Am I being ripped off?

[kkgirl]

After being back at work for nearly two years, part time but doing four school hour days, I finally have arranged for some help with my ironing.
The lady I contacted said it would be £6 an hour and I wondered how it would pan out, so I put 30 items, all small kids things, t-shirts, pj bottoms, some jeans etc nothing I considered which would need a lot of work on.
The girl who came seemed nice enough and she collects and returns it to you. She has just phoned to say it is ready and when I asked her how much she said two hours.
Am I being unreasonable in thinking she is ripping me off, I could do that in just over an hour I am sure?
What do you think?

Where are you KKgirl? I have someone do my ironing for a similar rate and I don't think it's bad value at all. I am the world's worst ironer who puts in more creases than she takes out and it would take me hours to do 30 things.

I'm in South West UK Aloha. Maybe I'm just being mean but it seems that I am working and then paying out my wages to have someone to help. I haven't seen the ironing but it was kids clothes which don't need a lot of work do they?

kkgirl

We just had to stop our cleaner doing our ironing because my husband was livid with her progress.

Basically, it took her 3 hours to do what I would have done to a better standard in half the time and DH would have had in pristine, dry-cleaned condition in the same time. Needless to say, we now have a pile of ironing and no-one to do it, both of us are experts but too busy..

The answer is: if it annoys you that she is slower than yourself or the standard is lower get rid, assuming of course you have the balls to get on with the job yourselves.

Our ironing lady in central london charges £1 per shirt and then £1 per pound of other washing. She delivers and collects.

kkgirl - sorry but £6 ph seems very reasonable - especially as they collect and return - I would pay someone this to get my ironing done!

Clucks

Thats the trouble. I've always been a bit mad with ironing, I do everything except tights and have tried to wean myself off socks as well!!!!
Therefore I always have a backlog and my mum has been helping but she smokes and I can only take things which i don't need for a week, and as much as I love her what is the point of clean washing smelling of smoke.
I'll give her another try but won't make a lot of progress this way because I can only afford about a tenner a week, well i don't mean afford, but don't want to pay anymore, there are so many things to stretch the money around

I pay an aupair £5 per hour and she gets about 10 shirts done well, in an hour. It sound okay to me. weigh your washing, in my area it costs £2.50 a kilo, or £1.50 a lb by someone else. They do collect and deliver as well

grommit

in which case maybe I should give up my job and take in other peoples' washing. Thanks for your posts everybody, I think it is a unanymous no to being ripped off. Its great to have mumsnet to discuss all manner of issues with isn't it.

It sounds like a rip off to me.How can you pay someone by the hour if you're not there to see it.I would pay her by the bag.I am a very slow ironer but I can get more done than that,probably half the time especially if they are little clothes.

Could I make a suggestion...if you get an American style dryer you will never have to iron again. They cost the same as european dryers, but are bigger so won't fit under counter in a kitchen.

Are they very expensive? I'm already twisted with envy about your v glam kitchen! Do they really dry without creases? Where do you get one? I'm seriously in the market for a dryer as our house looks like a Chinese Laundry 99% of the time.

I pay for my ironing by weight - £1.20 per lb - seems very reasonable to me, as complicatd items like shirts weigh very little. They also collect and deliver

Crikey, 30 items costs me 20 quid at johnsons!
YOU'VE GOT A BARGAIN THERE, HOLD ON TO HER!!!!!

Just to add, I've recently got someone to help me with all housework, so my piles are going down, but a better way for you if money is tight might be to tumble dry your stuff wuth a sheet of bounce. Doesn't need much ironing then.

Aloha, I don't remember exactly how much i paid for mine, but it was in the same price range as the normal european dryers..maybe 300 or 350?. I got it at either Currys or Comet..I can't remember which. But shop around as the prices do vary. Appliances Direct (there's one in Ladbroke Grove and another in Harlesden) have very good prices too. The only things that will need to be ironed are things like linen and fine cotton dress shirts. You certainly won't be needing to iron underwear, jeans, t-shirts, kids clothes etc. etc. If you are truly interested I have to do some research on a new one for the new house and would be happy to pass on the info. to you. By the way, a fab kitchen doesn't have to cost a fortune, you just have to be clever about it.

I used an ironing service for a while which worked out at a tenner or more a week. I used to put in only the things that needed ironing e.g DH's shirts and DD's dresses. They priced per shirt plus a price per kg/lb, can't remember which.

I was whinging to my cleaner about it one day and she said she'd do it. She did what I'd been paying for plus tons more in an hour. Sadly cleaner is gone now but tumble dryer helps. And DH is responsible for his own shirts

Perhaps your ironing person is adding on travelling time or mileage.

Can't believe you all do ironing! OK, I look like s* but I have more spare time

And I thought my MIL was the only person in the world who still ironed underwear and pyjamas! Life's too short in my opinion. Only my tops for work get ironed nowadays. One of the advantages of dh not being in gainful employment is that there aren't any piles of shirts to iron any more.

Agree with you, Sprout. I iron on a Sunday evening with a video on the telly (because then I get to watch whatever trash I like without dh making pointed comments, because I'm doing something useful at the same time). I iron only what absolutely has to be done, such as work shirts, and dh knows that if he wants anything ironed, he brings it to me then, or else does it himself. Kids clothes just get folded neatly and put away - I find that that sort of gets rid of the major creases. I have better things to do with my time than ironing!

Sounds pretty good to me. My mum took in ironing for a while and charged out at a similar rate. She wanted to charge by weight but couldn't get hold of suitable scales so decided to charge by the hour and see how she got on, she ended up with three regular customers which was enough for her. They were all very trusting of my mum's calculations and half the time the ironing took her longer than she charged them for (she decided she was getting old and slow so couldn't charge them for the full time). She also paid £160 for a professional type iron, so all that had to be covered too. I have one of these irons myself and would recommend one, much easier and quicker than an ordinary iron, doesn't stop me having a pile of ironing you could lose yourself in mind you!

SofiaAmes, our kitchen was pretty cheap but it's more that I really covet one of those big American fridges with the ice maker etc etc that you have, but sadly our corridor of a kitchen isn't big enough, and to knock through to the side return would, according to a couple of builders cost £20,000 minimum. I gather you are an architect so probably a zillion times better at planning space that I ever could be. I look at my kitchen every day trying to work out how to make it less corridor-like. Ho hum. Just one last question if you don't mind, is there any particular brand of dryer you recommend? I could then do a bit of Internet research.

I don't have an american dryer, but would love one, my bosch takes a 10lb load. I find if I take my sons school shirts out after about 20 mins and put them straight onto hangers they don't need ironing, and they are 100% cotton ( Ben Sherman with a slight weave) He has to wear his balzer all day anyway.

I also have an elna press, I just fold t shirts etc and then put them in the press and count to 10 and they are done. I'm in love with my press and although I have an aupair who does all the ironing I have been know to get carried away and press knicker, well they do go nice and flat and neat in the drawers!

The elna press was the best investment ever, I bought one second hand first for £75 and loved it so much bought a new one with a steam spray, Sold the old one to a friend for £100 (did put new sponge and cover on it) and now she has done the same thing, sold it again and bought new!

The teenagers will use the press and do their jeans etc, much easier for them than an iron and less chance of burning yourself.

What's an iron?

slug, you are showing off.

Sofiaames, you are a show off too, we all know you've got the labour side covered inhouse and don't need to wait for workmen to not turn-up. My beautiful, gorgeous kitchen still doesn't have the dishwasher plumbed in, never used and 18 months old already.

p.s. do american dryers need a steam pipe or does it have a condenser, I wouldn't be able to reach a pipe to a window.

Absolutly not. Pre dd I only ironed twice a year, spring and autumn, because that was when dh wore long sleeved shirts to work. Since the sluglet was born the iron has not come out of the cupboard at all. I buy clothes that need no ironing. Either that or I'm a complete slob with low standards of personal appearance. Come to think of it, definitly the latter.