I've had ENOUGH! How much do cleaners cost??

[Bigmerlin]

Hello
Had enough of doing all the bloody housework and working 3 days a week. Can't get dh to change, it's threatening our relationship. So... how much do cleaners cost [Berkshire] , and what's the best way to get one??

AND - why is it, if I drop just one of the many balls I am juggling, I am a bad mother, whereas if dh does even a TINY amount of housework, he is a fabulous new man and wonderful father???????

[pollyh]

Please visit www.themotherofallguilt.com/housework-child/ and share these thoughts. This is exactly the kind of thing I want to challange. That you should ever feel bad because you're not superhuman is an awful position to be in. Stop feeling bad for what you don't have time to do and think about all the great things you do do.

[OctoberOctober]

We pay £32 per clean in Berks, seems to be std amt locally. Interestingly this is per session rather than set no of hours and 3 of them turn up and blitz diff areas of the house. It is in their interest to get done as quickly as poss but the std is good and I don't really care if it is 3 of them for 1 hr or 1 person for 3 hrs so long as it gets done!

We used to have them fortnightly until DP went back to work ft and there was so much more mess than pre kids!

Am thinking that this might be an area to economise on when on mat leave again but whilst both in ft work with ds creating havoc it feels well worth it!

[bishboschone]

Schmee.... I live in West Sussex.. Everything is extortionate!!

[biryani]

I used to work as a cleaner, charging 10 pounds an hour. I think this is the norm around here. I wouldn't do just an hour, though: 2 or 3 hours at a time is more realistic, otherwise it's not worth turning up. I would pay this myself without quibble.

[Shattereddreams]

Happyiam
Does your cleaner drive? I'm a couple of miles away and need a new cleaner.
Mine just went home to Russia and I'm devastated.

[lljkk]

Seriously zombie thread.

[higgle]

I'm a bit sad that some people on here don't pay even the minimum wage to their cleaners, let alone a living wage.

[lljkk]

the thread is EIGHT yrs old, Higgle. Min wage was a lot lower then.

[CarnivorousPanda]

I pay £10 per hour for 3 hours per week. I'm hopefully getting a pay rise in April, so I will give her a rise too.

I also pay some holiday pay and am flexible about days etc.

She's a godsend at times, so I want to keep her!

[barryboots]

Anyone needing a job done, from a few hours housework to gardening, handyman, childcare, driving, errands or anything ? you may want to visit www.bob-a-job.com where you can place an advert for FREE!

[missprocrastinate]

Hi, I have weekly cleaner. One week she cleans downstairs, next week upstairs. With her help I can keep on top of it all. I got her through an agency & pay her £7.50 ph but then agency fee is £2 ph on top and this is added up & taken out of my account every quarter. I wouldn't pay anymore than this really.

If your DH not prepared to help you then you need to make a stand and I wouldn't hesitate to get a cleaner. Thursdays are my fave days!!

[pansyflimflam]

I am West Sussex and I pay our much loved housekeeper £8 an hour for 10 hours a week - this is cash in hand. She does everything she can for us and we for her. Honestly I am shocked that anyone would pay £6 or £6.50 an hour to someone to clean for you. How mean!

[Mutley77]

Wow - how does everyone get cleaners so cheap. I was living in Reading and paid £11 an hour which seemed to be the going rate among my friends.

Being a part time working mum I got to the stage where I considered it an essential and was the best money I ever spent.

Anyway we had 3 cleaners come for an hour (so that was 3 hours worth of cleaning if you see what I mean) - and they were fabulous! Did the whole 4/5 bed house from top to bottom and our house was over three floors so all the hoovering of stairs and landings was worth it on its own!

You won't regret it.

[sparkleclean]

hi. i have recently set up as a cleaner and sad though it seems i truely love my work (maybe thats why i constantly clean when im at home too) we give our customers a choice of either paying for a two/three session once a month or a regular slot each week or a one off maybe just before they return off holiday or before moving into a new house..anything that suits them and us.. its great when you know when someone comes home from work that they will have family/relaxing time and come home to a lovely clean house..our prices vary slightly as we dont only clean but iron and do shopping etc but on average is around £10 ph.. this is based in the hampshire area..

[LieInsAreRarerThanTigers]

Good and worth it if you can find someone really good, and you really appreciate what they do and the time it gives you to do other things. I have finally decided to let mine go as have had extreme change to financial situation, but if she had been AMAZING I would have done everything I could to keep her on. I've been paying £8 per hour for 3 hours a week in Hampshire for about 2.5 years.

Unfortunately she was only 'better than nothing' really, despite several requests to change things, also was not doing her full hours, often left lots of lights on and doors unlocked...

I have booked half a day off work every 2 months in the coming 12 months to blitz a room at a time, and will spend about an extra 2 or 3 hours cleaning on my day off each week and / or over the weekend (I work 4 days)

I am not looking forward to it really, but will find the extra £100 a month very comforting, and at least I won't be feeling disappointed and short-changed on a weekly basis.

(The other downside when you are working is having to make the house ready for cleaning in a specified time slot - evening before was always a busy one so the mad dash on a Wednesday morning, trying to get kids to pick up their mess etc was always stressful.)

[LieInsAreRarerThanTigers]

Oh and I used an agency for a short while when we lived in London and hated it- kept getting different people 2 of whom were no good at all, then they ripped me off with the agency fee/small print as I had cancelled by phone, not in writing.
Then found a fantastic person, she used to babysit for us as well, and I wanted to bring her with us when we moved.

[Pollaidh]

I pay £10 an hour in an area that's quite pricey generally. For agency staff that's more like £15 an hour.

[Mum2K]

I too am looking to take the plunge, and get a cleaner. Can anyone pleeease recommend a good, reliable cleaner in the West Midlands/ Dudley area? Would prefer self employed (non-agency), and what are typical rates? Any help would be really appreciated, if there's anyone still reading this thread :-)

[thankGodTheSunIsFinallyOut]

East London comes in at £8-£10 an hour. I would suggest getting personal recommendations and getting photo copies of passport and recent utility bill for security.

As to your sexist dilemma my cynical view is that people will take as much as you are willing to give them and that the dynamic of many situations is pure brinkmanship.

I find the UK very old fashioned though in many ways, people still call girls 'tomboys' if they choose to play sports rather than standing about holding a doll doing nothing. I also notice there seems to be an early 'grooming' of bad behaviour in some boys where they are encouraged to do whatever they like 'boys will be boys/ can't help being rough / not listening / not being helpful / being rude' etc. I have even been to people's houses where the man just gets up whilst entertaining and goes off to watch television! I wonder what would happen if I invited them around my house then then popped out for an hour to water my vegetables or something LOL.

I am guessing that they have just been allowed to get away with it for years???!

[maineyjames123]

Hello, I'm a cleaner and would be happt to clean for you for £10ph, if you could send me your number I'd be happy to talk more about this.

[shadowmaster]

Hi everyone,
I am currently looking for house cleans in the area of Abingdon, Oxfordshire and surrounding villages. I have references and am CRB checked. I have my own transport and charge £10 per hour. I do already have a client base but am looking to increase the numbers. If anyone is interested or would like to contact me please feel free to do so!!