Thinking of getting a cleaner...

[Giggling Squid]

So, I hate cleaning. Really really hate it, but I also hate having a dirty house, so we’re looking at getting a cleaner. My issue is that thay I have no idea where to start, or what to expect.

What can I expect a cleaner to do?
What is unreasonable?
How long should I get someone in for?
We live in a large 2-bed house, but it takes me hours to clean it because I procrastinate, and am slow.

Any top tips?
Is it better to use an agency or a private cleaner?
I work in the living room at the moment, would that be an issue?


So many questions, so any advice would be amazing!

 

[SunshineDreamer]

We have a cleaner and have had for years, and she is an absolute Godsend.

Typically she will clean the bathrooms (toilets I just can't), vacuums and cleans the floors of the house and our pool room, cleans the kitchen, dusts and polishes and she will also clean internal windows. She has also helped with laundry and loading and unloading the dishwasher but that isn't something cleaners tend to do, she is just amazing and helps when I'm wrangling the children

She usually does around 12-15 hours a week (6 one day and 6 another) but we have a large house with. I think the average sized house is around 2-3 hours.

As for working in the living room, I think it'll only be an issue dependant on the time you wanted her to be there/clean that room. If you could time it so that's either the first room done (before you start work), during your lunch so you could leave the room, or after work so you are finished it should be fine.

 

[Welshgal]

We used to have a cleaner and even though she only came friday’s for about 3 hours it was brilliant!
During that she dusted, vacuumed and cleaned all of downstairs and cleaned the bathroom.
Every now and then she would stay longer or come an extra day to do stuff like clean the windows or help with deep cleaning etc.

We never had her do any tidying or stuff like laundry/dishes. We also always took care of bedrooms and offices ourselves.

Once you have found someone I would just talk to them how long they aprox. need and then just keep an eye on her/him for the first few times. You don’t want them to rush but you also don’t want them do waste time just to get paid more!

Regarding the living room situation I agree with @SunshineDreamer. Just make sure there’s a time where you can be somewhere else and of course, be aware that you might hear some background noise.

 

[Geranium]

We had a lovely cleaner for about 3 years. She was an older lady. She basically hoovered, dusted, cleaned the bathrooms. Sometimes I’d ask her to give one room a through going over or clean the fridge . She only came one morning per fortnight but it really helped.
She liked the house to be tidy so she could crack on cleaning without having to move loads of stuff. Then she retired and I got a new cleaner, a young mum. She ran her own business. First time she came she was great. Second time she phoned me ten minutes before to say she wasn’t able to come as her daughter was sick. Third time she could only do an hour as had to go to an urgent appointment. Fourth time she arrived late and told my husband she had to leave early as she was feeling sick. Then I heard nothing. I eventually chased her and she told me she was pregnant and giving up. If I hadn’t phoned her I don’t think she would have bothered telling me!
Then I tried an agency. Two women came and they were awful. They were rude to my husband and barely did any work. We gave up after that.
It’s great having a good cleaner but sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs before you find your Prince! Good luck x

 

[Alexaj]

I've had a couple of cleaners before... Both have done 2 hours every week. Definitely bathrooms, hoovering, cleaning, dusting. My boyfriend paid the last one extra to iron his shirts If you leave dirty dishes out they may clean them for you, I was mortified to find them done one time- not sure why). I find it awkward to work while they're here, I felt guilty or embarrassed or something so I usually left the house and left a list out but obviously working from home now so I'd have to be here! I went with self employed because it was cheaper...

 

[Bluetomato]

I’m a self employed cleaner. When I first meet a prospective client, I ask them what they would like me to do. Personally I’m happy to do most things (dusting, hoovering, mopping, cleaning bathrooms/kitchens, changing bedding etc). If they wanted me to do laundry or ironing I would do that too, as long as it was within my allotted time. One of my clients, both her and her wife work from home. I am able to work around them both with no problems.

 

[lozzapaloozza]

I clean my partners parents house and she pays me £40 for 3 hours. In the 3 hours I dust, hoover, mop, clean external kitchen cupboards, kitchen surfaces, the table (there’s alot of glass, marble ect) and then I do all the bathrooms (toilets, sinks, showers). The house has 2 living rooms, 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms

I would suggest speaking to them about what you want doing and adjust the time accordingly. For example, if you only wanted them for 1 hour it would be a basic dust, hoover and mop and quick clean of the kitchen/bathrooms. 2 hours would be as above plus extra tasks, a deeper clean. Once they have a routine and come regularly they won’t have to do certain things each week because it will still be pretty clean, so they could use that time to do another task. For example, only 1 bathroom in the house I do gets used at the minute so I just do a simple clean and use the time to clean glass doors

Laundry and ironing isn’t a cleaners job, that’s more for a maid. However I do the dishes if there are any but that’s because I’m OCD She uses me because she trusts me with the cats and also likes paying me rather than a huge company. I would suggest looking at reviews from local places, hope this helps!

 

[1001 others]

There are a couple of different ways you could approach this:

1) Get a cleaner in to do absolutely everything - in which case you should make up a list of daily, weekly and monthly chore expectations - e.g., cleaning the inside of the oven and fridge might be done monthly; vacuuming, mopping floors and dishes daily; dusting weekly. As for expectations, the sky is the limit. Some cleaners will do laundry (including ironing) too; others won't. When choosing someone, go by friends' recommendations.

2) Get a professional cleaning company in to the really big things you either don't like doing or don't have the tools to do properly - such as cleaning the oven, cleaning the inside and outside windows, and shampooing carpets. I get a company in annually to do our carpets ... they get them far cleaner and better-looking than I can achieve and it's money well spent.

 

[Lanavalentine]

I had a weird experience with a cleaner and it massively put me off.

She did clean excellently when she actually showed up, but she would so often bail at the last minute or leave earlier but claim full hours done (my neighbour dobbed her in eventually).

Despite me always being there to say hi and talk through what I wanted her to do every week, she’d ALWAYS prioritise what she wanted to do. She’d spend ages doing things I don’t care about, like ironing my clean bedsheets and tea towels, instead of the things I actually asked her to do. A lot of the stuff I asked her to prioritise was clearly rushed, you could tell. I’m a naturally tidy and clean person so it’s not like she had too much to do, I think she was just always determined to do what she saw fit.

A more minor issue but she also used to take cans of Coke Zero from the cupboard, which I don’t mind if she was drinking them then and there, but four or five gone in 2 hours makes me think she was taking them home. Bit cheeky really. Oh and she also tried to sell me her MLM stuff, that was the final straw!

I do blame myself partially because I was a total soft touch and always tried to be super understanding when she had another issue that meant she’d cancel at the last minute. I think I had a lot of guilt about having a cleaner in general and I didn’t know how to manage her - I grew up working class, I knew people who were cleaners, I didn’t know anyone who had a cleaner!! I still feel uncomfortable with it all.

Anyway, I’m sure she’s the exception and not the norm but it’s put me right off. We’ve moved house now and the house is bigger, but I am just trying to keep on top of it myself.

I do have an AMAZING deep cleaner who comes in once a year or so for the whole day, and he is worth his weight in gold, I adore him. I wish he did weekly cleaning!

 

[Causewaygal]

I have a cleaner twice a week on Monday and Friday and she does 5 hours each time. Usually she’d do upstairs on Monday and downstairs on Friday but if we are having guests to stay she’d a bit extra to get their rooms ready.
She pretty much does everything except laundry and anything pet related. I’m not a fan of lots of ‘stuff’ so she doesn’t really have anything to tidy up or move around. Her husband is my gardener and I love having the pair of them pottering around keeping my home lovely and fresh. I always said I wouldn’t have a cleaner but it’s just made my life so much easier that I couldn’t live without her now.

 

[Rocknrolla]

I’d absolutely love a cleaner but I feel like I would have to clean up before she arrives, I can’t have any one come into my house if it’s dirty or untidy.
I think it’s an anxiety thing, my house is always clean to a reasonable standard don’t get me wrong, but if I know I’m having visitors I’ll spend the day cleaning/tidying.
I’d be on edge if I hadn’t done it, so much so that if anyone calls round unannounced I run upstairs and pretend no one is home. I know this isn’t normal behaviour

 

[Noseyoldcow]

I couldn’t be without my cleaner she’s amazing and I love coming home knowing the whole house has been done.
We tried a few people and not all were good!

 

[Secretadmirer]

I’d love a cleaner! I work full time so it means I feel like I’ve either got to spend my evenings or weekends cleaning which annoys me so much . I’m working from home at the moment so I sort of clean when I go along and lockdown means no weekend plans anyway but when I go back I’d consider it. I just don’t know how I feel about someone letting themselves into my house while I’m not here? Especially as after reading this thread it seems like you have to trial a few people to find a good one!

 

[Dot_Cotton]

I’d absolutely love a cleaner but I feel like I would have to clean up before she arrives, I can’t have any one come into my house if it’s dirty or untidy.
I think it’s an anxiety thing, my house is always clean to a reasonable standard don’t get me wrong, but if I know I’m having visitors I’ll spend the day cleaning/tidying.
I’d be on edge if I hadn’t done it, so much so that if anyone calls round unannounced I run upstairs and pretend no one is home. I know this isn’t normal behaviour

Haha this is me. I have massive anxiety about people coming into the house. So if anyone has to I would spend all my time cleaning anyway which would defeat the object. I sometimes think I would love a cleaner but then realistically they aren’t really going to do anything that I couldn’t myself over a couple of hours at the weekend. One thing I will look into when I move is someone to cut the grass regularly because I’m crap at keeping on top of that. I do clean an elderly relatives house every couple of weeks.

 

[emm]

So, I hate cleaning. Really really hate it, but I also hate having a dirty house, so we’re looking at getting a cleaner. My issue is that thay I have no idea where to start, or what to expect.

What can I expect a cleaner to do?
What is unreasonable?
How long should I get someone in for?
We live in a large 2-bed house, but it takes me hours to clean it because I procrastinate, and am slow.

Any top tips?
Is it better to use an agency or a private cleaner?
I work in the living room at the moment, would that be an issue?


So many questions, so any advice would be amazing!

I used an agency who basically sent random cleaners each time until I found one I liked and asked for her private number. I think in terms of the cleaners themselves working for an agency is really awful, they are very low paid and given very unstable work, which is why I prefer to do it privarely

 

[Holidaybobs]

When we moved into our new house we decided to get a cleaner as it was too larger to keep on top of. I love cleaning so I keep on top of it everyday (the basics). We decided to pick ours based on recommendations from friends. We have a mother and daughter who come twice a week, 6 hours at a time. On one day they do the main living floors and focus on polishing, cleaning the floors/stairs and making everywhere sparkle basically. I’d never expect them to do the washing or pots etc. On the other day, they focus on the other two floors which we don’t use as much. So the spare bedrooms, cinema room, entertainment suite etc. Every two weeks I will wash the bedding for the spare bedrooms which we barely use and the ladies will help me put them on! The ladies are lovely and usually stay for a cuppa when they’ve finished. Like someone else mentioned above, we have professionals who come in to clean our ovens, jacuzzi and carpets every so often.

I hate ironing so I have a lady that does all my partners suits etc and my work clothes. (Sometimes my mum will do it as she enjoys doing it - no idea why).

We then have a father and son duo who do our garden. In summer they come once or twice a week.

 

[Pegsypog]

I used an agency who basically sent random cleaners each time until I found one I liked and asked for her private number. I think in terms of the cleaners themselves working for an agency is really awful, they are very low paid and given very unstable work, which is why I prefer to do it privarely

I agree, I was appalled to pay 15 pounds/h to find out they would get £7 or so. I tried to do the same but I think the cleaner was scared to come off the agency or she didn’t understand (her English was poor).
We had mixed experience with the agency, I hate the turnaround, I was feeling very uneasy with the fact that lots of people could access my house. I asked for a stable one but it was impossible to get.
We now have a private one who is lovely and thorough. My life is so much easier with her and i always tell her and tip her as I don’t want her to go.
My mum was a cleaner for a while and i always make sure they get the best treatment (coffee, tips, take a break etc)

 

[emm]

I agree, I was appalled to pay 15 pounds/h to find out they would get £7 or so. I tried to do the same but I think the cleaner was scared to come off the agency or she didn’t understand (her English was poor).
We had mixed experience with the agency, I hate the turnaround, I was feeling very uneasy with the fact that lots of people could access my house. I asked for a stable one but it was impossible to get.
We now have a private one who is lovely and thorough. My life is so much easier with her and i always tell her and tip her as I don’t want her to go.
My mum was a cleaner for a while and i always make sure they get the best treatment (coffee, tips, take a break etc)

exactly, they are just exploited because of their lack of english in agencies. I pay mine (for a 2 bed flat) £40 x 3 hours and even if she doesn't need to do the whole 3 hours I just give her the 40 tbh as she has made the effort to come over etc so she has paid transport etc . I found out that in a lot of the agencies they moniter their fones, so when I thoght I was being nice sendind them away early the agency would actually pay them less!

 

[Giggling Squid]

Thank you all! This has been so helpful, really interesting to hear different people’s opinions and experiences.

Not sure how we’re going to approach finding someone yet, my preference would be a friend’s recommendation but none of our local friends have a cleaner. I think we might try going through an agency initially and finding someone we like to approach to clean privately

I’m also a little wary of asking for recommendations on our local Facebook group, as so many “recommendations” seem to be family/friends rather than people that have actually been used which is frustrating!