So who has a cleaner? What should I expect?

[uhoh2016]

I'm thinking of hiring a cleaner and wondered what I can expect. Is it just hoovering dusting wiping down? Or does it generally extend to bed changing some washing and ironing? Also how much does it cost in general per hour?

Cleaners don't wash, change beds or iron things. You're possibly getting confused with a housekeeper or something

I run my own company. I charge £12 per hour and provide my own products. In a standard three bedroom house you could expect it to be hoovered from top to bottom, floors mopped, bathrooms cleaned along with kitchen, bins emptied and a dusting throughout in about three hours depending on how dirty your house is.

You really can't expect washing to be hung out, inner ovens cleaned, shirts ironed, deep cleaning such as skirting boards and tiling, bed making etc in with that. If a cleaner does agree to do those things then this obviously takes time away from what their job actually is

To add, a cleaner will of course do skirting boards and clean tiling but that would be considered more of a deep clean

Every cleaner we've ever used (a few as we've moved about a bit) has changed the beds and either has or would do ironing. And the fridge from time-to-time. Never asked for washing to be done but that's because I'm uptight about it. Also don't think we've ever asked for ovens to be done.

We've paid between £8 and £10 per hour and we've always supplied all products. We've had some brilliant and some pretty average. On the whole, money very well spent IMHO.

I pay £40 for about 2.5 - 3 hours a week (though some of that goes to the agency so I think my cleaner gets about £11 - £13 an hour out of that). For a 2 bedroom flat that gives her time to clean bathroom and kitchen well, hoover and dust etc. She also changes beds. I haven't asked her to do ironing but I am sure she would if I was happy to increase the hours. She folds laundry but doesn't put it in the machine - but I wouldn't want her to because there is too much that could go wrong with colours running etc!

I don't think there is any problem with asking your cleaner to change bed sheets - all my cleaners have done so - and ironing is a fairly standard request but I think people often massively underestimate how long ironing takes so just be sure you are allowing enough time for it.

Ultimately my experience has always been that if you pay cleaners reasonably well, are polite and grateful, and allow plenty of time for them to clean, then they are happy within reason to do whatever needs to be done within those hours.

Ps I pay quite a bit more than the recommended rate from the agency by the way, but I am very strict with myself about making sure anyone I employ has a reasonable amount more than the London living wage and can easily cover travel costs. I think my agency only recommends a rate of about £10 an hour, of which the cleaner will only get about £7 - £8, which I just think is a bit exploitative!

and was changing beds something you negotiated or something she automatically did? Did she then leave the dirty bedding for you to sort until next week?
Laundry I can cope with on my own it's everything else that I find difficult to maintain with working and 3dc.

My cleaner is paid £20 for 2 hours. She is not through an agency and we are friends, both our daughters are friends. She does change beds, but I never ask her to do the top bunk. She does the basics on a week to week basis, I clean the doors, skirting boards etc when on holiday.

My cleaner is wonderful ....£10 an hour, 4 bed house, does between 4-6 hours a week.cleans washes and changes the bedding I really don't know what we would do without her!

All of cleaners over the past 10 years and three houses have changed the beds and put on dirty sheets to wash. It's fairly standard. All have ironed as well. I've found the don't much mind what tasks you're after as their on an hourly rate so long as your realistic about how many hours they will need. We had one agency that limited the cleaner to 6 shirts ironed per hour even if she could do more. We've had the best luck with independent cleaners.

Uhoh - I think I just told my cleaner on her first day that I would leave out clean sheets and she should put old sheets in the laundry basket. Then I just pop them in the washing machine! I hate changing sheets and new sheets are my favourite thing to come back to each week after she has been!

My cleaner comes for three hours and I pay £33. She dusts and hoovers every room, washes floors, cleans all the bathrooms and toilets. She does sometimes make the beds - usually if one of the kids hasn't made their bed in the morning before she comes (they are supposed to!). If she has time or I want her to do something different she will. For example if I say to leave the spare room she might clean the oven or do some ironing instead. She comes once a week.

My cleaners (team of 2 from an agency) come once a fortnight. They change sheets, Hoover, dust (a bit), clean kitchen, wash hard floors, clean bathroom. Takes them 1.5 hours between them. With the sheets, they offered and I just leave my clean sheets on the beds for them to put on and they put the dirty ones in my laundry basket for me to wash. They clean the oven when I ask and charge an extra 30 mins to do this. They charge £13 an hour.