Do you have a cleaner?

Its a problem isn't it? Do you or don't you? Give up your privacy or not? What to say if work not to standard expected? Don't criticise in case they don't come back? Worried about affordability? Let down when they just don't turn up?
I hate getting old and not being mobile enough to do a bit of cleaning so I'm just stuck with doing what I can when I can!

I have had a young and glamorous Brazilian cleaner for a couple of years and she is fabulous, she is very thorough and reliable and I trust her totally. Her English is very limited and we communicate mostly be text. I pay her £15 an hour by bank transfer. I did text her today with commiseration on the death of Pele as I know she likes football.

Yes. Had a cleaner when I started working full time when the children were born many many years ago. They have all left home and I’m semi retired.
2hrs weekly is the arrangement. I used to arranged 3 hrs but after 2 hrs tiredness takes over so I now arrange 2 hrs and increased the pay.
She’s not brilliant but good enough. The going rate in my area is £12 pounds and I always give more to ensure I don’t loose her.
It’s important to remember if I loose her the house would be untidy and dirty.
I don’t like 2 cleaners at the same time and definitely no agencies.

For those who employ cleaners directly, how do you ensure this is done by the book, and not 'on the black' - so that they are covered for insurance, pension, etc.

I could never have a gardener (well, not as long as I am fit enough)- unless it was a real professional who knew about plants, pruning, etc. Most jobbing gardeners have NOT got a clue, and it would drive me mad.

I did have. a cleaner for a short time while living abroad and really couldn't get used to it. Didn't want to go out while she was there but didn't know what to do with myself while she was busy working. She did a good job but in the end we spent a lot of time chatting. I never felt able to be firm with her when needed or treat her like an employee when she was actually in my home. Never had one since. Resigned to the fact that I'll be doing it myself for as long as I'm able.

If you need a cleaner then employ one. It's not demeaning to them it's probably a job they want to do.
I had one all my working life she was part of the family and even looked after the DDs on odd days when they were ill. We were sorry when someone told the authorities she was working and her husband an invalid was claiming benefits.
Since retirement, we sort of share jobs but if the day comes when we can't or don't want to do it I will be employing one again. A lot of us have window cleaners so why not a house cleaner?
I think it's best through an agency to discuss with them what exactly you also want you can ring around and find out the going rate.

For all of my working life I never had a cleaner and managed by myself but over the years has become more of a problem as my husband's disabled. Since retiring , I realised I needed help. I contacted our local Age UK and now have a wonderful cleaner who comes fortnightly. While it's more expensive because Age UK have to take their cut, their cleaners are vetted and reliable.

Have never had a cleaner - even when we lived overseas in the 70s and 80s and everyone had House Boys and Amahs. We entertained a lot then too. We are all different, but can’t imagine waiting 1 or 2 weeks to have a toilet cleaned!! This year I have had a Total Hip Replacement and Cataract surgery, but still did everything myself - keeps me moving!

I have always had a cleaner. My reasoning was that I never learned how to do it properly. My mum only cleaned the house when her mum was coming to visit and then she would start after everyone else was in bed, and stay up til the wee hours to complete it. Then when I started my nursing career, I excused myself from cleaning because of the fact that I spent all day cleaning other peoples bodily fluids and making countless hospital beds. After working in Children's Hospice for 5 years, I stayed home and did childminding to look after healthy children and used an agency weekly to maintain the hygiene standard that I felt was necessary. Don't know why I felt the need to 'justify' using a cleaner for so long, but now I just accept that it is part of my life and now my mobility is such that I really am not able to do very many things well.

I have had the same lady for years. She really is a treasure. She comes for four hours a week and makes my life manageable. I work as a private music teacher and it means I can devote my time to this rather than cleaning. She gives the house a general clean, which means l only need to do bits and pieces to keep on top of it. I do change beds and do washing and ironing, though.

Oh, and of course toilets etc are not left uncleaned between her visits.

No cleaner here ,I like to do my own...always have .5 bedrooms 3 bathrooms, utility room ,33 foot kitchen /diner and a large living room . I'm a bit OCD so if anyone did things differently it would really bother me . I've been known to remake beds to suit me when we have guests I do the garden now too ,I'm a new gardener ,my OH always did it but he's run off his feet with other things and I'm enjoying planting and planing for next year.

Musicgirl

Oh, and of course toilets etc are not left uncleaned between her visits.

Neither were my toilets or wash basins or sinks they were done by me most days just like now. I also did my own washing and ironing, at least 7 white/blue shirts and 10 white school blouses plus my own it was a night gone in itself.
I would never begrudge anyone for having a cleaner or condemn them or think they don't do anything between the cleaner's visits.
In fact, we always tied up the night before and put clean bedding on the day she was coming.

Larsonsmum

Have never had a cleaner - even when we lived overseas in the 70s and 80s and everyone had House Boys and Amahs. We entertained a lot then too. We are all different, but can’t imagine waiting 1 or 2 weeks to have a toilet cleaned!! This year I have had a Total Hip Replacement and Cataract surgery, but still did everything myself - keeps me moving!

That’s the part I don’t understand. So someone comes in and very efficiently cleans your bathroom - floor, shower, bath, loo, etc. And doesn’t come back for 2 weeks? So obviously you clean in the interim. I think I’d need a cleaner every other day! My DH is like a teenage boy - toothpaste blobs, wet towels left scrunched up, mirror never wiped, etc etc. But I like him

Fleurpepper

For those who employ cleaners directly, how do you ensure this is done by the book, and not 'on the black' - so that they are covered for insurance, pension, etc.

I could never have a gardener (well, not as long as I am fit enough)- unless it was a real professional who knew about plants, pruning, etc. Most jobbing gardeners have NOT got a clue, and it would drive me mad.

What does it matter as long as they do a good job,clean as you want and your house is as you want it. If you go through an agency, you check they are covered by their insurance.
Do you ask the window cleaner if he is insured? Or realise that if the postman/deliveryman or anyone else slips on your drive you are liable.

No cleaner here and I don't think I'll have one unless I'm desperate. I really don't like the idea of someone else going through my stuff.

We do not have a cleaner at present but have invested in a robovac robot hoover which does the whole flat which is quite a large area. It is excellent.
We still do our own dusting and clean bathroom and kitchen. The robovac is a hybrid and can mop the floors also which we are about to try.

Never had a cleaner. Now on the brink of 80 I'm beginning to struggle to cope with the housework in large-ish house. Don't like the idea of having a cleaner and would feel awkward about telling her/him what to do and uncomfortable about them having the run of the house. DD (single professional living on her own) has a cleaner and thinks we are mad not to have one. DH thinks we are managing ok though in all honesty his contribution to housework is pretty minimal. However he does help with change of bedding which I don't think I could manage on my own now.

We have a cleaner who comes once a week for 4 hours, her husband does gardening for us too. I couldn't manage without her! I work 4 days a week and my daughter is a student nurse on placements and with three children. We live in a 5 bedroomed house and there are two bathrooms and dining and sitting room to tidy and a mountain of ironing! She will do oven and fridge cleaning (which I hate) and some ironing (mainly uniforms) and mop the floors and clean the bath rooms I dont ask her to strip beds but thats not too bad. When we are away I ask her to still come and then she can do the jobs like cleaning cupboards out for us which is a God send. She is lovely and worth every penny. Like others I economise in other areas so that I can prioritise these expenses which I class as priority! I have always had cleaners even when I was a lone parent on a part time salary I hate housework and am not very good at it so it makes sense.

When I worked I had a cleaner but since partner retired he does all the heavy stuff like stairs and windows that I find hard. I don't mind housework, beats being an academic tbh

I am coming to the conclusion that I need a cleaner, my mobility is in decline, but there is no way I could afford £40 per hour!!

We have a cleaner here. It’s a definite “we have” not “I have” as when she’s on holiday, as this week, then everyone in the house (DH, adult DCx2, me) pitches in to keep it clean. During lockdowns when she couldn’t come at all for weeks, everyone became even more appreciative of her work. All of us work full time, so adding in another person’s job — cleaning the house — isn’t something any of us want to do.
Our cleaner loves cleaning. She and I (this is where I diverge from my household, as the rest have what I think as a ‘normal’ approach to mess) have conversations about how much we like to see e.g. the grout between the bathroom wall tiles restored to its correct white shade. The difference between me and the rest of the house is they don’t notice what colour it is. The difference between me and our cleaner is that she really enjoys the process of getting it clean. I just love it to be clean but am usually too knackered to get it to that state!
Our cleaner is wonderful, hard working, gets on and does what needs doing, will spot additional stuff like windows, inside of fridge etc. alongside dusting, vacuuming, washing floors, bathrooms. She used to do ironing (she loves it even more than cleaning, she tells me) but we’ve had to cut her hours a bit to save money. (As I write, DH who is not back at work yet (I’m on lunch break WFH) has just wandered past and said “I might even do some ironing” and is now getting out the ironing board ).
I love our cleaner, both as a person, and for the work she does. Am hugely appreciative of all of it. When we retire we are planning to move to a different city, and I’m trying to work out how to take her with me.

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Semi-retired and do volunteer work on some of my free days, so yes have a cleaner once a fortnight. They do the main part of the house and stop DH and myself squabbling over whose turn it is to clean the loos! Small local business so I know the team get paid holidays, sick leave and have a pension - and yes, that’s important to me.

Many years ago, I was a self employed artist and for some extra money, did some cleaning once a week for an elderly couple who lived nearby. We became good friends and they insisted I stop for a coffee break after an hour and I think they enjoyed the company and chat! A neighbour of theirs heard about me and asked if I would clean for her as she recently had an illness so I started for her as well. Then a neighbour of hers heard about me and asked if I would come once a week to do cleaning in their big house. Then came another person requesting my services! I stoped after a while as I never planned to have a cleaning business! It shows how powerful word of mouth is for someone trustworthy. I still kept on my elderly friends on as they missed me.