If you have your home cleaned - what kinds of things do you do yourself?

[southern_redhead]

Sorry. That title doesn't really say it all but I tried 5 different things and it still seemed vague...

Anyway, I have our home cleaned once a week. The woman charges $10 an hour and I usually have her do 3 hours a week. We have a 4 bedroom/3 bath house with a family room and dining room in addition to a small den off the kitchen. She sweeps/mops/vacuums and dusts the main floor (with exception of master bed) and upper story. She also cleans my bathrooms (with the exception of master bath). Overall, I'm pretty happy. Except....Okay, the other day I was looking at my kitchen ceiling and it was NASTY. It's textured and there was dust everywhere. No biggie, today I got up there and knocked it all down. Then I noticed cobwebs in the corners. *Sigh* so I got them as well. Then I looked around the rest of the house - sure enough, cobwebs. So I cleaned them up. Back to the kitchen, after seeing the ceiling I decided to clean the ceiling fan. The bottom is very clean, the top not so much. I had to vacuum the blades and then polish them. Then I noticed the globes so I washed them. Then into the dining room to look at the chandelier (as I now had lighting fixtures on the brain LOL), it was pretty dismal so I spread out a towel and Windexed it down. Having the Windex out made me remember that DD's front window is horrid so I went up there to clean it. I ended up cleaning ALL the windows and getting lots of dirt off. When I looked down I noticed how flipping filthy the window sills were so I cleaned them up.

Now, granted $10 an hour isn't premium pay but that is what she charges, not the price I set. Here is my problem - the fan and the chandelier I'm fine with. I can see where they would be overlooked and, frankly, cleaning that fan was a PITA and involved standing on a chair to reach it. The ceiling I'm okay with but the cobwebs? Not so much. I mean if you are sweeping the floor it takes an extra, what?, 10 seconds to flip the broom up and dust the corners? The windows I'm pretty ticked about. She does the mirrors in the upstairs bathrooms so the Windex is out, she dusts the bedrooms so the paper towels are there...put 2 and 2 together and wipe a window! I can see these things not being done weekly but surely she could hit them once a month at least?! Also, when she started things were fantastic but as time has gone on...I notice things being skipped. The dining room table, for instance, is hit or miss. Sometimes it's been wiped down and dusted but several times I know it hasn't. Once I found our entryway the way I left it - unswept/unmopped. I don't expect deep cleaning EVERY SINGLE TIME but it looks like she could do the basic things weekly (and I would consider polishing the table and cleaning the entryway to be basics) and then add ONE "monthly" thing a week. Like do corners one week, do the windows one week...

I just wondered how this stacked up to others. I guess I'll address it and see if things improve. I really like this woman and I trust her to be there when I'm not home. I would pay $30 just to get my bathrooms done (I hate scrubbing toilets!) but that isn't the agreement we have. The agreement is the whole house. I would think, in 3 hours, she could hit everything - I know I can. My fear is that I am paying her for 3 hours but getting more in the area of 2 or 1.5...... Not all the time, but more than "occasionally".

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I think you just need to have a talk with her about what things you want done - maybe print up a list?

I do my own housework now, but when I had cleaners I know they didn't do windows. They just didn't, and this was discussed during our first meeting. I went over with them all the other things I wanted them to do and they were very reliable.

Maybe she is scared of spiders? I hate sweeping down cobwebs (and I know this sounds silly) because I have a phobia about spiders and I'm afraid one will come running down the broom and up my arm. I try to get my kids to sweep down the cobwebs instead.

Teresa

 

[JennCa]

This is a tough problem. Everyone cleans a house a different way and to different degrees with different speeds. I think that if you want to try to get more out of a $10 an hour person (may not be the most motivated or attention to detail oriented or else they will likely to working for more) I would try to have them shadow you and have you time how long it takes to do what you do and how you do it. Maybe your person is taking their sweet time or spending longer than it takes you to do something so watching you do it might set expectations. If they watch you, it might help them understand what is to be expected. I would maybe let them shadow you once, you watch them do it once-twice and then own their own.

Just an idea.

Jenn

 

[Kathi OD]

I'm thinking you've got a lot of house to clean in 3 hours a week. Something is going to have to be missed. Now I don't think the dining room table or entryway should be missed, but the ceiling, mopping the walls, windows, chandeliers, yep, that's more than you can do in 3 hours.

Either live with what she can't do in 3 hours, or pay her for more hours per week.

 

[eeyore81]

3 hours to clean your house doesn't seem like very long to me. We have one lady come in 2 days a week for 6 hours each day. She does mostly everything. I told her from the start that I didn't not want to have to clean my house. I wanted her to clean my house like she would clean her own-- ie, clean the windows, cabinets, baseboard, inside the frig, etc. She just comes in and does what she thinks needs cleaned. There have been a few times that I was not happy. Like you I saw some dust in corners, etc that were just being constantly overlooked. I find that when I make her a list, it works out much better. I think you should talk to her and see if she thinks she can do the things you want within the 3 hours. I agree that you might talk to her about if cleaning those things are things she will do. My cleaning lady prior to the one I have now, would not clean baseboards, etc. When I asked her to do it, she told me she would do me a favor a clean them this one time. Needless to say, she only had to clean them that one time because she was not employed any longer.

 

[princessmom29]

I'm thinking you've got a lot of house to clean in 3 hours a week. Something is going to have to be missed. Now I don't think the dining room table or entryway should be missed, but the ceiling, mopping the walls, windows, chandeliers, yep, that's more than you can do in 3 hours.

Either live with what she can't do in 3 hours, or pay her for more hours per week.

I think this hits the nail on the head. 3 hours a week is not eonugh time to get all the deep cleaning done. Mabye pay her for more hours one week a month, and get the deep cleaning done.

 

[graygables]

When my parents were looking for a cleaning service, it was standard that regular cleaning (mirrors, floors, bathrooms, baseboards, etc) was included, but everything else was "specialty" or "deep" cleaning, including dusting intricate banisters, ceilings, anything that involved a ladder (thus, increasing liability), ceiling fans, washing walls, window treatments, and esp windows (the industry seems to be where the phrase "I don't do windows" came from).

To be honest, it sounds like you are getting your money's worth. Around here, it's $75 for 2 bathroom, 4 bedrooms, light dusting/vacuuming in the living/family, and surface areas in the kitchen (not even inside the microwave).

 

[Mom loves Disney]

When my parents were looking for a cleaning service, it was standard that regular cleaning (mirrors, floors, bathrooms, baseboards, etc) was included, but everything else was "specialty" or "deep" cleaning, including dusting intricate banisters, ceilings, anything that involved a ladder (thus, increasing liability), ceiling fans, washing walls, window treatments, and esp windows (the industry seems to be where the phrase "I don't do windows" came from).

To be honest, it sounds like you are getting your money's worth. Around here, it's $75 for 2 bathroom, 4 bedrooms, light dusting/vacuuming in the living/family, and surface areas in the kitchen (not even inside the microwave).

I agree about the moneys worth part. My mom gets $20 per/hour and thats for regular cleaning. She will do other things if you leave her a note but that also means more time and money. We live in a small town in Tennessee and so $10 per/hour sounds like a steal to me.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

I have my house cleaned once every 3 weeks, so I do have to do cleaning in-between... obviously. My cleaning lady does all of the surface stuff, and then "deep-cleans" one area each time........ takes the cushions off the couches and vacuums them, washes baseboards in that area, cleans the ceiling fan, etc. She makes more like $20 and hour, though.

 

[2girlsR2good]

I think if you want more than a surface clean, you'll need what others said--more time. You may be paying the going rate where you live, but it seems like a bargain to me and I don't live in an expensive area.

Windows and baseboards have always been a separate deal with every housekeeper I've had. Cobwebs should be a part of the surface clean though. No ceiling fans or light fixtures--nothing that requires a stool is usually a part of the regular cleaning.

 

[BarbWB]

3 hours is not enough at all for what you are asking. $30??? That's crazy low for housekeeping. Average here is about $80-120 for 6ish hours once a week. If you want the deeper cleaning you are looking for, you need to pay more and keep her there longer.

 

[msmama]

My cleaning lady is here every 2 weeks for 4 hours (4br/3 ba house).

She doesn't always get all the cobwebs, but sometimes they're hard to see so I forgive that. My cleaning lady only does windows in the spring/summer and only once a month (or so) - one of her rules, lol.

Was it discussed when you hired her what exactly she would do? Were there weekly things/monthly things/occasional things?

I've asked my cleaning lady to do "extras" like vacuum the basement on occasion, but I also pay her extra.

I know she did a pretty deep clean the first visit and then ever since it's been more like maintaining it. I do verrrry little between cleans - vacuum up crumbs if needed (I have a 2 year old, it's needed), wipe spills, etc.

How straightened is your house when she comes? Is she spending a lot of time putting things away?

 

[southern_redhead]

Well, $10 an hour here is, I would say, standard. Maybe even on the higher end. Most "good" jobs here don't start at $10 an hour...very rural. Anyway, it is good to have others input. I never meant that, in 3 hours, I expected her to do MAJOR cleaning. But I don't think hitting the corners when you are sweeping the room anyway would be major. For me anyway LOL Same with the windows - there's only 5 of them so...

I don't think it's that she "doesn't do that", it's just that I haven't said "I need this, this, and this." And, like I said, neither of the things that concerned me were things I would necessarily expect done weekly. Once a month would get it. I guess my main concern is that 3 hours USED to get me the entire house but now I see where it is getting me "this but not that" and I guess I need to address it with her.

The thing is, I don't know how to say this, I think maybe she has gotten relaxed with the situation. Like upfront she worried about doing a good job but not so much now? I can understand if she feels like she isn't getting paid enough - but she set the price, in that case I feel like maybe she should say "You know, I think I underestimated my cost. I'd like to charge $X, would you still like me to come 3 hours a week?" or along those lines. I'm certainly not going to clean anyone's home for $10 an hour but then I wouldn't do it for $100 an hour either, it just isn't for me. OTOH, maybe she was knocking herself out those first few months and is now doing what is humanly possible LOL In three hours I can do it all but maybe I'm speedy or maybe it's that I don't do it all the time so I really put the pedal to the metal because I hate it and want it done and over. I know that sometimes she will clean say on Wednesday and then call me that weekend and say "I can't come Wednesday this week, do you want me tomorrow?" Well, no, I don't want to pay you to clean again THIS week (since that is under a week.) I like it to be every 7 days. But that is me, not her, and it may just be that she wants to take off without leaving me hanging which I do appreciate. I just hope that doesn't translate to her cleaning for 2 hours and calling it good if I think I am getting 3. She comes while I am at work so I really have no way of knowing.

I *do* think I'm getting a good deal. For $30 she is at least doing bathrooms (again, that is my main ick factor and they aren't even that bad LOL)and floors. The big thing, for me, is I can trust her to be alone in my home. I wouldn't trade that. To the PP who mentioned mopping walls......I don't believe I mentioned that in my post. If I did it was a mistake. I would never include mopping walls in basic cleaning and wouldn't expect her to do that, certainly not in 3 hours + regular housework. I also didn't mean that I expected her to do the fan. It was just what started the whole situation, me cleaning the fan and noticing the cobwebs. I probably will go the route of suggesting there are a couple of other things I'd like done once a month and seeing if she does those in place of something else. If she does then it's likely she needs more time to do them and I'll see if, once a month, she can stay an extra hour and do them (for pay of course!)

ETA - I see where I used the word "overlooked" for the fan and chandelier. That probably implied that I wanted her to do them. I don't expect her to do them. I meant I could see where that wouldn't be considered standard cleaning. Sorry.

 

[southern_redhead]

I know she did a pretty deep clean the first visit and then ever since it's been more like maintaining it. I do verrrry little between cleans - vacuum up crumbs if needed (I have a 2 year old, it's needed), wipe spills, etc.

How straightened is your house when she comes? Is she spending a lot of time putting things away?

I do any "clean up" like you with crumbs, etc. She spends NO TIME putting anything away. That is my rule. Before we leave that morning my kids rooms must be straightened and our family room is straightened. I do not expect her to clean anything that she must move items to get to (so if DS leaves the top of his dresser a mess I would not expect her to dust it. If DD leaves toys in her floor it wouldn't vex me if she didn't vacuum it. I constantly remind DH and the kids that "" She's our cleaning lady not our housekeeper" LOL Same for the bathrooms and kitchen. I clear the counters and make sure nothing is sitting on the tub's edge or lying in the floor.

 

[southern_redhead]

3 hours is not enough at all for what you are asking. $30??? That's crazy low for housekeeping. Average here is about $80-120 for 6ish hours once a week. If you want the deeper cleaning you are looking for, you need to pay more and keep her there longer.

Sorry for the multiple posts. I didn't see this when I posted earlier. I wanted to address this. First, thank you for your input, that is what I wanted to know. Whether the two items (corners dusted for cobwebs and bedroom windows) I was concerned with was something most people would expect.

What I wanted to address, specifically, was the "crazy low" part. Actually $80 for 6 hours only comes out to $13 an hour. So I'm not much under that. Now, $120 for 6 hours is 2x what I pay so I couldn't make that arguement However, I don't know anyone here besides maybe businesses that pay $20 an hour for cleaning. I'm not saying someone shouldn't be paid that, only that it doesn't seem to be the norm here.

 

[vicki_c]

I agree that 3 hours for what you described is not enough time to do much more than what it sounds like she is doing. We don't have a house cleaner, but when I was a girl, we always had a house cleaner - she came weekly and spent about 5-6 hours at our house -- which sounds much smaller than you described - under 1500 sq - and did the kind of detailed cleaning you are describing.

(And I still remember when she asked my mom to raise her pay from $16/week to $20/week - and my mom wasn't sure if she could afford it or not - that was in the late 70s).

 

[sharona]

I pay $80 every other week to a privately owned cleaning service, not one of the chains. We have a small 6 room house - all one floor. Sometimes there are two women who come to clean, sometimes 3. Depending on how many of them are here, and how motivated they are, it takes them 1-3 hours to clean everything except the windows. I have to say, they work hard and they are quick! In addition to typical bathroom and kitchen clean/sanitize, they mop all floors, vacuum rugs and furniture, clean all appliances including microwave and fridge (when needed), clean ceiling fans and window blinds. I leave out linens and they change the sheets and make up the beds. I try to put away any clutter before they get here but the few times that I had to leave early for work and didn't get to it, they also "straightened". Several times they even straightened and cleaned my daughter's play room that we built in our garage which was not part of our agreement.

I think paying by the hour for cleaning is not the best way to do it. That doesn't take into account someone's pace and motivation. You need to detail your expectations and then have your cleaning lady set her price for the work. This way you both know what is expected. If she wants to take her time or hurry through it is up to her as long as expectations are met.

 

[hugastar]

For a house of that size, in order for her to do a real good job, she'll need about 6 hrs of cleaning.

 

[abolanwoski]

I'm thinking you've got a lot of house to clean in 3 hours a week. Something is going to have to be missed. Now I don't think the dining room table or entryway should be missed, but the ceiling, mopping the walls, windows, chandeliers, yep, that's more than you can do in 3 hours.

Either live with what she can't do in 3 hours, or pay her for more hours per week.

I agree. It takes my cleaning lady about 8 hours to clean my house (sounds similar in scope to yours) but she also cleans my room and bathroom. I think if you are paying someone for a set number of hours and want specific things (walls, ceiling fan) cleaned, then you need to prepare that others will be missed. Or, ask her to clean everything and then pay her for the number of hours it takes. BTW, we pay 120 per week for her to clean everything (she even does the inside of the frig, washes the sheets and remakes the beds, etc) but she stays as long as she needs to, to get it all done.

 

[bdcp]

I haven't had anyone clean my house (except DH and I ) in about 9 years. And that was in our previous house that was about 1/2 the size of this one. In that house, she didn't touch my boys' rooms. They were responsible for them. She also didn't clean the basement (rec room, office and bathroom). The boys and I did that. I need to find someone to clean this house especially now that we're going to finish the basement and have over 5000 sq feet. Our boys are grown and live on their own so it's even more work for us. I do have to say both my boys keep their places clean as a result of having been taught/made to clean when they were growing up.