Trustworthy cleaning agency servicing North London? How to convince doubting family?

jayne-mams

Hi!

Looking for a cleaner to help around the house with tidying, vaccuming, washing up, etc who could come either weekly or fortnightly (and how to convince my family it's a good idea!)

I'm a 5th year med student with CFS/ME and running two jobs to pay my way through medschool and the mortgage. Just so knackered I can't keep up with the housework. Even if I do less hours at work or don't work still tired when I get home and hardly cook anymore as can't handle the washing up. My 16 year old sister lives with me and I can't convince her to even keep her own room tidy I suspect as we come from a household where tidiness is an alien concept it's probably too deeply ingrained to ever likely change. However this is my flat, and I want it to have some basic semblence of a home. There is no way I could ever invite anyone round as it's such an embarassing mess even though have only lived here a year. My family is completely adverse to hiring a cleaner as they think they will snoop around and steal things and my Mum keeps saying she'll come over to help with the cleaning whenever I suggest it but then comes over and does nothing or creates even MORE mess and is perpetually bringing over useless items we don't need and clogging up what is already a small flat as it is whilst perpetually ranting and complaining how useless our father is (not necessarily unjustified, but she just keeps going on and on and refusing to either leave him or do anything to sort it out - partly the reason why I get barely any financial support from parents, none in the previous year and surviving off student loans and part time jobs) let alone none of them believing that CFS/ME even EXISTS.

So the questions are, how can I convince them that this is a necessity and that having a tidy home is normal?! And which agency/ies are the most trustworthy/reliable/will provide a comprehensive service? (don't mind paying a bit extra within reason )

Thanks!

ormus

http://www.mollymaid.co.uk/

is well known and expensive!
try and get a local person recommended by someone. much cheaper.

happinessfactory

NEVER EVER get a cleaner through an agency.

The first cleaner I hired in London came from a supposedly reputable national agency; over a period of 4 months she burgled us to the tune of £3k before disappearing back to Poland. We then discovered our losses weren't covered by the insurance premiums we'd paid to the agency on top of the wages we'd paid directly to her - turned out *we* were insuring the agency against injuring her in our home!! Luckily it turned out we were covered by our contents insurance, but we still had to pay a £250 excess and none of our things were ever recovered, though some things were of huge sentimental value.

In our next place we inherited a wonderful cleaner from the previous owners, but she eventually moved back to the Philippines, and I was at a loss to replace her so ended up contacting another supposedly very reliable agency.

I paid a £135 fee and they gave me a Lithuanian girl (she was literally about 16) who never turned up at the right time, did a cursory job when she did deign to appear, and then vanished into thin air with our front door keys the second month; even the agency couldn't track her down. We ended up replacing the locks at a cost of £200 and the bloody agency wouldn't refund a penny of it. They did give us a replacement cleaner who is still with us a few years later, but truthfully not up to much even when paid £10 an hour. I just don't have the heart to fire her because it's so hard to find someone honest and reliable in London and a bad job is better than none at all when both of you are working all hours.

One thing you could consider is asking your local vicar or Catholic priest to recommend someone. A few of our friends have done this and it costs nothing and the people who've been hired have turned out to be very good.

roses

I would look at https://www.gumtree.com. There are so many people who are willing to work evenings ie when you will be home. It's much better to be home so they don't have a set of keys.

I have had three cleaners and to be honest, only one has done better than what I do myself.

Don't go through an agency as they are a rip off & you have to commit. If you go with an individual from eg gumtree then you have use her once, if she's any good then continue to use her.

whitewing

Can't help too much with the cleaner side of things.

Can sympathise with messy family streak as me and my family are the same and it drives OH nuts. But we're getting better.

Radical suggestion re washing up. I read an article once where a chap had two dishwashers. Filled one up, then stuck it on, then used from that once it was clean. Dirty stuff was put straight into the other one and then cleaned when full. Keeps it all out of the way, and your sister would be able to manage that!

whitewing

Also, don't be embarrassed about recycling things to a charity shop. I used to keep everything that I was given so as not to hurt anyone's feelings. This year I had to take it all with me when I moved house and i ended up giving over 20 bags of tat to the local charity shop. I don't miss any of it, even though I took photos of some stuff before I could let it go.

Now I refuse to put anything in the loft, and in giving stuff away, there is much less to clean/organise. And honestly, you won't miss it. I'm now training my family to ask if I want something before it gets dumped on me! And I'll give it back nicely if necessary.

jayne-mams

Thanks to all! So gather from the posts that agencies probably aren't the best way to go, and happinessfactory highlighted something that I didn't know about agencies and their supposed insurance policies! On looking at the T&Cs there is no real redress for a dishonest cleaner at all! Also looking for insurance as the employer of a cleaner to cover such things I'd have to pay at least £600 basic with dishonesty/etc as optional extras. Hardly a sensible option for a couple hours of cleaning a week!

So asked a friend (who lives near me) I remembered who had a cleaner who's worked for them for two years. Apparently they hear about her by word of mouth and she's great so may try that!

Tried getting a dishwasher to see if it would help with the cleaning, but it never gets all the dishes totally clean unless they're reeeeally lightly soiled! So they need a serious scrub before they go in or they go in and come out all stuck to the plate, need to be pried off and put back in again for another cycle. Could see how the two dishwashers could work tho. Ironically the only thing that my sister does spontaneously is load the dishwasher once in a blue moon! Will see if cleaner can do the bulk of the built up dishes and between the two of us get at least some of it done.

I think you're right whitewing, will just start shifting the stuff out of the place quietly in bags down to the charity shop bit by bit.

Thanks again to all!

MissEyre

Just a small piece of advice-be very clear with your cleaner about exactly what you would like doing each time. Maybe sit down and make a list of all the stuff that should be done every time, and then if you need anything extra doing, you could leave a note.

For example - each visit please
dust each room top to bottom inc. shelves and ornaments
vacuum any room with carpets thoroughly, move sofa/bed where possible to vacuum underneath
wipe blind slats with a damp cloth
clean kitchen and bathroom thoroughly-scrub bath, loo and sinks, clean all mirrors, wipe surfaces down, wipe cabinet and appliance fronts in kitchen
empty waste paper bins, put empty bag in each bin
make the bed
do and put away any washing up in the sink, leaving the draining board clear

Is what I have agreed with my cleaner for each visit. If there is anything extra eg. cleaning the oven, changing the bed linen, ironing, cleaning windows inside, I email her in advance or leave a note.

If you don't agree a list like this, it's much harder to complain if you don't feel everything is being done which you want. I pay £12 an hour and usually have her come in once a fortnight for two hours at a time.

Hope that helps! Is it really your families business if you would like a cleaner?
I think my mother would probably think I was wasting my money, but it is one of the best things I have done-I work long hours, and the last thing I want when I get home is to start hoovering and scrubbing the loo! Also means that if people do come over unexpectedly, my house is ready for them even if I'm not!

kay41_2

Miss Eyre - you hoover the loo?!! Sorry, couldn't resist it, it's just the way it's written.

I have recently employed a cleaner and it's been a revolution for me. she comes in twice a month for 3 hours and gets paid £54 per month - it's a small proportion of what I earn, but the peace of mind is fantastic. I could keep the kitchen and bathroom clean and change the bedsheets etc myself, but dusting and mopping the floors and cleaning the windows were things that I just never got round to doing. I resented doing housework at weekends and my OH was constantly complaining about the mess.

She now whips through the house and doesn't always do a perfect job, but does more than I do in 3 hours. It also makes me tidy and clear surfaces and put things away before she comes. The best thing for me is she puts clean sheets on the bed, my worst job apart from mopping the floor!

I'd rather spend the time with my child than clean.

I have had a quote from MyHome before which was OK, and is all insured and guaranteed, but then I found my cleaner who works for a friend of mine. So far I am pleased. I have heard bad things about Molly Maid.