If you have a housekeeper……….

Moon Rat

Moon Rat

Member
This thread is for people that hire a housekeeper. How many times a week or month does your housekeeper come in and how much do you pay? I think I pay well and in fact, maybe too well. My housekeeper does an excellent job and in many cases has gone above and beyond. She has been with me for 5 years next month (Sept) and I have been giving an increase on her anniversary.


She comes once a week to just do a quick vacuuming, bathroom cleaning of the master bath only and change the bed linens. That’s all once a week. On the first Monday of the month, she does the entire home. Generally, she spends 10 hours a month total. She keeps moving. Most housekeepers get $20 an hour in this area, which would be $200 per month. I have been paying her $250. She has never mentioned anything about money. I was thinking of going to $300 starting in September. I asked my neighbor, who uses a different housekeeper how much he pays his housekeeper and he said $150 a month, which she only comes once per month. He said she is there about 6 hours, which is $25 an hour. So if I don’t give her a raise this year, I would be inline with him. I think I will give her the $300 because she has to make 4 trips each month and she lives about 15 miles away. I also give her an extra weeks pay at Christmas.

Am I doing her right?
 

I housecleaned for a living for 30 years. In the end I was charging about $40 an hour on average. I really do think that $300 would be a good thing for you to do, if you can afford it.
 
I think it depends on the local market. In Canada and the northwestern US, I knew several people who did that kind of work, as well as people who hired them. They made good money. Some had university degrees and chose to clean houses because the money was so good.

But if you live in an area with a lot of immigrants, it could be a different story.

You might get some good insights here, but you could ask around locally too.
 
Paco Dennis said:
I housecleaned for a living for 30 years. In the end I was charging about $40 an hour on average. I really do think that $300 would be a good thing for you to do, if you can afford it.
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Oh, $40 an hour? Maybe I need to step up my game. Money is not an issue, but having a clean home is. My lady works a total of about 15 hours per month. I didn’t realize housekeepers were making that much. I’m surprised she has never said anything? I guess it’s time to have a talk with her.
 
Moon Rat said:
Oh, $40 an hour? Maybe I need to step up my game. Money is not an issue, but having a clean home is. My lady works a total of about 15 hours per month. I didn’t realize housekeepers were making that much. I’m surprised she has never said anything? I guess it’s time to have a talk with her.
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I had a unique situation, where I cleaned by the job not the hour. So my pay averaged out to be about $40 an hour. A $5 raise would thrill her, and then maybe in a month or so see how it is going and maybe raise her anther $5. I do think talking with her is an excellent idea. You seem to have the best intentions. :)
 
Moon Rat said:
Oh, $40 an hour? Maybe I need to step up my game. Money is not an issue, but having a clean home is. My lady works a total of about 15 hours per month. I didn’t realize housekeepers were making that much. I’m surprised she has never said anything? I guess it’s time to have a talk with her.
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Cleaners here earn anywhere between minimum wage and around £20 per hour... of course there are peeople who can and do afford to pay more, and there are cleaners who charge more, but the average is around £15 per hour...
 
Moon Rat said:
This thread is for people that hire a housekeeper. How many times a week or month does your housekeeper come in and how much do you pay? I think I pay well and in fact, maybe too well. My housekeeper does an excellent job and in many cases has gone above and beyond. She has been with me for 5 years next month (Sept) and I have been giving an increase on her anniversary.


She comes once a week to just do a quick vacuuming, bathroom cleaning of the master bath only and change the bed linens. That’s all once a week. On the first Monday of the month, she does the entire home. Generally, she spends 10 hours a month total. She keeps moving. Most housekeepers get $20 an hour in this area, which would be $200 per month. I have been paying her $250. She has never mentioned anything about money. I was thinking of going to $300 starting in September. I asked my neighbor, who uses a different housekeeper how much he pays his housekeeper and he said $150 a month, which she only comes once per month. He said she is there about 6 hours, which is $25 an hour. So if I don’t give her a raise this year, I would be inline with him. I think I will give her the $300 because she has to make 4 trips each month and she lives about 15 miles away. I also give her an extra weeks pay at Christmas.

Am I doing her right?
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Short answer: yes!

I was a cleaning fairy for about 10 years. After charging by the hour for a long time, I changed to a flat fee based on the size of the house. If I was quick about it, yay me. If I dawdled, yay client. It probably averaged to about $25/hour. Most of my clients gave me an extra week's pay at Christmastime.
 
hollydolly said:
Cleaners here earn anywhere between minimum wage and around £20 per hour... of course there are peeople who can and do afford to pay more, and there are cleaners who charge more, but the average is around £15 per hour...
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I want one of yours, I could pay that for someone else to do the floors.
 
We have a service that comes in once every 2 weeks for deeper cleaning. We pay them $120 per cleaning. It usually takes them about 3 hours for two people, sometimes they bring 3 and its quicker.

None of the cleaners speak English, but they do a better job than any previous folks we used. If we ever have a complaint, and that is rare they come right back out and fix it, no additional charge.
 
Georgiagranny said:
Short answer: yes!

I was a cleaning fairy for about 10 years. After charging by the hour for a long time, I changed to a flat fee based on the size of the house. If I was quick about it, yay me. If I dawdled, yay client. It probably averaged to about $25/hour. Most of my clients gave me an extra week's pay at Christmastime.
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I remember you doing that job.. cleaning fairy...🧚‍♀️🧹🪠🚽🧺
 
Alligatorob said:
We have a service that comes in once every 2 weeks for deeper cleaning. We pay them $120 per cleaning. It usually takes them about 3 hours for two people, sometimes they bring 3 and its quicker.

None of the cleaners speak English, but they do a better job than any previous folks we used. If we ever have a complaint, and that is rare they come right back out and fix it, no additional charge.
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what do they clean on a deep clean that needs doing every 2 weeks .... ?
 
Alligatorob said:
It's a big house, about 4,000 ft2 (~400 m2)
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I could probably swing for once a month but my house is just 2200 sf so I would think it would be less than your amount. I guess I have the cheapest, he came and did a good job on the floors and vacummed all the windows for cobwebs and dust. Did the ceiling fans. If I can only get him in the bathrooms LOL, my cost, I got to play with my grandson for a couple hours.
 
I've had many cleaners through the years....I know if you have someone that you're happy with you better hang on to them. Around here it is hard to find workers that do a good job and that are dependable. I have very good help in my yard that I've had for years and I pay them well.
 
I have a cleaning service come in every other Thursday. My rooms are on a rotating schedule. I pay $144 every time they come. There are two people and usually take about an hour or hour and a half. Sometimes a third joins and this person usually inspects but they still stay about the same time.
 
Mine comes weekly for 2 hours. I pay her $20 an hour. I mainly have her do things that are harder for me...floors, bathroom and stuff. She also changes sheets on my bed as needed.
A couple weeks back I limited her to 2 hours...small apartment and all, and my only issue was that she was a bit slow, and preferred to chat, than clean. But she does a good job, so I give her specific tasks when she comes (other than her routine stuff.)
I am considering having her come every other week..
 
Marie5656 said:
Mine comes weekly for 2 hours. I pay her $20 an hour. I mainly have her do things that are harder for me...floors, bathroom and stuff. She also changes sheets on my bed as needed.
A couple weeks back I limited her to 2 hours...small apartment and all, and my only issue was that she was a bit slow, and preferred to chat, than clean. But she does a good job, so I give her specific tasks when she comes (other than her routine stuff.)
I am considering having her come every other week..
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I would expect a person to do the job, no chatting unless asking about a specific task and how/if you want it done.
 
IrisSenior said:
I have a cleaning service come in every other Thursday. My rooms are on a rotating schedule. I pay $144 every time they come. There are two people and usually take about an hour or hour and a half. Sometimes a third joins and this person usually inspects but they still stay about the same time.
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That seems steep at $72 each for 1 to 1.5 hours. But, if that’s the going rate, then that’s what you have to pay.
 
My housekeeper comes once a month, usually on the second Friday and does a thorough cleaning. I do my own washing and change the bed linens at least once a week. She is there for about 6-7 hours and I pay her $200.00 a month. Like you, I also throw in a little extra at Christmas time. I know her husband and her both like an upscale restaurant nearby, so I give them a gift card for there, plus and extra $100.
Jules said:
That seems steep at $72 each for 1 to 1.5 hours. But, if that’s the going rate, then that’s what you have to pay.
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Yeah, that does seem like a lot.
 

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