Getting a Cleaner so that I CAN be 'Oldstyle'

looby-loo_2

flea72 wrote: »

also, your decor will have an affect on cleaning time. minimalist decor is great for cleaners, but if you are a trinket and ornament person, then it would take much longer to clean surfaces
F

This made me smile.

My mum got a new cleaner and when I went round to visit the place looked empty. The cleaner had told her it would take a long time to dust and polish all the trinkets and ornaments so my mum had put them all away to make the cleaners job easier.

I didn't think it was quite what the way it should be, mum is paying after all, but I think perhaps she was secretly pleased to have a good reason to hide some of the trinkets bought for her over the years so I said nothing.

Her cleaner works like this for 2 hours:
Every week both bathrooms get done then one week she does downstairs thoroughly and give upstairs a quick go over. The next week she does upstairs thoroughly and downstairs gets a quick go over.

Mum is happy but I sometimes wonder how an 80 and 78 year old can make enough mess to need a cleaner - but then I don't have to sit and look at it all day.

rachbc

back in day when I had a cleaner on her first visist we went through each room and she asked what I wanted doing/ what was important to em.

Mine changed the beds as wells as the dusting/ hoovering wiping you'd expect

jennieshrew

flea72 wrote: »

it would all depend on how clean the house is, on what they can get done in the timescale


also, your decor will have an affect on cleaning time. minimalist decor is great for cleaners, but if you are a trinket and ornament person, then it would take much longer to clean surfaces

F

My house is currently decorated with toys and dirty washing but i'll make sure that is all put away before she gets here!

zzzLazyDaisy

I don't know if this helps, but ages ago when I had a cleaner for 4 hours a week, I found I got a lot more done in two hours, twice a week.

esmf73

I'd ask her to do a general clean through the house and then to blitz one room a week. That way you can be sure that if you're a bit behind on things that everything will soon be glistening. Then when she's done that and all the rooms are glistening you could get her to do a general clean through and any left over time - ironing.

clairehi

4 hours is quite a lot for a 3 bed house.

My current cleaner comes for 4 hours (4 bed house) and in that time she dusts and hoovers throughout, changes 1 or 2 beds, cleans 3 bathrooms and kitchen (and that includes things like cleaning the front of the fridge and the knobs on the cooker!) and mops all hard floors.
(I havent the heart to tell her that 5 mins after she has left the kids have left sticky fingerprints on the fridge door again...she takes real pride in her work!)

BitterAndTwisted

Once upon a time when I was a full-time nanny my employer had a cleaner come for three and a half hours twice a week. In that time a three-floor house with six huge rooms with lots of antique furniture, two bathrooms, kitchen, breakfast-room and a vast, tiled entrance hallway were cleaned, vacuumed and polished from top to bottom both days. The bedlinen on four beds were also changed and laundered once a week. She sat on the edge of her seat eating her lunch for 15 minutes and the last half-hour or so was spent doing the ironing.

Four hours once a week should leave plenty of time for things like a cupboard to be emptied and cleaned as well, I reckon

Penelope_Penguin

I'd agree that you need to tidy up before a cleaner comes, so that s/he can clean

We have an older thread with more tips here to give you more ideas; I'll mereg this later.

jennieshrew

Thanks for the replies. Its only four hours the first time and will then be two hours a week, possibly twice a week if she can come that often.

Alison_Funnell

My mum is and my gran was cleaners, as have a lot of mums friends.

I cannot emphasise enough the need to tidy first. Cleaners clean not tidy and put away.

Most cleaners won't do anything that requires ladders or standing on anything (chairs etc) so for windows (inside or out) and tall cupboards you need to think about this. If they should fall remember liability etc.

Changing beds and laundry is normally negotiated - some do and some don't take on laundry/ironing tasks. Personally I don't feel a cleaner should do bedding - they are cleaning not a maid.

Same with washing up and dishwasher loading etc.

Dusting around delicate or valuable ornaments is also something to consider and maybe worth checking with your insurance for valuables to see if they are covered by breakage by an employee.

If I were to have a cleaner I would look in to the insurance aspect more, if they should be injured working or create a major problem (sounds OTT but it does happen) then you are covered.

I do love the irony of discussing cleaners on an MSE board...