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Original poster

Anyone have a cleaner?

35 replies

bunyanvillas · 25/01/2006 10:41

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has a cleaner? I'm back to work soon and thinking about getting one. I have had a quote for £8 an hour, min 2 hours a week - and we supply the cleaning materials. Does this seem like a good deal or should I look around? Does the person need to be police-checked etc?

OP posts:
mazzystar · 25/01/2006 10:46

sounds ok to me

how did you find the person? mine came on personal recomendation. police check might be a bit excessive. but i wouldn't hand over a key until you'd built up some trust.

i pay my fab fab lady £20 for 2 and half to 3 hours, depends what needs doing. she is a total lifesaver.

MadMaz · 26/01/2006 02:34

Agree with Mazzystar. I pay £7 an hour. I provide materials. Not police checked but found through the grapevine which is best if you intend handing over keys. More important that you think you will get on. Worth every penny IMO. Price depends on area really. The richer the manor the more you will pay!

I have 3 and a half hours (£25). Sometimes have an extra session eg to clear cupboards. This gets the house hoovered, living room tidied, bathroom and kitchen floors mopped and cleaned, beds made, some ironing done (not all of it alas!). Couldn't manage without her now.

MarsOnLife · 26/01/2006 06:48

I have one. Got her word of mouth. I provide the materials and pay £7.50 p/hr and she does 4 hours a week over 2 days. She does ironing within that time as well. Keeps me afloat. Wonderful

Filyjonk · 26/01/2006 07:57

We pay £8 ph incl agency fee. The agency sucks (they are utterly useless), but she is great.

Now I am more experienced in the hiring of domestic help (sigh), I would def go for word of mouth/newagents window. Anoid an agency, you will probably get a student who will fail to turn up after a few weeks.

fedda · 05/02/2007 11:08

All your cleaners sound wonderful. I'm based in West London. Would any of you recommend their cleaner for me, please?

Lolly68 · 05/02/2007 11:15

I have a cleaner as I'm back at work full-time. I went through a company though and I pay £12per hour and provide all materials. Also they take my ironing and do that too. Cleaner only comes every 2 weeks.

RanToTheHills · 05/02/2007 11:21

depends where you are - we had one and she was terrible - lazy, no initiative and also the most expensive one I've ever had! We're now doing it ourselves, just getitng the ironing done as not prepared to be ripped off and still have a dirty house! Beware and make sure you get them on recommendation only and do trial run of say 2 weeks on both sides. £8 sounds reasonable (and quite alot less than we'd have to pay)

fedda · 05/02/2007 11:24

I had some bad experience as well and one of my cleaners was the most expencive, her cleaning was very good but she was totally unrelaiable. She could miss a day or come over 2 hours late! I tried through the word of mouth but it anyhow didn't work. I'm trying now to extend my search to personal recommendations from more people.

paulaplumpbottom · 05/02/2007 11:28

I pay mine £10 an hour but she has been with us for years. Check references and don't hire anyone who doesn't have them.

RanToTheHills · 05/02/2007 11:31

oh and even if you do get a reference, read between the lines. No referee will want to overtly criticise anyone, but in retrospect the reference we took up for our last cleaner wasn't glowing but was veiled in neutral language. I should have taken the hint

fedda · 05/02/2007 11:56

is there any hope? Cleaners are also so expencive and not always good. the first messages sounded more hopeful though.

kookaburra · 05/02/2007 12:24

Would only get one via word of mouth. We've had several over the years, East Europeans definitely trumpt the home grown variety who always insisted on starting the day with a coffee, complained of hangovers etc IME. Previous cleaner from Poland was recommended by a previous one - each stayed about 3 years - current one is SIL of previous who left to have a baby - speaks little English, which is a drawback - initially I had to text any instructions to previous one for her to translate... Have now bough a Polish dictionary, and her English has improved, so all happy. Pay £7 hour in SW London, also if I don't need her - on hols etc I pay her anyway, and also if she is sick ( rarely) and when she goes home to Poland twice a year.
Have just come home from work to a clean house - heaven!!!

fedda · 05/02/2007 16:02

it doesn't sound good to me though. Am I fussy?

Berrie · 05/02/2007 16:07

I paid £25 for 2 people to come for an hour from an agency which was a lot. Tbey just hoovered and cleaned the surfaces. I think I was ripped off reading this thread. Also if i did it again i would ask them to use my cloths rather than ones that have done other peoples baths!

marymillington · 05/02/2007 16:07

First message was me under a different posting name, more than a year ago!

Still have the same, wonderful cleaner. word of mouth is a great way to find one, but check out newsagents noticeboards and windows too. previously had an egency - more expensive but also very effective

The only drawback that I can see is that now DH reckons he can do absolutely bugger all in terms of housework, "because we have a cleaner". I, on the other hand think she might be a bit disappointed if we left her the week's washing up and his dirty pants to put in the laundry basket.

fedda · 05/02/2007 19:39

Yes, we still have to do a lot and no cleaner can do all the stuff for us. It's just important to have someone who cares and cleans the whole house once a week.

LawdyMissTutter · 05/02/2007 19:41

fedda, i recently moved from kew and had a great polish cleaner (that's from poland, rather than one who polishes, da dum)

would be happy to pass on her details if you want to CAT me

she's £7 an hour (i used to round up to £30 for 4 hours) and was recommended to me first. she still cleans for 2 of my friends

LawdyMissTutter · 05/02/2007 19:42

ps she lives in north west london but is happy to travel

LawdyMissTutter · 05/02/2007 19:44

pps you could also gatecrash the west london meet-up thread and ask on there...

NorksBrideOHara · 05/02/2007 20:29

Berrie - it depends where you are as to whether you were ripped off.

I had a few private cleaners who left because the house is huge and old and hard to clean and it's full of animals and small children and it's 2 miles from nearest village.

So we use an agency (mother & daughter team plus they have 3 employees) who are bloody brilliant, who let the DCs join in with the dusting, who don't sneer at the dog hair and they do amazing amounts of work. We have 2 cleaners for 2 hours at £15.00 per hour (so it's £60) but they're worth every penny.

fedda · 05/02/2007 20:42

LawdyMissTutter, Would it be possible to post your cleaner's mobile number on this thread?

LawdyMissTutter · 05/02/2007 21:16

would rather not fedda - would hate for it to be picked up by unscrupulous marketeers

LawdyMissTutter · 05/02/2007 21:17

(i have paid for CATs and can contact you if you prefer)

eemie · 05/02/2007 21:48

Anyone who can recommend cleaner in Surrey? Silly question, sorry. Just ventilating.

Am fed up with paying twice the going rate for an agency who send untrained people to do a rotten job.

Otoh could not cope without any help at all just now .

Miss the lady who looked after me for 11 yrs then tragically moved to Gran Canaria on the proceeds.

She cried with my Mum when my ex left me. And she looked after my place - which the current shower just don't do.

Bellie · 05/02/2007 21:50

eemie whereabouts in surrey are you - my cleaner has lost a couple of clients and may be able to help?

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