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Cleaning lady on yom tov
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 12:41 pm
My cleaning lady changed my linen on yom tov. Should I have told her not to? I couldn’t think of any melacha about changing linen. Is there any?
I told her not to vacuum and to do whatever she wants to do.
So she did her usual cleaning.
Was this ok?
How do you handle the halachos of having a cleaning lady on yom tov?
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Miri1




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 12:54 pm
The halachos of amira l"akum are complicated. I've asked my specific questions to my LOR. I was surprised that some things are okay and then also surprised that some things are not.
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yksraya




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 12:55 pm
I never heard of it being a problem to change linen on y't or shabbos.

I only change if something happened like kid throwing up or leaky diaper etc.
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sky




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 1:13 pm
I would say ask your rav. I was discussing with neighbors and there was a whole slew of different answers given
- can let her do her normal stuff except vacuum
- can only tell her to spot clean dirty areas but if she cleans on her own it’s fine
- you can only let her spot clean not fully clean
- it differs if she regularly does her own thing
- And others opinions. Not everyone had asked and just did what they wanted
So best to just ask and get your own answe.
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Ema of 5




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 1:17 pm
This is really a question for your lor, or for you to look up and discuss with your husband.
We were told that our cleaning lady can do anything and everything, and on Yom Tov (as opposed to shabbos) there is more leniency with what we can say and how we can say it.
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amother
Vermilion


 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 1:34 pm
Ema of 4 wrote:
This is really a question for your lor, or for you to look up and discuss with your husband.
We were told that our cleaning lady can do anything and everything, and on Yom Tov (as opposed to shabbos) there is more leniency with what we can say and how we can say it.


That’s not true.
She cannot vacuum or do the laundry using a washing machine and dryer.
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Ema of 5




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 1:55 pm
amother [ Vermilion ] wrote:
That’s not true.
She cannot vacuum or do the laundry using a washing machine and dryer.

We were told she can. Please forgive me if I put more credence in what my rav tells me, than some anonymous person on the internet.
(As an aside, we were even told she can do whatever she wants on shabbos, as long as we don’t give her any instruction. And if there is something specific that we WANT her to do on shabbos, we need to ask her before shabbos. This however, is mostly a moot point, because she doesn’t usually come on shabbos.)
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amother
Wine


 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 2:25 pm
I don’t know about differences between shabbos and YT, but ours comes every shabbos, and we were told she’s allowed to do anything that has another way of doing it that is mutar. For example she can vacuum the carpet, because removing dust from carpet in itself is not assur. But she can’t do laundry or iron, because clothing are not allowed to be cleaned in any way on shabbos (or ironed).
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 2:33 pm
I was told if she comes in and does her own thing like she usually does it's ok.
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IrenaFr




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 4:48 pm
Really check if she is not a Jew! I had a cleaning lady that used to work at frum houses washing dishes etc on Jewish holidays . She told me that she is Russian . And then after a few years somehow discussing her parents that she visited (we didn't talk much usually) she told me that her mother is Jewish. I told he that it means that she is a Jew too but she didnt agree with me - no, my mother is a Jew but I am Russian as my father... I sorry that I can't tell that to the people that she works with, she left very soon after this conversation .
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Ravenclaw




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 4:51 pm
amother [ Wine ] wrote:
I don’t know about differences between shabbos and YT, but ours comes every shabbos, and we were told she’s allowed to do anything that has another way of doing it that is mutar. For example she can vacuum the carpet, because removing dust from carpet in itself is not assur. But she can’t do laundry or iron, because clothing are not allowed to be cleaned in any way on shabbos (or ironed).


This is how I learned it. She has to be doing the melacha for herself. So technically she could wash all the dishes in cold water and without a sponge. But she is using a sponge and warm water (or a dishwasher) for her own comfort, so it's not an issue.
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amother
Black


 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 5:03 pm
Excuse me for asking, but why would you want someone to come in and clean your house on Shabbos of all days...
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Ema of 5




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 5:10 pm
amother [ Black ] wrote:
Excuse me for asking, but why would you want someone to come in and clean your house on Shabbos of all days...

Menuchas shabbos? So that my house isn’t a disaster that I am dealing with for the next 2-3 days?
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amother
Coffee


 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 5:25 pm
amother [ Black ] wrote:
Excuse me for asking, but why would you want someone to come in and clean your house on Shabbos of all days...


Families that have help 5 days a week often schedule the help for Tuesday through Saturday (off Sunday and Monday) so that they can help serving and cleaning up after Shabbat meals.
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Ema of 5




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 5:32 pm
My cleaning lady comes 2x per week, but she comes every day of chag (shavuos and Rosh Hashana, pesach and succos on chag days, not chol hamoed, unless it’s one of her scheduled days) that she is available. We have about 20 people for every meal, plus lots of people sleeping over, and my house gets very messy very quickly. Also, it saves me time (and back pain sometimes) if I don’t have to wash all the dishes.
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 7:30 pm
amother [ Black ] wrote:
Excuse me for asking, but why would you want someone to come in and clean your house on Shabbos of all days...


I am going to be brave and say this under my sn.
I am not the biggest balabuste when it comes to cleaning. On a good day, I can't even pass a gray glove test. But after a few days of yom tov, I seldom go to sleep motzei yom tov without doing some real cleaning in the kitchen. The dishes, the counter, the stove top under the blech. I might do the floor. I'll definitely sweep. (Even though I've swept, and swept again, on yom tov.)

I totally, totally fargin people who have cleaning help on Shabbos and yom tov, even if they don't have huge crowds, lots of kids around, or whatever else.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 7:33 pm
I have cleaning help one day a week. The lady isn't available any other day. I can't give up my day, even if that day falls out on YT.
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ladYdI




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 7:35 pm
My cleaning lady coming on Yom Tov is what makes my Yom Tov enjoyable
I would be a wreck if I had to do dishes on top of all the cooking and serving and all the guests
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amother
Vermilion


 

Post Tue, Jun 11 2019, 10:59 pm
I never heard of cleaning help on yomtov until I moved to Lakewood. Here it’s an accepted thing. Having help for an hour or 2 makes such a big difference. Wouldn’t have known until I tried it!
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Miri1




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 12 2019, 12:41 am
There are also differences with what is allowed based on the details of how she is hired (eg - live-in or hourly) - another reason to pose the specifics to you LOR.

I like the help, but I'm careful to ask about what she can and can't do, and definately don't get my info from the internet for this Smile
We've also had a few hiccups after our help has left - eg discovering lights were left on in bedrooms / off in bathrooms. I guess the answer to that would be leaving tape on the the switch...
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