Do you have a cleaner?

Mojisola

Fireflyaway wrote: »

The only thing that bothers me is would the cleaner use cloths that have been in other peoples houses / use the same cloth on the loo and then the floor etc! Silly maybe but would prefer to supply my own stuff.

Then that's what you do.

You are employing the cleaner so you can set your terms.

Fireflyaway

michelle09 wrote: »

Obviously I can't comment on all cleaners, but ours uses the products/items we provide.

We have two lodgers who don't have the same standards of cleanliness/tidiness that we do so to stop it bothering us we got a cleaner. She charges £10/hour and comes for two hours once a week. With four of us splitting the cost it's affordable on our budget and I love coming home to a clean house once she's been.

Course it'll be interesting to see whether or not we can live without her once the lodgers go at Christmas!

I've read some FAQ's on commercial sites and they state they only use their own stuff. I suppose if we found an individual cleaner we could supply the stuff and be more specific about the exact jobs we want done. Apart from not wanting to use up my time cleaning, I have to admit that I'm not very good at it anyway! Takes me ages and I never get things like taps / shower screen sparkly enough!

Kathy535

I employed a cleaner when I started a new job 12 months ago, it was obvious very soon that I'd have no time or energy for cleaning. I pay her £10 ph for 2 hrs a week. Sometimes she does more if she runs over but I have no doubts that she actually does the work. It's wonderful coming home to a clean house.

It's been an interesting experience - I probably did about 3-4 hrs cleaning a week and this has made me realise that I was over zealous in terms of what I did. So while she doesn't clean some things to the standard that I would have done, I'm happy to either do them myself or just let it slide on the basis that if she isn't picking it up then it probably doesn't matter.

OH was resistant at first, he didn't want to give out a key and didn't like the idea of someone else being in our house, but because I'm happier and no longer nagging him to clean, he's come round fairly quickly!

Basically, it's one of the best decisions I've made, I used to feel guilty about not cleaning, and the need to do it would weigh on my mind. For £20pw it's well worth it. She's brilliant.

Ken68

Thinking about employing a cleaner and have been advised not to employ relatives or neighbours.
Which is a problem because one of my nieces is a cleaner and I have other relatives (and neighbours) looking for work.

Mojisola

Ken68 wrote: »

Thinking about employing a cleaner and have been advised not to employ relatives or neighbours.
Which is a problem because one of my nieces is a cleaner and I have other relatives (and neighbours) looking for work.

A relative is fine as long as you can keep the cleaning job on a professional footing - she won't be 'helping you out'; she'll be working for you.

You may have to set down just what you want doing quite formally and plan a review every few months so you can raise any issues as a matter of routine.

GwylimT

We have a cleaner, we've just moved so we are looking for a new one. Our previous cleaner was £12 p/h, the going rate here works out around £22 per hour, so instead of three hours a week we may only go for one, especially as I'm working far fewer hours.

Primrose

I wouldn,t employ a relative as a cleaner You never know, they might be delving through your personal papers and if you're a private person you might have information you don,t want other relatives to know about. And if things turn difficult and you have to end the arrangement it could have family repercussions.

Employing a relative to clean your house with access to your personal papers and possessions is a lot more personal than for example employing a nephew to clean your car.

Sparky67

We had a cleaner for a while as we both work long hours - she stopped running her business and we haven't replaced her yet, but she was great - she cleaned but it also meant my husband was embarrassed for her to come into an untidy house so he would keep his things tidy!

trailingspouse

Yes, that works in this house too...

Tigwong_2

Have had a cleaner for over 18 years as I worked full time and hated spending my precious weekends cleaning - even though I like clean house.
I pay £20 for two hours a week. She changes my bed and cleans whole house (it's small).
Recently my partner has been unable to live alone so we alternate houses each week and the cleaner does the house we're not in. Means we always have one house spotless.
Most of my fellow female teachers have cleaners!
I've recently taken a massive pay cut as I've stepped down from teaching but Def not getting rid of the cleaner - or the lad that cuts my grass every fortnight. It means I can spend more quality time with my partner.