Part of your problem is that you have a "crew" or a "service", when you need a "house cleaner" who is in business for him/herself.

That way you have a 1-on-1 relationship with the person you have interviewed and hired. You can assure yourself of the level on English spoken, and give specific orders.

I don't know what kind of cleaning services you have in your town, but here everything broken by the cleaners must be paid for by them. They should not be helping themselves to your appliances or anything else unless you have given your permission, and should clean only what you tell them to. It is all in the contract you sign or should be. If you don't have a contract then maybe you should look for one who does.

I use the term "crew" loosely. When I hired her, I was hiring HER, but she also works with her non-English speaking brother and has a couple other women who work for her. Both times I've hired Wilma, who is a warm and cheerful woman and a good, if nosy, cleaner, when she is here she is quite thorough. But just like most general contractors I've ever worked with, she kind of "gets the job started" and then little by little, she starts disappearing and sending a new person or persons in her place. It was never as formal as having any kind of contract, I got her straight from my neighbor who seems pleased enough with her, although I have to assume her needs are different from mine.

Anyway, it seems very clear that it's time to get a new cleaning person. I'd love to have just one person, but our house is somewhat large (for our area, anyway) and it is quite a lot for just one person; otherwise they are here for well past 5 hours, which is more than I can stand. I'm going to start getting some new recommendations and be very, very clear about my expectations up front.

I know that I should demand that she pay for my broken vacuum, I just don't know if I can bring myself to do it. I know the girl had no idea in the world how to use the Dyson (it's very different than your typical vacuum in how it hooks together). Heck, I haven't even seen Wilma herself for weeks to even TELL her that her employees broke something. Guess that's evidence enough that it's time to part ways.

Hiring cleaning staff saves you the energy of cleaning, but with the hiring comes the responsibility of supervising your staff.

It is unclear whether you are at home when they come or whether you are away at work. Either way, YOU need to establish the cleaning plan of what gets cleaned, how it is cleaned and who is doing the cleaning, and then you have to monitor them and intervene or provide feedback. It can be almost as much work as doing the cleaning yourself. If you are in the house, you should be checking on them every 20-30 minutes. Leaving them unattended for several hours when you are in the house with them is just crazy.

One way to reduce the uneven performance is to hire someone to do specific tasks, such as cleaning floors. Just floors, nothing else. Vacuum the rugs, mop the kitchen, mop the bathrooms, mop the foyer. Buy an inexpensive Hoover vacuum with an on-off switch. Hide the Dyson. Provide the cleaning products you want them to use.

There are good cleaning services out there that don't require this much supervision. Problem develop when there is staff turnover (usually due to poor salary), and a company that you cannot readily communicate with. I would fire this cleaning service company. But even someone who is doing a good job needs to be supervised. If you are uncomfortable with this, then you might be better off doing the work yourself.

I agree with lazygardens. You definitely need to be able to have a 1-on-1 relationship with a "housecleaner" who doesn't send out a different person or crew each time. You need to be able to "talk" with that person and "they" understand. When I go through a homeowner's home for the 1st time, I make notes of what they want done & what they DON'T want done (and I stick with that). Having someone "organize" your things when you don't want that is not acceptable of course. I would also be frustrated. Start over, find someone you can communicate with and make sure they have an understanding what "YOU" want. There surely is someone out there that will listen to your needs.

I agree as well. Try to find someone who works "solo". Also, they should be using YOUR cleaning products and YOUR vacuum.

Here are some ideas to set up your house for cleaning.

- remove as much junk and clutter as possible from counters, tables, desks, nightstands, etc.... you can't expect someone to remove piles of papers on your kitchen counters when cleaning. Or clothes/towels/toys on the floor. Try to have the bathroom counters relatively clear.

(I had a job where I had to remove 26 bottles of stuff (shampoo,body wash) from the shower EVERY time I cleaned it) -- took a ridiculous amount of time.

-- another obvious, don't leave dishes in the sink and junk on the steps that someone needs to vacuum!

- insist they use YOUR vacuum. Most cleaners have seen a Dyson before. Every house has its own "smell" and you don't want a vacuum from a house where people smoke or have five pets being used in your house -- gross!

- keep supplies close by. Under the sink in EVERY bathroom should be a roll of paper towels, toilet bowl cleaner, whatever you want them to use on the counter, etc... By carrying cleaning products from room to room they can easily drip on your carpet.

Whew! After reading this I will never,never, ever hire any cleaning person or service! I'd rather DIM . Do It Myself.

Funny, my friend and I were just discussing this.

We are the only ones we know who do not have cleaning people. We seem unable to commit to it.

We both hate cleaning but hate when other people do it more. Crazy I know?!?

She and I both have our own individual reasons. Mine is that IÂm a control freak and I like things done a certain way. Every time I think about hiring people I get sweaty and canÂt do it.

As Westvillager says, maybe itÂs all in my head and I just need to get over the fact that no one will do it like me but something is better than nothing?

IÂve often thought even if they only do the bathrooms and floors that will be a start. WeÂll see ;) Â

Although, if they broke things and behaved like your people I would just lose my mind ... shiver ... I haven't heard many storeis like that (thank goodness).

I'm glad I just gave my cleaning lady a raise. She has never broken anything (that was her fault...my son left out his headphones partly hidden under the bed ...we you know what the sweeper did...) and she never misses a day. She cleans what I want, how I want and only with the materials I want. And, I pay her handsomely for her work.

I "clean up for the cleaning lady" every other week. Oh, yes my family has made big fun of me, but I don't expect her to clean what she cannot see. I pay for all the supplies so it's clear what she has to use. She uses all my equipment and I constantly look for items to make things easier for her cuz I want her around for another 10 years. Just last week I bought a Bona mop for our laminate. I did it mostly for her.

The key is to have mutual respect and open lines of communication. If things weren't done like I want, I wouldn't have the person(s) in my home. Period. The work would get split between my husband and I (my boys are grown) until I could find someone who meets my expectations.

Thanks for the replies. It does help me to know that one, I'm not the only one that find this level of "service" unacceptable, and two, that there are indeed people that would rather do the cleaning themselves.

I still have much to sort out as to whether I want to continue to try having a cleaning person or would rather do it myself. But in the meantime, we are going on vacation and I already planned to put them on hold for the time we are away and just a bit thereafter. Probably 3 weeks off altogether. That will give me time to access the feeling of NOT having a cleaning service. Assuming I still want to go that route, I plan to call Wilma and explain the situation. Despite everything, she is a very nice woman, and one that I actually trust (to my knowledge, theft is one problem I have not experienced with our current cleaners). To be fair, I have not really said much to convey how unhappy I am (in part because I've barely seen her in recent weeks). I'd like to give her the chance to improve things. I will make a list of the things I want addressed and make very sure that she understands what I'm looking for. After that, if I'm still unhappy at least I'll know I did everything in my power to articulate my expectations, and I'll feel free to move on. I got a few new referrals from some friends last night that I will hold onto.

I'll admit, I really do have to fight the feeling of not liking people in my house. In our house, my biggest problem is my own inconsistency. There are times when I enjoy cleaning and it almost feels cathartic. However, there are also times, due to our difficulties with our son, that it becomes nearly impossible to keep up and the house heads south VERY quickly. So until I can maintain some level of consistency on my own, I guess I'll have to continue on with a cleaning service. Perhaps if I spend a little time tweaking things, I'll end up being very happy.

Thanks again. :)

Well, many people in my neighborhood hire a cleaning service, but I have preferred to do it myself so far. The quality of work of MOST cleaning services I have seen around here is very low. Not as bad as you describe -- that's ridiculous, and even more ridiculous to keep paying for it.

If I were to hire someone, I would look for someone who does all the cleaning themselves, or with the same crew every time. I would look for professionalism though. They should have insurance in case they break something valuable. I would interview them about how they would clean various things, and what-if scenarios. I would put in writing how I want things done and make sure a copy is out each time they come. I would not hire someone on an ongoing basis; I'd test them several times before any idea of a weekly commitment. I'd let them go after not fixing anything promptly that was unsatisfactory, or a few times in a row of sub-par service, or ruining anything...

Yes, I'm that much of a control freak. But it's my house, and I'm paying for it all. And I look at a situation like the $50-100 my MIL pays her cleaning lady every week to do nothing; the house is always filthy.

I have given up on hiring cleaners. Years ago, I used a couple of cleaning services. Both times, the manager came out and formulated a plan, went down a check list and committed to each task I wanted completed (even down to straightening the fringe on Oriental rugs after vacuuming--so detailed were they), and did the service. At each subsequent cleaning, one or more members of the crew was new and less and less got done. I didn't want an endless stream of strangers going through my home, a job less and less complete, and prices that were high and regularly went up. I also had individual cleaners, but they required so much training, repetition, and supervision, and often broke items or damaged fabrics by taking upon themselves to use solvents that they had been told not to use, but thought, oh, they'd just try it anyway, that I just gave up. Then there was the problem that they wanted to be paid in cash and I insisted on doing payroll and withholding, so some who had worked for others refused to work for me.

Years ago my Mom had a cleaning lady. The CL would move things, break items and hide them. A friend had a cleaning service. They insisted she stay upstairs while they cleaned downstairs and stay downstairs hile they cleaned upstairs. the nerve! I have a friend who cleans houses for a living. She charges $100 per house. She does such a good job she has a "waiting list" of customers. My SIL has a cleaning service. She (SIL) straightens the entire house before the service comes. So in effect she makes it "easy" for them. They just run through the house , dust and vacuum, wash a few surfaces,etc. She also gives them one "extra" job each week- clean the stove, clean the refrigerator, wash windows, etc. She is very happy with them. Of course, when they do the fridge she has already thrown out anything she doesn't want. So it runs the gamut. I would never want a cleaning lady. I want things done "my way". I'm very bossy. Just ask my husband. So I just don't want someone else cleaning for me. I know what I like and I'm physically capable of doing it all.

I feel your pain! Been there, now back to cleaning our home myself. If I pay for the house to be cleaned, that is exactly what I expect to take place.

It takes too long, too much work to return a home back to the clean state after house cleaners that do not actually clean.

The definition of "clean" means different things to different people. Many people cleaners think if things are rearranged it looks neat and therefore is clean.

My definition of clean is.....no dust remaining on objects or horizontal surfaces. In other words their cleaning would pass a white glove test.

Stirring the dust versus removing the dust is not the same thing. Wetting the floors versus removing dirt is not the same thing, etc.

Years ago I worked 4 days for a cleaning service company.
Why 4 days? They literally rushed through each place. Most
wanted to get back to the office, unload cleaning supplies
and get home before their kids got home from school. All I
ever heard was to work faster.
After that I cleaned houses for myself, took my time, didn't
have to put up with being rushed. I did that for years, got
customers through word of mouth, they paid less money and I
made more money.