The best way to make sure your cleaners do everything you want is to give them a checklist for each room. Then if they forget or skip over something it is easy to say Number 6 seems to have been omitted, can you get to it before you leave, please?

Oblique comments help no one and will not keep your bathroom clean. Checklists with pictures on an iPad are what I use.

Yes, checklists. Then it is less "here is what you missed" and more "can you please do these things for me today?" Plus lots of positive reinforcement and smiley faces.

I usually just show them what was missed by saying, ”I think this area needs some extra attention.” I don’t clean it ahead of time because I want them to see how dirty it is. They make sure they do that job in the future. However, some areas like door moldings tend to get skipped. That’s when checklists are especially good to have.

I have once-a-month cleaners from a service. The service has a list of what I want done, so I print that out for each cleaner and show it to them when they arrive. Has worked well so far well except fot the cleaner who must have used a dirty dishcloth to clean the glass/mirrors in our house. I just sent photos to the service and I was given a gratis re-do of the whole house at my earliest convenience. That's why I now use a service, not an individual.

I am not making any judgments here, but do you think the amount of time you have the cleaners scheduled for is adequate to meet your requirements/expectations?

I grew up in a very clean and well-run house, but my parents had a house cleaner (an old-school cleaning lady) 8 hours one week and 12-16 hours on alternating weeks. The second 4-8 hours in the alternating week was devoted to a deep-cleaning project.

I don't know that such a person exists anymore. She was replaced with someone younger who did 8 hours a week, and really the bar dropped a bit, and I would spend part of weekends or vacations home doing the things that never got done. (My mother was getting too old to stand on stepstools and ladders and such) And all this time my parents were also extremely tidy: my mother cleaned their bathroom every day. Not scrubbed, but wiped everything down and cleaned the mirrors if they needed them and such.

When my mother died the cleaning lady told my dad she was getting busier and she could probably do his house in 4 hours a week because it was only him.

This meant the bathrooms and kitchen did not actually get dirty and the rugs got vacuumed and not much else. The house really needed a Solid 8 hours a week regardless of who was living there.

I know several people who have services of four hours every two weeks where one or a couple people come in and bang around a vacuum cleaner and Swiffer the floor and clean the toilets and wipe some things or whatever, but I would not call their houses "clean" at all. They are just kept from being actually really dirty.

If you have someone in for a limited time, realistically I think it means you do a certain amount of cleaning yourself or it's not going to get done. We do not have a house cleaner, I can't afford the type of cleaning person I would like, so we do it ourselves. When we were selling our last house we dried the shower and bathtub every use, wiped out the sink every use, wiped the faucets and such, so it would always be ready to show and figured out that was quick and easy enough to do every time even if we weren't selling the house. So stains around the sink drain may just mean you wiping them every day which takes a few seconds and not forming stains that someone else has to scrub later. Maybe that is not something that you want to do, but it does save us a lot of time cleaning the bathroom in general.

This is tricky. I never had to tell my ladies what to do. I can't say my house is sparkling clean, but it is good enough for me. And, I don't have to do it!

They have been coming to my house for over 10 years and have a key. I leave the house when they come.

When they first started an amount was decided for the size of my home.

I agree with Pal’s first statement. Do they have to be out at a certain time to head over to a different home?

How was the amount decided?

I think having a check list could solve your problem.

Personally I would not want to micromanage my cleaners.

Personally I would not want to micromanage my cleaners.

I would rather clean the house myself than have to do this. My pictures and checklist were born of how I had to manage my boys learning to do their part of clean up. And there is an impossible language barrier with most of my cleaners, they speak Russian. They are absolutely OCD about cleanliness, though. My lists and pictures helped us establish time and payment.

This thread has been a great read for me. Interesting, informative and validating. Many of my friends & neighbors have varying levels of cleaning services & I’ve wondered if I’m missing something. The best replies for me are Jilly & palimpsest because Jilly made me laugh out loud & palimpsest presents the ’real world’ house cleaner expectations for today.

I just provide feedback from time to time if something wasn’t done well. I’ve had housecleaners for at least 30 years - a few different ones - independent never a service. They’re never perfect but they’re good enough because the place looks decent and I don’t have to do it. If I have to do some detailing beyond the usual cleaning I’m okay with that. I’ve never had a housecleaner who cleaned my blinds. I only had one who wasn’t proficient in English. It bothered me that she required cash payment.

All good points. My cleaners have been with me for just over a year. They are two women, one is in charge. When she came to look at the job, she quoted me a price to clean. They come every two weeks and are in and out in 1.5 hours. There are only myself and my husband, so the cleaners only do one bedroom and two bathrooms, plus the living areas.

I don’t expect deep cleaning, but I do expect all surfaces to be dusted with a swiffer. In the bathroom, I expect the tile and grout to be wiped down. Vacuum rugs and hardwood, no wet mopping.

I put away anything that is not in its place, no clutter. I clean between visits.

I used to clean houses when my step-kids were young. I know what the job is like. I try to make it as easy as possible for them.

Maybe a list is a good idea, but I think it should have been done at the beginning when they first started. Doing it now might feel insulting to them.

My cleaning people bill me based on much time they need. Sometimes something I ask them to do has to be done on another day, or on a day when they have more time, etc.

You are correct that people use housecleaning services very differently. I know families who have someone come one day every other week. I assume that means they only want a clean house once in a while or do a lot themselves.

Before COVID, the cleaning person we have in CT worked 3 full days per week for us. When COVID hit, she was out of the country for more than 6 months, and we did our own cleaning. One thing I realized was that we did not need someone 24 hours a week. She was cleaning things that were not dirty; heck they weren't even dusty. We have since changed the paradigm.

I used to clean houses when my step-kids were young. I know what the job is like. I try to make it as easy as possible for them.

Perhaps this is the problem? I cleaned houses and nannied for 15 years. The role reversal is really uncomfortable for me and I too make up stories about how and why I discovered something needs to be done differently. You and I both need to get better at saying, "Hey, will you please make sure to scrub around the drain and in the corners of the tub each time you come?"

We moved to an apartment in NYC two years ago and use the cleaning lady who worked for 18 years for the previous owner. She knows more about my apartment than I do, and she cleans for others in the building. She is an incredibly hard worker, doesn't smoke or wear strange perfume, all of the doormen in the building know her, I trust her, and she loves my dog.

The former 82 year old homeowner fell while packing up for the move, was in the hospital, and our cleaning lady was at her bedside for five days and refused pay because she loved this woman and wanted to make sure she was not alone in the hospital.

I don't care if she is an A- cleaner and I have to do a little extra. She is a good woman, gives me peace of mind. She charges a lot and I'm happy to pay her in cash. She is an immigrant without health insurance who takes the train over an hour to get to my home and works on Sundays because her family needs the money. I am lucky to know her.

Every time she comes I ask how she is doing and she looks up to the ceiling, clasps her hands, and says with deep sincerity "I'm good, thank god!"

Plus lots of positive reinforcement and smiley faces.

I wanted to elaborate on this statement because it sounds patronizing.

Like others have experienced, we have had long term relationships with our house cleaners, generally for the duration of ownership. And beyond - the couple who cleaned for us in our first home came over for dinner a year or two ago, 10 years after we moved.

At our current primary home in CT, we have had the same person for 12+ years. Her duties have also, from time to time, included grocery shopping, occasional babysitting, serving at parties, etc etc. I think we have a very good relationship. We share a passion for travel and she collects shotglasses; whenever we go someplace she hasn't been, we bring her back a shotglass for her collection at her request.

I think sometimes people forget to give positive feedback, and can be more focussed on constructive criticism. I try to be very aware of that tendency. I praise my household cleaners heavily because it is heartfelt. They make our lives so much easier and pleasant! Doesn't it always feel great to come back to a spotless home? Don't forget to say so.

In re smiley faces. I used to think emojis were kind of silly. But I have started to use them a lot more. Studies have shown that smiling impacts mood levels, but so do smiling emojis. I now use them far more often with my kids. There are no language barriers with our house cleaners at either home, but when I send a list of things I need done (or don't need done) I use an emoji. I pay by Venmo and always make a point to say thank you in the comments, etc. Or something specific like "Wow the french doors look great," etc.

I think the more you develop a positive rapport, the more comfortable you are communicating what you'd like done.

Dirty counter corners and sinks are not acceptable. I think that's a bare minimum expectation, and pointing it out isn't being too picky. I would just say, "I'd like to point out a few things that don't seem clean to me, what do you think?".

My cleaning lady and I had to have a talk because she was often late or changed times and I kept having to move my schedule around because of her. It was uncomfortable but if the person doesn't know there is an issue, they can't fix it.

The reason I use a cleaning person is because I want all the wiping, dusting, mopping, and vacuuming done in one fell swoop. I don't expect them to be as OCD about my house as I am, and frankly, they don't get paid enough to do so.

Interesting about Mtn’s remarks about praise. In Florida we use our home watch woman to clean. But…..there isn't a schedule, she doesn't have reliable assistants and it’s common for her to cancel.

When she’s finished she will text wanting approval. When she comes with “A” the house is sparkling, with her daughter not so much. But, we have such a good relationship with her and do not want to make things awkward. After Hurricane Ian, we heard from her the very next day!

When I arrange for a cleaning I try wait for when “A” can assist.

Each year I keep saying I should do something else as I enjoy a clean house on a schedule.

FWIW, I don't think I'd be saying 'What do you think?', but rather, 'Please clean this corner/that area. It needs it.'

carol, I think asking an open-ended question would give me a better idea if the problems were legitimate oversights or an issue like the cleaners were afraid of using harsh products that might harm the surface, or if the person was just hoping to get away with it. YMMV.

@mtn - What beautiful sentiments in your comment. I loathe emoji's and consider them the demise of the English language. However, you make such a strong case, you may have convinced me to use them every now and then.

I have chronic back pain. Having a cleaning lady measurably improves my pain levels and quality of life. I can tell from the way my cleaning woman moves that she has pain. This kind of work takes a toll on the body.

An hour and a half every two weeks--the stains could easily be building so a list hitting these seems reasonable. With that little time/frequency I would expect there to be stains they are there to manage. That seems to be what you are paying for. The blinds--well I would not begin with water!! You will be sorry as you will make a bigger mess than you have now. You might just have to start new with other's and this time be a better consumer. Be specific and give them the time needed to fulfill your list.

A simple checklist on the counter works great—bullet points with clear tasks help a lot. A quick walkthrough before they start also makes sure they know your priorities.

Always timely. I guess it's harder to see links with the new way that they don't change color

You should communicate your expectations clearly. Some of the tasks seem super specific and would take more time or different products. Price should be adjusted accordingly.