What're y'alls opinions on maid services?

[Rajah]

Neither DH nor I can/do take the time to clean the house as often as DH would like. We're talking basic routine stuff like vacuum or mop, etc. Neither of us really *have* time between work and school, and when we *do* make the time, it's not a comfortable time because we both feel there are other more important things to do with that time (again, work and school).

Well, I'm fine with living in a house that doesn't get vacuum'd every week. Every *month*, *yes*, or more if really needed. But if the worst thing on the floor is cat hair, I'd much rather spend my time on work/school/ and/or mental breaks (especially now).

DH is *not* happy with it, and doesn't have the time to clean as often as he wants it clean. Especially now (since he's handling a *lot* of the stuff for my mom at the moment). If he had the time and the say, we'd have things cleaned once a week at minimum.

Well, DH wants to hire a maid service. I'm really not comfortable with maid services. We've had 4 maids/services in my lifetime. While 2 different ones were cleaning, small things just disappeared. We never had any proof that the maids stole them, but we're pretty sure. The last group my mom had come in to her house now and again broke things almost every time they were in the house, even when she'd leave signs up saying not to dust in this cabinet, told the supervisor not to dust there, etc. They still dusted and broke collectibles. Then the 4th one my mom used was almost never on time. She gave them 3 tries, I think, then told them to hit the road. And I don't mean they were just 10 or 15 minutes late, we're talking 2 or 3 hours if they even showed up at all.

They also recently (well, past 6-8 months) had a segment on the news where they observed maids with hidden cameras and caught a bunch of them doing things they shouldn't be doing. This just in our area.

So, I'm not all that keen on having strangers, most of whom probably don't speak English and can't read (yes, I'm stereotyping, but that's based on observation and our experiences) so wouldn't understand your instructions of "leave this alone", coming into our house even just to run the vacuum, mop the floors, and clean the bathrooms. Even with DH staying here while they were here -- I know him, he'd lock himself in his office while they worked, so it would be as though he *weren't* here.

What are y'all's oinions on maid services? Have we just had a bad run of luck with them, or are our experiences fairly typical?

 

[sue1013]

I've never used a service. The woman I use also does my friends house, she is wonderful. I'd ask people you know to recommend someone.

 

[skiwee1]

I have went through 4 private maids and have yet to be happy with any of them. I do not work but still do not have the time to clean like DH would like it to be! He is so anal and picky! So we went with a maid but she didn't clean any better then I did yet she got paid for it! LOL! So we went through 4 maids because of that or them not showing up when they are supposed to. We got weekly service which we definitely need with a teen, toddler, and two adults. I am currently looking for a maid company which might be better. After the experience with the private maide I'm hoping a professional company will be better. They also cost a lot more but they better be worth it!

 

[Magix]

You know, I've been curious about this myself. With mom sick, the place isn't getting cleaned. Myself, I can live with dust up to my eyeballs and not give a darn. Dad's not a cleaner, either, though I don't think he can tolerate the dust as much as me. I've been thinking about suggesting that we hire a maid service company, but have been a bit worried about it. I have a couple of rooms that are beyond help of anyone other than myself and particular items that would be verboten to touch for fear of breakage. If anyone's got experience with this kind of maid service company, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

[Micca]

We don't use a service, we hired an independent worker. She does a pretty good job with the cleaning, and so far there is nothing missing(she's been coming here for about 6-8 months).
HOWEVER...we pay her for two hours of work each week. I've always wondered if it really took two hours to do the amount of work we have asked for. Well, last week DD was home while our housekeeper came, and she worked for 50 minutes. I don't care if she can do the work efficiently and knock off 10-15 minutes early, but she is doing the work in less than half the time. I'm going to offer her two options next week: Clean for one hour(and half the money), or find something else to keep busy for the other hour

 

[shortbun]

I just read "Nickel and Dimed" and some of these posts
are pretty weird. If I was going to hire someone to clean my
house, I would treat them like an equal and simply pay them
what they asked for the routine. I don't look down my nose
at anyone because of their occupation or cultural orientation.
I DO however look down my nose those who don't understand
that everyone wants the same thing and deserves respect.
Stealing someone's dignity is much worse than the theft of a
material item IMHO. sorry to be so harsh but this is a pet peeve of mine -duh, like you couldn't tell!

 

[wdwnutze]

My friend cleans houses for a living. When she gets extra houses or near the holidays I help her out. I can tell you that when I clean someones house, I work my butt off. I cleaned a 3bdrm house with kitchen, living room, dining room and 2 baths. I worked continuously for 5hrs with NO break. I mopped the kitchen floor, cleaned both bathrooms, vacuumed all the bedrooms and living room(under everything too), took care of all baseboards and all cobwebs, dusted every room and vacuumed the stairs and hallway. My friend is an independant worker and the 1st recommendation she had for me was, "Never take a job for under 2hrs or $50." If a job only took 1 1/2hrs, we still charge $50. The customer is aware that the minimum charge is $50. I think if cleaning isn't fitting in at this point, it is worth looking into maid service. I would try to go with a recommendation from someone you know that is happy with their maid service.

 

[ahutton]

My parents helped us hire one once, and we were very pleased with them. I like the idea of having someone come in to do the stuff that is time consuming for me to do, which for us is the sweeping of tile, mopping and cleaning things like light fixtures, and bathrooms. For 2 people, in three hours, that is what they finished. I am hoping DH will say we can do this every couple months, to do a "deep cleaning" because once that is done it was way easy to keep up.

 

[Otto's Doll]

I also cleaned houses when DD was a baby. (I took her with me). I didn't supply my own cleaning stuff, they did. I did a lot of work, but was well paid. I charged by the hour for most jobs, but there was one house where I was paid the same rate no matter how long it took (it was an easy job, so I had no problems with it). If they wanted extra cleaning (spring cleaning or all the furniture moved, for example) then there would be an extra charge. I did this for 2.5 years, and it worked well for me. I got all the jobs through friend of a friend situations. In one instance the woman was there while I cleaned, and she would just tell me what she wanted as I went along. I never minded someone being home, although other people might. But, it might be a good idea for you to be home, or to plan to come in while the cleaner is there, if you feel uncomfortable about having someone in the house.
If you are interested, I would ask friends for some recommendations.

 

[CoasterAddict]

In my previous house we had Merry Maids come in twice a month. We were generally quite pleased with the work they did, and when there were miscommunications things were cleared up promptly. We never had any "disappearances." When I moved to a new location I called the local Merry Maids, but this office didn't seem to be quite as attentive to detail as the other one, so I switched to Maid Pro, another national company. Do they clean as thoroughly as I would if I were doing a serious cleaning? No, but I don't have time/interest in *doing* a serious cleaning. The place stays tidy and presentable and that's really what I'm paying them for. No complaints.

When I was looking for the replacement company I called several of the national groups that work in this area, interviewed them, had estimates, etc. I'd say, go for it, for the sake of peace in your household.

 

[clh2]

We have had a cleaning lady for years - except for the last several months. She always did a fabulous job. Unfortunately, she is battling pancreatic cancer right now. Needless to say, we are hopeful, even though the odds for pancreatic cancer speak for themselves.

We found out about her from a very good friend of mine, who used her for probably at least 10 years.

 

[Pop Daddy]

I like them French Maid costumes

 

[FreshTressa]

I hired ones once. They were as white bread and english speaking as they come. ( I don't think it is fair to stereotype a housekeepers competence by their nationality) They moved all my furniture around to clean under it, which was a nice thought, buty they scratched up my wood floors. My sofas are up on these wooden legs and they just slid them across the wood. Then in the kitchen she used some kind of scrubber sponge on the stove top, which is stainless steel and scratched it all up.

All in all, it was more trouble than it was worth. I would rather have cat hair than broken/missing things. I am sure there are plenty of honest and careful housekeepers, but I have heard more horror stories than than good one.

 

[Rajah]

Originally posted by FreshTressa
All in all, it was more trouble than it was worth. I would rather have cat hair than broken/missing things. I am sure there are plenty of honest and careful housekeepers, but I have heard more horror stories than than good one.

That's my feeling as well.

DH says the group he's got coming out to give an estimate is a mom/pop type pair, so we'll see what happens.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

I had a live in for 8 yrs , she started out the kids nanny She took good care of the house and us . I miss her ! She went on to become a teacher.I have been without one for about 6 years. We are getting a new one ( not a live in ) to work 4 days a week so she will have time to clean and do our errands. I got her name from someone who knew her . I would always use someone who you got on a recomendation.


Good luck
Wishing you a tagged night
Mishell

 

[Pin Wizard]

I used them a few times at my former house. I sold that 8 years ago! Haven't used anyone since. My friend has a private person clean her house. My friend was showing me a spider web behind her front door up near the ceiling that was bugging her. She said she would check and see if it was still there when her maid left again.

 

[wilderness01]

I have had cleaning services on and off the last 4.5 years. I have gone through 3 other services and now am really happy with this service. Once I had to call and have the owner come out because the workers forgot a whole room. Then they had a big attitude about it. They were fired. Another time the cleaning girl dumped a whole bottle of windex on my wood floor and watched as my husband and I cleaned it up. Between that, the fact she wanted me to clean my own kitchen and refused to clean toilets had her fired. Then another crew ruined some of my furniture. Fired again. My point is that sometimes you need to go through a few services to find a good one. I love this new girl. She works so hard with no breaks. I have all the garbage cans emptied for her, empty the vacuum cleaner in between floors for her, have everything picked up, etc. I treat her nice and she treats me nice. It is a perfect arrangement. The same company used to have a crew come and they always skimmed hours. This was quoted hourly not by the job. Finally I just started paying for the time worked and the owner got upset and questioned me. I told her what had been going on and that really they owed me a few free cleanings. I don't mind 10 minutes if you start late or end early but if they stay late I pay extra in 15 minute increments. We have since cleared up the problem and I couldn't be happier. It also took me awhile to figure out that they do the major things and you are still responsible for the nitty gritty nitpicky areas. I am fine with that. Good luck. It will make your life so much easier.

 

[Tinkbell]

You can always give it a try and see if it's for you. Just don't make any commitments to a service.