Cleaner £12.50ph?

[Ezs23]

Hello all,

I'm moving house soon and have finally decided to take on a cleaner. I have rheumatoid arthritis and have been toying with the idea for a while.

I've contacted a local independent cleaner via Facebook who seems to have good reviews. She's said she chargers £12.50/hour and would need to see the house to discuss her terms etc.

Does this seem about right price wise (Midlands)?

It's a 4 bed house although there's just husband and I plus our toddler. I was thinking of 2 hours per week and hoping she would be able to dust, hoover through and mop any hard floors, clean family bathroom and downstairs WC and clean kitchen. Does that seem reasonable?

I pay £12.50 an hour.

I pay that (south east) but 2 hours for 3 bed house and my cleaner works like a demon in that time. For a 4 bed house i think you'd need longer - how long does it take you to clean?

In 2 hours mine thoroughly cleans kitchen, bathroom & WC, hoovers & dusts living room, hoovers stairs, mops hall & usually has time for small extras like cleaningnglass panel doors or a couple of windows. Doesn’t touch any bedrooms.

I'm a cleaner in the Midlands and charge £12 per hour which includes all products and equipment. I'm pretty fast but I think I'd struggle to get all that done in 2 hours, depends how much there is to do really and whether you'd want every room dusting every week etc.

It is really good that she wants to see the house first to, that means she'll be able to give you a better idea of what is realistic in the time allotted.
As a cleaner I would say probably 2.5-3 hours for a four bed house. (Also depends on tidiness).
If she can do a clean before you move in, highly recommend it. Starts the house off at the right level. I understand could be difficult with key exchange though.

Assuming it’s an average sized house, I think it’s unrealistic to expect her to dust and hoover 4 bedrooms, sitting room, dining room, hall, stairs and landing and clean bathroom, cloakroom and kitchen including mopping the floors, all in 2 hours.
I suggest you either prioritise a few of those tasks, or accept you would need to pay her to work for longer.

I pay £12ph and it takes 3 hours (4 bed house)

Thanks everyone. It's really useful to get feedback like this so I don't look a total idiot when I meet her. Two of the bedrooms won't be used so wouldn't need touching. I guess my main priorities are the kitchen, bathroom and WC, they're what I find hardest physically.
Cannotmakemymindup - yep I'm also thinking an initial pre-clean might be a good idea. The current owners looked very clean when we viewed, but having read many horror stories on here, I know that's not always a reflection of how it's left!! I will possibly be able to have a two day overlap between completion and move so it might be an option.

@Ezs23

Had to respond as I also have 4 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms and my cleaner does the exact same as you wanted - hoover and mop all hard floors, clean bathrooms, dust and clean down kitchen.

We pay £10 ph and started out with 2 hours a week but she asked if she can do 2.5 hours a week as that is how long it was taking her.

I live NI got a 5 bed house on an estate and cleaner charges £10 an hour and takes 5 hours to clean apparently...