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

PS I was not implying that you should do it yourselves (as per kittylester's recent thread), just that three or more hours a week seems rather excessive unless you live in a mansion...

No! My house is never that bad anyway. I sometimes have to change the hoover bag as she forgets

I'm amazed at how much some of you spend on a weekly cleaner! How dirty can a house get when just one or two people live in it...?

Got a lovely Polish girl after enquiring at our local cafe. Been with me nearly 2 years and I pay £10ph x 3 hours weekly.

I've had a cleaner since I was single & working and during our marriage whilst working & not until the kids went to uni & left home. Cleaned myself for 7 years and found it too much and prefer to do better things with my time

Do any of you clean/tidy before your cleaner is due ?
Not meant as a negative comment to anyone who has a cleaner, just wondering.

My mum has one for £10 an hour cash in hand. A friend has one via Age UK which is bit dearer, though cleaners are paid less. With Age UK you get cover for staff holidays and sickness.

I clean/help 3 people on a once a week basis (1x3hrs, 1x2hrs and 1x1hr) and another two people who I go to for 2hrs alternate weeks on a Tuesday. I get £10 an hour from all except my Weds lady (I have been to her for about 9 yrs) who chooses to pay me £12.50 an hour as she says I'm worth it lol.
I started with my Weds lady after she asked her friend/neighbour if she knew anyone looking for work and I had helped her previously, the rest followed by word of mouth from her to friends.

Kate is insured and CRB checked. She comes for 2 hours on mon, wed and Friday.
Gary, (her husband) comes for 4hours on a Monday morning and in summer a couple of hours on a Wednesday evening to do the garden. He comes for a couple of hours on a Friday evening to do any odd jobs that need doing..

I have a cleaner once a fortnight for 2 hours and for that she cleans right through apart from the bathroom and downstairs loo, which DH has always done. I got her through an agency who CRB check and have insurance for any damage their cleaners may cause.I pay the agency £45.50 quarterly and the cleaner £20 fortnightly so it works out at £58 per month all in.
I supply cleaning materials and equipment and am very happy with what she does.

No cleaner here my house is easy to keep clean and OH does some too so between us we do fine without.

Beware! I had one who was so much better at it than me, she used to come for 2 hours and finished what I asked her to do in an hour. I was so glad the day I noticed she hadn't cleaned the outside of the loo. She made me feel inadequate.

My husband, not me, decided to hire a cleaner about a year ago. I was against the idea at the beginning, even though I don't like housework. Our cleaner comes for 3 hours Tuesday mornings, the charge, was until recently, £10 per hour, her boss has recently put that up to £12 an hour, we didn't argue because we like the lady who does our cleaning a lot, otherwise we might have gone elsewhere still plenty of leaflets coming through our door charging £10 an hour. We provide the cleaning products that she requests, she likes something called "Viakal" which we hadn't previously heard of. She is a lovely person, when she announced she wouldn't be with us next week as she was going back to Poland, we wished her a very happy holiday and realised we would miss her. On previous annual leave, her firm had offered a replacement but they haven't been up to her standards.

I found my cleaner through an agency. I pay the cleaner £8 an hour for 3 hours a week but on top of that I pay the agency £14.25 a month. I have had cleaners I found myself but one once ripped me off by stealing.

It was useful having a cleaner through an agency the last time I was in hospital because I needed an extra 2 hours a week to change bedding, hang up clothes, iron and do things like that. The agency found somebody different at the end of the week and that worked well for a couple of months.

I have a cleaner once a week and she hoovers right through, dusts, cleans the mirrors, bathroom and shower room and mops the hard floors. I pay her £10 for the hour and I think she is worth every penny. I first had her when my husband was very ill and just kept her on. Couldn't do without her now.

It depends where you live as to the going rate so may not be that steep really. In any case when two people work together you seem to get far more than twice as much done funnily enough so it could be well worth it.

Whoever you get I'd suggest a 4-6 week trial so see if you suit one another.

Oh, perhaps not as it works out at £12.50 per hour each - even so I wouldn't be able to afford £50 every week or so...

I don't think it is more than others are paying, just over £10 an hour.

That seems a bit steep, annsixty!

I pay £50 for two people for two hours. They provide everything but bleach and are worth their weight in gold.

My Mum has a cleaner she originally phoned Age Concern I think to get reliable names and she has been with Mum for years now. They usually have lunch together. Mum always tells Helen what she wants done She goes in twice a week one for general cleaning and two for jobs like getting her prescription and bits of shopping etc. Mum pays for it out of her attendance allowance.

Love the idea of a 'sensible' head synonomous. Must try to remember that one.

Yes, mine charges £10 per hour!

You could look for an agency in your area and check prices that way. Using an agency means that you always get cleaning done even if your cleaner is ill or leaves.

Yes. £11 an hour

minimo It is such a good idea to get someone in to do what is difficult for you. Do any of your friends employ a cleaner? Perhaps they may have time to give you a 'do' too. If they don't have time perhaps one of their friends might so at least you have a link. Failing that then ring your local CAB to find out the going rate and for further advice. Make sure you take up references and get all the contact details. Don't be nervous and just treat it as a business transaction and keep your 'sensible head' on.