Do you have a cleaner?

Fmess

I'm a teacher and have just employed a cleaner for the first time. I am single and live in a small house with 3 dogs and a cat and due to doing marking and planning at home in the evening and weekends, the cleaning just never got done as well as I'd like it. The cleaner starts when I go back to school in September and I cannot wait to have one less thing to worry about!

Linda16

I'd like to add my bit as a 'cleaner' I've been with the same family for at least 15-16 years, I go Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 4 hours each time. Its a 5 bed, 3 bath, 2 reception room house. I do all the washing and ironing, beds, windows oven etc., in fact everything that needs doing in a house...and yes, I tidy up first (untidy boys!) When I first joined the family there were 3 young children, 1 has moved out and the other 2 are at Uni but are home every holiday and there's 2 cats that like to leave hair everywhere, but this is my job and I treat it as any other job, I arrive on time and get stuck in. I do NOT pry or read letters as has been suggested as a reason someone wouldn't employ a cleaner. I have my own key and the family trust me implicitly. I am paid £10 an hour but this year have had my bank holidays and holiday pay stopped due to financial restraints on the family, but at least I've got a job still.

wizzywilc

I'd never have dreamed of getting a cleaner, but almost 20 years ago when I moved house my partner he said he wasn't prepared to share the cleaning in a larger house, but would pay half the cost of a cleaner. The partner is long gone, and I am retired, but if I had to cut costs my cleaner (2 hours a fortnight, £20) would be the about the last luxury to go. The freedom from the guilt of "house really needs cleaning" and the pleasure of coming home to a clean house - she usually come when I'm out, which suits us both- makes a huge difference to me. And it means that once a fortnight I have a really good tidy up so the house never gets really messy.

Now I just need to get a similar arrangement in place for my untidy garden.........

CHILL86

I don't have a cleaner but I do have an "ironing fairy" who comes to my house, collects my laundry, takes it away, irons it and puts it on hangers, covers those in polythene to keep it clean, and returns it to my house ready for hanging in the wardrobe. All for £10 an hour - works out about £15 a week for me and hubby. It would take me much longer than 1 1/2 hours to do it myself - I had massive upper back injuries from a head-on road collision (not my fault - the driver coming the other way decided to overtake the car in front of her on a "normal" B road... I was in her way as she pulled out at about 65mph, I was doing 60 as allowed by the speed limit!). That means I get a lot of pain when doing the "pressing" part of ironing which can completely put me out of action for several days - so the £15 is well worth it!

Bellisima

Last December I had a hip replacement and cleaning was painful and difficult, so I employed a cleaner for a few weeks. Luckily my sister was a cleaner and she was happy to do it. I thought my OH would do the cleaning/cooking etc but he just went to pieces! My sister did 2 hours every fortnight at £10 an hour - best money I ever spent! Jobs like cleaning, gardening, dog walking etc are becoming more popular as people have less free time or are physically unable to do their own. Nothing to be ashamed of.

janehp

I've had a cleaner for over 5 years and love coming home on the day she has been. She's worth her weight in gold.

I retired early last year and before I took the plunge I made sure I could still afford to pay her if not i would have had to keep working! I did however feel quite guilty about having a cleaner, it felt lazy sitting there reading while she cleaned round me. Solution was easy the day she comes I always have something on that takes me out the house. No more guilt.

This is one luxury I'd never give up.

MrsSippi

This is a very interesting thread for me to read as I am due to start a job cleaning next week and I've never done it before (i mean as a paid job not that I've never cleaned :rotfl:) so would love some tips.

I am going to be cleaning a small 2 bed property for 1.5 hrs and walking a dog for 30 mins and have been told I will be paid £8/hr (probably a bit lower than I'd hoped but hey ho, it is my first official cleaning job) and at my interview they told me what was required (very straightforward - vacuuming throughout, cleaning bathroom, kitchen and mopping floors and wiping windows). I have to go back next week to get the key but I am worried that I may have forgotten something so wondered if it's standard practice for the owners to write down what they want or should I take a pen and paper and make notes myself? I assume they would provide all the cleaning equipment? Anything else I should be aware of or ask?

Mojisola

MrsSippi wrote: »

I am going to be cleaning a small 2 bed property for 1.5 hrs and walking a dog for 30 mins and have been told I will be paid £8/hr

I have to go back next week to get the key but I am worried that I may have forgotten something so wondered if it's standard practice for the owners to write down what they want or should I take a pen and paper and make notes myself?

I assume they would provide all the cleaning equipment?

Anything else I should be aware of or ask?

If they are expecting you to take any cleaning equipment when they are only paying £8/hr, tell them you've changed your mind!

They are getting a cleaner and dog walker for a very cheap rate. Our dog walker was insured against any third party liability when she had the dog out - do you have any? If the dog was injured while it was out with you, would the owners pay all vet bills or would they come after you? If the dog caused an accident, would they cover your legal bills?

It can be useful to have everything in writing - it means both sides know exactly what is expected and anything that starts getting missed is easily pointed out - rather than relying on 'you said/they said'.

From my experience - on both sides of the job - there is no 'standard practice'. Cleaners differ in the way they do things and 'employers' have very varying expectations.

WJN222

Yes we have a cleaner and she is worth every single penny!
DH and I both work full time and TBH cleaning the house half a day of our weekend is the last thing I want to do, so instead we have a cleaner and spend our weekends having quality time.
Having a cleaner has also stopped so many arguments about who was doing what or me feeling I was always the one running around trying to sort the house out. Now we just get to come home to a lovely clean home and actually when someone is doing it for us - we are so much more likely to keep on top of things in between cleans as quite frankly - its easier!

BaldacchinoR

I have a cleaner who gets £25 for 2 hours cleaning once a week, although she usually does up to 21/2 hours because she's my daughter and we chat and eat and/or drink. She's very flexible and does different cleaning when required, like windows, mirrors, glass or my gas hob or microwave, I am flexible about what times or days she comes. Some commercial cleaners might not be so flexible. And of course she is trustworthy, which was a consideration when deciding who to employ. I would recommend you employ a reliable relative if possible