How to Find and Hire a reliable Housekeeper?

Hiring a cleaner is a great way to gain more time to work, pursue your passion or devote it to your family. After all, not everyone likes doing household chores, but at the same time you don’t want to live in a dusty or dirty place. What should you pay attention to when hiring a cleaner? How do you find the one and only cleaning lady who'll make your house shine? Continue reading to find out.  

Responsibilities of a cleaning lady 

You should be very precise from the start - in order to impose some requirements, you must first clearly explain what exactly is to be included in the cleaning service. Not all cleaning service providers are prepared to clean windows (e.g. for health reasons) or to work in a place where there are animals (allergies), to do the ironing, washing etc. A precise scope of cleaning duties will make it easier to assess the cost of the service, e.g. whether it is calculated per m2 of the flat/house area (more commonly applied in case of cleaning companies) or whether there is an hourly rate or a fixed rate. Having a list of duties is also a great way to verify whether the service itself was performed correctly. It is best to divide it into specific rooms and elements to be cleaned, e.g. floors, shelves, bed/sofa and so on.

Availability 

Without it, you won’t get very far! You should start your search for a trusted cleaning lady in the closest neighbourhood to avoid problems with travel (and associated costs).
At the same time, this gives you a better chance to verify opinions on the person you want to employ. In addition, you are able to adjust the time of service to your preferences, trips and plans

Trust 

It is one of the biggest obstacles on the way to a fruitful cooperation between the family and the person hired to do the cleaning. References from previous employers should be the basis for your search for a reliable person. In this situation, any reservations should be a warning sign, although it is also worth considering the other party's arguments, e.g. during an interview.

In order to establish trust to your house cleaner, it is best to be present during their first visit. This allows any doubts to be clarified, e.g. as regards the cleaning of specific rooms or the scope of responsibilities. At the same time, you can honestly assess how long it takes the given person to do the cleaning - of course it is not about watching their every move the whole time, which could lead to decreasing the quality of their work. It is best to check every place that was to be cleaned based on the abovementioned list and to assess whether it was indeed done. It is also a good idea to refrain from cleaning the house yourself before the visit of your hired cleaning lady and to let her show her skills. Contrary to one may think, many women still feel uncomfortable with the idea that another person (usually a woman) will in a way judge how their household is run.  

Another matter is the honesty of the cleaner. Unfortunately, there are cases of theft, but we believe that it is not worth doing so-called honesty tests. Do not leave valuable items or money in a visible place, because for many cleaners such a test is very uncomfortable. Of course, it can help identify a person looking for “extra” profit when cleaning, but it would probably only work in the case of a person who is not very smart.  

Equipment and cleaning products 

In most cases, as a client you provide the cleaning products, but it never hurts to ask whether the hired person uses professional chemical products for specific surfaces (such as the floor or ceramics), which are more effective. In such a case, you have to take into account that the price for the service will be higher, but in return you can be sure that your floors or furniture will be safe. When looking for a trusted cleaner, pay attention to their level of knowledge about cleaning products and equipment suitable for the job. Any lacks in knowledge should be taken into account, especially if you are particularly worried about any damage to your surfaces.  

Earnings 

How much does a cleaner earn? Much depends on the type of employment, country region and the detailed scope of work. A trusted and proven cleaning lady can certainly expect a higher salary, for which you have to be prepared. However, this should go hand in hand with the quality of work - in case of a cleaner with a higher pay it would be unreasonable to tolerate dirt left behind or improperly used cleaning products. It is therefore up to you to decide, but remember that an employee with low wages will not be very motivated to perform their tasks.