Having a cleaner

paulineb_2

MrsE wrote: »

Wrote a list of jobs that would need doing.

2 bed house, 2 adults living in it.

Important jobs -
Hoover/sweep/mop floors
Dust & clean mirrors
Clean bathroom
Clean worktops & splash backs in kitchen.

Extra jobs, maybe 1 every week rotating.
1. Bathroom tiles
2. cooker (I could have mr musceled it in advance)
3. Fridge/freezer
4. Clean fronts of cupboards

I would do laundry & change bedding.

How long would this take per week?
2 hours? 3 hours?
If I get an individual in will I be looking at paying her holiday pay when she's off & holiday pay also if I'm off?
If I got a firm I wouldn't have that issue they would send someone regardless & I would probably be able to cease when I'm on hol.
They charge about the same, despite the holiday issue, so no cheaper getting a local person - just maybe agro with the holiday issue.

Any advice?

Its the law to pay people holiday pay even if they only work a few hours a week.

MrsE_2

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

How long would it take for you to do these jobs? Cleaners aren't on a different time/space continuum to the rest of us. Aren't you going to ask them to clean the sinks, basins and bath/shower?

Get a couple of cleaners, got through personal recommendation if you like, and ask them to quote you for the tasks you have listed. Usually, there's a fair few you haven't though of, most especially if you're not going to lift a finger yourself other than a bit of tidying up as you go along.

Back in the good old days when I could afford a weekly cleaner she'd do things like emptying and cleaning out cupboards, damp-wiping skirting-boards, door-frames and window-ledges, cleaning electrical-sockets and light-switches, dusting light-fittings. All of the sorts of jobs you forget about until they're not done.

I wouldn't clean the fridge freezer & the oven weekly, nor wash down the bathroom tiles (I mean floor to ceiling, not just shower & bath & wash area) weekly - do you?

When I said dusting that meant window cils & light switches & stuff.


When I said bathroom it meant sinks, bath, shower, ect. What else is there to do in there!

I would rather do my own cupboards, those to me aren't regular cleaning & I'm not trying to have nothing to do, just trying to free more time. I work full time, I look after my grandson 10 hours a week, I cook from scratch, I will still have groceries, washing & ironing to do, as well as daily tidying as we go.
And let's not forget gardening :-(

MrsE_2

paulineb wrote: »

Its the law to pay people holiday pay even if they only work a few hours a week.

Thank you - I will go with an agency so I can have a 50 week a year service :-)

BitterAndTwisted

Dunroamin wrote: »

Actually, I disagree with the time issue. I'd expect anybody who did something for a living to do it more quickly and more efficiently than an amateur would.

Honestly, I disagree. Anyone who has kept their own home ship-shape and bristol-fashion for any length of time isn't really an amateur. However, according to my own (limited) research the very worst people to estimate a cleaning job are the ones who have never had to do it themselves. I know somebody who truly believed that a three-floor five-bedroomed house with two bathrooms and a downstairs cloaks could be cleaned in three hours with time to spare to do a bit of ironing.

I agree that some jobs have been left out, although some that you mention seem more like spring cleaning type things to me. (Mind you, I'm a sloven.:o)

Well, I did couch my suggestions in terms of what the OP was planning to do herself. If you're not going to do any housework at all other than a bit of washing-up/tidying up after yourself, then those monthly/quarterly spring-cleaning-type jobs will need to be done at some point by someone, so therefore will need to be costed in. There's nothing worse than underestimating what you want done and then having to leave notes and extra money for them once you've agreed on hours and the rate. The cleaner could be whizzing off to another job and might not have the time to do it anyway.

Weekly maintenance cleaning isn't the same as delegating the whole of it to someone else.

My lovely half-a-day a week cleaner used to wash the front-door from time to time as well. Gaw, I truly wish I could still afford the sainted Gladys now!

MrsE_2

I would still be doing spring cleaning, cupboard cleaning out, ect.

We are very tidy there will be no clutter to clear or negotiate.

My house is modern & fairly immaculate, I think it's much easier to clean a freshly decorated, minimalistic, tidy, clutter free house anyway.

StevenMarks

I pay £9/hr (when I lived in another part of the country I paid £12/hr).

They only get paid for the hours they work which is two or three hours every other week (adjusted if either they or I are away).

Gardener got paid £25 each fortnightly visit.

All involved were self employed so looked after their own holiday pay and taxes. Just like the plumber or decorators.

daisiegg

StevenMarks wrote: »

I pay £9/hr (when I lived in another part of the country I paid £12/hr).

They only get paid for the hours they work which is two or three hours every other week (adjusted if either they or I are away).

Gardener got paid £25 each fortnightly visit.

All involved were self employed so looked after their own holiday pay and taxes. Just like the plumber or decorators.

I pay £10 an hour and my cleaner comes for 3 hours once a fortnight. 5 bedroom/3 bathroom house, but only 2 of us living here so it doesn't get too dirty. No holiday pay or anything as she is self employed as you say. I used to pay £11 an hour for an agency cleaner but they provided all cleaning products whereas my cleaner just brings herself and I provide everything.

I wouldn't call her a 'professional'. She does an ok job but really, she does the sort of job I would do myself if I set aside 3 hours to clean house. I don't look at it as paying for a professional quality clean but rather paying for more free time.

[Deleted User]

I've always been wondering, with cleaners in your home what are the logistics of it? Do cleaners normally work around the people that live in the house, or do they expect the house to be empty of people while they're cleaning? I would like a cleaner (5 bed, 4 bath, >2000 square feet) but I work from home (via computer) and can't vacate the house for hours at a time.

MrsE_2

citricsquid wrote: »

I've always been wondering, with cleaners in your home what are the logistics of it? Do cleaners normally work around the people that live in the house, or do they expect the house to be empty of people while they're cleaning? I would like a cleaner (5 bed, 4 bath, >2000 square feet) but I work from home (via computer) and can't vacate the house for hours at a time.

I guess you could shut yourself away in your office.

MrsE_2

daisiegg wrote: »

I wouldn't call her a 'professional'. She does an ok job but really, she does the sort of job I would do myself if I set aside 3 hours to clean house. I don't look at it as paying for a professional quality clean but rather paying for more free time.

I would be happy if they done it like me :-)