For those that use a cleaning service?

[maslex]

Whether you have someone come in once/twice a week or just once a month or whatever...

What do you do when they're there? Do you stay in the house? Do you leave? And if you're in the house, are you just propped up on the recliner, watching TV while they do the cleaning? LOL Or follow them around?

I've always wondered what people do when they hire someone to clean their house. Unless I know the person personally, I don't think I could just leave someone in my house for a few hours with no one there.

 

[YachtClubWoman]

Usually, my husband and I are not there. If he is, he will go to whatever floor of the house isn't being cleaned. When she changes floors, he will move out of her way.

If I am working at home that day, I let the cleaning person know ahead of time.

The woman that I use for cleaning was recommended by a friend and she is bonded and insured which I thought was important.

 

[thedonduck]

OP I hope you don't mind if I ask another question! What (if anything) is a reasonable tip for a cleaner? Do you tip every time, once a month, year? We recently had a cleaner in to do a move out clean on our old house. It was a flat rate fee for the whole place (not by the hour) and we questioned about tipping!

To answer your question, we were not there.... However our house was completely empty so I wasn't concerned about it! She did such a fantastic job though that we are considering a long term contract with her!

 

[wiigirl]

I use the same lady/service as my sister so I went into it with a little bit of trust.

I usually just go about my day when she is there cleaning.

 

[clarkshel]

We have a cleaner come in twice a month. I am rarely home at that time, and if I am home. I just hang out in the basement watching TV while she is cleaning. She doesn't do the basement. My wife is usually at work also, but when she is there, she usually leaves the house. Our cleaner has her own key and alarm code to our house. We trust leaving her alone in our house.

 

[NHdisneylover]

When we had a cleaning service, it was two woman whom came highly recommended by people we knew well and who were bonded and insured.

I gave them the code to our garage and would leave the door from the garage to the house unlocked when they were coming. I would be gone when they arrived and they would be gone when got back home. I ran errands during that time.

 

[BillSears]

I work full time so I'm rarely home when they come in. I did have a holoday once and on that day I pretty much played around on the computer while they cleaned. It made me look "busy" instead of just watching TV.

As for a tip? I just tip at Christmas and I give each of them $50.00. A normal cleaning for me costs $75.00 total and I've heard a typical Christmas gift is the price of the cleaning. So $50.00 each or $100.00 total seemed reasnonable. But it's really just a guess.

 

[LBIJim]

My wife operates a house cleaning service. About 2/3 of her clients aren't home when she cleans. They either gave my wife a key or their alarm code or leave a key under a flower pot, etc. For those who are there when she cleans, they usually go into another room or otherwise make themselves scarce. But she does have a few clients who seem to want company as much as or even more than the cleaning.

As for tipping, it's not expected for a one-time cleaning or each time for a regularly scheduled cleaning. Many regular clients do tip around the holidays; my wife received anywhere from $10 to $100, as well as some gift cards.

Occasionally if a house is extra messy or if the client requests some additional small task, they'll give her a tip above the standard cost.

Jim

 

[Lilliputian]

We just go upstairs while she's cleaning downstairs and vice versa.

I don't normally tip. She's self-employed, so I figured when she told me the price, she was telling me how much she wanted to get paid. We did give her a raise after about a year and a half because we really like her and don't want to ever lose her. I usually pay twice the normal amount the last cleaning before Christmas, and I do the same when we're going to take a long vacation and won't need our house cleaned for a while. Recently we were out of town for 8 weeks. I felt bad that she wasn't going to get paid for that time.

 

[LiveYourLife]

When we had a cleaning service, it was two woman whom came highly recommended by people we knew well and who were bonded and insured.

I gave them the code to our garage and would leave the door from the garage to the house unlocked when they were coming. I would be gone when they arrived and they would be gone when got back home. I ran errands during that time.

We do the same exact thing to a "t"!

 

[Hillbeans]

I work full time so I'm rarely home when they come in. I did have a holoday once and on that day I pretty much played around on the computer while they cleaned. It made me look "busy" instead of just watching TV.

As for a tip? I just tip at Christmas and I give each of them $50.00. A normal cleaning for me costs $75.00 total and I've heard a typical Christmas gift is the price of the cleaning. So $50.00 each or $100.00 total seemed reasnonable. But it's really just a guess.

ITA with all of this. I am at work when they come (every other week) but they've been coming for years so they have a key to my house. I tip them at Christmas for the price of another cleaning.

 

[afnaechiquita]

I have two doors into my apartment, so mine has the key to one. She comes when I'm working. Sometimes I'll come home early and she's not used to seeing me and she screams She'll finish up whatever she's doing and leave the rest for the next day (she comes for 2-4 hours every day).

 

[mimmi]

I'm usually at home, although our cleaning woman has a key to our house (and all the other houses in the neighborhood).
I like it better when I'm not at home as I'm uncomfortable watching somebody else working but most of the times there's nothing else to do.
She is glad when I'm home because she likes to practise her German (unfortunately I don't understand half of what she is telling me).
Usually we chat and have some coffee when she is cleaning downstairs and when she is upstairs I study for my exams.

 

[Princess on the Run]

I'm never home when mine's there but I also have a nanny at home about 40-50 hours a week so I'm used to having someone in my home when I'm gone.

 

[soccerdad72]

Ours comes while we're at work. We leave our front door open in the morning and they lock it on their way out when they're done.

 

[TXinmyheart]

I work from home, but I am usually out when my housekeeper comes every two weeks. We tip her half of her normal amount at Christmas, though this year we gave her a 100% tip because we travelled so much that we ended up cancelling her.

When we traveled over Christmas, it was so nice to come home to a clean house and clean sheets. It was like we went from one hotel to another! I also use a service that restocks the food the day before we get back, so no running out to get milk after being gone for two weeks.

They both have coded entry numbers to our house. We can program up to 18 and if the food delivery service changes employees, we change their code.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I have a cleaner as I am disabled and I am usually in the house. I would not have anyone in my house I do not trust so I let them get on with it staying in my chair reading etc. If I am at hospital receiving treatment then I have a key in the key safe fixed to the wall outside the house and the cleaner has the code to get it.

I tipped them 100% at christmas and also got them a box of chocolates.

Being alone all day as my partner works I actually like the company of the cleaners. There are either 1 or 2 of them but never anybody new. They chat to me which is nice for me worth the money alone!