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

So .... who won , you or your husband , will your lovely employed person clean , wash dishes or a bit of both?
Has the cleaner stipulated what she is or is not prepared / employed to do?

Can you put yourself in her shoes,imagine if you were the cleaner but you turned up to start your usual work but had to face the sink full of washing up your employers had left from night before,before you can even begin your job?

A housekeeper is a different job to a cleaner.a cleaner is a person who helps to keep the house clean,even a small 'non-rich' household can have a cleaner,a housekeeper is for a bigger richer household.they run the whole house,including possibly food ordering/buying./ Ironing /washing etc.and get paid more accordingly.Its a whole different ballgame.( a housekeeper is something i would have if i won the lottery)

Your husband definately should have stepped up and done the washing up,hes treating your cleaner like a servant

Priorities, I guess, if cleaner is paid by the hour what, to you, is important that they do and what will you do that the cleaner hasn’t time to do. Personally i would do the washing up and leave the cleaning of the sink, draining board etc. To them

Ive recently started to employ a cleaner again( had one over a year ago from age uk) as my arthritis is much worse& i cant stand long periods to vac& mop& dust.i do have a dishwasher now(it was necessity for me) so its not a problem.if weve got dishes piled in sink(my 2 sons are loath to empty/refill it dishwasher!) I just pop them in dishwasher to free up the sink for mop bucket filling.i wouldnt want her to do the washing up anyway..she does other bits& bobs if shes still got time left,wiping worktops,cupboards etc.But washing up? No,thats more of a housekeeper job.

I just hate washing up being left in the sink - you weren’t feeling well - I would think your husband could have just done it - how long would it have taken!

Like other contributors I feel it's entirely up to you to decide what you contract with your cleaner, but frankly I don't see how any cleaner can not come into contact with the sink in your kitchen because there must be a need to rinse out sponges, cleaning cloths, etc., I have always expected my cleaners to ensure that the kitchen sink is clean when they leave and nobody has ever not done that. I also feel that if a cleaner is prepared to leave dirty pots in the kitchen sink then s/he is not very professional. This doesn't mean you should stack up a week's crockery for him/her, but if it's the overnight stuff and the cleaner arrives in the morning it's perfectly natural to expect that to be part of the routine.

Nightsky
You must have a very large house(a mansion maybe ?)if you employ not one but four persons to hoover and dust?

My cleaner is called my housekeeer
Mostly she cleans
But in busy times, through illness and work pressures we all pull together and so do all our staff
They are professionals and respected
I would not ever say 'the cleaner'

We tidy so cleaner can clean. My only gripe is nothing gets moved properly so some parts of shelves never get dusted properly. It would take me 2 weeks to do what my cleaner does in 2 hrs and it's lovely to see the house all clean at same time. Tidying is for us to do, though maybe when we're in our 80s I'd appreciate a bit of help with putting things away too. I'll worry about that then.

how do i post a new topic

Yes, the husband should have got his finger out and washed the dishes instead of relying on a skivvy to do it for him.

If you want dishes washed it`s a housekeeper you should be employing.
Cleaners are paid for doing housework, where do you draw the line ?.
Peel spuds and veg etc.
Your husband needs to realise that and it wouldn`t have hurt him to do it either.

I think the point is being missed here that this was just a one off as bulldogPaige was unwell, in that case I see nothing wrong with the cleaner helping out ( avoiding the issue of her husband )
It does become a problem when the cleaner is asked to add more jobs to her/his list on a regular basis and no more time or payment allocated.

I’m shocked your husband didn’t just do the washing up without being asked! How selfish. The. cleaner won’t be doing any cleaning if she does your washing up unless you pay her for extra time,

The husband is the problem. Washing up is beneath his dignity. His wife is ill and he doesn't lift a finger to help. I'm guessing she did all the cooking as well...... Charming.

I had a cleaner with whom I had agreed the tasks - she came in every afternoon while I was at work for set hours and I asked her to prioritise dishes and tidying, and wiping surfaces (ie make it possible to start cooking straight away after work) and there was a short list of larger jobs to begin if she had time. I asked her not to do any ironing. The first day she ironed a bra and melted the elastic. I reminded her no ironing thankyou. Second week she ironed another two bras and ruined them. I reminded her again. Third time she did it, I was getting a bit annoyed and she said "well I run out of things to do in the time". So I took her around and showed her all the things she had not done that she was meant to. She got really huffy and we parted company.

I don't have a cleaner but I wouldn't think washing the dishes would be part of her job either. If your DH wants her to do it and she is happy to then she would have to not do something else as you say you pay her by the hour and she is with you a set number of hours. So is he willing to clean the bathroom, or wash the floor, or hoover etc because she doesn't have time to?

I would say the cleaner should do any job asked if her (or him) but if it's not something they usually do then they may be put out but I do think that it is just an excuse on your husbands side because he was too lazy to do them himself, hope he realises that as you pay the cleaner by the hour that if by her doing the dishes she has to work longer than the hour then she will want paying more

I've never had a cleaner but I wouldn't rely on them to do the washing up because she might not be able to come for any number of reasons and dishes that have been lying all night are much harder to face for anyone.

Good morning! I have been a housecleaner for over 12 years and I have never had a client that left dirty dishes 8n the sink knowing I would come the next day to “sort it out”! When I start with a new family, I ask if they want dishes done or put in the dishwasher and run the cycle for them. This is agreed upfront. It normally is not something that a housecleaner is expected to do. I hope this clears it up a little.

Sure your cleaner wouldn't mind doing dishes but I am with you, is that the best use of having a cleaner. Doing dishes would bite into usual cleaning tasks.

I was a cleaner when my kids were little, I did private houses in a very posh village nearby. I was never asked to wash up dirty dishes or do laundry. I would not have considered it my job and I guess your husband just didn't fancy doing the dishes himself! I hope you are now feeling better and can read him the riot act

My daughter had a 'specialist' cleaner who would empty/load the dishwasher, pick up dirty washing and pop it in the washing machine/tumble drier when clean and clean the cooker etc. She also stripped and remade my GC beds and cleaned the bathroom as well as hoovering two bedrooms, stairs and living rooms. My ex son in law did no housework at all, he expected my daughter to deal with it although she worked full time too. The cleaner did two hours a week and was paid £20 per hour (this was in Kent) - my daughter considered it worth every penny.