House cleaner - are my expectations too high?
May 16, 2024 6:21 AM Subscribe
In the world of "normal every-other-week house cleaning by a paid housecleaner", would you consider the following two jobs to be "normal, to be done every time or as needed", or more of a "deep clean that I should expect to do myself, schedule separately, or request and pay extra for"? Asking in advance of having a talk with my house cleaner to calibrate my read on what is reasonable.
1. Cleaning oil splatters from the stove grill
2. Properly mopping the floor (with water and some kind of cleaning agent, rather than just sweeping or damp swiffering).
1. Cleaning oil splatters from the stove grill
2. Properly mopping the floor (with water and some kind of cleaning agent, rather than just sweeping or damp swiffering).
It depends entirely on your preference. You should be able to let the cleaner know you need them to do only the exact tasks you need from them, and they should be willing to do them as long as it's possible to do so.
(For example it would not be possible for a cleaner to mop floors without sweeping first, so if you request that they only mop and never sweep, but your floor is in need of sweeping when they arrive, it would be reasonable for them to refuse. But what you're requesting is perfectly possible to do, therefore you should not have any trouble finding cleaners who are willing to do these tasks for you.)
If they aren't willing to, e.g. the cleaner is part of some corporate cleaning services company whose cleaning package doesn't include these tasks and they have no flexibility, I would strongly suggest you hire an independent cleaner who is willing to do the work YOU need from them. There is no point paying a cleaner for THEIR preferred tasks and not yours.
As a bonus, cleaners are paid fair wages only when they work directly for you as independent workers. Merry Maids and other such cleaning companies exploit and underpay their workers. Hiring independent workers is always the best way forward.
posted by MiraK at 6:27 AM on May 16, 2024 [4 favorites]
(For example it would not be possible for a cleaner to mop floors without sweeping first, so if you request that they only mop and never sweep, but your floor is in need of sweeping when they arrive, it would be reasonable for them to refuse. But what you're requesting is perfectly possible to do, therefore you should not have any trouble finding cleaners who are willing to do these tasks for you.)
If they aren't willing to, e.g. the cleaner is part of some corporate cleaning services company whose cleaning package doesn't include these tasks and they have no flexibility, I would strongly suggest you hire an independent cleaner who is willing to do the work YOU need from them. There is no point paying a cleaner for THEIR preferred tasks and not yours.
As a bonus, cleaners are paid fair wages only when they work directly for you as independent workers. Merry Maids and other such cleaning companies exploit and underpay their workers. Hiring independent workers is always the best way forward.
posted by MiraK at 6:27 AM on May 16, 2024 [4 favorites]
Best answer: The mopping is iffy. Truth be told, our own floor get a wet cleaning maybe once a month, if that.
Also: By "proper mopping" do you mean using an actual rag mop and a bucket? No one I know does this anymore. It's all pretty much Swiffer Wet-Jetting or equivalent everywhere save for the more grunge-prone environments. So, I can understand why a housecleaner might balk at the expectation of doing an actual mopping. Those Wet-Jets do a darn good job, though. Probably a better overall cleaning than a mop, IMHO.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:29 AM on May 16, 2024 [7 favorites]
Also: By "proper mopping" do you mean using an actual rag mop and a bucket? No one I know does this anymore. It's all pretty much Swiffer Wet-Jetting or equivalent everywhere save for the more grunge-prone environments. So, I can understand why a housecleaner might balk at the expectation of doing an actual mopping. Those Wet-Jets do a darn good job, though. Probably a better overall cleaning than a mop, IMHO.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:29 AM on May 16, 2024 [7 favorites]
Best answer: I expect both, and my cleaner does do both.
She doesn't pull the stove out and do the sides of it. Boo.
Wet jet/damp swiffering is not cleaning in my mind. I don't use them, but if I did, it would be for a quick clean up of a mess rather than a proper clean.
posted by Ftsqg at 6:32 AM on May 16, 2024 [2 favorites]
She doesn't pull the stove out and do the sides of it. Boo.
Wet jet/damp swiffering is not cleaning in my mind. I don't use them, but if I did, it would be for a quick clean up of a mess rather than a proper clean.
posted by Ftsqg at 6:32 AM on May 16, 2024 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I would ask them about their workflow and whether there are jobs they are doing now that are time-consuming but either doable by you when they are not there or even ultimately unnecessary that could be dropped so there is time for them to wet-mop the whole of the house, while doing so in a way that allows them to attend to their other duties while avoiding stepping on wet floors and risking a fall (or simply leaving footprints behind).
I note that I often mop immediately before going to bed because I will not be using the floor for hours afterwards; so, for example, if your cleaner is there while you are at work on a weekday and only arrives at, say, 2:00 pm when you arrive home at 5:30 pm, is there actually time for them to mop immediately before leaving, but sufficiently before you come home and have you not return to wet floors?
posted by mdonley at 6:40 AM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
I note that I often mop immediately before going to bed because I will not be using the floor for hours afterwards; so, for example, if your cleaner is there while you are at work on a weekday and only arrives at, say, 2:00 pm when you arrive home at 5:30 pm, is there actually time for them to mop immediately before leaving, but sufficiently before you come home and have you not return to wet floors?
posted by mdonley at 6:40 AM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Oil spatters are something I clean up myself right after making them. If I do it while the surfaces the oil is spattered onto are still hot, wiping them down takes mere seconds and needs no cleaning products beyond a damp cloth; wiping down the cooktop before the burners have cooled is similarly quick.
I would never ask nor expect another person to clean up after I've cooked, because that gives me no incentive at all to avoid making a huge mess as I go, nor to discover fast work-minimizing methods like the immediate spatter wipedowns. Also, to my way of thinking, cooking in ways that leave the kitchen grubbier afterwards is disrespectful to the people I share it with, including future me.
Mopping floors, though? That's about keeping inevitable, unavoidable, general crud accumulation under control and is certainly work I'd much rather pay for than do myself, given the option.
posted by flabdablet at 6:43 AM on May 16, 2024 [5 favorites]
I would never ask nor expect another person to clean up after I've cooked, because that gives me no incentive at all to avoid making a huge mess as I go, nor to discover fast work-minimizing methods like the immediate spatter wipedowns. Also, to my way of thinking, cooking in ways that leave the kitchen grubbier afterwards is disrespectful to the people I share it with, including future me.
Mopping floors, though? That's about keeping inevitable, unavoidable, general crud accumulation under control and is certainly work I'd much rather pay for than do myself, given the option.
posted by flabdablet at 6:43 AM on May 16, 2024 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Definitely would respect the cleaning person to mop (with a rag mop) every time. Would similarly expect them to wipe down the stove. By grille, do you mean the raised/heavy cast iron part of a gas stove that pots and pans rest on? I do expect them to wipe those down, but my experience is that they're basically impossible to get clean, then with a deep clean, so my expectations for how much they'll do there are pretty low.
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 6:49 AM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 6:49 AM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Your best bet is to arrange to be home when the cleaner is there and observe what they do, without commenting or intruding. Opening a discussion before you know how they are spending their time is going into this conversation without getting the data you need beforehand.
Then the questions to ask yourself are:
Is my cleaner working steadily for the full number of hours they are contracted to come?
Is my cleaner cleaning other stuff I don't even want them to clean?
Is my cleaner able to immediately start the work I want them to do, or are there impediments, such as having to dig the vacuum cleaner out, or clutter on the floors that must be picked up, or having to dig through the linen closet to find sheets and then it's hard for them to get at the bed in a small bedroom.
You may need to see if your cleaner is available for more hours. Most cleaners have a routine of things they do: sanitize bathroom, vacuum, take out garbage, etc. and there is a good chance your cleaner is running through the same base list they use for their other clients. If you want them to mop the kitchen you may have to tell them you don't need them to change the sheets. Negotiations will go better if you talk about prioritizing their efforts and praising what they do instead of sounding like you are complaining and asking them to fit in more in the same two hours you have scheduled.
Sometimes people don't realise that they have a lot of clutter or other impediments that prevent their cleaner from being able to do their job. To mop your kitchen floor the cleaner may need to take things out of the room. If you want them to mop you may need to remove those things for them yourself before they arrive.
The issue with the oil on the grill depends on how much oil there is. If there is build up, that isn't being removed by a relatively cursory spray with de-greaser, then yes, that is a deep cleaning job. However the issue may be the type of cleaner they are using. Many cleaners avoid using harsh chemicals because so many of their customers have sensitivities. You may want to negotiate to provide the cleaner with a stronger product and have them use it.
You have a lot more room to negotiate with an independent cleaner than with a chain. If you are working with a chain the cleaners have a task list and a schedule they cannot deviate very far from.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:53 AM on May 16, 2024 [2 favorites]
Then the questions to ask yourself are:
Is my cleaner working steadily for the full number of hours they are contracted to come?
Is my cleaner cleaning other stuff I don't even want them to clean?
Is my cleaner able to immediately start the work I want them to do, or are there impediments, such as having to dig the vacuum cleaner out, or clutter on the floors that must be picked up, or having to dig through the linen closet to find sheets and then it's hard for them to get at the bed in a small bedroom.
You may need to see if your cleaner is available for more hours. Most cleaners have a routine of things they do: sanitize bathroom, vacuum, take out garbage, etc. and there is a good chance your cleaner is running through the same base list they use for their other clients. If you want them to mop the kitchen you may have to tell them you don't need them to change the sheets. Negotiations will go better if you talk about prioritizing their efforts and praising what they do instead of sounding like you are complaining and asking them to fit in more in the same two hours you have scheduled.
Sometimes people don't realise that they have a lot of clutter or other impediments that prevent their cleaner from being able to do their job. To mop your kitchen floor the cleaner may need to take things out of the room. If you want them to mop you may need to remove those things for them yourself before they arrive.
The issue with the oil on the grill depends on how much oil there is. If there is build up, that isn't being removed by a relatively cursory spray with de-greaser, then yes, that is a deep cleaning job. However the issue may be the type of cleaner they are using. Many cleaners avoid using harsh chemicals because so many of their customers have sensitivities. You may want to negotiate to provide the cleaner with a stronger product and have them use it.
You have a lot more room to negotiate with an independent cleaner than with a chain. If you are working with a chain the cleaners have a task list and a schedule they cannot deviate very far from.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:53 AM on May 16, 2024 [2 favorites]
Best answer: It’s common for floors to be a separate or additional cost, so that expectation just needed to be discussed.
Cleaning a stove seems like a normal, biweekly activity unless I’m not understanding what a stove grill is
posted by raccoon409 at 6:53 AM on May 16, 2024
Cleaning a stove seems like a normal, biweekly activity unless I’m not understanding what a stove grill is
posted by raccoon409 at 6:53 AM on May 16, 2024
Best answer: I would expect clean-up of everything on the outside of the stove.
My current maid uses a mop. If she used a wet swiffer I’d be just as happy. I don’t think it would be unreasonable to ask your house cleaner to switch though.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:19 AM on May 16, 2024
My current maid uses a mop. If she used a wet swiffer I’d be just as happy. I don’t think it would be unreasonable to ask your house cleaner to switch though.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:19 AM on May 16, 2024
Best answer: We pay a housecleaner to come about every two weeks, and we pay her well above market rate because she does a good job. Mopping is definitely part of what she does (old-school style with a bucket); we don't have rugs so mopping is done everywhere. She cleans around the stove, but we don't leave that area dirty. It's more like she is polishing things up, rather than cleaning heavy cooking splatters, if that makes sense. If there were heavy cooking splatter or burnt-on stuff on or around the stove, I'd think of that as more of a deep cleaning that is over and above the bi-weekly touch up cleanings.
Similarly, she cleans the sinks and toilets, but we make sure that those also are not filthy when she gets here.
It usually takes her about two hours for a house that's about 2,000 sq ft, if she is working alone. It's faster when she brings her cousin, but not twice as fast.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:29 AM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
Similarly, she cleans the sinks and toilets, but we make sure that those also are not filthy when she gets here.
It usually takes her about two hours for a house that's about 2,000 sq ft, if she is working alone. It's faster when she brings her cousin, but not twice as fast.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:29 AM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
Best answer: It’s common for floors to be a separate or additional cost, so that expectation just needed to be discussed.
Never, in decades of having multiple different cleaners, in multiple states, has floor cleaning ever been a separate issue I needed to discuss with them.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 7:36 AM on May 16, 2024 [9 favorites]
Never, in decades of having multiple different cleaners, in multiple states, has floor cleaning ever been a separate issue I needed to discuss with them.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 7:36 AM on May 16, 2024 [9 favorites]
Best answer: Not sure what you mean by "is it normal"? Do you mean "am I lazy if I ask them to do this?" or "are they cutting corners if they do not do this?" or "why don't they just assume I want these things done?"
If you're asking the first question: no, you're not lazy. Those are reasonable services to pay for.
If you're asking the second question, unless you specifically asked them to do those things, or they are deliberately wasting time or taking unduly long breaks, they are not cutting corners.
If you're asking the third question: the answer is because you didn't tell them. Ask vs Guess.
Your plan to talk to them is good, you will need to ask for what you want, and what you want is reasonable to ask for. They may ask for more money.
posted by caek at 7:41 AM on May 16, 2024 [4 favorites]
If you're asking the first question: no, you're not lazy. Those are reasonable services to pay for.
If you're asking the second question, unless you specifically asked them to do those things, or they are deliberately wasting time or taking unduly long breaks, they are not cutting corners.
If you're asking the third question: the answer is because you didn't tell them. Ask vs Guess.
Your plan to talk to them is good, you will need to ask for what you want, and what you want is reasonable to ask for. They may ask for more money.
posted by caek at 7:41 AM on May 16, 2024 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I expect both, and my cleaners do both when they clean (which is every-other week). I use a company for cleaning, rather than contracting with self-employed workers, and the company has a clear and well-documented protocol for what gets done each time. Both of these things are on it.
posted by OrangeDisk at 8:05 AM on May 16, 2024
posted by OrangeDisk at 8:05 AM on May 16, 2024
Best answer: I don’t know what a stove grill is - like a flat top on your stove?
But my every other week cleaners mop with a microfiber mop and bucket and clean our glass top stove. If I had a gas stove I’d expect a wipe down of both the grates and the surface under the grates but not necessarily scrubbing to remove baked on splatters.
posted by jeoc at 8:18 AM on May 16, 2024
But my every other week cleaners mop with a microfiber mop and bucket and clean our glass top stove. If I had a gas stove I’d expect a wipe down of both the grates and the surface under the grates but not necessarily scrubbing to remove baked on splatters.
posted by jeoc at 8:18 AM on May 16, 2024
Best answer: I would expect both and it has been normative when I have hired housecleaning.
posted by corb at 9:08 AM on May 16, 2024
posted by corb at 9:08 AM on May 16, 2024
Best answer: If I told you what my cleaners joyfully do...you'd be shocked. I'm continually shocked (and I voluntarily pay them a bit extra, and have recently asked if they feel good about how much they are paid).
Cleaners that don't clean floors or stoves are...not worth your time? Imho. Try new cleaners. This question to me reads like "what happens when my significant other only wants to talk once a year, but I prefer every day." Like, there are basic expectations and needs. Find someone who can fill them for the role of cleaner.
posted by cacao at 9:23 AM on May 16, 2024 [2 favorites]
Cleaners that don't clean floors or stoves are...not worth your time? Imho. Try new cleaners. This question to me reads like "what happens when my significant other only wants to talk once a year, but I prefer every day." Like, there are basic expectations and needs. Find someone who can fill them for the role of cleaner.
posted by cacao at 9:23 AM on May 16, 2024 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I have every-other week housecleaners. I discussed different tasks when I hired them, and they did say things like "indoor window cleaning every visit, outside window cleaning (where reachable without a ladder) only with "deep clean" visit. I discussed floor mopping - they do this with a wetmop every visit, and lift the throw rugs and runners. They thoroughly clean the outside of the stove and the overhead exhaust fan every time. (Interior oven cleaning on "deep clean" visit).
I pay by the visit, not the hour, and the job was quoted for the tasks included. My cleaners own their own cleaning company and sometimes come themselves, and sometimes send employees. I haven't noticed much difference, except that the employee is into fancy treatments of the toilet paper.
I think this is probably that your expectations do not match their list of basic services, and a conversation about what you think should be automatically included would help. But, de-greasing the outside of the stove does seem to me to be basic, and I would not be happy with a Swiffer approach to mopping unless I specifically approved it.
posted by citygirl at 9:36 AM on May 16, 2024
I pay by the visit, not the hour, and the job was quoted for the tasks included. My cleaners own their own cleaning company and sometimes come themselves, and sometimes send employees. I haven't noticed much difference, except that the employee is into fancy treatments of the toilet paper.
I think this is probably that your expectations do not match their list of basic services, and a conversation about what you think should be automatically included would help. But, de-greasing the outside of the stove does seem to me to be basic, and I would not be happy with a Swiffer approach to mopping unless I specifically approved it.
posted by citygirl at 9:36 AM on May 16, 2024
There is no normal. There is you, and there is her, and there is what you both need, and how and when you need it.
posted by amtho at 10:05 AM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by amtho at 10:05 AM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
Best answer: There's also the question of how much you're paying. Normal will vary quite a bit if you're paying dozens of dollars vs. hundreds.
posted by Candleman at 10:23 AM on May 16, 2024
posted by Candleman at 10:23 AM on May 16, 2024
Best answer: Both are included in our every-other-Wednesday top-to-bottom housecleaning. For complete transparency, we are in Northern Virginia in a three story house, we use a small, family-owned service, they send 2-3 people every other Wednesday, and we pay $150 cash for each visit.
posted by ersatzkat at 10:32 AM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by ersatzkat at 10:32 AM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
They are both normal tasks, but it really depends on how many hours you've booked. When I did scheduling for a cleaning company, we told people they needed to budget roughly 1hr per kitchen and bathroom. Now, other rooms could likely be done in less than an hr each, though again it would depend on the overall size and if there were particular needs for those rooms. Of course, sometimes people just wanted to pay for two hours for there whole place - in those cases I'd tell them, OK, but just know it won't all get done - what's your priorities? Floors? etc.
posted by coffeecat at 12:32 PM on May 16, 2024
posted by coffeecat at 12:32 PM on May 16, 2024
Best answer: I would expect housecleaners to have 3 categories of tasks
1) Gonna do it
2) Not gonna do it EVERY time, but it will be in a rotation to do once in a while
3) My problem
I say that just to say if you don't see them do a thing one week it doesn't necessarily mean they never do it. Really though, your plan to ask what they do is the best one. Then you can decide after that if 1) that meets your needs for the price you're paying, and 2) they seem like they're doing what they promised.
(My housecleaner in Japan even collected any dishes left out and washed them, so I made sure there were none. Although I wasn't the one paying, so not technically "the boss", I didn't feel like that was a good use of their paid time.)
posted by ctmf at 6:58 PM on May 16, 2024
1) Gonna do it
2) Not gonna do it EVERY time, but it will be in a rotation to do once in a while
3) My problem
I say that just to say if you don't see them do a thing one week it doesn't necessarily mean they never do it. Really though, your plan to ask what they do is the best one. Then you can decide after that if 1) that meets your needs for the price you're paying, and 2) they seem like they're doing what they promised.
(My housecleaner in Japan even collected any dishes left out and washed them, so I made sure there were none. Although I wasn't the one paying, so not technically "the boss", I didn't feel like that was a good use of their paid time.)
posted by ctmf at 6:58 PM on May 16, 2024
Best answer: I do get what you're asking, though: how do I know if I'm paying market rate, if I don't know what service everyone else is getting for comparison?
posted by ctmf at 7:06 PM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by ctmf at 7:06 PM on May 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
Best answer: To answer your immediate question, no, your expectation is not unreasonable. When I've had a regular cleaning service I contracted for a certain number of hours a certain number of times per month. About half the time was taken up by cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping, and mopping. The rest was whatever general tidying, cleaning of appliances, doing dishes, changing sheets, folding laundry, etc hadn't gotten done by me in whatever order they felt was most pressing. The arrangement was pretty much "make my house more clean, please".
Happily, there was always a good enough relationship that nobody was being super strict about it getting precisely the time we paid for, so they'd fuck off half an hour early if there wasn't much to do that week or stay s few minutes extra to finish a task rather than just stopping in the middle.
This worked for me because I don't really give a shit unless I'm living in total squalor, so having my mounds of shit turned into a neat stack of shit was plenty satisfying for me and worked for them because they appreciated the flexibility.
Sometimes I did say "don't do x this week, do y instead, but that was rare and usually more for my own convenience than any particular concern about the specific things that were getting done. The goal of the whole project was merely to bring some semblance of order to the chaos, after all, not to have a pristine show home.
In short, I expect to pay for time, not tasks, as long as I can trust the work is being done reasonably efficiently. I would feel weird about some things being classified as "deep clean" tasks and paying more on that basis, at least until we're getting into something that merits hazard pay.
As far as what to do, I'd have a conversation about whether they feel like they have a sufficient amount of time to do everything I'm expecting and either pay them for more time, explicitly tell them I'd prefer them to mop instead of something else or simply say that I need mopping to be something that happens every visit or every other visit and leave it to them to prioritize the tasks that haven't been explicitly laid out. (With their consent, of course, some people quite reasonably prefer an explicit list of priorities!)
posted by wierdo at 4:20 AM on May 17, 2024 [1 favorite]
Happily, there was always a good enough relationship that nobody was being super strict about it getting precisely the time we paid for, so they'd fuck off half an hour early if there wasn't much to do that week or stay s few minutes extra to finish a task rather than just stopping in the middle.
This worked for me because I don't really give a shit unless I'm living in total squalor, so having my mounds of shit turned into a neat stack of shit was plenty satisfying for me and worked for them because they appreciated the flexibility.
Sometimes I did say "don't do x this week, do y instead, but that was rare and usually more for my own convenience than any particular concern about the specific things that were getting done. The goal of the whole project was merely to bring some semblance of order to the chaos, after all, not to have a pristine show home.
In short, I expect to pay for time, not tasks, as long as I can trust the work is being done reasonably efficiently. I would feel weird about some things being classified as "deep clean" tasks and paying more on that basis, at least until we're getting into something that merits hazard pay.
As far as what to do, I'd have a conversation about whether they feel like they have a sufficient amount of time to do everything I'm expecting and either pay them for more time, explicitly tell them I'd prefer them to mop instead of something else or simply say that I need mopping to be something that happens every visit or every other visit and leave it to them to prioritize the tasks that haven't been explicitly laid out. (With their consent, of course, some people quite reasonably prefer an explicit list of priorities!)
posted by wierdo at 4:20 AM on May 17, 2024 [1 favorite]
This is not an “expectations” question so much as a “pay for the service you need”. Every cleaner I had charged by the hour. Ask them to add these two tasks and if it tips them to an additional hour you will need to decide whether to remove another task or pay them more.
posted by like_neon at 4:40 AM on May 17, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by like_neon at 4:40 AM on May 17, 2024 [1 favorite]
Since I do all the cleaning at my house, or most of the routine stuff, I have thought how I would go about hiring someone. I figure a normal clean of my house takes around two hours, maybe less if I shortcut things or work fast. That's if the person is working efficiently with a system for using their tools efficiently. A normal clean means moving through the entire area, each room one by one, working top to bottom cleaning surfaces, collecting trash cans and then moving onto the next room.
Next would be vacuuming, followed by mopping.
None of this really gets to deep clean projects. If I were hiring I'd have a rotating set of projects and a budget of say one extra hour per month for a deep clean: refrigerator interior, stove interior, window cleaning and so forth.
For a two week rotating cycle, that's four hours cleaning plus one hour doing a deep cleaning.
Some jobs are only practical when people are gone so rather than do a deep cleaning of the a single window, it might be more practical to do all the windows on one visit, including tracks and frames when the house is empty of people for a day or more.
Some jobs kind of creep up on you, like the paint in a kitchen can accumulate grease from cooking. That's a deep clean that should happen once per year.
posted by diode at 5:47 AM on May 17, 2024 [1 favorite]
Next would be vacuuming, followed by mopping.
None of this really gets to deep clean projects. If I were hiring I'd have a rotating set of projects and a budget of say one extra hour per month for a deep clean: refrigerator interior, stove interior, window cleaning and so forth.
For a two week rotating cycle, that's four hours cleaning plus one hour doing a deep cleaning.
Some jobs are only practical when people are gone so rather than do a deep cleaning of the a single window, it might be more practical to do all the windows on one visit, including tracks and frames when the house is empty of people for a day or more.
Some jobs kind of creep up on you, like the paint in a kitchen can accumulate grease from cooking. That's a deep clean that should happen once per year.
posted by diode at 5:47 AM on May 17, 2024 [1 favorite]
Best answer: We pay a housecleaner to come about every two weeks, and we pay her well above market rate because she does a good job. Mopping is definitely part of what she does (old-school style with a bucket); we don't have rugs so mopping is done everywhere. She cleans around the stove, but we don't leave that area dirty. It's more like she is polishing things up, rather than cleaning heavy cooking splatters, if that makes sense. If there were heavy cooking splatter or burnt-on stuff on or around the stove, I'd think of that as more of a deep cleaning that is over and above the bi-weekly touch up cleanings.
A few hours after I wrote that, she came to do the cleaning. She spent a bit over two hours and in that time did what I'd consider normal bathroom and kitchen cleanings (like, cleaning top and front of stove and backsplash, but not oven cleaning or a deep clean of the fridge), dust-mopped and wet-mopped the entire house including shifting lighter furniture, dusted shelves and surfaces, cleaned the dining room table, etc. Window cleaning is not included and would be part of an extra deep cleaning. Bathroom cleaning meant counters, sinks, toilet, bath/shower, etc. For that we pay $150 cash and feel like we are getting a great value, but based on FB and NextDoor postings that I see, people are typically paying less than that in this area.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:28 AM on May 17, 2024 [1 favorite]
A few hours after I wrote that, she came to do the cleaning. She spent a bit over two hours and in that time did what I'd consider normal bathroom and kitchen cleanings (like, cleaning top and front of stove and backsplash, but not oven cleaning or a deep clean of the fridge), dust-mopped and wet-mopped the entire house including shifting lighter furniture, dusted shelves and surfaces, cleaned the dining room table, etc. Window cleaning is not included and would be part of an extra deep cleaning. Bathroom cleaning meant counters, sinks, toilet, bath/shower, etc. For that we pay $150 cash and feel like we are getting a great value, but based on FB and NextDoor postings that I see, people are typically paying less than that in this area.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:28 AM on May 17, 2024 [1 favorite]
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