4.5 hours by cleaner. Is this OK?

[NotPerfectlyAdverage]

Feeling very run down and overwhelmed so had a friend of dh clean for us.

Did living room, hallway, stairs, kitchen diner, cloakroom and two bathrooms in 4.5 hours. It looked great but on looking closer nothing was dusted. Also any surface that had something on it was left. So by the taps on the bath we had shampoo bottles. Underneath wasn't cleaned. So it's just been hoovered, the toilets and sinks cleaned and the visible bits of the bath.

I know you have to leave the the house clear and tidy but it's a air fresher on the toilet cistern. Ornaments on the windowsill. Nothing excessive. Shampoo on the bath.

Dh wants to make it regular but I think the bath especially isn't great..the top of the bathroom bin wasn't wiped either.

Maybe look for a different cleaner I think the problem is likely that it’s your husband’s friend.

I would expect a cleaner to live shampoo bottles etc to clean but I’m not experienced in having a cleaner. I’ve done a bit of cleaning myself and often the first clean takes longer than subsequent cleans as you are doing a thorough job then just maintaining but that doesn’t sound like this is the case here.

I would stay well away from friends and/or family for this sort of thing. It more than likely won't end well.

I don't have a cleaner but if I did I would expect surfaces to actually be clean after they've been. Sure, you can't leave clutter and crap all over the place and expect a cleaner to move it all, but picking up a brush so you can clean underneath it? Absolute minimum standard.

I suppose the question is really whether you feel 4.5 hours of cleaning was done. If the cleaner did what was possible in the time you paid for, i don't think I'd see a problem with some bits being left as long as they were done next time. But then perhaps they should have managed your expectations better and focussed on fewer room for the first visit. I get that it comes across as lack of attention to detail, so understand if you'd like to try someone else, but 4.5 hours for a first clean (as PP mentioned) may not have been long enough to leave everything spotless across so many rooms.

The coverage for the time cleaned is really good, the quality of clean isn't.

Personally (as a cleaner), it takes me about 2 hours to give three bathrooms a thorough clean. In that time, I remove everything off the surfaces, clean surfaces thoroughly and then wipe each item before replacing them. I also deep clean floors, showers/bath and glass doors, windows and hoover all skirting boards, before mopping. When I've been confronted with a hairbrush like that at a client's house, I remove hair, wipe it down and place it neatly in it's spot.

I'd look for someone else.

Yes it also depends on whether there was any agreement beforehand on what was to be prioritised. The first clean can take many hours to get it to a proper standard.

The quality of the work itself is almost not the point. The fact you have posted pics and complaints about the work on the internet says this is not going to be a successful professional relationship.

It's just not how I clean the house myself. I'd miss the bin lid, but everything comes off the bath, loo and sink to be wiped over. So not cleaning the tap area I think is pretty basic. If I have to put all the shampoo and shower gel into the cupboard, it's as much effort just to clean it myself. But it's a lower standard than my own and right now my standards are pretty crap.

It's a shame as I did think it was worth the money but I don't want to have tell a cleaner to wipe the top of the cistern or move shampoo bottles to clean by the taps. Friend is a cleaner by trade. Just expected she would be better than this. She was told to take as long as she wanted.

So for sanity check. Is it unreasonable to leave a bottle of shampoo on the bath and expect a cleaner to pick up and wipe under and put it back? I'm going to look for another person to do a deep clean so I can try to get back on top of things. But I can't put everything away for it. I don't want to explain that I want I want the top of the toilet cistern wiped either.

Maybe just have a crate ready and tell the cleaner to please go ahead and put all clutter in there as you really need surfaces in bathrooms/wherever deep cleaned. Then you can put it back when you're able to.

My cleaner does all of that plus dusts and hoover's four bedrooms in three hours and we get a much better result than that.

I’d clean the entire house in 4.5 hours! Properly!!! Get a proper cleaner in

Unpopular MN opinion but this is why I don’t bother with a cleaner; it is never ever cleaned properly, and I’ve tried with three different cleaners now!

Plus it’s stressful tidying the house for them.

It looks badly cleaned. My cleaner does our whole house (5 beds, 4 baths) in 4.5 hours and it looks much better than yours- sorry OP.

I'm in total burnout so thought this would help me out of a fix. I might try again with a professional company and see what they can do in four and a half hours.

I wish I didn't feel so run down. If I set aside 30 minutes I can do the bathroom. Maybe not wipe the tiles or windowsill but I could do the bath, sink, loo and floor. I have just cleaned the windowsill myself.

I will have a word with dh but it's not going to work out. I'd rather she had asked for more time and done it properly. It looks OK if I don't move anything but it's got to be done again really

From your photos I’m on the cleaners side. It sounds like lots of little things were left out and not tidied away and moving lots of little things for the cleaner all adds time. That added to the state of the bin lid means maybe the cleaning has piled up a bit? So it’s going to take a few cleans to get to the point where the cleaner has enough time to do a deeper job.

Your idea of getting a deep clean done is what I’d do in your shoes. Start fresh and see what the upkeep is like.

4 hours and didnt even do any bedrooms? She doesn't sound great, and yes she should have cleaned the ehole of the surfsces not just the bits with nothing on! Get someone else.

It's going to be quicker when cleaning has been done quite regularly.

Re-setting a house after a while of not being cleaned takes much longer. If you go through a cleaning company you could book a full day's work by 2 people, for instance. Then after that you can move to just getting bathroom(s), kitchen and vacuuming done, or whatever works best for your specific situation.

When the house is back to being fully clean to a reasonable standard they'll be able to do more each visit.

I'd expect those rooms/areas done in two hours, and done thoroughly. All surfaces cleaned, dusted, hoovered.

@kidscanwatchcbeebies I agree with you, I found it stressful having a cleaner.

OP booking a few hours' professional deep clean is not a bad shout. But ultimately they are not going to able to put bits and bobs away - either you clearly the surfaces first, or they pile the things up and leave you a nice tidy pile to put away afterwards. In the latter case you are paying them to do this, then you still have to put the stuff away. But maybe that is a compromise that can still help you.

Could your husband perhaps spend an hour, or whatever can be spared, clearing surfaces before the professionals arrive? If that kind of timeframe is not going to make much of a dent, then you'd need to be realistic about what a professional cleaner can do without it.

Your expectations aren’t unreasonable.

It’s absolutely basic to dust down, and hoover last. You can’t wet clean over dirt, and you pick up and clean under.

If you leave a lot of bottles on your bathroom surfaces, you’re paying a premium rate to be untidy, and shouldn’t complain if the cleaner is slower and gets less done, but he/she should absolutely lift and clean.

I’ve had a few cleaners - when my babies were small I found someone who was happy to tidy as well as clean. Not every cleaner will, so it’s important to be clear in your expectations up front.

I think cleaners get worse over time TBH so it’s not a great start

I'm a cleaner, a couple of my clients dont have me do the whole house and I do what you described in 2 hours, but this is weekly so cleaning is kept on top of and maintaining if you like.
Somethings when people are away I do addional rooms to the usual one and these rooms not being regularly cleaned take much longer.
Having said that, I move things all the time, I'd do one less space to clean the other areas more thoroughly than not pick up a shampoo bottle or hairbrush.
If thats the first job, I'd look elsewhere.

The hairbrush wasn't there when she cleaned. It was a shampoo bottle and shower gel so what you can see is what was there when I moved it. Dd left the hairbrush after her bath last night. I moved the hairbrush to put the hair bands back on and noticed that nothing had been moved or wiped. Putting the shower gel into the bathroom cabinet for the cleaner seems overkill. It's two bottles in the entire bathroom. One air fresher sitting on the cistern. That's three things total to move.

Ok but you're asking quite a lot for people to ignore the hairbrush and hair bobbles in a pic that is mostly of a hair brush and bobbles.

I stand by my original point - no matter how good the cleaning was I don't think you should mix work and friendship in this context.

My cleaner would do a better job of all that in 1.5 hours and she's nearly 70!

How much did you pay her and who decided on 4.5hrs?

Admittedly, she should have moved things to wipe the surfaces, but it depends on if she is a professional charging a high rate or starting out charging a nominal fee.