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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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What to expect from a cleaner

20 replies

ChaoticButFun · 22/05/2020 04:59

There is just my husband and I in a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house with 3 small dogs. Before lockdown we had a cleaner who came for 2 hours a week. She cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, steam cleaned all the hard floors and vacuumed the only carpet on the stairs and landing. About once a month she did the floor and surfaces in the main bedroom and occasionally the floor and surfaces in the guest. I was always very happy with her work. She has now stopped cleaning and before lockdown a new cleaner came and visited the house, had a tour and I gave her a printed list of what I would like doing which she seemed happy with. Because of lockdown she started last week and I suggested because of the break that the first week she just did downstairs and the second week upstairs. We have been social distancing so Last week I stayed upstairs she did downstairs and I was very happy. This week I stayed in the lounge/dining room and the agreement was she would do upstairs and if time allowed the kitchen also. We had been in touch by text and I told her if there was any problem to ring me. After she had gone I found a note saying that she hadn’t cleaned any of the bedrooms - she would do them next week if I cleared them. She had obviously not cleaned the bathroom floor as it was still dusty. She had done the kitchen except again she had missed part of the floor (the same bit that she missed last week and I had left her a very polite note about). So in 2 hours she cleaned the kitchen, bathroom (except for the floor) and hoovered the hall, stairs and landing. I also found my kitchen Micro fibre cloth was missing and texted her about it but she says she doesn’t know where it is. I feel that she should have made an effort to clean the bedrooms not just left them entirely but having decided not to do them then she should have phoned and spoken to me about it and seen whether she could do the lounge/dining room instead. Am I expecting too much?

OP posts:
FlissMumsnet · 23/05/2020 20:42

Hi ChaoticButFun,

Thanks for posting - we haven't much experience in this area but we wanted to say hello and give your thread a bump for you.

We hope some of our users will be alone soon with some useful advice.

Windyatthebeach · 23/05/2020 20:53

Cleaner here. She sounds rubbish op!
And a thief!!
I have slots if you are near me!!

Pipandmum · 23/05/2020 20:56

You mean she refused to do the bedrooms because they were messy? Did she do the two hours or leave early? If she didn't want to do the bedrooms I'm not sure I'd expect her to phone but I'd expect her to do something else instead.
I don't have my cleaners do our bedrooms because they are messy. And she doesn't do the whole house (it's big) but we talk about what she's doing and what I want her to prioritise.
I don't think leaving notes is a very good way of communicating. I mean if you were in the lounge why couldn't she just come talk to you? I also would not have called her about the cloth - I'd have just asked her the next time she came. You are not expecting too much but next week talk to each other face to (2m) face.

Wauden · 23/05/2020 21:00

I don't think you are expecting too much for her to clean the bedrooms, after all they were on the list. Best to chat face to face as notes and texts can get messy.

skinnyhotchoc · 23/05/2020 21:17

I've had about 4 cleaners and they've always been crap. I've given up trying to find one.

Nacreous · 23/05/2020 21:26

I have a two bedroom house, no dogs, but my cleaner cleans the kitchen and the bathroom every week, hoovers and mops and dusts and then also changes the sheets/does 5/6 bits of ironing. Sometimes she doesn't hoover upstairs and cleans the oven / similar instead. She's here for 2 hours.

She isn't very good and descaling the shower but I am quite prepared to accept that as the price to pay for the others miraculous impact it has on my house.

It's a small house (Victorian terrace), but your cleaners definitely don't sound up to scratch.

Nacreous · 23/05/2020 21:27

I do make sure the house is tidy before she comes though*

Bluntness100 · 23/05/2020 21:31

Has she basically refused to do them because they were very messy? Her note would indicate that.

Bluntness100 · 23/05/2020 21:32

Why has she to phone you if you’re in the house?

saraclara · 23/05/2020 21:33

My cleaner does two hours a week, kitchen, large living room, hall stairs and landing, downstairs toilet, my bedroom (including changing bed linen) study and bathroom.

Your new one seems to have done hardly anything.

saraclara · 23/05/2020 21:34

Though yep, on re-reading the OP, it seems like you left the bedrooms messy and untidy. Cleaners don't tidy up. They clean.

Bluntness100 · 23/05/2020 21:37

Your new one seems to have done hardly anything

I don’t think there is enough detail to say that, you can easily spend two hours cleaning a kitchen and bathroom if they are messy and need a good clean. It doesn’t sound a lot but let’s face it you could spend a day cleaning some kitchens.

Op, it’s not really clear why she has to phone you or why she’s leaving notes and it indicates the state of the bedrooms meant she was unable to clean.

It could be she is not very good and you should get rid, or it could be the house is in a bit of a state, it’s hard to guess.

Herpesfreesince03 · 23/05/2020 21:51

She didn’t do the bedrooms because you hadn’t cleared them. Cleaners are there to do just that- clean. Not tidy up/sort out/put away (unless you’re specifically paying them for that). And you acknowledge yourself that your home has got so dirty during the lockdown that she had to concentrate on doing one floor at a time rather than the whole house. Do you think your house has got messier than usual and she just ran out of time? I know you wanted her to concentrate on the bedrooms this time, but they only get so dirty, so if the kitchen and bathroom are dirty again it makes sense to focus on those. Given the fact you were in the house with her at the time, you must have been somewhat aware if she was actually cleaning the whole time

Incrediblytired · 23/05/2020 22:00

Firstly : Good Cleaners are like gold dust. My friend had to sack 7 to get a good one - so I hired her once my friend had found her 😂

Secondly : it is best to tidy up before they can come so that they can clean, not tidy. But my cleaner is pretty good at tidying too - she straightens things up.

Finally as an idea, I have 2 beds, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, hall and lounge diner. She mops cleans both bathrooms and kitchen, hoovers whole house, dusts and makes the beds. She fluffs pillows Etc. I think a few deeper jobs like skirting boards she rotated over the weeks but she is amazing, she really loves cleaning and works hard! I think she is quite a quick cleaner though but only because cleaning takes me ages.

Bluntness100 · 23/05/2020 22:13

My cleaner is fantastic and has been with me for years, but she does not tidy, We do that.

She did however tell me a couple of years back that she had to let a client go because Of the sheer mess in the house. You couldn’t literally see any surface to clean it, they also did nothing throughout the week, literally left it for her. Over flowing rubbish, piles of dirty dishes, clothes and shit laying everywhere. So although she’s brilliant she walked.

Op, I’m not saying your house is like this, but the cleaners note indicates something is adrift in the bedrooms, she’s clearly stated she will only clean them if you clear them, and it could then indicate why it was taking her so long to clean other rooms if they were also in bad shape, alternatively she was just shit and you should terminate.

If it is a case of its very messy then you will likely struggle to find someone who wishes to do it to be honest.

ChaoticButFun · 24/05/2020 10:23

Thanks, whereabouts in the country are you?

OP posts:
ChaoticButFun · 24/05/2020 10:31

Thanks for the replies, it’s always helpful to know what others have experienced. The reason I left a note and I thought she would ring me was because she asked me to stay downstairs while she worked upstairs and vice versa. I did tidy up before she came. For example the main bedroom did have a basket of clean clothes on the floor and a pile of papers. I thought she would have just moved them onto the bed while she did the floor but obviously not. I had a cleaner before who never had a problem and she did have a tour of the house before lockdown and didn’t mention there being a problem. I think more than her not doing the bedroom I was more concerned about the lack of communication about it.

OP posts:
MissPollyPops · 24/05/2020 12:19

Sorry for hijacking your thread, but on a different note, where do you guys find cleaners? We've been talking about getting one for years but don't really know where to find one and how do I know if I can trust them or not? Thanks

ChaoticButFun · 24/05/2020 20:13

I looked around online for this one, the one I had before was recommended by a friend

OP posts:
Hamsterian · 26/05/2020 15:16

Chaotic I think the basket of clean clothes could have been put away but is OK. However a pile of papers should definitely not been left on the floor, maybe she was worried they would get mixed up or contained personal information?
She does sound a bit weird though, I think you’ll be better off finding someone else and bear in mind to have a quick run round putting stuff away before the new cleaner comes.

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