases they just haven't considered this and are not aware that some people are not trading above board and that their are some fairly considerable risks attached to this situation.

Fair enough Dangly but you can also have those who are declaring their income who would still steal off clients. You could employ someone who would steal you just never know. I just think your putting too much emphasis on people declaring their income to the tax man & if thy don't they will automatically steal from you which isn't the case I'm sure.

Most of my clients come from word of mouth. I have taken a few on through private advertisements who haven't even checked my references, which I find a bit odd but I think a lot of people go on instinct. They'll give me a key there & then & I let myself in on my first clean. It's a bit mad when you think about it. I'm not sure I could do that!

Maybe I am putting to much emphasis on it Loooby but I want to continue because when you have seen all the instances when something bad has happened to lovely people who i have become fond of over the years just because someone they trusted was not acting with their best interests at heart it does get to you and you kind of want to educate the public not to be so trusting.

There's no way to ensure that cleaning people won't steal or cause damage if they are not operating as a professional business, but if they are set up correctly then it certainly sets out an intention to gain a good reputation and do well, a person set up correctly is far less likely to jeopardise their reputation by abusing their position of trust. When operating as a small business either solo or with just one assistant many cleaners rely upon referral and reputation for work and do not have any additional marketing set up. They are therefore unlikely to steal or cause damage, and are insured if this should occur.

The insurances we have in place and paying our taxes are the two main criteria that set us apart from the unprofessional cleaners who are often cheaper to pay for immediately but can prove expensive iand stressful to hire in the long run.

That's the reason only insured and registered cleaners are allowed to join our domestic cleaning trade association because this was set up in order to set a new standard within the industry and improve the experience of the end user, the client plus support the cleaning business owners in their quest for improvement.

Believe me it is boring for me too to be always banging on about tax and insurance all the time but there really is a very good reason why people need to be aware of these before hiring cleaners. Once armed with the information it is absolutely their choice how much they care to gamble on hiring a cheaper option. I am purely here to raise awareness so that they can make an informed choice, many people just don't know about these issues and how these can impact them later on.

Bye the way I do agree with you, people do just give a key over on first meeting, imagine if that person wasn't you or I but the other kind that i am talking about and they just handed over their key like that!

It's ok in my case as we are insured to hold their key and they know this but when i was just cleaning myself and operating solo without all these extra insurances in place people would meet me and give me the key, even if they found me through an advert and not a referral.

Boggling really! Good job I'm not a gangster

Just for information, i i can help you if you want i normally charge 10 pounds per hour. Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information.

Anyone recommend a cleaner in Nw7 mill hill, London please?