Cleaner/Slave
Author
Discussion

Trustmeimadoctor

Original Poster:

14,314 posts

179 months

Thursday 15th September 2011
quotequote all
we have been thinking about hiring a slave to clean the house as tbh we would rather be doing something else smile

question is how long do they really need it seems all the companys i have looked at say 2 hours minimum is that enough or do they need more obviously it depends on house size so say 1400sqft but some of thats garage would want them to hover all carpets clean all the vinyl floors dust and polish and clean bathrooms inc tiles nothing out of the ordinary.

seems a common price is about £12 an hour inc vat round here and 100 seems rather a lot as a minimum to pay out every month (i could use it on petrol instead ! )


so anyone any advice do you find it worth it, is it better to go with a big company or Doris who does it now she has retired as something to do but obviously she could be a master criminal or just prone to sticking dusters through tv screens !

Edited by Trustmeimadoctor on Thursday 15th September 17:13

Shaw Tarse

31,836 posts

227 months

Thursday 15th September 2011
quotequote all
Trustmeimadoctor said:
we have been thinking about hiring a slave to clean the house as tbh we would rather be doing something else smile

question is how long do they really need it seems all the companys i have looked at say 2 hours minimum is that enough or do they need more obviously it depends on house size so say 1400sqft but some of thats garage would want them to hover all carpets clean all the vinyl floors dust and polish and clean bathrooms inc tiles nothing out of the ordinary.

seems a common price is about £12 an hour inc vat round here and 100 a month seems rather a lot as a minimum to pay out every month (i could use it on petrol instead ! )

martinmac

536 posts

221 months

Thursday 15th September 2011
quotequote all
Why use a company. Two hours a week at £9 per hour round here. Just dont expect them to gut the house every week for that rate.

Trustmeimadoctor

Original Poster:

14,314 posts

179 months

Thursday 15th September 2011
quotequote all
hmm i have seen £9 an hour + vat but not inc vat

i suppose their is safety to using a big company they are insured they have police checks etc


i wouldnt expect them to gut the place just clean a tidy house

Trustmeimadoctor

Original Poster:

14,314 posts

179 months

Thursday 15th September 2011
quotequote all
Trustmeimadoctor said:
hmm i have seen £9 an hour + vat but not inc vat

i suppose their is safety to using a big company they are insured they have police checks etc


i wouldnt expect them to gut the place just clean a tidy house
im round the doncaster area

martinmac

536 posts

221 months

Thursday 15th September 2011
quotequote all
My wife got bored so started cleaning the homes of some of the old dear round here. £9 may not sound much but she can claim all her cleaning stuff and other expenses back so can save on tax.

It pays for her general upkeep and gives me some peace when I am leave.

Jonboy_t

5,038 posts

207 months

Thursday 15th September 2011
quotequote all
My sister has a relatively good sized 3 bed detached (in Southampton) and has someone come round once a week. Think she pays about £12 all in per hour and the woman does a pretty spot on job in 2 hours (first clean took twice as long, but then it's tidier for the next time).

As above, don't expect to eat off your lino after two hours work, but if you want a spick and span (how very Mary Poppins of me!) house, 2 hours a week would do it.

spikeyhead

19,838 posts

221 months

Thursday 15th September 2011
quotequote all
When I had one years ago, two hours work did a good job on a three bed place

miniman

29,465 posts

286 months

Thursday 15th September 2011
quotequote all
5 bed, 3 hours per week at £10/hr including all materials.

We can both be pretty slovenly so it is fantastic to come home on a Tuesday to a completely clean house. Money well spent.

Griff Boy

1,563 posts

255 months

Friday 16th September 2011
quotequote all
£7.50 per hour for a private cleaner, whom we knew personally before she started, so no trust issues. 2 hours Monday & 2 hours Friday for a big 5 bedroom house with two kids. To be fair she also does the laundry, irons and generally tidys up our mess. Worth every penny!

Trustmeimadoctor

Original Poster:

14,314 posts

179 months

Friday 16th September 2011
quotequote all
hmm shame yours wont travel this far griff boy biggrin

Manks

28,176 posts

246 months

Friday 16th September 2011
quotequote all
Trustmeimadoctor said:
we have been thinking about hiring a slave to clean the house as tbh we would rather be doing something else smile

question is how long do they really need it seems all the companys i have looked at say 2 hours minimum is that enough or do they need more obviously it depends on house size so say 1400sqft but some of thats garage would want them to hover all carpets clean all the vinyl floors dust and polish and clean bathrooms inc tiles nothing out of the ordinary.

seems a common price is about £12 an hour inc vat round here and 100 seems rather a lot as a minimum to pay out every month (i could use it on petrol instead ! )


so anyone any advice do you find it worth it, is it better to go with a big company or Doris who does it now she has retired as something to do but obviously she could be a master criminal or just prone to sticking dusters through tv screens !

Edited by Trustmeimadoctor on Thursday 15th September 17:13
Good luck. We've been through literally dozens over the years.

We found a lot of benefit claimants who "don't want too many hours because it affects me benefits". This is a problem for two reasons usually, their preference for benefits over work tells a story and also they are probably not declaring their earnings anyway.

At the other extreme there are the professional outfits who charge a packet and are not usually worth it, with a turnover of inexperienced staff.

In between we've had several nutters, one who seemed to get a sexual kick out of playing the downstairs maid, several who thought they were too good for domestic cleaning and who were only doing it as a fill-in, still more who were horrendously unreliable. One or two were dishonest.

Our current lot have been with us for several years. They are OK and reasonably good value though sometimes their tidying skills seem better developed than their cleaning skills.


Roger Dodger

12,423 posts

218 months

Friday 16th September 2011
quotequote all
We have 2 of them come and do 1.5hrs each (therefore 3hrs total), they clean a 4bed house, costs £21