So, what do YOU think re: cleaning lady

Tablepoetry

Thu, Jun 06 2013, 8:27 am

I also don't open the windows necessarily when I clean. Like etky, I will open the window of the specific room, but not of the entire house. In the winter, the house is heated, in the summer, there's a/c....of course there's many months in between of open windows, but it's definitely not a year round thing.
I have 'parquet' (fake wood) in my bedrooms and hallway, so there's no spilling buckets of water there. And in the main areas, I do spill water, but after I sponja it all out, I go over it with a dry rag and it dries chick-chak.

Fabulous

Thu, Jun 06 2013, 8:35 am

Whenever my cleaning lady comes and it's not PERFECT in my apartment, I tell her that she should turn on the a/c or heat (depending on weather) in the room if she is working there and she needs it. I remind her several times if I come in and I feel it needs it. She puts it on/off as she feels necessary. Many feel the need for open windows to get rid of the smell/chemicals and/or air out the house.

greenfire

Thu, Jun 06 2013, 10:13 pm

let me preface this by saying I do not like air-conditioning in general [unless there's a heatwave] - I prefer natural air

once I was quite disturbed at a house I was working in when every time the person who was in the house left - the central air was turned off

it's something they splurge on for themselves - so I could not understand why in the sweltering heat they didn't consider how hot it actually was ... not to mention for the outcome of the actual work I was doing

anon for this

Thu, Jun 06 2013, 10:25 pm

I'm usually comfortable when the thermostat (in summer) is set to 74, even when I'm cleaning, but my housekeeper likes it cooler. So I set it lower when she arrives and adjusts it when she's ready to leave. Keeping all the doors and windows open while the AC is on does seem rather inefficient though, so I'm glad that she's never asked to do it.

amother

Thu, Jun 06 2013, 11:09 pm

etky wrote:

Tamiri wrote:

amother wrote:

My cleaning lady dries the floors and dishes with towels. The windows are cleaned with paper towels. I never heard of opening the windows to dry the house.

My house is always comfortable whether it is hot or cold. It is a strange concept to consider the costs of cooling a house when considering someone's comfort. The house needs to be comfortable.

What bothers me is my cleaning lady leaves lights on when she leaves the room.

Cultural diff. In Israel, you NEVER clean with the windows closed, even in the winter. And comfortable houses? That's the stuff dreams are made of for most of us! Lights being left on is NOTHING compared to the exhorbitant cost of running the a/c in Israel.

Actually, I do, when it's really cold our during the winter. Or conversely, when it's very hot out and I have the ac running, cooling the entire house. In that case I open the window of the specific room I have just cleaned for a few minutes until the floor dries and then shut it asap. Then again I don't spill a ton of water and I go over the floor w/ a rag to dry it so it really just takes a couple of minutes until it dries. In the periods when I had cleaning help I always asked the cleaner if he/she wanted the ac on or not. I know I always sweat when I clean. It can be quite a workout.

I am sure this is part of the cultural differences, but why would anyone spill a ton of water when cleaning? I can't get my head around this whole cleaning style with the open windows. Water is damaging to buildings. It sounds almost like the floors are getting flooded. Are the open windows to dry the water or to air out the chemicals? Aren't there decent mops in Isreal? Is water really cheap?

etky

Fri, Jun 07 2013, 2:01 am

amother wrote:

I think you probably have a point but that is definitely one of the most prevalent cleaning styles here in Israel, especially for terrazzo (balatot) floors. Don't forget it's a warm climate and windows are open most of the year and floors dry quickly. There is indeed a lot of dust here, I've often heard olim from North America commenting that they can't get over the amount of dust that accumulates here, bt. all the construction going on and being on the edge of a desert and with a prolonged annual arid season. Certain times of year are worse than others. Personally, I've found that a really thorough sweeping obviates the need for a ton of water (except in the bathrooms where I spill water liberally). Also, I have a granite porcelain floor downstairs in the main living area and I've found the less water system more effective for it.

mfb

Fri, Jun 07 2013, 7:56 am

amother wrote:

etky wrote:

Tamiri wrote:

amother wrote:

The houses in Israel are built to use a lot of water to clean floors they make drain holes in the floor to push the dirty water into

Tamiri

Fri, Jun 07 2013, 8:03 am

mommyfrombrooklyn wrote:

The houses in Israel are built to use a lot of water to clean floors they make drain holes in the floor to push the dirty water into

Maybe once upon a time? In my 40 years here, I've seen such drains on a mirpesset, but no where else. I don't know how people mop up the water in an apartment. I live in a house with lots of doors to the outside. And drains in the mirpasot.

wispalover

Fri, Jun 07 2013, 8:18 am

Tamiri wrote:

FTR, it's not my friend who posted. I don't know her or where she lives, besides that it's somewhere in my village. I don't know if her cleaner is male or female, Jewish or otherwise.
I just thought it was an interesting post and I am fascinated that the responses here match the responses on my Israeli forum.
No one answer.
FS, I am with you: we clean and shvitz and do the whole house, using fans sometimes to speed up the drying process but NEVER an a/c.... it's pointless. And with windows open, the a/c is NEVER on.
But there are plenty of ladies here agreeing that the cleaner deserves to work in an a/c environment.
My take is that good cleaning help is SO hard to come by, you do whatever you have to do to keep her happy and working for you.

We never put the AC on here and we have central AC. Honestly nothing would make me madder than ANYONE putting on the AC and leaving all the windows/door open. We try and scrimp and save up money wherever we can so to see my money be wasted like that would really bother me, enough so that I would look for alternate help if I really needed it. It would be nothing personal against the cleaner though, or thinking she doesn't "deserve" it- merely the way I would behave for myself.

etky

Fri, Jun 07 2013, 8:22 am

Tamiri wrote:

mommyfrombrooklyn wrote:

The houses in Israel are built to use a lot of water to clean floors they make drain holes in the floor to push the dirty water into

We have them in the bathroom too. So ugly, and right in the middle of the floor too. BTW they now sell these really pretty retro drain covers.