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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Is this enough time for a cleaner?

7 replies

MochaHoldTheMilkAndCoffee · 12/09/2022 20:20

We have a new cleaner who will be attending 2hrs twice a week (4hrs a week in total), they've asked for me to list the order in which I want the house cleaned.
Does the below seen reasonable/manageable for the time given?

Day 1
Master bedroom/dressing room (change bedding intermittently with the spare room),
Ensuite bathroom,
Spare room (light clean),
Nursery (currently unused - only v light clean required),
Child's bedroom,
Main bathroom,
2 x stairs & 1 x landing,
Kitchen

Day 2
Hallway
Coat room (1.5m x 2.5m)
Front living room
Family room/play room (most used room)
Kitchen
Dining room
Utilty room (3m x 3.5m)
Office (3m x 3.5m)
Toilet

Front porch as and when needed.

For context, we're a household of 2 adults and 1 toddler, DC2 due v soon. DH WFH 5 days a week and doesn't leave his office expect for lunch and toilet breaks. I work away from home 3 days, toddler is in nursery while I'm at work, the other 2 days DC and I are out during the day. Weekends are where the house sees most action.
House is tidy, things back in their place. All surfaces in the kitchen, utilty room and both bathrooms are wiped down everyday (sometimes twice). Carpets on all stairs and bedroom. Wood flooring or tiles elsewhere. We have two log burners which in the winter are messy.

Does this schedule seem doable? I don't want unrealistic expectations.

OP posts:
FiddlefigOnTheRoof · 12/09/2022 20:27

for a very very fast cleaner, who knows what corners can be cut - yes.

for most cleaners, no. They’d need 3 and 2 hrs or 3 and 3 hrs to properly vacuum, mop, dust etc.

MochaHoldTheMilkAndCoffee · 12/09/2022 20:58

Hmm, I'm torn. 2hrs has always been enough for a 3 bed house for us.

Our original cleaner managed fine with 1 x 2hr visit when the house was 3 bed, 3 reception.
She's retired now and since then we've added the top floor bedroom/ensuite an office and utility and now an extra 2hrs is not enough.

Now I've written down it does seem a lot but double what it took before we added the extra rooms?

OP posts:
mondaytosunday · 12/09/2022 21:59

Goodness not in two hours if she's (he) doing a proper job. Three hours.

Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 12/09/2022 22:06

Essentially you are asking for 9 rooms to be cleaned, properly, in around 12 minutes each. Pick one room and see what you achieve in 12 minutes. Then do it again, correctly, and see how long it takes you.
Ideally 20 min per room minimum.

Reebokclassics · 12/09/2022 22:10

Im a cleaner. Those are three hour jobs.

MochaHoldTheMilkAndCoffee · 12/09/2022 22:32

Okay, thank you all for the replies. She starts tomorow, I'll give her the list and see what she thinks once shes here.
More than happy to pay for the extra hours a week if she needs more time

OP posts:
Cynderella · 12/09/2022 22:58

It's not just the number of bedrooms though - you have a lot of other rooms and all those stairs! Log burners too - I miss ours, but I don't miss the extra cleaning. with them

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