Talk to me about cleaners....

[Tinkjon]

I never ever thought I would have a cleaner but I am struggling with an unmanageable baby and my house is falling down around me! Firstly, roughly how much are they? Do people usually have them once a week - and if so, is that enough to keep your house clean? Wouldn't my house just be clean on the day they come and they be in a tip the rest of the week? What do they actually do?! I have a very large floor area downstairs - would they wash all that for me? Do they tidy? (but then how do they know where stuff goes?) And don't you feel awkward having what amounts to a servant?! What do you do whilst they're working, do you just ignore them - you don't have to sit and make conversation? (which would defeat the object about saving me time). I am clueless about this

Sorry, that was about a billion questions at once

Hi my cleaner started yesterday comming home was bliss she had cleaned part of the downstairs all of the kitchin and the cooker which was a big task in its self she is bottoming the house room by room we live in an enourmouse house so i dont feel bad about paying for a service she wants to do it your question about mess she made a discreat pile of our bits and bobs on the corner of the dinning room table i dont talk because ime not there we got her a key cut and she had gone before we got home i am thrilled it feels lovely and such a weight off my shoulders we left her aggreed money in a envelope and a notepad to communicate i also pay a separate lady to do our ironing which is also brilliant she picks it up and brings it back the next day all on coathangers

YOU CAN PAY SOMEBODY TO IRON FOR YOU?!?!?! [Tinkjon-shaped hole in the wall, as she dashes to the telephone]

The cleaner will do what you ask her to do.

If you are not used to employing a cleaner, the easiest way to start IMO is by giving her discrete tasks to do - like ironing. Just getting a week's ironing out of the way is a huge help. Or you could ask her to hoover and dust the whole house (or just upstairs or just downstairs) and/or clean the bathroom(s) and loo(s).

It is much better if you tidy yourself beforehand, particularly with a new cleaner who won't have a clue about where anything goes. If you keep the same cleaner for several years (I had one I kept for 10 years) they end up knowing everything about you and can tidy very efficiently.

Ignore the cleaner while she is working but make sure she knows where she can make herself a drink/get a glass of water, and offer her a tea/coffee if she is staying for 3/4 hours sometime in the middle.

When I work fulltime I employ a cleaner. I have never, ever thought of paying someone to do a job as having a servant. What works best for me is to draw up a list of what I would like done every clean - wash floors, hoover, do ironing. Then we agree a second list of jobs that are rotated over the month. That way the floors and ironing plus at least one other job like windows or oven are done every week.

We always have a little tidy the evening before, nothing massive just enough to allow actual cleaning to happen. We have a wicker box at the bottom of the stairs and anything stray gets put in there. It usually costs around £7 ph and I like a Mon & Fri clean of 2 -3 hours. It's a really helpful service and just makes all the difference to our quality of life. When we both work full time, neither of us want to do housework at the weekend and are very grateful for the help we get.

My advice would be to be very clear from the outset at what you want done. Agree to meet again after a month to see how it's been going and maybe tweek the job list. Agree to never take the piss and to always pay on time. If I were you, I would arrange for regular cleaning to be done whilst you are out, you will only get in the way.

A cleaner is not a servant. She is a professional person doing a skilled job.

I have learnt a lot about housekeeping from my different cleaners .

I am 4 weeks into having a cleaner and its marvellous !

My cleaner comes once a week for 2.5 hours (we started at 2 hours but really need at least 3 or more but can't justify at the moment). She is £9 an hour - in this time she cleans the bathroom, downstairs toilet, cleans hall, stairs, landing, sitting room and conservatory and 3 bedrooms which includes floors, dusting, making beds (they are already made but she re-makes them much nicer !), then cleans the kitchen floor.

I have had to prioritise so we have a couple of bedrooms that aren't cleaned as they don't get used much, dining room doesn't as again it doesn't get used much. I have asked her to do an extra hour enxt week to do our guest bedroom and bathroom as we have MIL coming (who won't believe her eyes !).

I tidy before she comes so she can spend the time cleaning. It does basically last us the week although I guess it depends on your standards - we never got round to hoovering weekly before so to have our carpets and floors cleaned weekly is a vast improvement.

I usually go out when she is in but have been in for bits of it and she just gets on with it and I try to stay out of the way.

you have raised lots of issues in your post.let me address the last one first
whats wrong wth havng a servant? it is an honest job, with honest wages. no one is doing anyone a favour. and there is nothing better aout working for a multinational compared to working in someone s hoe cleaning for them. but,m if either one of you feels that it isnt appropriate, then the relationship cant work.
a cleaner is like any other employee, they do what you tell them, what is in their job description. something that is usually just oral, but can be written down if you are organised enough. and like any other employee, it takes them a few days to learn the ropes of 'the office'.
in my house she does the floors, the dusting and polishing, thekitchen, and the toilets, the vacuuming, and occasionally changesthe bedsheets as well as some tidying. i prefer not to have her doing the tidying, as i want her to do cleaning, such as under the sofas etc.
find out what the going rate is, what you can afford, and then go with that. if she is very good, then pay her slightly above the going rate to ensure she doesnt get poached.

Mine also folds my toilet paper into a little point... its marvellous .

Do any of your friends have a cleaner ? That might be a good way to start. I procrastinated for ages about getting a cleaner and then a friend of mine told her cleaner I wanted one and the cleaner rang me up and asked if I wanted her to come and clean my house. It seemed rude to refuse !

I pay my cleaners £11 per hour and they comes for 2 hours per week - I use Kingsmaid

They will basically do whatever I ask them to do so it's up to me to set a list of priorities. They will iron if asked. Personally I don't want them to waste their time tidying, I would rather they cleaned, so we have a family tidying up session on the night before the cleaners come. This therefore means that the house is kept both tidy and clean.

In 2 hours they manage to hoover and dust the lounge, hall/stairs/landing, 4 bedrooms. They clean 2 bathrooms and a downstairs loo and they mop the kitchen floor (I keep the kitchen clean, I can't be arsed with the floor though).

They do a good job - I can always tell they've been when I open the front door. It's lovely having a clean house. I'm usually at work when they come but if they change the day for whatever reason I try to go out when they come. I feel a bit uncomfortable with them cleaning my mess around me!

Thanks everybody. Sorry, the word "servant" was probably a little pejorative. I didn't mean it literally. I suppose what I mean is that I wonder if I'd feel awkward paying somebody to do something which, in theory, I could easily do myself (especially as I'm a SAHM).

Tinkjon, I'm a SAHM but have a cleaner. It keeps me sane. My children are older so it gives me a point in the week where they must have tidy rooms (or no pocket money - they are old enough!) and it keeps everything manageable. I'm never embarrassed if people pop round. She comes for 5 hours - I give her soup or similar at lunchtime when I eat (she comes straight to me from an early morning cleaning job at a major DIY store so must be hungry by then!). I think you need to find what works for you. My house is gleaming - well, on a Tuesday at least!! I can keep it together even with 4 children and the messiest dh on the planet in between - certainly gives me more pride in my house.

PS she's £7ph and well worth it! We're in the SE.

Tink
I am a SAHM, I have had a cleaner for about 2 months.
we have had some teething problems, nothing major, just my expectations in comparison to what is possible in 2 hours.
She charges £9 per hour, I mentally allocate child benefit for DS1 to pay for it.

We have talked things through. So now she cleans downstairs one week and upstairs the next. When I say clean I mean, dust all surfaces, clean the windows, make sure there are no cobwebs, Downstairs only - move the furniture and hoover underneath. Upstairs - clean the bathrooms, tiles, glass cubicle, toilets dust and hoover in 4 bedrooms.

As upstairs doesn't take as long as downstairs, on her upstairs week she hoovers down the stairs and round downstairs as well.

The house is always tidy before she comes, I haven't enough money to pay her to tidy as well!!

Go for it, it is the best thing I have ever done

jingleyjen, people hoover under furniture?! It all just seems so expensive, doesn't it? Pretty much £100 a month minimum. But then maybe it's worth it to keep the stress levels down.... oh well, I will work on dh

I was delighted I have to say... I popped home as I had forgotten my purse and the furniture was all pulle dout and she was hoovering underneath

I have a cleaner and she is fabulous does anything I ask...I also have someone to iron dhs shirts (that sounds like I dont do any housework at all,- honest I do! I used to work long hours and kept the help after becoming a SAHM - dont think dh has noticed Ive kept them!!) Anyway the point I was going to make is to make sure you discuss holidays with them - sometimes they will have friends who will cover whilst they are away, other times you will have to manage without..quite therapeutic in its own way but with lo`s needs planning!

Oh good point about holidays, mine slipped into the conversation that she can't do school holidays because she has 2 school age children,
We have agreed that she will come once a fortnight I will be out and she can bring her girls with her.

I run a domestic cleaning company and i'm interested in the thread here, in particular about the perceptions of cleaning companies and the questions people seem to be asking.

Of course if you live in a BB or PR post code HomeMaid would like to welcome you as a customer. however, I think wherever you live you need to know what to check when selecting a cleaning company.

The two at the top of anyone?s list has to be about proper vetting and insurance cover. You will not get this with individuals and you may even be liable for tax etc as an employer if you take this route.

CRB vetting of staff is essential - you need to feel assured that the company employs honest people for obvious reasons.

Most companies will have Employers Liability Insurance, but check anyway, ask to see a copy of the certificate. ELI covers you for accident damage - as usually you own insurance wont cover you. Fidelity Bonding, is the one that few companies have, again ask to see a copy of the certificate. Bonding covers you for "dishonesty" and you almost certainly wont be covered for this under your own insurance.

If you are concerned about the environment and the type of products used, ask them if they use eco-friendly products.

If you have allergies or young children, make sure the company uses HEPA filters in the vacuums - these filters stop the re-circulation of dust and dust mites in your home. The will reduce the allergens that cause or irritate asthma, rhinitis, hay fever, dermatitis and many others.

A good cleaning company will have a standard cleaning ?plan? for an ?average? home, but then be able to customise this to suit each persons needs. You can have as little or as much at whatever frequency suits your family?s needs, and of course your budget! Its important for a good relationship that your cleaning company understands what you want to achieve and you know what you can expect in return. If it changes, make sure you tell them about the change in needs.

Check they guarantee their work, we do, for every clean every time, not just as a ?one off? promo.

Finally check for testimonials and referrals, what do the existing customers think of the service ? don?t take no for an answer on this one, anyone refusing this may well be hiding something.