for those of you with cleaners - what do you ask them to do

[JingleyJen]

Think I have managed to find a cleaner to come for 2 hours a week, but I have never had a cleaner before and am not sure what I can expect her to do in 2 hours.

Please could you share things that you ask your cleaner to do and I think I remember chatting to a cleaner on here the other day - what do you think would be reasonable?

Am I pushing it to ask her to help with some ironing?

For two hours I think ironing as well would be going some!

Our WONDERFUL cleaner comes 2 hours a week.

Wk 1
2 loads washing, hoovering, clean kitchen, mops floors, load dishwasher, unloads & puts away, cleans bathroom & cloakroom, cleans hob.

Wk 2
2 loads washing, hoovering, clean kitchen, wipes floors, load dishwasher, unloads & puts away, cleans bathroom & cloakroom, changes bedlinen (1 bed). Light oven clean.

To be honest she doesn't stop and we're thinking of changing to 3 hrs because I think she often stays a bit later to finish off (maybe put washing in dryer etc).

Hopefully of help...

Depends on number of rooms.

Mine, in 2 and a half hours a week, cleans kitchen and bathrooms, including floors. Hoovers and dusts the rest of the house, but not dusting EVERYTHING IYSWIM, ie does surfaces but not windows unless asked, not skirting boards, pictures etc.

looks shiny as a new pin!

Depending on the size of your house I think ironing as well in 2 hours would be pushing it. We used to have 2 cleaners for 1.5 hrs, so 3 hrs total, 4 bedroom house, they hoovered everwhere, dusted, cleaned kitchen inc floor, cleaned bathroom and loo, emptied bins and tidied up a bit. Occasionally they would also make up the spare room bed.

We haven't got a cleaner anymore (sob) but when we did, she did 4 hours once a week and in that time she did:

Bathroom - cleaned the whole room, including floors, woodwork, windows

Kitchen (it was a big room) cleaned all surfaces, outsides of cupboards, floors, oven. Emptied & loaded dishwasher. Once a month she did inside cupboards & fridge, and windows.

Living room - cleaned, dusted, tidied up a fair bit (!!), swept & mopped floors. Windows once a month.

3 bedrooms - hoovered, dusted, wiped down surfaces, made beds.

Halls - hoovered and dusted. Every now and then she would wipe down the woodworks and try and get marks out of walls with sugar soap.

She was great. Used her own initiative. Did more tidying up than she should have done, really. Would do laundry and ironing for extra charge.We'll never find another cleaner as good as her :-(

Mine does just cleaning for 3 hrs. There's no way she'd be able to do ironing as well but she does have to spend a lot of time tidying as well

You have a robot ??

i love those robot things. my housekeeper isnt keen tho, so i dont like to tread on her toes

bumping for the evening crowd

I agree that expecting her to do the cleaning and ironing in 2 hours is probably a bit optimistic.

Our cleaner comes from 2 hours and dusts and hoovers house (3 bedroom), cleans the bathroom and guest wc, mops the floors. I ask her occasionally to do an extra hour so that she can clean the kitchen thoroughly, or the guest room.

Also bear in mind that generally speaking, ironing commands a higher wage. If you want her to do both, you'll have to up the hourly rate.

so have I got this about right (accept there is no chance of ironing worth a try)

2 hours 4 bed house - if everywhere is tidy.

hoover all flooring (takes me 30 minutes)
mop the kitchen & 2 bathrooms (guess 30 minutes)
Cleans bathrooms (15 minutes per bathroom x2?)
Cleans Kitchen sideboards(15 minutes)
Bedrooms will only need hoovering,

Would not expect her to do the dishwasher / washing machine / washing up

If she has time to dust in the sitting room

All this is based on the house being totally tidy before she arrives.

Is that far off / unacceptable??

Oh I am glad you are around Desiderata - what do you think have I got the balance about right?

Sounds about right. Your house seems to be about the same size as mine (or the same amount of rooms)

Did not know that ironing commands higher pay. I have a lady who takes in ironing and she is actually cheaper than my cleaner.

OK, it won't take anything like that long to mop the floors ... no more than 15 minutes max, after the hoovering, but to bring two bathrooms to a shine takes over an hour ... depending on the state they're in.

Bathrooms are the benchmark. They have to be sparkling, if you're going to appreciate your cleaner.

I agree that hoovering will take 30 minutes.

I'm glad you don't expect her to do the washing-up.

Two hours is a good time stretch for a cleaner. Good luck with it

And you can always ask her about the ironing .. she might be grateful for the extra work.

Thanks Desiderata,

The bathrooms will be brand new as will downstairs loo - they are being fitted next week - new flooring skirting board everything so she hasn't got years of dirt to deal with in that dept (thank God!)

Would it be OK to have a list of monthly jobs like the oven / clear out fridge?

Should I make sure we are out of the house?

I am really sorry to sound so thick but I really want to get it right - she may be saving my sanity!

The first clean after a new bathroom is fitted might take a while - I've had three 'new' bathrooms (lived in 3 brand new houses/flats), and I always find them coated in some sort of dust. The tiles all need a good scrub to get them sparkling.

hoover all flooring (takes me 30 minutes) - fine
mop the kitchen & 2 bathrooms (guess 30 minutes) - may take longer to do the kitchen the first time. I can mop my kitchen in minutes, but if I scrub it (so down on hands and knees with a brush to get right in the corners/grout), it can take half an hour or more)
Cleans bathrooms (15 minutes per bathroom x2?) Once they're up to scratch, 15 mins most weeks, but more once a month to really scrub the tiles clean.
Cleans Kitchen sideboards(15 minutes) Fine depending upon the amount of stuff on them.

If you're going to add in 'extra' jobs, then why don't you up the time to 2 and a half hours? Then you can have a really good clean of the kitchen floor once a month, bathrooms once a month, oven once a month...

The first time my cleaner came she spent 2 hours in one room . Now she generally does kitchen, living room hall, 2 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms but not all that thoroughly. She has to miss something out if she is going to do one of the rooms properly. I stay with her and clean something and she follows me round and does a better job. I don't direct her because she is more competant than me. I think ironing would cut into precious cleaning time.

Mine comes for 3 hours twice a week.

She hovers and dusts, cleans the hard floors and surfaces, cleans bathrooms, and kitchen, does moy washing if there is any, and the ironing.

When she has time she does the oven.

Last year she aslo took down, washed and ironed all my washable curtains! I didn't ask her to do it, she just did it!

I'd marry that woman if i were gay!