Employing a cleaner - and difficulties thereof

Mine is lovely. She is the daughter of the woman who used to clean for me years ago. She is reliable, but I try to be flexible if necessary, so if she has a child-related thing to do she can come later etc - usually it makes little difference to me, so long as I know in advance. In between mother and daughter I had some frustrating ones - one used to stop work to chat for ages, another turned up when she felt like it, and there was one who spent two hours scrubbing a small area of tiles in the kitchen, and after a while said she couldn't bend or stretch.

I was very pleased when the current one said she was starting her business, and we've never looked back. When her children leave school in a couple of years I think she'll find a full-time job somewhere, and we'll be back to square one, though. I think people often forget that whilst an hourly rate may seem higher than equivalents, it has to cover tax, transport, gaps between jobs and so on, and a lot of clients won't pay sick pay or holidays. Many cleaners are willing to trade that for a bit of flexibility when their children are young, but it's more profitable to get a proper salary later on.

Heavens WW2 ! What a saga.
I bet you are nearly on the point of giving up!
Very disheartening for you.

I really like the suggestion of a trial period for whoever you eventually choose. After all, the person is in your home when you will probably be there too, trying to keep out of her way so you need to feel completely comfortable with her.

I hope you post an update when you have had some success!

When I was ill and needed help with housework I asked a neighbour who had said she’d done cleaning. She was friendly and helped others with odd jobs and agreed to come and do what I needed.
Because I had asked her, and she had not applied for the job, I paid her way over the average. She is a delight, loves my dog, does any extras required, punctual, thorough, reliable.
If you ask around you might hear of someone else’s treasure who would work for you.

Agree with watermeadow - ask around the neighbourhood. Go by recommendations.

I’ve had a lot of replies from next door. I’ll start trawling through them later. Some are easy to dismiss, as too far away. Given my experience so far I think I may dismiss companies, that will take the list down quite a bit.

I use a local cleaning company after my original cleaner gave up. The cleaner I have now is not perfect but I trust her and she does some extra jobs without being asked.

If a company is used presumably the cleaner is insured for damage to property etc, whereas someone off of Facebook who is paid cash isn't?

Desdemona

If a company is used presumably the cleaner is insured for damage to property etc, whereas someone off of Facebook who is paid cash isn't?

My cleaner is fully insured, has DBS and I can pay her cash or through online banking.
I’m very lucky. She brings all her own cleaning materials and vacuum cleaner.

I've noticed that different companies, agencies and private cleaners have different interpretations on cleaning. Finding one for my housebound sister has been terrible.
What I've learnt is there is communal area cleaning, a whizz round with a vacuum, a bit of dusting, wiping kitchen counters etc. So it is sometimes best to get a professional company to blitz your home, thereafter using a local person or company once a week to maintain. Unless you're lucky enough to find someone to thoroughly clean, then maintain, they are not easily found.

How appalling ,but nothing surprises me anymore .
On one occasion ,I was told that according to an astrologer the day that we arranged for her to start wasn't auspicious !

I have cleaner but he is a man - a gay friend of my nephew. Gay men are very good at cleaning and non judgemental. I pay him cash in hand. or via bank Same the gardener. Don't bother with agencies.

Your experiences don’t surprise me ww2 .
When I was working 4 days a week , we had a cleaner from a company, they’d work in twos but didn’t do a decent job . They’d clean around things like the dog bowl or the tea , coffee sugar container . Even when I mentioned it , the cleaning didn’t change .
Then I tried cleaners recommended by friends . One was very chatty and didn’t get it done in the two hours . One was unreliable, would cancel at short notice or just not turn up and another kept changing her days . I finally found a mother and daughter team who would iron as well . They were both excellent and friendly. Sadly the mother became ill and the daughter was caring for her.
I’ve been retired for 4 years now and do my own cleaning , luckily I’m fit and healthy. And our robot cleaner does a good job on the ground floor . He works daily and is reliable, except when he gets stuck under one of the sofas .

My cleaner is absolutely great (apart from the time she locked me out but we had a good laugh about that). She does everything low down and high up and all surfaces in-between, floors, vacuums actual furniture and does under it too, light switches, door edges and handles, lampshades, mirrors, frames, surfaces, bathroom and kitchen and leaves everything absolutely sparkling clean. I am in Scotland and got her through recommendations from the local Facebook page. She is so in demand, there is a waiting list. She gave me a breakdown of what she does, when she will do it, how long it will take and the cost, and it's always spot on. I am very lucky! Good luck to you too, I hope you find The One.

If you have a big floor space you could invest in a robot floor cleaner. My relative has one. It’s brilliant and can distinguish between hard floors and carpet. When it’s finished it parks itself back in its housing. No days off or phoning in sick.

My last cleaner I had was not very thorough but was reliable, or so I thought. My grandson (14) came to stay and while I was at work the cleaner arrived 45 minutes late and left an hour early. So she only cleaned for 1 hour 15mins, in spite of being paid for 3 hours. She knew he was in the house so should have realised he might report her timings.
She was dismissed that week.

We were Very lucky, got my aunt a cleaner who goes the extra mile.
Takes her to hospital appointments, dentist, paid of course. She stops for a cup of tea so that’s a little extra company for my aunt.
Shes worth her weight in gold imo.
It’s not just cleaners though with excuses it seems to be all trades people I find with their BS excuses.

That was amusing Esmay. There can be many inauspicious astrological days. I'm surprised she made a living. It reminded me of my late DS, a bit of a bohemian, who astrologically was somewhat unreliable.

It's a very familiar situation for me.
I have a very nice lady at the moment but it's taken me ages - two years - and going through agencies, individuals, one or two extremely judgemental, some almost con-people.
I think you just have to keep going and sieve through the chaff till you find a good one.
If the people feel you need help, they can, with good intentions, try to take over and give advice that you should do this or that ...
Keep going, good ones are out there.

Elrel

How many of us tidy up before the cleaner comes? In my case things end up in strange places and some times don’t re-emerge for weeks!

Exactly the same for us. 😀 I wouldn’t expect my lovely cleaner to tidy up I just want to ‘clear the decks’ and make it easier for her.
I had our previous cleaner for over 10 years but sadly she moved to Scotland. I was recommended to our current cleaner on Nextdoor 2 years ago and we are more than pleased.

Gran22boys

If you have a big floor space you could invest in a robot floor cleaner. My relative has one. It’s brilliant and can distinguish between hard floors and carpet. When it’s finished it parks itself back in its housing. No days off or phoning in sick.

I’ve got a robot vacuum cleaner which is great and we can program to clean in the middle of the night.
Sadly he doesn’t dust or clean the bathroom 😟

I have seen people ask on local FB pages for cleaners, asking how to much to clean ..... No-one ever responds with a price, always just "I can help, message me". I don't know about other areas, but I am in the midlands, and the going rate seems to be from £20ph! For most of them that's cash in hand too - I have a degree and was never paid that sort of money!!! Sorry if I sound like a grinch

I'm definitely going to need a cleaner soon or else have a TKR op. Really can't get down on hands and knees anymore to do certain necessary jobs properly.
My question is what do you do about security? Lockup valuables and paperwork etc. I also wonder how you explain or show cleaner how exactly you want things doing or do you just have to leave it to them.?

I'd never reply to agencies.

Lots of ladies, and I believe a few men set up a Facebook page and call it a business.
I've had a cleaner several years it's much better to employ a single person offering her services.

My first cleaner worked no hours contract with an industrial cleaning company so fitted me in in between. she was great but then she was offered full time work with them, so I lost her. Then I saw on our village Facebook page someone I knew had said she had a space to fit in another client, she too was perfect but let me know at the beginning of the year that she was moving to Wales so I thought I was back on the treadmill of finding someone else. I told my eldest daughter in passing that I was looking for someone else to clean for me and she suggested cleaning for me, yet again she's perfect, well she would be wouldn't she . So moral of the story, no large company cleaners where the cleaners actually don't get everything you pay them as it goes into business profits.

Gay men are very good at cleaning and non judgemental

Might get my son round here then. Sadly he is not the first and sometimes the second. Fancy that.