Cost of a Cleaner

[MellowLemonQuail]

I’ve been searching for a cleaner and I’ve been quoted £50 for 2.5 hours a week or £70 for 2 hours (different cleaners). I’m utterly baffled when people on here seem to get cleaners for £12-£18. We live semi rural in the north - so it’s not London weighting. Anyone pay above £18 p/h for a cleaner?

Yes! Was gobsmacked when my friends all use one for £20. Said she was worth it, tried and she charged me £25!!! As said it was “deep cleaning”. WTF. Way more than what I earn myself.
Back to my friend who is usually £16 but does mates rates £14 as I help her with some of her stuff.

Oh and this is nowhere near London and quite a poor area (albeit with wealthy ex Londoners around)

It’s really confused me! I’ve never had one before and thought okay we might be able to stretch but I don’t want to feel it’s over priced or I’ll be very fussy over it all!

The person my mum uses is £16. Mine is £22 which i feel is at the higher end. I certainly wouldn't pay more than that

We're in Central Scotland

Mine is 21 an hour including VAT. In the NW.

£15 in Scotland, however we don't use an agency. Also we get 4 hours equivalent a week, so maybe if less often then they class it as a deeper clean and it costs more?

Mine was £18 just gone up to £19 and I don’t know any cheaper, companies charge more. This is North so not London prices.

We pay £10 an hour in the NW

Jesus wept.

£22p/hr is about £46k a year, on a 40hr week.

Wtaf. It's bloody cleaning, we all do it. Granted the whole point of a cleaner is because we don't have the time, or simply don't want to do it...but it's hardly rocket science. There aren't degrees in sweeping up.

How the hell, as a society, have we managed to pay cleaners more than junior doctors???

For one thing they're not cleaning for 40 hours a week. There's travelling to factor in. Plus I use an agency so the cleaners aren't going to be getting the full amount.

Why not? They can work at the weekends. Work evenings.

Unless you WFH, we all have to travel for work.

I'm an accountant, I understand the premise of self employed expenses. This is still a massive comparative wage for cleaning.

The company i use dont do weekends. The cleaners cover quite an area and I know the job before mine last week was 40 mins away so if they're working an 8 hour day they're not being paid by clients for the whole day so no they're not earning £46k a year

I'd imagine the cleaners are getting maybe £15 an hour?

£30 for 2hrs weekly central scotland

My £25 cleaner was self employed

Exactly and the half of it is cash in hand. So you can add another 20% onto it.

I happily pay £50 a week for 2.5 hours. Worth their weight in gold.

My current cleaner is unable to work for a few weeks she is usually £15 an hour, she’s ok really not the best but had her two years now, she’s trustworthy, always arrives on time, sometimes doesn’t do her full 2 hours but tbh it’s fine for us. While she’s off I’m paying someone £20 an hour who is shedloads better but I really can’t afford the extra! So I just top up when my usual cleaner leaves with the bits she’s missed!

@HopscotchBananaAs an accountant you must know how many real hours a self employed cleaner would need to work to be paid 40 hours. And it’s not a bit of dusting, it’s physical graft and travel and all of the other add ons for self employed.

Employed cleaners get nearer NMW the agency takes the rest.

My observation is it is a lot more expensive than it used to be. My daughter used to work as a cleaner, I don't use their firm, although they are classed as "reasonable" at £25 ph - regular cleans, not deep clean, and I have no doubt they are good. My cleaner is a family friend who is more in tune with what we need as a family, lives nearby and I pay £16 ph to do us both a favour, but you have to "know one", and the best way to get one is to ask your friends etc. Benefits of "friend" are more flexibility, trust, understands your ridiculously slovenly children, cheaper, Benefits of cleaning company are quicker, have good kit and are faster, don't give two hoots about your standards, can tackle the grimmest of jobs. Downsides of "friend" is flexibility works both ways, and probably slower, but downsides of professionals is the cost / somebody you do not know, and sometimes, inflexibility. Also, just on the costs, I reimburse friend for cleaning materials, professionals, it is in with the price. You have to remember that minimum wage is now £12.21 (aged 21 and over), so even if you pay "friend" they have to get to you and back, use their car etc. If you pay agency, they have all sorts of costs, equipment, running a business, NI etc.. It's really hard work (and more so if you are a professional cleaner), and I guess the days of ten pound an hour for a bit of cleaning are long gone. I resisted for a long time due to cost, but having had a chance at "friend", I am glad for it. Hope this helps, x

£50 for 3 hours here. SE. Seems reasonable given CoL really.

My cleaner charges £10/h but I pay her £15.

I don't understand why there is someone on here moaning about cleaners pay? It's not the cleaners fault that junior drs are paid woefully.

Things are worth what people will pay. And people will pay a lot for convenience.

£20 per hour. Worth every penny, she makes life much nicer.

We pay £17.50 an hour for our cleaner. South (not London). She does 3 hours a week. We're happy to pay it as she's very good. Our old cleaner was £15ph but was unreliable. It's supply and demand - if people are willing to pay the money, they may as well charge what they like!

£30 for 2hrs fortnightly in the SE. She brings her own products.

£40 for 2 hours. Hampshire. Have had 3 cleaners over last 4 years and all have been same price.

I feel as though £20 p/h is reasonable but the previous posts on MN around cleaners (even the more recent ones in date) were making me wonder if it was unreasonable!