WARING: to all those that hire cleaning help

mimivan

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 1:16 am

I have to get on my hands and knees to get to corners...that is the only way in some spots...but I don't have cleaning help..now I see it is a good thing

perhaps this doesn't have to do with "jewish snobbery" but perhaps these ladies were hired close to Pesach when every corner has to be immaculate and they misudnerstood.

willow

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 1:46 am

acccdac wrote:

2 comments that I wanted to make:

1) I have one section of my house, kitchen with linolium floors, and I have the housekeeper clean it on her hands and knees once a month, cause that is the only way it gets cleaned.

2) I dont think the original post was about whether or not its okay to ask a cleaning lady to clean your floors on hand and foot I think it was about treatment of the housekeeper. I have see time and time again where people treat their housekeepers as property verses as employees. They insult their housekeepers and treat them like slaves. I grew up in a household where we had a live-in and everytime we ate out for dinner, so did she (we brought her back food). We gave her a hug after she gave us a nice and unecessary gift for our bat mitzvahs. People seem to forget that they are humans just like us and they are allowed to choose what they want to do in a job, and if they want to quit becuase they feel like it's degrading they can. If they want to leave you for your next door neighbor because she's treated better there she can. She doesnt belong ot you. All you are is an employee and if she doesnt like you she'll leave and loose out on your money and find someone nicer to pay her.

You are right but I think most normal ppl know this. I am just wondering why its anymore demeaning to have a cleaner do the floor how you prefer it being cleaned (for me its hands and knees cuz then Its really clean) then to do the bathrooms.

flowerpower

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 2:22 am

I wash my floors most of the time with a shmata and I don't get paid. I pay ten an hour plus a bonus and lunch for my cleaning lady and she comes for four hours a week. She uses a mop but if I would want her to use a shmata, I would ask her to. I don't see what is wrong with asking. I did call an agency once and they said make sure there is a mop in the house.

amother

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 4:17 am

I'm sorry but I dont understand what the issue is.
what do you mean on hands and knees?you use a little rag and crawl around the house wiping the floor???
I use such a stick that comes with mops that attach to the foot of it. its excellent....
I'm the cleaning lady in the house but sometimes I dont treat myself nicely embarrassed

faigah

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 5:23 am

I don't understand why you need to feel bad if the CL cleans your floors on hands and knees or if they do hard work. Would you pity the chimney sweeper or the plumbers that cleans up a yucky sewer line? No! Because that is there job and they are getting paid respectively.

Minimum wage is about 6-7 dollars an hour. They are getting paid $10. They chose this job knowing what it entails. Why is it demeaning? You wouldn't really pity anyone else laboring away at his job, although you might give him a tip.

ora_43

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 6:57 am

I found the original post a bit confusing. More than once the housekeeper was asked to scrub a floor on her hands and knees, or more than once a homeowner didn't want to let her leave?

While I agree that all employees should be treated with respect, I have to completely disagree on whether scrubbing floors and hands and knees is degrading. IMO, someone paying for private cleaning help has the right to ask that their house be cleaned however they want it to be cleaned. If they want the cleaning staff to get on their hands and knees and scrub, or clean the refridgerator with a toothbrush, or if they want every window sparkling clean, or caked dirt cleaned out of corners with a toothpick -- that's what they're paying for.

No boss will pay you to do things your way. You get paid to do things the boss's way, no matter how stupid or unnecessary you may find it. If you find it degrading or too icky -- take a different job.

The only exceptions would be for something dangerous or unsanitary (cleaning a toilet without gloves, climbing out a window to clean, etc).

And I'm saying this as someone who worked in cleaning for years. I never had "my way" of cleaning, IMO that's ridiculous, you're not making twice minimum wage to clean your way. You make good money for cleaning however the homeowner wants you to. And that often includes scrubbing on hands and knees, and that's fine (cleaning in general is a very physically demanding job, and a job where you can't get too grossed out by dirt, so hands + knees scrubbing is not out of line with the rest of what's expected, it's not like a typist suddenly being asked to lug heavy boxes or something similar).

geemum

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 8:59 am

I can't believe this thread is getting so heated.

What's the big deal? You treat cleaning help decently and ask them please and thank you. As long as you're not treating them like slaves or degrading them, all is fine! Clearly cleanign the floor on hands and knees is normal, although some people feel it's not - I guess it's what you're used to.

My rule is not to ask my cleaning help to do anything that I wouldn't do myself (eg, cleaning the outdoor garbage cans).

It's common sense - treat her with respect and she'll be happy working for you.

amother

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 9:12 am

I get cleaning help once a year, for Pesach, a small cleaning crew that comes. They used to do a lot of local families but over the years they've had to cut back due to various reasons, and they only come to the families that have treated them with derech eretz.

I think that if you explain why getting down on one's knees is so important, and ask politely, the cleaning lady will probably not mind. If she does, have a mop ready, or do that job yourself.

benny

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 9:12 am

I allow my cleaning lady to use a mop because I have all floors in my house- no carpet, but she does the edges and corners of the room with a shmatta. There is no way to get those spots clean with a mop no matter what kind you buy. Some of you may be ok with with semi clean floors and thats fine for you - but not all are ok with that. People have cleaning help to get their house CLEAN and they are paying for it. I personally do my entire floor by hand with a shmatta when I clean it myself. No other way to get it really clean. I agree though that you should be really careful to treat your cleaning help well. I share mine with some friends and not all treat her nicely. Guess what- she doesnt do as good a job there. She doesnt try as hard to please. I treat her nicely and she is always trying to make me happy with no attitude.

solo

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 9:16 am

I wash both my hardwood and linoleum floors on my hands and knees and when I have a cleaning lady she does it the same way.
when I hire anyone to do a job I like to know that its done right .
which is why last week when I had a new roof put on I checked in on them in the morning and evening to make sure it would get done on time.
I also brought them out several pitchers of water and soda and thanked them when th job was completed.

sure cleaning ladies do all kinds of icky things like scrubbing floors and toilets. thats thier job,
its our job to treat them respectfully, and make sure to thank them.

Tamiri

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 9:23 am

I'm in Israel and I use a sqeegee with a lot of water. In the U.S. I used a mop. Please, can someone tell me how you clean on your hands and knees? What is the benefit? That you can scrub the linoleum?
Do you have a shmatta and a bucket of water? You take the shmatta and scrub the floor? Then what? Doesn't that hurt your back and knees? How do you rinse the floor clean? How often can you do that a week? I like my floors clean and do them with a mop/squeegee at least twice... on my hands and knees I don't think I could ever get anything done!

Besiyata Dishmaya

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 9:41 am

Mama Bear wrote:

hardwood floors get scratched from mops, therefore homes with parquet floors are washed by hand.

My floors are so scratched to begin with, so I let my cleaning woman use a mop. but fresh, shiny, recently scraped floors, get ruined from mops.

Why would a mop ruin the floor more than a rag? Unless it has no hair left.

gryp

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 9:41 am

We're hand-and-knees-floor-cleaners. It's the only way it gets clean. Our mop is long gone.
I actually enjoy scrubbing and seeing the tile go from brown to white.

Obviously it must be that the cleaning ladies don't feel they are treated respectfully. Shame, shame. When I have workers in my house, I always try to accommodate them the best I can so they can do their job the best that they can.

pina colada

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 10:07 am

Over the years I have found that the Polish CL do not mind washing the floors on hands and knees.

The Spanish ones seem to find it degrading to be asked to wash the floors on hands and knees. When you call the Spanish cleaning service, they will tell you that they will only send s/o if you have a mop and she can possibly do only the kitchen and bathroom on hands and knees.

Otherwise, I make sure to treat my CL very nicely. Floors though are definitely cleaner when washed with a rag.

faigah

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 10:12 am

Tamiri wrote:

In Israel you generally wash the floors differently than in the US. You sponga which entails pouring a lot of soap water and then washing it away in a drain. In the US we use more a dry wash and that is why thouroughly scrubbing the floor is more neccessary.

acccdac

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 10:25 am

flutterfly said that she's had experience, maybe its a cultural thing.

but from the main post it seemed like the boss asked the cleaning lady to clean the floor on hands and knees, the cleaning lady didnt want to and the boss didnt let her leave the house until she did it. maybe I'm understanding in correctly but thats how I understand the story.

like I said in my previous post I have seen cleaning ladies treated HORRIBLY, heard someone say outloud in front of everyone "she's mine and I can tell her what to do and she's here for me" and that is just wrong.

greenfire

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 10:46 am

generally I think there's a way to be treated and not to be treated ... my sister likes to get down and scrub - something I would never do except maybe for a spot or two ... so I would think it has to be discussed with each individual cleaning lady how you'd like her to clean the floor and if she can accommodate you or not ...

some people however look at cleaning ladies in a degrading way from the getgo ...

during a painting job at one house - I was actually disturbed by a kid who kept wondering why I had a car because "cleaning ladies do not own cars" - what sort of mentality is that anyways ...

cleaning ladies as far as I'm concerned should be held up on a pedistal because they are cleaning the stuff you don't want to clean - it's your crapola not theirs ...

and as far as the roofing goes ... yes quite a sweltering job - I've been on a roof where everybody vanished midday (to shower & cool off) because it was too hot ...

point is that everybody gets their hands dirty in some way or another ... but they have to do their job in a manner that they can do it ... not always the way you think it should be done ...

ABC

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 11:56 am

I find it hard to get my cleaner to do exactly what I want her to do. I like her a lot, but I know she is a bit lazy, and spends a LONG time on some things unnecessarily.

When you first get a new cleaner, how do you start off the relationship on a good footing? Do you provide her with a written list as a guideline of what you expect from her? I find it really hard to ask my cleaner to do certain things, as I can tell she really doesn't want to (eg cleaning under the refridgerator). I know the corners of my apartment floors need to be cleaned by hand, but I can't bring myself to ask her to do it as I didn't say it at the start.

So how do you start off well with a cleaner and make sure you get them to do well whatever needs to be done?