Do you have a cleaner and how much do they charge?

I've always had a cleaner, and so did my Mum. Mum's lady was with her for 42 years, but they always called each other Mrs. . . .my splendid friend has been with me for about 15 years. She used to come for fours every week when I was working, and cleaned right through, changed the beds and did all the laundry and ironing. She has become a good friend, she helped me nurse my first husband and was my rock when he died. Now I'm retired and remarried to a man who 'does stuff' round the house ( he notices, I don't have to ask!) but she still comes once a fortnight for two hours to bottom out. I pay her £10 an hour and give her 2 weeks paid holiday a year (it used to be three when she did more hours). I did say I would pay her if she was ill too, but it's never arisen. She's self employed and charges some people more than me ( we're in the south west). I hate housework, I could never do without her completely.

Hi, my family thought it about time I had someone to help clean. I am out quite a lot with School Governors and my husband is disabled. I (By all you lovely posts, I know I am a lot older than most of you!) My eldest grand daughter had an older friend at church who had "fallen on hard times" and was looking for some cleaning jobs. She comes for 2hours every other week. I pay £10 an hour, always give her extra if she goes over time or does extra jobs. She is an absolute treasure, works efficiently and thoroughly and I find it easy to keep the house clean in between. I think it helps if you get a recommendation.

Hi,

I used to have a small cleaning business. I had the attitude that I liked my house to be clean so I adopted that ethos with my clients houses.
I worked hard. It felt good leaving a house clean and nice, and it kept me super fit.
Working for myself meant I could take my children to school and collect them every day, and have a day off to go in as a classroom helper.

The money I made paid for holidays and extras.

The stories I could tell about ungrateful people and their utterly filthy homes are book-worthy... and they expected me to make the filth go away in the space of an hour or two.

I cleaned for a family with six daughters, and they were spoiled brats who left me 'presents' in every toilet every time I arrived on site, and there were four loos in that house............

Some people are lovely and thankful for hard work and show appreciation, and some people are.. not.

Anyone who has a cleaner who does a good job should consider themself sprinkled with fairy dust and cherish her forever

Since retiring and discovering my husband would only clean under pressure, I decided that to avoid arguments I would employ a cleaner. In fact it is a local firm and they bring their own vacuum and products. I pay for £30 for 2 hours of cleaning. They just come every 2 weeks as there are only 2 of us and I obviously clean the bathrooms in between their visits and other things that need doing, but they really bottom it and Inwould give up a lot before giving up my cleaners. They were a godsend before Christmas with visitors looming.

I did have a cleaner until about a year ago, we paid £10 an hour.

However, we are both retired and thought we could manage but, in reality - with DC/DGC and DM staying regularly - I'm having second thoughts

Now where's her number

my cleaner charges £10 an hour and it is definitely worth it.

I used to have a cleaner through an agency and I paid them an amount by direct debit and was meant to pay the cleaner an hourly rate around the minimum wage. I'm not willing to have anyone doing my dirty work for the minimum wage so always paid more so ended up quite a high rate and never actually got any benefits of being with an agency.
Now a friend does it, suits both of us, and I pay her the same as the combined agency/cleaner rate as above for 2 x 2 hours per week, at about £11.50 per hour As others have said after working all week I don't want to spend my weekend cleaning, although obviously I'm always cleaning the kitchen after cooking etc. Knowing that everywhere will get hoovered & dusted (including stairs) kitchen and bathroom a good clean and our bed changed every week is great.
If I ever get to retire I guess I may have to give her up and do it myself - one more reason not to retire!

It varies in different areas but you pay more if you pay an agency and
cleaner gets much less, best try and get someone locally
I have had help for years and its been great and friendly Alice (91)

I pay my "treasure" £12.50 an hour. I am 92, have severe osteoarthritis making walking painful and difficult. She does everything from cleaning, helping me get dressed, ironing and even gardening. She drives me to doctor and hospital appointments. Is a good friend and good company. I get lower rate Attendance Allowance which helps me to pay her. She is well known in the village and everyone says what a lovely person she is.

I pay my cleaner £15 an hour once a fortnight .

I don't think there is a standard rate, I think it also depends on where you live. I'm sure London would be more expensive than where I live in the sticks! I pay £8.00 an hour.

£10 an hour .i think agencies charge much more but give the cleaners less.

I pay £30 for 3 hours once a fortnight. He does a general clean and stuff I can't do like mopping floors, cleaning windows etc.
In the intervening week I can do the dusting and hoovering myself.
Its a godsend.

I pay £16 an hour and they clean everywhere including windows and provide their own stuff including the vacuum. Can only afford once a fortnight - 2 ladies each work 2 hours. I think it depends where in the country you live as to the charges.

My cleaning lady has been coming to the house for 15 years and I pay her £8 an hour though she does charge up to £12, she runs her own cleaning and decorating business. She gets a packed lunch, all cleaning materials supplied, 4 weeks paid holiday plus sick pay, interest free loan and her accounts done FOC....

I had cancer a couple of years ago and had to have a cleaner. Since then I have had a series of illnesses so have kept her on. She cleans better than me and I would rather spend my good days out with friends and family. I am fortunate I can afford one. £10 an hour.

My cleaner charges £8 an hour, I provide all the cleaning materials. I found her through 'Streetlife' (google it and choose your area), really useful for finding handymen, passing on unwanted furniture, or seeking help of any kind.

I have a lady that comes for two hours and she charges £8 an hour. She's excellent and will do absolutely anything I need, so I always make sure to "look after her" whilst she's here with me too.

We live in a small village and people advertise their services, or their needs, in the village post office.

If you advertise for someone local, then usually someone here will be bound to know them ! Even so, we should always check people out thoroughly before we let them in to our homes.

I'd love to have a cleaner. Both my partner and I suffer from I'll health and can only manage the basic things. Unfortunately, unable to afford one. It's so frustrating looking at things that need to be done but unable to do it. It's also terribly embarrassing when friends come round and it looks like you've done nothing. And I hate the thought of anybody venturing upstairs where 2rooms have ended up as junk rooms and all the paint work wants a good wash down

Do take into account their expenses whether your cleaner has to travel by car for instance. Also do they provide all the cleaning materials etc. They also have to pay their own National Insurance and Tax if self employed, Public liability Insurance etc.

I have one come in for 2.5 hours weekly and she costs £27.50. It is lovely not having to worry about the house being clean high and low. We provide her with cleaning products.
Her husband is a policeman so we are really comfortable with her

I pay my cleaner £10 an hour and she comes for 2 hours every Friday (for a 2 up 2 down Victorian terrace). I got her through a work colleague (who got her through an agency). However the agency have now upped her hours, so she wants to come to me on a Sunday .
So I went on gumtree and have a new one coming this week - who also does ironing! This will make me very happy, as I hate ironing (my outgoing cleaner wouldn't do it).
It's not that the house gets so dirty (as someone said earlier in this thread), but having worked hard all week I don't want to spend my precious weekend dusting, hoovering, mopping floors, cleaning loos, viakalling the worktops etc.

I pay my cleaner £15 an hour,she comes once a fortnight.

I first got a cleaner about 20 years ago when a friend was looking for jobs for a young woman she met at her church who was in a desperate situation. She was an excellent cleaner (I think she took her frustrations out on her cleaning jobs!) She was from Chile and since she left I have had friends of friends (all Spanish speaking) and have had my current cleaner (from Spain) for many years now (£9 an hour for 3 hours every other week). I really appreciate having someone else do the floor cleaning especially. I had a bit of a problem with the idea of having someone else clean my house, especially as they've all been clever young women, and so Maria, like the others, became more like friends. I spend almost as long chatting to her as she does cleaning and she rarely stays the full three hours but it's still worth having her and £9 an hour seems reasonable. If I really want her to get down to cleaning, I arrange to be out when she comes!

I pay £10 an hour. It's the going rate in North West London which is not the cheapest of areas.