Is it taboo to have a cleaner these days?

Posted by Visible_Pipe4716@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 40 comments

We’ve had a cleaner, well actually two come, for the last year or so. We live in a three story house and they come every two weeks for an hour - an hour and - half at £45 a time. We’re not poor but we’re not ultra wealthy either, it’s very much a luxury that we give up other things for. My wife never wants to tell anyone we have a cleaner though, it’s not something we just randomly bring up, but she had a friend over this morning and was worrying about how she was going to get her to leave before the cleaners came so she didn’t know we had one. Is it seen as pretentious or something? I really don’t care who knows or not.

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40 Comments

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vipros42@reddit

I work my arse off and don't want to spend time cleaning. My hourly rate at work is about 130. It's well worth it to me to pay a cleaner 50 quid every couple.of weeks

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BigFloofRabbit@reddit

Something is wrong with this country if some people are earning £130 an hour while cleaners are grafting hard for minimum wage.

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vipros42@reddit

I mean I've got a masters degree and have spent 20 years working as an engineer, including being chartered. I'm not earning that though, that's my charge out rate.

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BigFloofRabbit@reddit

This may not apply to you specifically, but let's be honest this is a significant reason why there is so much anti-intellectualism and public concerns about inequality. People who have studied University degrees and done computer or academic work earning much more than people who work wearing their bodies out doing manual labour for a living. A lot of people don't see that as being a just system.

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vipros42@reddit

I do agree with you, particularly that physical or manual jobs of all types are not only as important but are just as worthy as white collar stuff, if not more in some cases. Ideally wages would be a lot fairer all round. I definitely don't think I'm better than my cleaner, and she's very happy with work and business which is enviable

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Train_Limbo@reddit

Nothing stopping a cleaner from charging £130 an hour.

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Unhappy-Giraffe-563@reddit

Humble brag post 🥱

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Ill_Ad_791@reddit

..about having a cleaner?

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Adorable_Pressure958@reddit

That's expensive. Our cleaner (2 days a month) charges £20 per hour, so for us £80 p/month. Are you living somewhere more expensive, like a city?

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Visible_Pipe4716@reddit (OP)

Outskirts of Leeds

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Adorable_Pressure958@reddit

You need to find someone cheaper then. But no, having a cleaner is fine. You get so much time back and that makes it worth it IMO.

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N3rdyAvocad0@reddit

20 per hour for 2 people at 1.5 hours would be more than OP is paying, so how's it expensive?

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WhatevahMingah@reddit

As somebody working class the idea of a cleaner is attractive. And it doesn’t break the bank if I were to have one less takeaway a week. I haven’t bit the bullet yet but have been tempted for a while. Just don’t have the time or energy when surviving each day is my priority.

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Real-Apricot-7889@reddit

I think people can be judged about it either for being too fancy/indulgent but also I think some people consider it lazy not to clean for yourself (especially women)

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not-my-circus1992@reddit

We have a cleaner. I've got two kids, a full time job, and ADHD. If we didn't have our amazing cleaner helping us out, my husband would have divorced me by now because, honestly, I make things worse if I try. He literally says he can follow my thought process around the house by just looking at all my half done jobs...

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BaBeBaBeBooby@reddit

Your cleaner is expensive. Guessing it's via an agency?

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InfiniteComedian7172@reddit

That sounds very expensive. I'm in Europe and I'll paid 50 euros for 7 hours. It's all relative I guess.

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Visible_Pipe4716@reddit (OP)

No idea, i didn’t sort it. There’s two of them at a time so it’s really £22.50 I guess.

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bsnimunf@reddit

£15 an hour per person. Barely above minimum wage.

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Upbeat_Map_348@reddit

It depends on how many people are there for the 1.5 hours. If there’s 3 of them, it’s ok value. If not, then, yeah, it’s expensive.

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Otherwise_Koala4289@reddit

£45 for an hour and a half doesn't strike me as particularly expensive. I'm sure it varies greatly by location though.

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Ill_Ad_791@reddit

I don’t think so. My mum isn’t well off but she has a cleaner and she’s often busy and it really helps her out. Just don’t refer to her as a “maid” and you should be fine lol

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Visible_Pipe4716@reddit (OP)

or ‘the help’ 🤣

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CertainFurball@reddit

My mum lives with my sister and her family and they have a cleaner. I called her ‘the maid’ once to annoy her. Won’t make that mistake again 🤣

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OpenCantaloupe4790@reddit

We had a teacher who always told us this story of moving to Nigeria. This one lady had previously cleaned the house they moved into and expected to stay on. Our teacher said thank you but she didn’t need a cleaner, by this point in the UK cleaning your own house was a point of pride. The whole village were outraged that she had denied someone work to the point that she had to take the cleaner. And that’s how it used to be here. If you could afford and use the help, why wouldn’t you give work to somebody? I’m not sure when a stigma became attached to it

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MidnightRambler87@reddit

I know it probably wasn’t your intention or tone OP, but to have a three storey property is a little bit of a humble brag. Two cleaners? I can only dream…

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Mr_Bumcrest@reddit

Not really. A number of building estates are three storeys to allow more buildings to be built in an area.

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MidnightRambler87@reddit

Must be blind then as I don’t see many round my area.

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InsertObligatoryPun@reddit

Yeah, seeing more and more of them pop up as new builds in my area. There’s loads of ex-council stock that are three stories too, far from glamorous.

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Visible_Pipe4716@reddit (OP)

Just trying to give context, wasn’t meant as a brag.

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Ecstatic_Horror_4058@reddit

ما هي اسهل طريقه للبدء التعلم فرجونا استشاراتكم

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GeggingIn@reddit

“What's the easiest way to start learning? Show us your advice.”

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Ecstatic_Horror_4058@reddit

وليس عامل نظافه وينظف اوسخنا نحن عمل النظافه لولا لكانت الارض كلها رائعات

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GeggingIn@reddit

“He's not a cleaner, and he doesn't clean our filth. If it weren't for the cleaning work, the whole earth would be a mess.”

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Keinix22@reddit

People tend to think that if they have cleaner people might think they come across as lazy or that they are above cleaning .

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GeggingIn@reddit

It is your money. Spend it how you like.

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GeggingIn@reddit

It is your money spend it how you like.

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revenuesovast@reddit

Having a cleaner these days is super common and is going to get even more common now that most people in a household work.

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Otherwise_Koala4289@reddit

Don't think so. We have a cleaner. Know plenty of people who do.

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