Is it wrong to clean before your cleaner arrives?
What is the appropriate etiquette for cleaning before your cleaner arrives? Our experts weigh in.
In our experience, there can be a lot of tentativeness around the proper etiquette when it comes to getting a home cleaner.
Particularly when it comes to the question of whether or not you need to tidy your home before the cleaner arrives.
It’s tricky, as it seems counterintuitive, but there are many reasons people often cite as to why they want to clean before our experts have even set foot in the home.
Informed by over 20 years of experience as a Merry Maids business owner in Croydon, in this blog post, Debbie Walker answers frequently asked questions about cleaning for your cleaner.
Is it wrong to clean before your cleaner arrives?
“At Merry Maids of Croydon, we are here to help you with whatever you need,” says Debbie.
It is definitely not wrong to clean your home before a professional cleaner arrives. However, we are here to help you, and we don’t want you to spend precious time or energy doing the tasks that we are very happy to do for you.
Many people have that psychological feeling of guilt that they are asking someone to help them. We always say, “Please don’t worry. You are helping us by letting us help you.”
It’s what we do, and it’s helping keep our staff busy and employed. So please don’t do too much the day or night before a clean.
What will a professional cleaner typically do and not do to clean a home?
Services carried out by a professional cleaner will vary depending on the provider. But there will always, naturally, be some overlap. At Merry Maids…
We do:
On every visit, a Merry Maids team will dust, wash, sanitise and vacuum your home using our own equipment and specially formulated products. Our services depend on the type of cleaning you require, as some customers may book for a one-off service and some we see regularly.
Regular cleans are frequent visits, typically weekly, fortnightly or 4-weekly. They involve:
- Dusting – ornaments, electrical goods, furniture, skirting boards.
- Vacuuming – carpets and soft furnishings.
- Emptying wastebaskets and ashtrays.
- Bathrooms – suites, tiles, mirrors, and deodorising.
- Kitchens – surfaces, cupboards (exterior), white goods (exterior).
One-offs, which can be spring cleans or deep cleans, end-of-tenancies or builders cleans, are ideal when moving in or out of a property, preparing your home to sell, having the in-laws visiting, in the aftermath of building or renovation works or needing a complete freshen-up. Above and beyond the services included in a regular cleaning, they can also include:
- Cleaning out kitchen cupboards.
- Vacuuming curtains.
- Cleaning brass and silver.
- Washing walls.
- Cleaning inside windows.
- Cleaning inside and/or defrosting fridges and freezers.
We don’t:
As a rule of thumb, we don’t typically:
- Deal with bodily fluids (human or animal) from a health and safety point of view.
- Clean external windows.
- Clean anything that could affect the health and safety of the staff, e.g. cleaning a very high window that cannot be reached.
Things to do before a cleaner arrives
Before arriving at your home, we recommend that you pick things up off the floors, which can be difficult, we know, with young children. But this allows us to move around the home efficiently and safely. We’ll also do an initial risk assessment to cover these areas, so we know what to expect from your home and can clean safely.
How can someone feel less embarrassed before a professional cleaner arrives?
Part of feeling less embarrassed is having a good working relationship and communication with your professional cleaning company,” says Debbie.
“At Merry Maids of Croydon, we take the time to get to know you and your circumstances. By sharing with us your concerns, we can help alleviate them. We understand that for many reasons, from mental and physical health, work pressures or family circumstances, the tidiness or cleanliness of your home can be affected. Ideally, before we clean, we offer a free, no-obligation quotation to visit you in your home, allowing us to get to know you and understand how we can help you.”
Our staff recruitment is vital in helping you feel more comfortable. Our cleaners need to be understanding and non-judgmental, and have great communication skills to put you at ease. By only employing cleaners with these skills and who meet these standards, we help you, as our customers, by providing compassionate, understanding staff to do the best possible job while putting you at ease.
To support this, we offer regularity by cleaning teams so that it’s possible to build up a good relationship, so if things are not as you would want them to be when the cleaning arrives, you are not embarrassed to tell us that you had a really bad night’s sleep, for example.
Considering getting a cleaner?
If you have any more questions about the ins and outs or etiquette of hiring a professional cleaning service in your home, our experts nationwide, like Debbie, are happy to field any questions and concerns you may have.
To find out more about how we can help you with a range of professional and expert cleaning services, find your nearest Merry Maids business, book online, or call 0800 021 3072 today.
And if you’re in Croydon and the surrounding areas and would like to benefit from a cleaning service with over 20 years of expertise and heart, contact Debbie and her team today on 0208 663 3268 or email croydon@merrymaids.org.uk.
