For those of you who have a cleaner or are a cleaner can I ask a few questions ?

[cleancut1]

Hi I've just started up as a self employed cleaner . I have children and always have jobs where I'm juggling childcare and work it's very hard going at times.
I currently hate the job I am in which is retail and I work all weekend and can never do anything with the kids but took it due to redundancy.
I have been a cleaner in the past and a chamber maid. I've just set myself up its been three days and I already have five clients I was very shocked and pleased.
I'm charging 9-9.50 per hour depending on whether I'm using my own products.
I offered ironing separately but one customer has asked if I can do ironing within the two hour time slot.
Is this feasible , should I charge extra for ironing ? I've also been asked if I will change bedding within two hours not the same person is this something your cleaners do?
Should I charge extra for ironing/sheet changing ?
I'm in the West Midlands and my mom who works full time as a cleaner is also going to do work for me and we're going to work together once I have more clients. I only want to do part time hours four hours a day and will register as self employed by next month , I have take out insurance now too.

Can you enlighten me what does your cleaner do within two hours do they or you charge extra for extra jobs? I've already stated I will charge extra for ovens as doing my own takes me an hour unless they just wanted that done and a few small other jobs .

Can you help and are my prices reasonable ?
I am doing a one off blitz tomorrow and I'm charging £30 for a two bed house

Thankyou

My cleaner is fab, charges £10 per hour. Changes our bed but doesn't do ironing, I didn't ask as we have tons!
When she first came to us we hadn't had a cleaner for a while so it was a mess. She said she needed to do a deep clean of the whole house before she did her regular 4 hrs per week. It took hours and hours over several visits over about2 weeks but it was a good idea as now she can just get on with keeping things on even keel.
May be an idea to put to your clients?

That's a good idea a deep clean first makes it easier for us in the long run too.
I just don't want people to think I won't iron for them and they feel underchanged. I'm seeing the ironing lady tomorrow she wants me twice a week so will say if I do the ironing on second visits and do the cleaning first appts and spend an hour on the ironing on the second visit.
I don't mind bed changes I know it's a three bed house though so that would take me 20 mins to change three beds.
All your ideas are good it's good to just recap and see what others do.
Maybe one off deep cleans I should charge more cleaning is hard work at the end of the day .
I have a blitz tomorrow morning it's my first one so going to see how it goes may report back then

My cleaner has been coming every week for eight years. She is fab. She does ironing and cleaning, makes beds etc, depending on what is needed that particular week. She does six or seven hours a week. In two hours, she would do a basket of ironing. Or she would do the kitchen, bathroom, separate downstairs loo and Hoover through the downstairs. Or she would do hall, stairs and landing and the upstairs.

Cleancut for the deep clean we paid her the same per hour, there were just a lot more hours! She knew it was going to be a long term job in the end, she came recommended by a friend.
One off deep clean jobs you can probably charge a higher rate I would imagine.
I have had previous cleaners do the ironing but when we got our current cleaner I was already using an ironing service separately so saw no reason to stop. There is enough cleaning in our house to keep anyone busy!

Do cleaners tidy too? Or just clean?

Do cleaners tidy too? Or just clean?

When my parents had a cleaner, we had to get the house spotless (clutter free) before the cleaner turned up. Dad was house-proud anyway.

As I am limited stamina through injury, I don't have much energy to tidy so my cleaner knows to help me tidy before she cleans.

It's not the norm to tidy up I don't think but I would do it if was asked probably just not in my own bedroom.
I've got two jobs today both are new people I always get nervous when I first go. Asked them to both write a list for me I think it's better that way.
Thanks for your help everyone

That's the thing - I'm getting a cleaner because I'm heavily pregnant with SPD and two under 4 and I just can't cope with everything. DH works long hours. I've just written out a list of everything that needs doing before the cleaner starts next week and I'm exhausted just looking at it.

Is the house really supposed to be pristine before said cleaner turns up?

Might start my own thread so as not to hijack yours OP - good luck with the new jobs today

Hi I worked as a self employed cleaner for over 7 years (thinking of going back to it)

It honestly depends on what the client wants, if they only want to pay for 2 hours the can't expect a whole basket of ironing and a a huge house cleaned!

I had one had who has quite a small 3 bed easy house, I cleaned kitchen and bathroom, dusted and hoovered and ironed for whatever time was left over and just done as much as I can.

1 lady who used to pay me for a extra hour purly for ironing and another where I would take her ironing home and just change her for whoever long it took me.

As for bedding I have had some ladies who would ask me to change the bedding for them.

Be realistic on what you can do in the given time, explain that if your tidying up for them it cuts down your cleaning time

Well second lady wants two hours of ironing then two hours cleaning the second day so that seems ok.
The deep clean was very hardwork I would charge extra next time. It was a bungalow but was for an elderly man who's dad had died it hadn't been cleaned for what looked like a good few years I had only quoted £30 and had to dust everywhere and it was cluttered and a lot of wooden units etc some the dusting alone took me an hour the I had the mopping vacuuming cleaning the cooker deep cleaning the bathroom.
He had a small verandah aswell but I had already done three hours so I said I would have to charge extra for that and could come back another day but he said to leave it and seemed really happy with the job but I've learnt for next time to charge a little more as it was three hours non stop and I didn't do as much as I wanted kept noticing other little bits I had missed but hopefully the customer is happy he said he will use me again in future

I have my own little business and I charge £12 per hour and provide my own materials. I don't touch ovens ( of course a wipe and clean of the top of them, but I tell my clients at the start that an oven cleaning company is a better use of time and money ). I don't change beds, put washing on, hang out washing or iron.

I pay £10 per hour in greater London and provide the materials my cleaner requests, down to the brands she prefers. I would pay more if she were providing her own materials and Hoover etc, maybe £2 per hour more.

I think a good and reliable cleaner is worth the world.

I think London cleaners are a bit higher paid than the West Midlands.
I provide cleaning materials in with my price and most customers as me to use my own I've noticed.
Maybe I should charge a little more for my own stock I'm really lucky as someone gave me some of their stock for pennies so I'm stocked up for about two months now.
I'm wondering where else to advertise any suggestions ??

Bat face how many clients do you have and how many jobs do you fit in in a day? Also do you work wkends ?

Im in west midlands and clean. I take all my own cloths and cleaning materials as then the customer hasn't got to worry about running out of stuff for the cleaner. I charge most customers between £11 and £15 an hour. Im fully booked.

For got to say don't work weekends but have done in the past as favours. Most customers are at home then so wouldn't want a cleaner around but if i did then id charge quite a bit more.

My cleaner changes the bedding, but it all comes out of her time. If they want certain things that's fine but explain that some other jobs might have to be done less frequently. Like at my house I don't care if the spare rooms are only done every few weeks as they are used less often.

I don't work weekends, I fit in all my jobs between 9-2pm and I never do more than a 3 hour clean. I also run another completely different business from home so only so my cleaning part time, maybe 6 clients

Where in the West Midlands are you...? I have a cleaner but looking to sack her (it's a corporate chain one)

If your working day permits it, I would give clients the option of going over the hours if there is more work than can be done in your set hours.

Our cleaner is booked for 5 hours, but there are weeks when we have more ironing, or more cleaning (eg after a bank holiday weekend or when we've had guests to stay), then she works extra and texts me afterwards to let me know how much I owe.

She changes sheets, puts them in the washer and then tumble dryer/line, does general cleaning, and also jobs like cleaning the shelves in the fridge, cleaning the extractor hood, coffee machine, rescaling the shower heads, empties all the bathroom bins.

If we go away for 2 weeks, she does a normal clean on one week and a deep clean (hoovering under beds, behind sofas, dusting behind radiators) on the other week. We pay her holiday pay when she is away

Can you advertise in local shops? - newsagents and places like that often have little noticeboards. Also might be worth looking to see if you have local Facebook pages or similar for your area.

Also word of mouth is a great way to get new business. Hopefully your current clients will start recommending you to people, but in the meantime it's worth mentioning your new business to as many people as you can. Try and drop it into conversation with mums at school etc.
Good luck!

Reading with interest - we're doing some building work soon and I'm hoping to get a cleaner once the house is all finished.

In my head I want someone who'll come, see what needs doing in the 2 hours a week I can afford and just do it! I don't really want to leave lists as I'm sure I'd miss something off!

Little I'm in Great Barr but cover sutton and surrounding hope your close

Spare you pay holiday pay that's very generous wish I worked for you
I know some people don't like telling their cleaner when they aren't happy or want such and such done I would want to be told and know where I'm going wrong that lose a customer . I'm not easily offended at all .
I've posted in one charity shop so far got one customer from that I'm just waiting for my leaflets to come now.
I text the customer who I did the full house clean for yday and just thanked him for the work and said I I hope he was happy with the job he seemed really happy at the time so I hope he is I'm a bit worried as he didn't text me back but he isn't a regular so

You could offer your existing clients a referral discount. If they refer a new client who has at least three cleans then they get one week for half price, or £10 off or whatever.

If you are using your own products most cleaners charge an extra £5 for the job, flat rate (which is very expensive so I would always provide my own). Always use clients own vacuum and mop. More hygienic for them.