Housekeeping MEGA Thread

[killramos]

We had upstairs laundry in the last house and loved it, preferably directly off walk in closet if you can swing it. With a door for noise obvs.

“The help” jokes aside, anyone other than me hate the idea of cleaners etc.?

I hate having people in my house when I’m not there. Have had it for a few stretches, didn’t like it. Paying people minimum wage to take care of your home, WCGW.

No thanks.

[Buster]

We had upstairs laundry in the last house and loved it, preferably directly off walk in closet if you can swing it. With a door for noise obvs.

“The help” jokes aside, anyone other than me hate the idea of cleaners etc.?

I hate having people in my house when I’m not there. Have had it for a few stretches, didn’t like it. Paying people minimum wage to take care of your home, WCGW.

No thanks.

Nanny does all of the laundry. I haven't touched the washing machine in 5 years.

[killramos]

Yea it’s just really something I dislike and can’t seem to get over.

I find it insanely awkward.

[Buster]

Yea it’s just really something I dislike and can’t seem to get over.

I find it insanely awkward.

I was like that too.

For five minutes.

[killramos]

I fired them and bought a roomba

[Buster]

Your roomba does laundry?

I want that model.

[killramos]

She really doesn’t like it when I call her that...

[Buster]

She really doesn’t like it when I call her that...

fucking keyboard.

[roopi]

Nanny does all of the laundry. I haven't touched the washing machine in 5 years.

Your nanny won't be there forever. When your kids leave you'll either sell the house or have to do laundry yourself. At that point its better upstairs or its a preference for someone buying your house if you decide to sell.

[Rocket1k78]

I envy you that dont have to do laundry, thats a never ending battle in our house so for that sake its a blessing that its upstairs.


Yea it’s just really something I dislike and can’t seem to get over.

I find it insanely awkward.

Its definitely awkward at first but we use a smaller cleaning company so its always the same crew and were comfortable with them. If it was just a new crew all the time then yeah that aint happenin. I've converted a couple friends and family to cleaners and at first they didnt want some random in their house but after they saw how clean the toilets were they were sold lol

[killramos]

It was the slow drift on quality that really started pissing me off. First few months were great, then they clearly started rotating th B team through as part of the team and after 6 months they were fully phoning it in, started noticing damage, they managed to break the lock on a toilet closet door once. Swear I had petty cash disappear on me.

Did this a few times with different companies and gave up. I don’t mind cleaning nearly enough to bother, maybe a different story if I had more sqfootage again.

[XylathaneGTR]

Yea it’s just really something I dislike and can’t seem to get over.

I find it insanely awkward.

I'm the same way, don't really like it and would rather spend my own time cleaning than have some random do it. My wife feels much less strongly, and has suggested a cleaner after our daughter is born later this year. We'll see, I guess.

[killramos]

I'm the same way, don't really like it and would rather spend my own time cleaning than have some random do it. My wife feels much less strongly, and has suggested a cleaner after our daughter is born later this year. We'll see, I guess.

Yea it’s a point of disagreement between the wife and I for sure.

[ExtraSlow]

Huh, go figure. Guys wives want some help and the guys think it's not needed. There's an easy solution to this problem, just tell your wife she doesn't have to clean any more because you'll do all of it. #solved.

[Rocket1k78]

It was the slow drift on quality that really started pissing me off. First few months were great, then they clearly started rotating th B team through as part of the team and after 6 months they were fully phoning it in, started noticing damage, they managed to break the lock on a toilet closet door once. Swear I had petty cash disappear on me.

Did this a few times with different companies and gave up. I don’t mind cleaning nearly enough to bother, maybe a different story if I had more sqfootage again.
I totally get where you're coming from because ive had some sktechy ass cleaners for my rentals but ive been with my cleaners for at least 5 years now and its always the A team because theres only 2 teams lol
I had a theft incident at my house too and at first i didnt want to think it was the cleaners but it turned out to be my fucking neighbor of all people.


I'm the same way, don't really like it and would rather spend my own time cleaning than have some random do it. My wife feels much less strongly, and has suggested a cleaner after our daughter is born later this year. We'll see, I guess.
If you want a good reliable cleaner that does it cheap lmk.

[bjstare]

ExtraSlow where's the Housekeeping MEGA THREAD?

We've used house cleaners a few times. I do not like it. I have yet to meet one that is as particular as my wife and I about what exactly constitutes being "clean"; they typically just clean the stuff that takes no time and effort anyways, and fold your toilet paper roll to look fancy. Not to mention, I can think of one thing each one has done that pissed me off/caused damage. As an example, the last one used an abrasive cleaner that left tiny scratches on our gas range top and in our sink as well. I would never use an abrasive because I don't want scratches, I would always just curse my way through it until it was eventually clean. And obviously, there's no recourse. I'm not going to give them a bill for a new sink and range, I just have to be annoyed every time I notice it until we move out of the house.

[killramos]

Yea it’s far from a slam dunk decision in my books.

[nismodrifter]

Split from previous thread as clearly we need a MEGA thread to keep this discussion going.

[ExtraSlow]

Split from previous thread as clearly we need a MEGA thread to keep this discussion going.

You da real MVP

[saiyajin]

I totally get where you're coming from because ive had some sktechy ass cleaners for my rentals but ive been with my cleaners for at least 5 years now and its always the A team because theres only 2 teams lol
I had a theft incident at my house too and at first i didnt want to think it was the cleaners but it turned out to be my fucking neighbor of all people.


If you want a good reliable cleaner that does it cheap lmk.

would be interested in the cleaner you use, what is the average cost?

[ExtraSlow]

Last I checked cleaners were $30/hour through an agency. I think probably goes 2/3 to the person doing the work.

[pheoxs]

Weekly / semi-Monthly cleaners seems rather a waste of money to me. It's not much to keep up on things around the house but I wouldn't be opposed to hiring someone once a quarter to do a big clean of the house and do the deeper clean that I don't want to do.

[Rocket1k78]

would be interested in the cleaner you use, what is the average cost?

my old house was 1950sq/ft and it was only $100 which included 2 cleaners for 2 hours and their own supplies, new house is 2650 and they charge me $130.00 now. I'll pm you the company

[Rocket1k78]

Weekly / semi-Monthly cleaners seems rather a waste of money to me. It's not much to keep up on things around the house but I wouldn't be opposed to hiring someone once a quarter to do a big clean of the house and do the deeper clean that I don't want to do.

Monthly is the sweet spot for us

[nzwasp]

We use some Russians.

For my 2000 sq. house it costs approx $125 if I add the basement its an extra $50.

They come every 2 weeks. I asked if the price would come down if they came more frequently and the head Russian said "It doesn't matter how often we come your house is always dirty"

They either send 1 or 2 girls to do it and it takes between 2 and 4 hours. It seems pretty thorough.

One thing I don't like is that we have a blue recycling bin and a black garbage bin that is clearly labelled in each bathroom (plus the main bins in the kitchen) the cleaners put all trash regardless of type into the black bin outside. I confronted one of them last clean about this and they said they didn't realize the blue bins weren't trash :bullshit: The reason I don't like this is because it unnecessarily fills up our outside black bin.

They also unplug the hot water vending machine to plug in their vacuum cleaner when there's another empty socket 1m away.

Some of the cleaners are a bit daft. One lady came 4 times last year and left her iPhone charger every single time.

[nismodrifter]

Pre covid (and pre-baby) - used to have 2 girls we know personally help with cleaning. Trust worthy. I could leave them and not worry. Q 2week visits, full deep clean, house looked amazing in 4 hours and was truly shining. They also helped with food prep for the week, laundry, other home organizing projects, etc.

Then COVID happened and we had a baby ~2 weeks before lockdown hit. Nobody entered our home for a few months. I did everything. That was fun.

Then we found a nanny. She helps with everything. She's good but I don't really expect her to take care of my boy who has enough energy to power a small city, and on top of that do a deep clean of our entire house q weekly. Cleaning now happens as I feel it needs to happen. I help out with various things when I have the house to my self, she does the rest.

Re laundry. Nobody touches my dress shirts.......ever. Had a bad experience with a lady many years ago and will never let that happen again. The shirts aren't Eton like true beyond ballers but I am pretty OCD about my shirts.

Biggest pro tip.....I've created a basic 2-3 page user manual. It outlines which products are to be used where, where to avoid using abrasives, the task list, and my various rules including which color rags are to be used on particular areas (kitchen/washroom/general cleaning). I have it organized in a room by room fashion. Update it weekly on Sunday based on what needs to be done, print it off, and nanny can work through the tasks as she has time.

[Disoblige]

I never used cleaners, never will, but have seen some people who do.

In the end they are people and I noticed that sometimes, they use soiled towels longer than they should be. So what happens is your bathroom, kitchen whatever might look clean, but you may notice a faint smell of dirty towel. I noticed this on certain counters, the bathtub etc.
It's fucking gross, actually.

Risking that in itself is enough for me to say no.

[you&me]

Some of this seems so strange to me... In this thread, you have guys that will post inquiries to research the most minute details of a minor purchase, but one poor experience with a cleaner and it's "never again"? :nut:

There are about 14,000 things I'd rather spend my time doing than clean my house and it's something that I'll have done every week (or so) and spend thousands of dollars a year on... To me this is not a one-and-done kind of experience and if it takes a little research or input, or trial and error, so be it... Nismodrifter is doing it right - you're paying for a service and if you want something done a certain way, speak up.

[ThePenIsMightier]

...

Then COVID happened and we had a baby ~2 weeks before lockdown hit. Nobody entered our home for a few months. I did everything. That was fun.

Then we found a nanny. She helps with everything. She's good but I don't really expect her to take care of my boy who has enough energy to power a small city, and on top of that do a deep clean of our entire house q weekly. Cleaning now happens as I feel it needs to happen. I help out with various things when I have the house to my self, she does the rest.

...and nanny can work through the tasks as she has time.

God, I miss our nanny! We were very similar to this. First priority is kids. Second priority is kids. Third etc is don't leave a mess, vacuum if you have a chance, empty dishwasher if it's full, light sweep, and maybe laundry maybe once a week.
We didn't want a house cleaner who happened to be supervising the kids and it worked out super well for everyone.

[Mitsu3000gt]

We tried 2 different maid services, both came highly recommended and one of them was a prominent one recommended on these boards.

Both times, they just did the bare minimum and only cleaned visible areas, doing a pretty average job at that. Literally everywhere I checked beyond the carpets/floors, etc. wasn't even attempted. I can do the easy stuff myself, it doesn't take long to vacuum, I hired them for the annoying stuff and was disappointed. I probably just had bad luck but I'm 0/2 so far.

[killramos]

I don’t get the feeling most cleaners in Canada care if they are working or fired.

I never saw them do anything but bitch about us the entire time when I checked in on the security system.

I dunno, I guess end of the day I didn’t feel like I got enough for what I was paying them one way or another.

Maybe my time just isn’t as valuable as other people’s though, I can understand that.

[Buster]

I've never seen cleaning lady PTSD before.

[littledan]

This thread has stayed on topic long enough.

I wouldn't need a cleaning service if I wasn't cleaning up after myself, my kid, AND my wife. Somehow blue chores are blue chores, pink chores are 50/50 split, and dishes are my responsibilty because otherwise I pull 8 nested bowls out, 2 of which are half clean and 6 of which are no clean. Lol.

[suntan]

We had cleaners. Stopped using them when my wife lost her job. Would like to get them again. Cost about $250/mth to come every two weeks. No laundry though.

[ExtraSlow]

Man, laundry would be sweet. Not worth paying $30/hr for it, but yeah I'd appreciate that.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Me and the wife have been talking about it for years, but never actually pull the trigger. It's extra weird with covid, and being home full time right now.