I feel that unfortunately, the $50.00 for one day is too little. You may be able to find someone for that amount if you keep looking. Due to the fact that you only want them for one day, you are more than likely finding that you need to pay an additional premium. Most of the people doing this type of work want stability and want to work as many days as possible. There is no incentive to come to someone's house for only one day, for there are also travel expenses incurred if nothing else. If you have friends who are also looking for day housecleaning services, perhaps you can join together and offer several days of employment at your desired rate, rather than just one day.
AH

Housekeeper's Duties

Am I too picky about breakage & damage?

I am pleased with my house cleaner work but I am irritated about her what I judge to be lack of care and honesty. I had her for 6 mo and she managed to break/chip about 5 different things(the last ones she didn't even tell me about them until I confronted her). Also, she is hard on the corners with the vacuum cleaner, the paint on the wall corners is rubbing off or is chipped. She does occassionaly dry her cleaning rags in my dryer although she did not ask for permission to do so. I asked her not to do it anymore but she still did it, even though now she uses my rags.

Am I too picky? Should I put up with the inconveniences? Are other housecleaners this way too and you kept them employed because they clean very well? PLease advise. Unhappy customer

I suppose you could say I'm somewhat unhappy with my housekeeper, but I love her and love that she makes my life better, because I come home and am not overwhelmed with the mess. In the balance of things, I'm paying a very good price. You get what you pay for. If I were able to pay more, I would expect her (and tell her) to slow down and be more precise. As it is, she accomplishes three times what I could accomplish in the time she spends here. She could not possibly get the same amount done if I had her be precise (even though I'm a perfectionist and it's been a big lesson to get me to be flexible and adapt to the somewhat-mediocre work she does).

I will also say that if I had a ton more money, I might need to get a different cleaner. My cleaner's strengths are that she is a generalist and gets a lot done imperfectly. I don't think she could do things painstakingly carefully, which is how I do things, and which is why I need a cleaner - I don't have the time or patience to personally clean up to my standards. So I've learned the chips in things and occasional broken glass, along with clothes folded quickly and not expertly are the little prices I just have to pay to have an otherwise good working relationship. In her defense, she also puts up with my many quirks, and I know the grass is not always greener. I had cleaners before her who WERE perfectionists, and got hardly anything done at all - I ended up paying through the nose, or not getting all the help I actually needed. Let things go, or pay more

Housekeeper's lax cleanung and frequent no-shows

Since having my two kids, I find I spend an enormous amount on housework. This work is boring and thankless but needs to be done. My husband works about 60 hours a week and although he helps with clean-up, does not do the mundane routine stuff (i.e. doesn't see the spills on the counter, toothpaste on the basin, etc.).

I find the domestic overload make me furious so we decided to hire a cleaning person to come in one morning every other week. I felt very conflicted about this because my part-time (creative) job pays poorly, certainly less than we pay our cleaning person, although hopefully I will get more money before too long.

We found someone who charged $90 to clean our house. She currently takes about 90 minutes and works with an assistant (don't know how much she pays her assistant but as she's clearly the one in charge, I'm guessing the split is pretty uneven).

Over the months I've become disappointed. One problem is she's become a bit lax -- leaving fingerprints on the door, visible parts of the kitchen floor unwashed, food under the cushions of the couch to cite a few examples (and my standards are pretty low by the way).

Worse she calls in sick -- about four times out of the previous 20 potential visits. She offers alternative dates, such as one week later, but then doesn't answer the phone when I call to discuss it -- until the day of her proposed visit. She also tends to come at different times, which affects my work schedule (she wants me to leave when she arrives).

I'm kind of irritated with the whole thing but also realize how absurd I sound when I articulate this. I think one of the reasons I've worked myself up into such a lather is that cleaning has become an emotional issue for me.

So I guess my question is: How to deal with this situation? Is it a given that cleaning people expect you to leave your house when they clean (I do not have a small room where I can work while the cleaner cleans, by the way). And what's a good way to handle frequent no-shows? Can I preface this by saying I'd really prefer no preachy posts about how privileged I am. Having been a cleaner myself in my younger days, I do realize what a miserable job it can be. Thanks In a tizzy

Additionally I would say you are accepting sub-standard work because you feel guilty. You feel guilty about the ''tough job'' and about the fact that you are paying for help. I would say free yourself of this! You are paying recent wages, treating people with a basic level of respect and providing a decent job. You should expect some quality work in return. I also think that you can give yourself permission to value your own happiness and the quality of your relationships. For me and my family that means paying for cleaning EVERY WEEK is a high priority. There are times when this seems insane financially but trust me it will be the LAST thing to go. For others this won't be true but for me that tidy clean house once a week is critical. My husband and I don't fight about cleaning, I enjoy my kids more (for example when baking cookies and the flour goes everywhere- I clean it up but don't stress about every inch knowing the cleaning team will come on Thursday). There is still constant cleaning right??? It is that someone does the once over once a week to keep things up.

This said I am never fully satisfied with the cleaning job I have gotten from several cleaning people over the last 15 years in 3 different cities, so one does have to manage expectations. I value reliability and trustworthiness highly. I find that most people have their strengths and I try to leverage that (for example some are better at picking up but not the deepest cleaners, some don't do a good job unless things are picked up well). To be clear I wouldn't keep the people you have AT ALL, but for the future.

Wow this is more than I ever thought I could write about cleaning services - and in fact I could go on! Get somebody better to clean your house (up it to every week if you can!) and enjoy it! happy to pay for help

My husband and I have a home based business and at least one of us is almost always home when our house cleaner is here. When it is time to clean our home office, we move to another area. We close the door to block out the noise of the vacuum, or go out to do errands and such, but seems to me that any cleaner who insists that you be gone may be trying to hide something.

Our cleaner has also only rescheduled maybe 6 times in 4 years, mostly when her kids were sick, and always offered to come the next day. She also does a fantastic job and spends the time it takes to get the house really clean. Her name is Ana and she actually has a few openings now that her kids are all in school full day, so feel free to call her at 685-7973.

Could it be your feelings of guilt that aren't allowing you to deal with the situation? I say take it as a gift that you and your husband can afford to hire a cleaning person, decide what you want your cleaner to do and when, and find someone who will do it your way. Happy when the house is clean

Let's get to facts: You're paying $30/hour (2 people at 90 minutes; $90). For $30 per HOUR, you should reasonably expect things to be spic and span, and a professionalism with few if any missed dates. I say get someone else.

Yes, though, it is common for cleaning people to reserve a day for you, but not a time (they may do another house before yours that day instead), and also common for them to want you out of the house. Bottom line though - you're paying. It shouldn't be totally miserable for you, and there are many nice people who will work with your needs more. I think if they want you out of the house, then they damn well better be there on time. And if they want to shift around the hours (but still the same day), they need to deal with the idea that you'll be around.

This is how I'd handle it were I hiring out cleaning (which I would do in an instant if I could squeeze out the extra dollars) Don't put up with this

You have every right to have a cleaning person if that's what you want! And you also have a right to expect her to do the job the way you want it done. My neighbor always says this about people she hires for different services: *** They are there to relieve your stress, not cause it.*** If she is sloppy, calls in sick too often for your needs, is unreliable about setting dates, and insists that you leave the house before she starts working (!!!! not the norm, by the way), who exactly is in charge in this situation? You can calmly and politely let her know what your cleaning needs and expectations are, insist that she be more responsible about setting dates, and ask that she at least try to accomodate YOUR work schedule. Isn't that the absolute minimum of what all OUR bosses expect?

If this is too much for her, find someone else. You are paying for a service that's necessary for you, so don't settle for shoddy work Good luck

If she doesn't meet these guidelines, let her go. You have nothing to feel guilty about.

I have had to do this several times, flakiness can be a real problem with housecleaners. But I find that if my expectations are clear, it usually works out. BTW, I have found a stellar housecleaner through BPN. Call Nancy at ''Clean House Clean Soul'' 510-685-3318. She is great and VERY responsible! Anon

I can go on and on about the guilt feelings part of this equation - my thought is in general it is a good thing to put money out there in order to get services that help and support you. (That's my preachy stance). We tend to hold guilt feelings based on our relationship to money

My suggestion is to re-evaluate this particular service relationship. First and foremost, you deserve to have excellent service! There are many other cleaning services out there that will show consistent reliability and respect for your home care needs. These principles will be a given for them. One option is to just end the service and start with another person (I am sure the BPN community can recommend some excellent people) or see if this current one can be turned around with a heart-to-heart discussion. I know that either option means having to confront them with your concerns. This is best done when you feel confident and calm in your feelings. Best of luck! - Amy

For $90 you should be getting a thorough job (mine was $80 for whole house in 4 hours by 1 person every 2 weeks). You should also be able to communicate comfortably with this person about your expectations for cleanliness and scheduling, and don't settle for anything less. Frequent no-shows are no-good. A good cleaner will understand the impacts to you and your family and avoid this problem unless an emergency comes up for them.

I found that a good housecleaner improved my quality of life and it's worth it if your family can afford it. My husband and I worked many hours. The service helped us enjoy what little personal/family time we had at the cost of an affordable monthly household expense. currently unemployed

I don't think having her back over to clean more for no more $$ will work with independent workers. Also, make sure she cleans with soap and water, maid services (highly expoitative) train women to only ''wipe'' and they don't really clean anything. Also, don't be too uptight about your cleaning standards with your family--toothpaste on the basin is not toxic waste. former scrubber

I asked my friends who have had housecleaning services what they thought about $90 for ~90 minutes of cleaning, and all of them said it's expensive and a lot more than what they paid, especially if the person(s) didn't do an outstanding job.

Sorry about bringing such bad news to you, but if you've already had a housecleaning dilemma, perhaps you'd feel better if you look elsewhere and consider hiring someone who can truly do an outstanding job of cleaning with or without you being at home, and is highly professional -- always on time and never call in sick. Good luck Hope things work out for you

Are we unreasonable to expect better service?

We've been having some trouble with housekeepers for quite some time (having gone through 3 in 3 years)and are wondering whether we are just too rigid, or whether some housekeepers just push the limits. We've had housekeepers who chronically break things, pull the towel bars and toilet paper holders off the walls, break mirrors, break collectibles, ruin things and even those who've been caught alone in our bedroom in compromising situations (they were fired immediately). So you can see we've developed some sensitivities around housekeepers. Nonetheless, we really appreciate the regular help, and wonder whether our new housekeepers are pushing the limits. We have a company now, that provides 2-3 people on a given day to clean our 2+ BR-BA home in Berkeley. Question is, is it unreasonable to expect to know what hours they are coming? And exactly who will have access to our home? Sometimes more than two (up to five) converge at our place for lunch and the place turns into a cafeteria of sorts. They use our dinnerware and good knives, appliances, etc. Then they leave everything clean, but out on the drainboard for us to put away, hence we know exactly what's gone on, in addition to coming home ourselves for lunch and being displaced. They also feel free using our telephone, and recently left the handset off the charger and in the 'on' mode, so when we came home, the battery was dead and the home 'station' was beeping looking for the handset. They also repeatedly torture the window blinds, leaving them dented and in a disarray (this has been an issue with every housekeeper.) Are we being unreasonable to expect better service? Unreasonable?

We have a company service (Cooperative Cleaning Company) which we've used for many years, and none of the cleaning people has ever done any of the same type of thing, as far as I know. When we've had (minor) issues, the management has always been very responsive and, no pun intended, cooperative. I hope that's not the same company you use--if it isn't, give them a try. Glad I don't have your cleaners

You mention that the cleaners are part of a service. So the cleaners have a boss that is someone other than you??? That sounds like a bad deal for you and for them (since there's a middleman.) Do you know if they make a living wage?

Have you ever hired someone on your own? I have only had two housecleaning teams (one a husband and wife, the other a mother and daughter) ever, and they were both referred by close friends. I negotiated the pay with them, and they work for me. I tell them what I want and expect, and give them feedback on their work. If they were to intentionally do the things you mention, I'd stop employing them. But they wouldn't, because we have a relationship with communication.

(BTW, BPN has many recommendations for housekeepers in the Household Digest newsletter.) happy with clean home

I have been cleaning houses for 2 years and have never even considered using any of my clients household items or taking a lunch break inside the home. My clients know the exact time I will arrive and leave at. I never bring anybody else into the home. I treat and clean their homes as if they are my own.

Get rid of your current service! A responsible cleaner

Do I get a nanny or a housekeeper?

My husband and I currently share childcare responsibilities -- I stay home with our 4-month-old in the morning and he's on duty in the afternoon. My husband's studio is behind our house, and my studio is 10 minutes from home. We are both self-employed and consider ourselves pretty lucky to have flexibility in our schedules to allow this, which helps to make up for not having a paid maternity leave.

With project deadlines recently, I've been working swing shift hours -- 1pm to 9pm-ish. The total number of hours I work is not likely to change, although I can usually get in an hour in the morning when baby is napping and put in one or two hours at home in the evening. This schedule actually suits me okay, but it means that hubby and I don't really hang out together since we're both trying to work whenever we can. It also means that there isn't a whole lot of laundry and cleaning getting done. It can also get pretty stressful when we both have meetings or such and we have to pass the baby back and forth. I will sometimes bring my son to my office -- but it makes for a very unproductive work day.

We need help, but I don't know what kind of help. Neither of us wants to give up our designated childcare hours. I don't want to hire someone to be with our baby just so that I can catch up on the laundry. I *think* that hiring someone to do the chores sounds like a better solution. But aside from my middleclass guilt, I don't know whether this would work.

I understand from a recent thread here that some nannies are willing to also do chores. So, a combo is a possibility. How is a ''mother's helper'' different from a nanny or housekeeper? I would love to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation. Hae

I have an awkward situation in which my housecleaner has become a friend, and yet I'm not completely satisfied with her work. I'm new to having a housecleaner, so I am hoping to get some advice from others who have had more experience, and can help define what general expectations should be. I would like to know this before deciding whether to say anything, as I don't want to seem demanding or petty. I like this housecleaner because I trust her (she works at the building where I live), she is really friendly with my child, and if she sees me with too many grocery bags she helps carry them, etc.

In the last 2 months I've had her clean the floors once a week, and the rest of the place once a month. She does a good job on the floors except that I find areas she's missed. This past time she didn't shake out the bathroom rugs or clean under the portable pantry. Am I being picky or looking too closely after she leaves? However, she did a wonderful job on the inside of our fridge. If this info. helps, we live in a 1,050 sq. foot loft -- it takes her 1 hour to do the floors, and 1.5-2 hours to do the overall (incl. floors). I pay her $20 for floors (vacuum and mop), and $50 for the overall. She will not accept tips, and tells me instead to take the tip and buy something for the baby. Thanks in advance for any tips on what should be expected from a housecleaner.

I would like to recommend my current housecleaner who is simply excellent. He has very reasonable rates and cleans extremely well which makes him an excellent value. Also, he is very good with following advice. If he forgets something and I remind him he is very receptive to the same. His spouse is a doctoral student at U.C. Berkeley. He lives in Albany in the UC Berkeley married student housing. He is very reliable and conscientious. His company is called Royal Cleaning company and their license number is #2044374. The website address is http://ourworld.cs.com/royal732 Sharmila

From: Debbe

I just hired someone this past weekend to clean parts of my house in Richmond View, and she did a pretty good job and was very reasonable. Her name is Eva of Eva's Cleaning Service. To clean my kitchen and bathroom, which took a little less than 4 hours total, she charged me $35.00

I think you can find people/agencies who will bring their own cleaning supplies, but I like to provide my own so I can be sure the products being used are appropriate to the task and not too nastily smelly or toxic.

My husband and I feel that cost of professional housecleaning is some of the best money we've ever spent and when measured against the increased time we have to spend with each other and our daughter is worth much more!

One of the best gifts my parents have given us is that they pay for someone to come to our house for 4 hours once a week. I can highly recommend our current employee, but I won't put her name and phone number on a public mailing list (I'll send it to you privately). I found her through an organization called Manos. They train people and make referrals and the nice thing is that they are available on phone to translate to/from Spanish in case you need them. (They also do other things such as gardening and painting I think). You pay the person they send $9/hr if it's a one-time thing and slightly less if you plan for it to be regular. However, they have to give some of this to the agency so what I usually do is try someone out and then if I like them ask them to come on a regular basis, bypassing the agency. (I think they changed the rules as the agency used to take a flat fee and then give free referalls which makes more sense). You can feel the person out for how good their English is and for trustworthiness as well as how thorough they are. You have to provide all the cleaning supplies which stay in your house. Most of the people are good, decent, hard-working, etc. The only problem I've ever encountered is late- or no-shows without calling, which is when I'd try someone new. The better a person's English the more likely they are to call.

If you are interested in a house cleaner, either one time, short term, or regular, just call, describe the job duties, indicate whether or not you need some English language skills and how much you can pay, ( I believe the scale is $8-12 per hour). They will send someone to your house via public transportation. The worker will come with a contract and a Spanish translation list of typical housecleaning duties. You pay the worker directly (checks ok).