Do you have a cleaner?

Please don’t let another poster chase you off kitty. Nothing you have posted was offensive, something you have never been guilty of on GN and certainly didn’t merit a personal dig.

To add, you are not the only one baffled by such a rude post either.

When a person is named in a post it is generally because that post is aimed at them - and more than one person certainly read your unkind post that way Fleurpepper
So if you are prepared to apologise, why haven't you done so? (Instead of trying to make excuses , blame anybody else or suggest reading the whole thread)
Kittylester did not deserve that.

ParlorGames

I have quite poor mobility but I can dust, clean the loo washbasin and shower, use a long-reach soft brush for cupboard tops and skirting boards, wipe the work tops, clean the fridge & microwave, wipe window ledges, load the washing machine & dryer, mop the hard surface floors.........bed stripping is shared with OH and he helps with all the above and does the vacuuming and most of the ironing. I have to confess to recently having the oven professionally cleaned though. The thought of anyone else cleaning my toilet etc just does not appeal to be honest. while I can do it, I will do it. I basically, have more sense than money I guess.

Or you might just think that no one else can do it better than you.

I have a really lovely cleaner who come for 4 hours every other week and who leaves the house immaculately clean. We give her a job for which she is very grateful. She choose to do this kind of work. It’s a cleaning company owned by a Polish woman and I’ve used them for about 15 years now. It is a very large house so there is plenty for me to do myself.
I am not going to apologise to anyone on here for employing someone to clean my house. I pay £17.50 an hour.

Norah

argymargy

Norah

We have weekly cleaning.

Pair of women, their own business. Their supplies.

Two hrs @ £40/hour.

Forty pounds an hour??!!

Yes.

We pay well, they clean well. Their work is worth above minimum wage, to us. We're happy to provide employment to people working in their own business (they supply devices and cleaning products).

Sorry, I missed the fact that this is for two people. So only double the minimum wage, not quadruple!

This has been really useful as I am about to look for a cleaner for my Mum's flat. I have a good idea of a 'ballpark' figure now, thank you.
I'll be looking at agencies recommended by friends rather than individuals. Fingers crossed!

I’ve got a big house,too but no cleaner. I don’t mind housework but I only do enough to keep it reasonably clean and tidy. No window cleaning and anything I can’t see above my head is only done if I spot a cobweb. I am a bit wary of employing someone because both my Dad and one of my daughters had problems with their cleaners nicking stuff. Very hard to deal with and hard to prove but enough to warn me off. It keeps me fit ,too, I suppose.

Does it vary - I guess it does - as to whether the cleaner uses your equipment / products, or brings their own? My hand held vacuum cleaner gets clogged up all the time….

I had a cleaner many years ago after my hysterectomy, she was a godsend.
Nowadays I manage so long as DH does the vacuuming upstairs. I often think it would be nice to have though 😊

Sarah74

Does it vary - I guess it does - as to whether the cleaner uses your equipment / products, or brings their own? My hand held vacuum cleaner gets clogged up all the time….

My cleaner provides everything, cleaning materials, dusters, hoover etc. She has a key to the house and always lets herself in even when we’re in. I thrust her 100%.

Thanks, Nightsky

Crikey Norah. £80 per week… where do you live … I’ll do it for £10 an hour …I’m 72 and since I’m now paying £1000 a month to husbands Alzheimer’s care home …I have about £80 a week for food/clothes!
Seriously thinking about going back to some sort of job .cleaning sounds lucrative!
Good on you all that can farm it out … throw some my way👍🏻

Tbh a cleaners job doesn’t include changing of beds that comes under housekeeping which is a range of different jobs. Whoever gets there cleaner to change beds is lucky as the ones I know won’t do it.

What a lot of people with big houses and the money to pay for cleaners and gardeners. No wonder there is a lot of jealousy on the part of younger generations.
(Like many others, I do my own cleaning and will continue to do so until I become too decrepit. And actually, now that my DH is dead, the place does stay clean. But I'd rather have him and a bit more dirt.)

We both work full time and because I have some health issues I was finding keeping on top of the housework alongside my job increasingly difficult. She comes once a week for two hours and helps me keep on top of everything; rather than do it all. She cleans the bathrooms and does the floors and it makes my life so much easier. She is agency, but it’s not an expensive part of the country, so it’s only £12.50 an hour. She is not the most thorough cleaner but she is honest, reliable and does a ‘good enough’ job

MawtheMerrier

When a person is named in a post it is generally because that post is aimed at them - and more than one person certainly read your unkind post that way Fleurpepper
So if you are prepared to apologise, why haven't you done so? (Instead of trying to make excuses , blame anybody else or suggest reading the whole thread)
Kittylester did not deserve that.

She certainly did not. And I did not- as explained. I know you will not accept this, but I certainly hope Kitty will, and accept my apology for not making it as clear as I thought it was.

My surprise was about being baffled by the reaction. And the rest was general. No need to 'apologise' for having a cleaner- but, as said in that post...

I find changing the bed is a real piece of work and if I ever get a cleaner again it will be on the list.
I used to have a cleaner when I was working full time, but not since I retired. It helps me to keep physically active. Washing the kitchen floor on my hands and knees really stretches the back - not so kind to the knees though.
Our house is small but hard to clean as there is so much stuff! DH’s collectibles are everywhere, making dusting into a nightmare, so I rarely do it. I used to think the house needed to be kept so I would not be ashamed if anyone called, but only my daughter calls, so I don't worry any more. I do ensure it is hygienic though.
I used an agency when I had cleaners. If one left, I got a new one straight away with no effort on my part. Some were excellent, others less so.
When I cannot manage any more, I will happily get one again.

I don’t see the need for rude comments on this thread.

‘Good cleaners are worth hanging on to’. Yes, they are. My daughter has her own little cleaning business, just her and a couple of part timers. Very punctual, conscientious and does a good job. The number of people cancelling an hour or so before a clean-even regulars-so it’s usually too late to fit anyone else in and either paying her short by £10 or so with no explanation or making her wait a couple of weeks to settle up is very disheartening. She’s thinking seriously as to whether it’s worth carrying on and may well go back to employed work again-she gave up a good job to start this up. One woman recently queried the fact she’d done the required hours-she had!- luckily the automated doorbell camera had recorded her arriving and departing. She still paid her short though. She has no real redress when this happens,which is frequently but those lost £5 and £10 make a difference when you are trying to make a living. If she has used a part timer she has to make it up out of her own pocket as she won’t see them underpaid. Some of her clients are obviously wealthy people and I think it is disgusting they are so mean spirited. Are they like this with others they employ or buy from, I wonder? At this rate we will have very few small businesses left and agencies will overcharge but still get paid no doubt as they have more legal clout. Then of course everyone will moan that ‘nobody wants to work anymore’!

I don’t have a cleaner, did many many years ago when the children were at home and I was working full time. Now I just live how I want, Mr B and I do what we we want in the house when we feel like it. As long as the bathroom and kitchen are clean, we’ll the rest can wait. Life is far to short.

We have a cleaner (3hours) and a gardener (3 hours) they don’t do everything but it’s a big help that allows us to do the ‘jobs’ around house/garden that we don’t mind doing.

When I worked full time we used to have a cleaner who came in twice a week for 2 hours each day. She cleaned and ironed. It was wonderful on a Friday to come home to a tidy, clean house. A colleague thought I was being "posh" for employing a cleaner but as I explained to her, I didn't spend a lot of money on myself, didn't drink, eat out or have carry outs very often. Time for myself and family was worth a lot to me, especially at the weekends. Now that we are both retired we don't need a cleaner and we both share the housework. If we become unfit and infirm we will employ someone again.

Good cleaners are very hard to find. I have two Polish cleaners who come together once a week. I pay them £35. I’ve never seen cleaning like it. They are amazing. They do things that I hadn’t even noticed needed doing. They are supposed to do an hour but it’s often 45 mins. I don’t mind at all because they leave the house sparkling. They are also relentlessly cheerful and good to have around. My late MI L used to say that no one ever lay on their deathbed and said I wish I’d done more housework!

Yes. She is Ukrainian and does three to three and a half hours a week, including ironing.

That is a small fortune. 🤭

I could do with a gardener. No sooner do I get the weeds out than it rains and up they pop again. Weed killers just don’t work and I don’t like using them anyway. The worst thing we get is oxalis and dandelions. I should make wine with the dandelions, I’d make a fortune.