How to Keep a Good Cleaner

[Lexibletheflexible]

Bit of a rant here,

And I'll preface this by saying that only women do this. Men keep out of the way or will go out to leave you space to clean. Maybe women feel some sense of embarrassment at needing a cleaner, I don't know.

Anyway...

When your cleaner is present and especially if the kitchen is something they clean on their visits, do not:

• Make hot drinks
• Put the dishwasher on
• Put laundry on
• Make a hot, cooked meal
• Try to "tidy up" or "clean off sides".
• Put clean crockery away
• Sort out old clothes
• Do any sorting of anything.

The reality is that many if not most people have a cleaner because they do not have the time or skill to clean properly. When you try to get ahead of me when I am there and you're not doing it properly, it wastes my time and your money when I have to wait, or do it properly after you. Anything you wanted to do should have been done before I got there. Anything left, I will sort. That is why you have a cleaner.

Please, keep out of the way in one room, or go right out of the house.

I'm about to tell someone that I won't be coming back as their wife won't stop doing this and she's now at home all the time.

Good on you for not name changing

YABU. I work from home at times, and if that crosses with the cleaners time I still make a hot drink or have my lunch as normal. I offer the cleaner one too! I just don't get in her way. I don't see how someone generally being in their own house is such a burden unless they're an idiot. In which case it's a problem with idiots, not normal people who employ cleaners.

I regularly do laundry while she's here too. Shock horror. She doesn't care! I don't get in her way though. I try stay in different rooms to where she works.

Have you actually spoken to the lady to ask her not to get in your way?

I'm working so don't have time for hot drinks or eating.

Making a hot meal means the cooker etc is hot when I may need to clean it. It means you're in my way and the logical, systematic route I took to cleaning your house now has to be adjusted to something less optimal so I don't waste time waiting for you to leave the kitchen and then properly clean up after you.

I think it should be pretty easy to keep out the way for a few hours once a week, fortnight or month so the person you hired can do their job. Part of the reason you've hired them is because you lack the time or skill to do it properly yourself. So if they're saying that you need to be out of the way for those purposes, it makes sense to get out of the way.

My husband is a different sort of tradie and nobody ever does it to him. They'd never dream of it. They keep out of his way so he can do his job effectively.

There are some newer on the scene cleaners who charge nearly 1.5x what I do and up to 2x as much. They make it clear they want the property to be free when they arrive to clean and they seem pretty busy. Maybe I should take a leaf out of their book.

And yes I've spoken to her and her husband (who hired me). I've got pics I'll be sending him when I leave today as I'm really not coming back here.

Why would I?

Part of the reason you've hired them is because you lack the time or skill to do it properly yourself

I hire because I can’t be arsed to clean my teen’s bedrooms and en-suites. It’s that simple! The kitchen is my forte so I say to my cleaner she doesn’t need to touch it. I hire her for my teens and cleaning skirting boards and jobs like that which I hate. I have the time. I have the skill. I don’t have the inclination!

I won’t go there!

But you already did by making the comment, so what are you talking about?

I agree with this from the other perspective too - we used to have a cleaner whose timing was a bit erratic (running a small agency so when she turned up depended on how many other cleaners she had on with her that day) and she always used to insist that it was fine if we were there, she'd work round us etc. She was not very good at cleaning, and also didn't seem to understand that I didn't want to have to make lunch while she was there (2 hours later than expected) because I wanted the kitchen to actually get cleaned.

So most people would ask why your teen isnt doing it themselves. Why would you hire someone to clean when you are meant to be teaching your child how to maintain a healthy living space of their own?

It's mostly fine anyway if you don't expect the kitchen done. The equivalent for your house would be hiring a cleaner to clean your teens room and then choosing to sort through their winter wardrobe at the time the cleaner is there.

Oh they do do it

just not to my standard

hence the cleaner!!

As i say - I won’t go there

I try to have the kitchen finished by 4 for all family homes so people can crack on with dinner.

But you did by coming to my thread and making the comment. If.you didnt wsnt to.go there, you shouldn't have said anything at all.

Fair point

So? What prompted you to make that comment?

Now’t really

I think pp was alluding to the fact you don’t actually sound very flexible!

I would usually keep out of the rooms my cleaner was in (when I had one, DH does it now) but with 1 exception - I am not waiting hours for a cup of tea, so would say excuse me, make a hot drink, then get out

You expect people to not make a cup of tea? Our cleaner comes for 3-4 hours twice a week. I need tea and so does she.

We have had the same cleaner for 19 years and just works around us as we work at home.

OP, these are your requirements not the requirements of all cleaners. Probably one for your clients rather than MN 😂

To think that because you don’t want a hot drink that all other “good cleaners” won’t want one is pretty weirdly arrogant

When I'm in clients home cleaning they can do whatever they want... because it's their home!.
I would say the way to keep a good cleaner is pay on time and give plenty of notice if you want to change/ cancel. You sound a little uptight.

Oh flexible just rhymes with lexible which is something like Lexi. I can barely touch my toes and I'm anal about loads of stuff.

I want to be able to do the job properly. Not just show up. You cant do that with people creating more mess and chaos

Why have you put "good cleaners" in air quotes in relation to hot drinks?