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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

Does anyone have a PROACTIVE cleaner?

20 replies

Quandry · 30/10/2016 17:49

Firstly, yes, I know I'm lucky to have a cleaner in the first place.....

Thing is, I'm sure she just does the tasks she most enjoys/are easiest and completely ignores what actually NEEDS doing. It's always just the basics - vacuuming, dusting, wiping surfaces, (some ) ironing etc.

What we really need is for her to SEE what really needs doing e.g. skirting boards need vacuuming, windows need cleaning (inside), window ledges have black mould starting and need bleaching....

I'm crap at asking people to do things for me (even if I'm paying them!) and she always seems so sulky when I ask about anything outside the 'usual'.

Or am I just expecting too much?

OP posts:

Akire · 30/10/2016 17:52

Depends how much time she has. Agree makes sense for her to do more deep cleaning jobs if there is plenty of time. I'd leave a note or ask her to do one or two extra things first then see what she can finish after. Unless she said she just does light cleaning she can't complain

chloechloe · 30/10/2016 20:52

You're not expecting too much, but it's really difficult to find a great cleaner who does extras without being specifically asked. We are super lucky as ours is amazing - she does 4 hours a week which seems like a lot but it gives her time to do whatever extra jobs she thinks need doing, like cleaning the windows or airing the rugs. When we go on holiday and the house doesn't need cleaning as such I just tell her to come round and do whatever extras she thinks necessary.

Our cleaner is a bit of a perfectionist neat freak though. I knew she was a keeper when she announced she needed a small brush to clean inside the corners of the toothbrush holder!

LarrytheCucumber · 30/10/2016 20:54

We used to have a cleaner who did look for what needed doing. They do exist!

ThornyBird · 30/10/2016 20:57

Yes, we do

Our first cleaner was brilliant - found things to clean that I never knew needed cleaning .

Sadly she retired and the next 2 we tried were ok but as you describe in your op - did what they had to but no more. After a few months with each, I let them go.

We found our current cleaner through mutual friends and she is super, like our first cleaner, she finds things to do that I just had no idea about! She loves a grubby house too so she can see what she's done

BackforGood · 30/10/2016 20:58

I agree it does depend on how much time she has.
Mine cleaner is superduper quick. (She said at the beginning she would speed up once she knew the routine) She will finish the "usual" / weekly jobs in about 1 hr 15, and always asks me when she gets here what I'd like her to do extra, so the time is built in for the non-weekly jobs. She is also very, willing to do whatever is asked of her, so it's never a problem, but some cleaners might not be keen on cleaning windows for example.

ThornyBird · 30/10/2016 20:59

chloe ours asked for a to hire a carpet shampoo thingy so she could have a go at the carpets when we away She is very thorough!

OhTheRoses · 30/10/2016 21:03

Ours is great. Three hours spent hoovering, steam mopping and cleaning the bogs and bathrooms. Two hours ironing. She does wipe window sills, has,stripped and changed ds's and dd's,beds. I gather she really likes this job. Doesn't understand a word of English. Every three months does an extra five hours to polish glass, skirtings, doors, dusting etc.

helenatroy · 30/10/2016 21:13

Don't have one any more. Could not replace my old one who fell madly in love and left the country. DH and I were traumatised after she went. She was brilliant, brilliant ironer, really good at instigating new things and would always let me know if she thought I needed her for extra time for window cleaning or whatever. Have tried a few others out recently but no joy none of them listened or did things properly.

ivykaty44 · 30/10/2016 21:20

You need to manage her, tell her once a month or once a fortnight you want her to only clean one room but give her a list of what you would like her to achieve in that one room in the order of priority, so windows, window frames and sills, skirting boards, feather duster corners, Hoover curtains, lamp shades wiped. Etc then when she comes the following week tell her what you do want doing, kitchen tiles, kitchen cupboard doors, inside the bin. Give her three things to do in each room so she doesn't just do hoovering and dusting

ivykaty44 · 30/10/2016 21:23

Our cleaner at work, he cleans everything - including the door hinges.

Original poster

Quandry · 30/10/2016 22:19

Yup - I think I'm being too soft She comes for 4 hours a week, but sometimes I wonder what she has done as there is still ironing left.
I'm not always here, and my friend/neighbour told me she saw her leaving at 12.15 one lunchtime (meant to be 9 -1pm) Of course I don't know what time she arrived, but she drops her kids at school first, so it's not usually before 8.45pm.

OP posts:

ivykaty44 · 30/10/2016 22:25

The I'd get a cleaner to clean and get somebody else to iron.
But if she leaving 45 minutes early that's notgood as you are paying.
Just ask where she was as you know she'd gone by 12.30 and see what she says, your paying for that time so you have every right to query what's she's doing in your time

Original poster

Quandry · 30/10/2016 22:25

What do you think is reasonable to ask a cleaner to do?
I don't ask mine to do anything that involves climbing e.g. windows, or vacuuming tops of wardrobes.
Changing beds - is that normal?

We're having some decorating done soon, so I think I may 'let her go' after that, as she is rather rough with the hoover and I can just imagine new paintwork being chipped in no time!

It's really hard to find a good, reliable cleaner though

OP posts:

SpareRoomChaos · 30/10/2016 22:30

We had a cleaner like this once but we did have a smaller house at the time. She did clean the fridge and do other extras when she noticed that they needed done. She knew our house and belongings really well so would put laundry in the right rooms etc.

Our current cleaner does a 4 hour stint every week but in that time does the kitchen, 2 of the bathrooms (we have 5) hoovers one floor (of three) and changes our bed. No ironing at all, will put a wash on but only if we've brought it downstairs, doesn't set foot in the DC bedrooms or the guest suite and there is basically a whole floor of rooms she doesn't touch. I wonder if I need to feel less grateful that we have help and give her a little more direction! I do feel like I'm left with a lot to do and I have noticed there are a lot of cobwebs, dust in the corners, that sort of thing. She seems busy the whole time she is here!

DesolateWaist · 30/10/2016 22:33

Mine does random things.
She's wonderful and her husband is a handy man so does odd jobs for us.

Last time we were away he came with her and fixed things.
There was a worrying moment though when she texted to say she had done a tip run and got rid of all the rubbish in the spare room.
There wasn't any rubbish in the spare room...........

kmmr · 31/10/2016 03:51

My cleaner was great. Had a little routine for bigger things, like clean the oven every few weeks, and other things I can't even remember! Saddest part of emigrating was losing her. 3 hours a week, and kept the place in perfect condition.

Now, after much trial and error, i have one who is too proactive! Seriously I once spent 10 minutes looking for the living room rug which she had taken up and hidden in the spare room wardrobe. She once unplugged and moved the toaster/kettle etc to a new location she preferred. And they move decorations around, completely clear the counters and put away condiments from beside the stove top. The place looks like a showroom, but I have to spend some time tracking everything down and checking if they have left the heavy crystal vase back in toddler reach. Why do they do this! Its a mystery...

f1ddlesticks · 31/10/2016 05:03

Ours is amazing - and v pro-active. She'll do ironing if I leave some, does all the tops of cupboards (so does go up a ladder), changes the bed and washes / hangs out the covers. She's mega thorough and looks for things to do, and she'll regularly ask if there's anything specific that needs doing. I've noticed plants have had their dead leaves taken off and she sometimes asks us to help her pull furniture (eg bed, sofa) out so she can vacuum underneath etc. I've had cleaners in the past who've done a half arsed job and it really pisses me off! I need someone who can do it better than me.

Microwaste · 31/10/2016 05:03

We've had two cleaners like this and many many more who aren't! Our current cleaner is exactly the type you want, she will get the usual stuff done then embark on an 'extra' each time, cleaning windows, washing paintwork, cleaning the oven racks etc.
She'll tell me in advance if she needs anything specific for the next job, I just have to provide it, no thinking required!

Original poster

Quandry · 31/10/2016 16:27

Oh Microwaste - that's exactly the sort of person I need!
I don't want to have to micromanage - it's back to the 'emotional labour' thing about it then being my responsibility to notice and mention what needs cleaning in the first place

OP posts:

shovetheholly · 01/11/2016 12:47

I think cleaners really should be proactive. But there is also something about being realistic about what can and can't be done in 4 hours a week.

My friend has a large 4 bed house which is always really untidy, and the cleaner comes a morning a week. She does a superficial job, and my friend then moans. There's something to be said on both sides of the situation: the cleaner is a bit lax and does miss a lot of stuff. On the other hand, the space is large and the clutter and mess make her job almost impossible.

If I were doing a deep clean of my friend's kitchen it would honestly take me a LONG day and that would be working flat out. I think it's unrealistic of her to expect a spotless job in about 30 minutes.

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