Cleaner for 2.5 hrs - what's realistic?

[thisgirlrides]

I'm seriously excited to be getting a cleaner but would like to be able to give clear & realistic instructions about what I need in the 3 hours she's here. I'm hoping she won't need 3 hours for cleaning as she's happy to do ironing and bigger cleaning jobs (windows, fridge/oven cleaning etc) if time permits.

So, house has decent rooms but not many of them - 3 beds, 1 bath, kitchen / diner & living room + wc, hall & landing. I think it's c1,200sqft if that helps! Downstairs all wood floors then stairs & upstairs carpet plus fully tiled bathrooms. We don't have huge amounts of clutter (but have kids so not exactly minimalist!) and all floors & surfaces will be clear so it's just cleaning rather than tidy first then clean. Is this realistic in 2 hours:

Vacuum entire house; mop downstairs + bathroom; decent clean of bathroom + WC inc wiping shelves & wall tiles, wall fixtures etc; Light dust throughout inc Tv cabinet & kitchen dresser. Wipe down kitchen.

I think that's realistic, our cleaner does very similar in two hours. I'd say I get a maintenance clean for two hours a week ie I do very little cleaning in between as it looks ok (for my low standards!) one week to the next but I do have to deep clean every month or two as the skirting boards, radiators, windows aren't done. Also mopping gets the top layer off but a two hour a week clean doesn't leave me with a spotless floor. Hope that helps?

Yes thanks it does. I do a cursory hoover most days (cat hair & small child debris) & will still need to do a quick mop in the kitchen/diner in between at least once or twice so it's not totally scummy but it's just knowing the bathroom is clean & the rest of the house doesn't get forgotten as it does now