How do you instruct a cleaner??!!

As a student I cleaned for my brother and sister in law as they had dismissed theirs as she sprayed the ornaments with cleanung liqud.

I was extreemly efficient. Wednesday upstairs, Friday downstairs and washing done and hung on line and open fireplaces cleaned and ready to be lit.
Since then I always wanted to be the same for myself but in 40+ years have never achieved it
Cleaning for someone else is a job to be done and for yourself a chore.

When my children were still at home I had cleaners, I work full time and found this an essential. I had one cleaner for 5 years. She was excellent in her 2 hours she managed to clean kitchen, bathroom sitting room and dining room as well as hoover halls and stairs I did not ask her to touch the teenagers bedrooms?. She often ran out of jobs and without prompting would clean the oven or do some ironing. She always left on time (never early) and I could trust her to get on with things without question. Sometimes I would ask her to swap one job for another eg please can you clean kitchen blind don’t worry about hoovering hall etc she would let me know if she hadn’t had time. I was sorry to loose her. She went when her husband got a job in another area, I had recommended her to two friends so we were all sorry?
After that I had one cleaner who used to spend most of the time on the patio smoking! As reported by eldest DD at home on study leave! And one who came for 3 weeks then just didn’t turn up again! Finally I used a cleaning company and they came out once a month with 3 cleaners and did a top to toe deep clean of the whole house! It was lovely to come home to this?

No you are not being unreasonable - sounds like she couldn’t do the work because she wasn’t working the full 2 hours she was being paid for - you were right to get rid of her.

No, only four rooms - 2 bedrooms, one of which mainly unused, lounge/diner, again mainly unused, garden room and hallway. Plus tiny ensuite and bathroom.

I used to clean a teachers flat when my kids were little she first said the usual things living room! Kitchen, and bathroom which I did and then I noticed she was leaving plates from dinner the night before and the breakfast bowls.
Saucepans and grill pan to clean. This was once a week for 2hours but in the end I just got fed up with it and gave the job up. I often think cleaners are taken for granted.

I have had a cleaner for one year for two hours alternate weeks--up one week down the next. 3 bedrooms no clutter.
She is from an agency. At first I was irritated as she doesn't clean windows, skirting boards, dust anything high etc. However I have now adapted and accepted that my home will never be as squeaky clean as it used to be. It is lovely to have all the carpets vacuumed and kitchen/bathroom floors washed. I struggle to manage that now. If I am honest in between I just use an electric sweeper for the floors and I polish and dust. The windows and "spring cleaning" are left for when the family can give me a hand. It is comforting to know that my cleaner knows me and is reliable and will be there if I really need her.

Yes you are expecting too much for 2 hours work a week enough said

When I was much younger I had a cleaner for a short while. I had three young children and was working full time (from home) in my husbands business. The cleaner loved coming to me and begged me not to let her go. I did all the cleaning before she arrived, made her coffee and often lunch! I did more housework while she was employed than I had ever done before.

Pension Pat, I'd ideally want a cleaner who was capable of doing the yucky jobs such as disposing properly of any organic waste. Including animal care. If the cleaner could not tolerate these jobs I'd be looking for another cleaner, unless I was really desperate.
Disposing properly and hygienically of organic waste is a cleaning priority as far as I'm conserned.

I had a cleaner daily whose given tasks involved washing up whatever was in the sink, tidying and cleaning but NOT laundry or ironing. Within the first week she'd done some ironing and had ruined one of my bras by ironing it (the elastic had half melted). In case there had been a misunderstanding I said do NOT iron, just clean and tidy. The next week another two bras were ironed and ruined. She said well you're paying me to come every day and there isn't enough work to do to fill the time so I keep myself busy by doing the ironing. I took her on a tour of the house showing the cobwebs still hanging from the ceilings, my kids socks and shoes still all over the living room floor from the day before etc etc... In the end I gave up and did without a cleaner.

Hello, I have a 'day job' but also do some self employed cleaning in between (fits in with the kids and actually is not bad pay all in all)
I charge £9 an hour. I am open with Everyone I work with and do regularly say,"is there anything else you need me to do / do feel free to leave me a list/ don't be afraid to let me know if you need something Doin differently. I've never really had any issues and really work hard not just with the cleaning, but also with the communication!
Everyone has different standards.
The first few cleans do always take longer than it does after say three weeks of weekly cleans. Once I get it up to a standard then it takes less time, reaches the family optimum and then it becomes straight forward to keep on top of.
If I am employed two hours a week, if the homeowner does no housework in between then it is obvious that it may take longer next time/ some things will not get done. Some people tidy up before I arrive so that I can vacuum and wash without moving items. Some literally leave things where they drop! If there are pets and it's been raining a lot then it takes longer to clean the carpets etc
The differences in what customers want is huge! If I'm workin for a family I might ask/ suggests that floor cleaning and bathrooms are a priority.
Silly things like families not owning a loo brush!! It doesn't occur to some people. Or even a floor mop. Honestly, some people don't and then might say " the bathroom is such a mess or we find it difficult to keep On top of xyz.
Im sometimes suprised but I'm never judgemental- as ou never know what people are going through and never know what others find hard and frankly I'm just there to help and make a bit of money I often suggest cleaning materials, ask them to grab a bottle
Of something or say 'would u like me to start doing the beds"
I've worked at one very big/ upper class Hiuse and money was not an issue yet they often didn't use sheets or seem to have any bedding.... And would say their bedroom smelled sweaty and could I try to air he room etc - yet another little house was alwYs spotless and I never felt is done a great deal (although always worked hard with vac and mopping and would work as though there wS someone watching me! . I always try and be as helpful as possible, I'll start peeling veg, vacuum, take washin out of machines, do skirting, dust books, clean walls, remove dog hair, ornaments etc etc whatever needs doing.
I used to have a cleaner and she started doing my ironing,
which I was grateful for yet I was happy for just bits of it to be done and literal zoomed over. She was lovely but wld spend almost two hours doing it and that's not what I needed... I needed bathrooms doing and skirting and the bedrooms as I couldn't do them myself.
I don't think you are being unreasonable. I'm just wondering if a new cleaner is needed! Advertise and see if you like the person who arrives. Ask for one clean. Make it clear its one you need (one lady told me she wanted some help before her sister arrived) yet twenty mins in to my cleaning she said "will u come every week?"
Good luck xx

You've sacked her, get on with finding what you need and give them enough time for each task. I run a small B&B it takes me 2hrs to strip & clean a bedroom and a bathroom, that's with a tight schedule in place.

My experience with cleaners is that you should never 'tell' them anything as one person's interpretation of steam clean my tiled floors is different from another's. Personally, I have always shown a cleaner what to do and have found that spending time doing that brings results as there's no room for ambiguity. I do think two hours was a bit mean on your part, but I also feel that with a new cleaner you should stay around to ensure that you get your full time's worth, and also to be able to see whether what you want doing in that time is actually feasible. Only when you can see with your own eyes that it's possible to do what you want within the two or three hour slot should you think about leaving the cleaner. And if you're going out you should always ask the cleaner to call you from your land line and not his/her mobile when s/he leaves. Laying the ground rules at the beginning of the relationship is essential.

I have tried having a cleaner twice. First company was good on first visit. Next time I walked the dog around the block to keep out of her way for half an hour she was filling her form in for me to sign when I came back. She was supposed to be two hours. Next time something similar, had them for longer but initially good but as time went on standards went down. They put price up from £12 per hour to £13.50 because of cost of cleaning materials. Then a few weeks later said I would have to provide my own and gave me a list of what they needed. Reason they no longer had a van and could not transport equipment. Both my friend and I stopped them at this point. My house is clean and tidy so is not hard to do. Just find it difficult to do the whole house as I am 78.

I wrote down exactly what I wanted done in each room including whether furniture needed doing and whether a deep clean or a dust were needed. Then I laminated it and handed it to anyone I employed to clean.

My DM has had a cleaner for a few years now, she is nearly 89 & was finding hoovering etc difficult. Cleaner comes in every other week for 2 hours & works really hard. DM will wash-up & tidy round before cleaner turns up, dining table is cleared of papers, post etc. If I'm visiting I leave my bedroom as clear as possible (clothes in suitcase etc). DM rarely uses her cooker preferring to use the microwave to cook so no messy pans etc. Her cleaner has a good business & cleans for some of DM's friends & a neighbour

Bluesmum

You should convey your instructions in writing. Leave notes for the cleaner stating what your requirements are each week or tell her if you are there with her. 2 hrs seems to be OK for the things you are asking her to do, which are limited, and not particularly demanding.

You do realise BLUESMUM, that your cleaner is not declaring her cash income and may be on benefits, which means that she should declare it.
It's hypocritical for people (on other threads) to rail at tax avoidance yet pay cash thinking that small sums don't matter. If this woman has references as you say, then she has, in all probability, been paid or is being paid in cash elsewhere.
As you can tell, I'm not in favour of helping the black economy or hypocrisy.

Kathsue

Best not to post the same comment 7 times...eh?

I never thought I would have a cleaner, but I've had one 3 hours fortnightly since starting chemotherapy in September. I use a small local company and pay them by bank transfer, so no cash handed over in person & paper trail available for records on both sides. I've been glad to have the manager/proprietor to deal with issues e.g. lateness & substitutions for sickness. I have been pleased with the standard of cleaning, but am glad to have the manager in the background should I have any complaints about standards of cleaning. I would not employ a relative/neighbour/friend or personal acquaintance because I've heard too many horror stories.

When my husband was ill and my time was taken up caring for him, I used a local agency recommended by my next door neighbour.
As has already been said, the cleaners were all police checked etc. Another advantage was that if there was sickness or holiday, the agency sent someone else.
Before they started, a supervisor came and we went through how and where the cleaning was to be done. A price was agreed then. They came in pairs once a fortnight, used their own utensils and cleaning stuff (no bleach).
They were brilliant and the house gleamed and smelled fresh.
I stopped them when my husband died but, now that I have a grotty knee and am waiting for surgery, I plan to get them back.

Wow! This is all an eye opener. I hadn’t realized that commercial cleaning was as common as it appears to be from this thread. In my experience friends and family do their own cleaning. Standards vary greatly, but we all seem to get by! There was a short period some years ago, when I was disabled by cancer, when my sister-in-law helped my husband and I once a week, but now we cope on our own again. I’ve never considered employing anyone to do my dirty work, but reading all this does make me wonder. Thanks for the education!

Yes, you were expecting too much. There are 2 bathrooms, even if the floor space in very small, which would include 2 x full size toilets, a bath, shower?, window sill 2 x sinks, floors etc. Which all take a lot of time. When I had a cleaner I paid her £15 an hour and she did an excellent job, I think that you get what you pay for. £20 for a full house clean is surely not more than a lick and a promise!

My friend has two grown up sons, who earn well, herself and her partner all living at home, and the place is a tip. For the life of me I don't understand why they don't just pay someone for a couple of hours a week to keep it down.

Varian you obviously come from the same sort area as I do ,Anyone who hires someone else to do their cleaning would be classed as having too much money or being bone idle.We all have biggish houses all have children, businesses or full time jobs and STILL manage to clean our own mess .Its not difficult ,just takes organisation.Its that good old presbyterian work ethic...lol