Anonymous
Post 03/08/2026 03:56     Subject: Re:What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Anonymous wrote:Cleaners may come alone but it is better when they come either as a duo or a team.
I prefer this since it means they will get the house cleaner quicker.

Some of them will play loud music while they clean which can be annoying if you have a baby who is napping during their shift.

Many will do a light, surface dusting of coffee tables and shelves but if you have a lot of stuff you should probably do all the dusting on your own.


+1
Most cleaners are very thorough in their work but they typically fall short in the dusting department.

They may surface dust areas mostly visible, but will not spend hours dusting numerous items and areas.
So if you employ a cleaning lady do so fully expecting that you will be doing most of the dusting in your home.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2026 03:52     Subject: Re:What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
If you have any old furniture or other items like an old TV that you need to get rid of - ask your cleaning lady first if she would like the items.

We have given our cleaning ladies our old sofas, appliances, etc. over the years.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 18:19     Subject: Re:What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Anonymous wrote:Cleaners may come alone but it is better when they come either as a duo or a team.
I prefer this since it means they will get the house cleaner quicker.

Some of them will play loud music while they clean which can be annoying if you have a baby who is napping during their shift.

Many will do a light, surface dusting of coffee tables and shelves but if you have a lot of stuff you should probably do all the dusting on your own.


I've never had a duo of two great cleaners from an agency. Usually it is one great one and a mediocre one (friend/sister/daughter). I end up just hiring the great one independently.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 18:16     Subject: What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What is unfortunately normal is that they’ll soon start slacking off, will break something, will steal something, or all of the above. If they don’t, and it lasts months, then you can start offering them food and bonuses.


This is true. And even if it's not "breaking" they will scratch your fridge or cooktops, bang into your walls or floors, or damage finishes on things. It's part of the package.


Yes. And half my Miele attachments are missing. My guess is they get put in the apron/pocket and they forget, and then because of course each attachment isn’t labeled with my name, they have no idea which house or vac it goes to.


Have you asked them about the missing attachments? They probably can find them and return them at the next cleaning. Perhaps you should label them with your initials in a prominent location on the attachment. I used to be embarrassed that my parents labeled everything with their last name but they got their stuff back.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 10:06     Subject: What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What is unfortunately normal is that they’ll soon start slacking off, will break something, will steal something, or all of the above. If they don’t, and it lasts months, then you can start offering them food and bonuses.


This is true. And even if it's not "breaking" they will scratch your fridge or cooktops, bang into your walls or floors, or damage finishes on things. It's part of the package.


Yes. And half my Miele attachments are missing. My guess is they get put in the apron/pocket and they forget, and then because of course each attachment isn’t labeled with my name, they have no idea which house or vac it goes to.


They use their own equipment and it's disgusting. They use your equipment and lose pieces. Can't win!
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 02:59     Subject: What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Anonymous wrote:My old cleaner would come for most of the day and I worked from home so I’d always make a lunch for her while making my own. I’d leave it out at kitchen table and eat at my desk. She’d take a meal break and appreciated it. She passed from cancer a few years ago and I haven’t thought about the lunches until seeing this post. I’m glad I did that.


Aww you sound like you were an awesome employer!
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 02:56     Subject: Re:What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Cleaners may come alone but it is better when they come either as a duo or a team.
I prefer this since it means they will get the house cleaner quicker.

Some of them will play loud music while they clean which can be annoying if you have a baby who is napping during their shift.

Many will do a light, surface dusting of coffee tables and shelves but if you have a lot of stuff you should probably do all the dusting on your own.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 14:02     Subject: What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
My old cleaner would come for most of the day and I worked from home so I’d always make a lunch for her while making my own. I’d leave it out at kitchen table and eat at my desk. She’d take a meal break and appreciated it. She passed from cancer a few years ago and I haven’t thought about the lunches until seeing this post. I’m glad I did that.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 13:48     Subject: Re:What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
I was getting our house cleaned every other week but after noticing that they really only surface clean, don't move things when they dust, don't scour bathroom floors as thoroughly as I do, only swipe over baseboards, etc. I switched to once a month cleaning. Then I do all the real cleaning at least once a month plus the daily stuff (quick vacuuming, cleaning toilets/bathroom surfaces, etc.).

It's been a good balance.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 11:31     Subject: What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What is unfortunately normal is that they’ll soon start slacking off, will break something, will steal something, or all of the above. If they don’t, and it lasts months, then you can start offering them food and bonuses.


This is true. And even if it's not "breaking" they will scratch your fridge or cooktops, bang into your walls or floors, or damage finishes on things. It's part of the package.


Yes. And half my Miele attachments are missing. My guess is they get put in the apron/pocket and they forget, and then because of course each attachment isn’t labeled with my name, they have no idea which house or vac it goes to.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 09:22     Subject: What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Anonymous wrote:What is unfortunately normal is that they’ll soon start slacking off, will break something, will steal something, or all of the above. If they don’t, and it lasts months, then you can start offering them food and bonuses.


This is true. And even if it's not "breaking" they will scratch your fridge or cooktops, bang into your walls or floors, or damage finishes on things. It's part of the package.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 09:20     Subject: Re:What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My sister has a cleaning person visit every two weeks to do a thorough clean of her entire house.
In between visits she does the bare minimum since she detests cleaning.
In her defense she also works full-time and is raising small kids too.
Since the cleaner only comes about 2x/month the house’s toilets only get scrubbed that often as well.
She has two bathrooms and five people in her family so her toilets should be scoured weekly but like I said my sister HATES cleaning house.

So if you have a bi-weekly cleaning service come, understand that there are also cleaning tasks that should be performed in between cleaning appointments.


There are also daily cleaning chores that should be done to have a well functioning house. My 5 daily chores are - beds, laundry, dishes, paperwork, trash. It prevents my house from spiralling into total chaos.


Excellent idea!


Pet house here- add floors to that list.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 03:34     Subject: What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
What is unfortunately normal is that they’ll soon start slacking off, will break something, will steal something, or all of the above. If they don’t, and it lasts months, then you can start offering them food and bonuses.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 01:06     Subject: Re:What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My sister has a cleaning person visit every two weeks to do a thorough clean of her entire house.
In between visits she does the bare minimum since she detests cleaning.
In her defense she also works full-time and is raising small kids too.
Since the cleaner only comes about 2x/month the house’s toilets only get scrubbed that often as well.
She has two bathrooms and five people in her family so her toilets should be scoured weekly but like I said my sister HATES cleaning house.

So if you have a bi-weekly cleaning service come, understand that there are also cleaning tasks that should be performed in between cleaning appointments.


There are also daily cleaning chores that should be done to have a well functioning house. My 5 daily chores are - beds, laundry, dishes, paperwork, trash. It prevents my house from spiralling into total chaos.


Excellent idea!
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 01:04     Subject: Re:What is normal when it comes to having a cleaning lady?
Cleaning people usually are to be paid at the end of their stay.

If they come weekly, they are to be paid weekly not bi weekly.