How much does a cleaner cost and what do they 'do'?

[mrsbarryscott]

Since going back to work full time and with a 14 mo dd I really can't get on top of the housework.

How much does a cleaner cost and what do they actually 'do' in the way of cleaning/tidying.

what you ask them to do.
rate depends on who you get. companies can be up to 16 pounds anhour, in a uniform, with their own equipment
or a hardworking immigrant will do it for minimum wage, cash in hand.
most people i know pay between 6 and 9 pounds an hour. personally i always offer lunch, but she has never taken me up on it. i have given the use of my bicycle for travel, other people pay bus fares etc.
depends

I pay £8/hr no travel. She hoovers, cleans bathroom/s and kitchen, mops wooden floors, dusts where possible. Also, miraculously once a week unearths a room I have downstairs which then disappears under avalanche of plastic crap for the rest of the week.

ironing usually extra. May put in and take out washing, although probably not sort it. Cleaning wise, will do anything you ask I guess. Tidying - depends how anal you are about things being in a certain place - if you don´t mind her finding new homes for things then I guess she would tidy too, although it would eat into the time she spent cleaning. Average size house once a week for a big blitz I would guess at about 4 hours. Pre kid days, we had a 2 bed flat and a cleaner for 8 hours a week, she was ironing socks (!), tidying our clothes cupboards, colour coordinating the wardrobe, fixing buttons, etc.

HTH

ironing usually extra. May put in and take out washing, although probably not sort it. Cleaning wise, will do anything you ask I guess. Tidying - depends how anal you are about things being in a certain place - if you don´t mind her finding new homes for things then I guess she would tidy too, although it would eat into the time she spent cleaning. Average size house once a week for a big blitz I would guess at about 4 hours. Pre kid days, we had a 2 bed flat and a cleaner for 8 hours a week, she was ironing socks (!), tidying our clothes cupboards, colour coordinating the wardrobe, fixing buttons, etc.

HTH

£7.50 per hour
whatever you ask them to do
which should be whatever you hate most

£8 per hour here
I have 4 hours a week for a 4 bed, 2 bath place
Hoovers, washes floors, cleans bathrooms, bit of dusting
Mine will iron for extra and is happy to tidy
(we don't allow tidying though as otherwise I can never find anything again)

I have latterly discovered lots of people have theirs change the bed linen

so could you each week say do this and then next week this etc

possibly but it might annoy them

£7.00ph for my saviour, she hoovers, cleans bathroom, scrubs kitchen, mops floors, cleaned my fridge out today!, has cleaned the cooker before, polishes dusts, cleans inside of windows, wipes down sticky finger marks, takes the was out and puts it in the dryer, I could go on, and couldnt go on with out her

£8 hour, and it is good discipline for me to keep the house tidier, as I don't want to pay her for clearing up rather than cleaning up.

I love my cleaner, even if she only comes once a fortnight.

Sigh

dalmation, I 'encourage' Dh to put his things away on a thursday night before the cleaning angel comes as I dont want to pay her to tidy either

£8 an hour and he's a godsend.
He changes bed linen if necessary, irons husband's shirts, washes, cleans, hoovers, mops, dusts etc. He keeps my home spotless and I'm going to keep him even if I decide to be a SAHM.

£8.25 per hour, but £6 is cash in hand for the cleaner and the rest goes to an agency to cover insurance, tax, finding her and then a replacement (a constant problem round here with a real shortage of cleaners).

She does the stuff I find it difficult to do with DD around - washing floors, cleaning out cupboards etc plus the stuff I hate like cleaning the oven and glass. Although often the basic dusting and hoovering too if I'm feeling lazy.

We have 2 hrs per week (4 bed, 2 bath house), but every 4-6 weeks she comes for a long afternoon to tackle one or two rooms in a comprehensive move all the furniture out, books off bookcase kind of way.

My cleaner comes 8 am on a thursday morning, on the dot. I tidy the house on Wednesday evening so she doesnt have to do that. She spends 3 hours on a 3 bed house, one bathroom, one toilet, living room, study, and conservatory. She hoovers, changes bedlinen, dusts, cleans the cooker, everything I ask her to do. I pay £9 per hour, she is from an agency.

Am I the only one wondering whether to get a job as a cleaner?

8.00 an hour plus 3 pounds travel for five hours week.

perhaps you can help me with my rather bizarre dilemma. We have had her for five years. Since I have gone back after maternity leave, she has taken to staying for 8 hours and doing a range of jobs that I haven't asked her to do. For example handwashing (!) my baby's bibs or spraying salt around the place because she saw some slugs.

A couple of times I paid her the extra hours, then I asked her not to do the extra work. Now she insists on doing whatever she feels like but refuses to get paid extra. I have tried giving her a list of what to do and what not to do but she got really upset. She is a Jehovah's witness and from the Philippines.

I give her cast-offs when she asks, and about every three weeks, we have the discussion about the extra work.

Should I just sit back and enjoy our good fortune, and continue as we are? Or does anyone have any ideas?

I should add that we think she is lovely and very kind. She thinks of us as family though she has a lot of family here and at home.

£7 an hour. She is lovely, she cleans and irons but her cleaning is something else. I have never had a cleaner before who polished my kettle and cleaned my toilet brushes! She is a total treasure.

they all sound fab, I definitely need to get one. where did you find your cleaners?

There is a community of Philippina cleaners.

I think it is worth asking a friend with a cleaner you like if she (he) has any friends.

Where are you?

Word of mouth is best

I got mine via personal recommendation
I also took other refs and called them

I have cleaned as a job and this is what i did.
Top dust, dust skirting boards, dust all doors, dust furniture and hoover, glass clean tv's etc., dirty sticky marks removed where seen. Do all the dusting in kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms and also clean worktops/cupboard doors/clean and then polish anything shiny like kettles/coffee makers etc., sweep and mop floors. Descale shower doors and glass clean everything when cleaned. Hoover all through and clean all floors including laminates.
That was it really, no hanging out washing or emptying dishwashers or tidying up. I used all my own products and hoover and got about £30-35 per 3/4 bed house, took about 2 and half hours.

Whatever the cost it is worth every damn penny and more........much more . I would prob hand over all my money to have one.