AIBU to think washing up is not the job of a cleaner?

I think that as you are paying the cleaner you can decide what is in the job description, and she can decide whether she is happy with it.

TBH, I can't see what is wrong with asking a cleaner to wash up, but equally, if you wold prefer your husband to do it so that she is free to do something you don't want to do, then that's fine too.

I wouldn't expect my cleaner(if I had one to wash up) unless of course she was happy to do it. When I used to clean I did do little bits of washing up if needed, odd plate/cup etc.

I don’t have a cleaner. I think it’s up to you what jobs you ask your cleaner to undertake. But if I did employ a cleaner, I too would think that there were more pressing jobs for her/him to do than washing up. I would hope they were tackling the jobs I didn’t want to do, and washing up is a simpler task in my eyes.

Depends on what your arrangements are as some are via an agency who have rules n regs.

I was a "please myself cleaner" Girl Friday, clean/dust/mop,straighten beds,bathroom/hoover, paint decorate,gardening,taking dog for walk,looking after cats, picking children up from nursery,amusing them till grandparents arrived, hosting tea/coffee when any funerals going on . List was never ending but was left to my own devices so long as main stuff was done first.

I try to have an empty sink when my cleaner comes. I ‘tidy’ so she can ‘clean’. But if there are dishes in the sink she will just do them and leave them draining (which I don’t mind). She does the dusting, cleans my bathroom and toilet and cleans all my floors.... and changes the bedding (bliss). All usually done every other Friday whilst I’m at work. It is a pure joy to come home to.

It strikes me as a waste to ask the cleaner to wash up as, at least in my house, there are things that I dont want to do that our cleaners does. By the same token, I tidy up before she comes as well.

I have a cleaner and I try to do the washing up the previous evening. I have a dishwasher which makes life easier but not everything is suitable for it. My cleaner will wash the odd mug lying around but there are more pressing jobs for her to do.

I do try to tidy up to make her life easier. I do agree with you bulldog.

When I was a cleaner and when I've had a cleaner, washing up was done. However, I'm with you, bulldogPaige. I'd rather the cleaner did bigstuff. Not stuff I can knock out in 5 minutes myself.

Agree with kitty. Question of respect re tidying up- it was always an argument with OH and daughters when teenagers - to tidy up the night before. As I explained to them a) impossible to clean if toys, socks, knickers, etc- on the floor and more importantly b) a question of respect. A cleaner is there to clean, not to pick up your stuff, especially 'dirty' underwear.

As this was a one off because you were not well then I don't see a problem. The person you employ to clean is there to help you in whatever way is best at the time. Having said that it seems a bit unreasonable of your husband not to do the washing up.
Not worth making an issue of it especially as you don't feel well.

Seems to me it's your husband that's the problem here bulldog.

If be interested to hear what (if anything) he actually does around the house??

I have a cleaner who comes for two hours a week and vacs and dusts, and washes floors.
If I asked her to wash up she wouldn't have time for other stuff.
She is lovely and I'm lucky to have her. She left another client because they expected her to wash up and make/change beds and tidy up.
I nurture her because good cleaners are like gold dust, and don't want her to think I'm taking her for granted. I also have a dishwasher!

No, it’s not the job of our cleaner. We have a contract with the cleaning company which stipulates what they will and will not do because so many people were taking liberties - and the contract says no washing dishes. They had to include things like cleaning out pet cages and picking up dog poo from the back garden because some people actually thought it was appropriate for the cleaner to do it!

I was a cleaner many years ago. I always had a sink full of pots and pans to wash. Apart from the normal hoovering dusting making beds etc. I was expected to clean windows and wash down garage door. When she complained I hadn’t cleaned right into the corners of the window cills I felt a bit dis heartened. The final straw was when they got a puppy and I was expected to clean up dog poop. I wasn’t that desperate for the money!

When I was a cleaner I did whatever was necessary to make the house look nice; it didn't bother me what it was. I was paid by the hour so if there was extra to do then they would just have to pay me for more time.

Well I expect that like most people that have a cleaner my house usually looks great on the morning she comes.
She and I have a great relationship, I leave her to do what she wants to and she can be flexible with her time.
If I was ill and unable to do the washing up she would just do it.
That’s because she is wonderful and neither of us takes the other for granted.

BulldogPaige, your DH is looking for excuses for not doing it himself.

I do not have a cleaner, but I would not expect her to do washing up, unless I had specifically included ir in the job description. Like you, I would see a cleaners job as cleaning.

There is a simple solution, if you can afford it, buy a dishwasher. They use less water per item washed than handwashing. You can buy small narrow ones that are ideal for 2 person households. You then need to teach DH how to use it!

I have a dishwasher, but if I didn't then having just been ill myself I would have been quite happy for a cleaner to wash up as an exception. When I did have a cleaner she told me from the off that she was paid by the hour not the job so was willing do anything, within reason, that she was asked to do.

I`ve only recently acquired a cleaner, through AgeUK. I was told that they do anything I require, but won`t clean the cat litter tray, which I wouldn`t expect anyway. She washes up as soon as she arrives, I told her it wasn`t necessary, but she insisted.

...?????? Ummm now let me think, ahh I have it I think the cleaner is expecting to do either or both of the jobs mentioned.........But a conversation to clarify is usually helpful.

I never expected my cleaner to wash dishes, and I always tidied up. But she told me somewhere else she cleaned appeared to leave the whole weeks washing up for her, what a waste of her time!

Not if the person being cleaned for hates washing dishes. ?

Many years ago, when DC were little, I was asked if I would do some cleaning, one day a week, at a family home nearby. I went every Monday morning for 3 hours. At the back door, they had a cat litter tray and it was my job to empty it, clean it and replace the litter. By week 3, I realised that, each time the cat had used its tray, the house holder simply put another sheet of newspaper on top and sprinkled a bit more litter on it. By the time I arrived on the next Monday, the litter tray was stacked high with newspapers, litter and cat s**t and it stunk to high heaven! I didn't stay for week 4!

I don't have a cleaner and have a dishwasher because I don't like washing up. I put the mucky plates in the dishwasher so would never have a sink full of dishes to argue about and the kitchen always looks tidy at least. Tbh I can't see the difference between the cleaner doing the dishes or cleaning the bathroom etc.