Six things cleaners wish you knew before the first visit

We asked all thirty-four cleaners the same question at a team meeting in May: what is one thing you wish customers knew before your first visit? The answers were more consistent than we expected, and not one of them was about tipping.

1. Clutter costs more time than dirt

A genuinely dirty kitchen with clear counters is faster to clean than a tidy kitchen covered in things. Every object is a lift, a wipe underneath and a put-back. Ten minutes moving items off surfaces before we arrive buys you somewhere between twenty and forty minutes of actual cleaning.

2. Tell us what you are fussy about

Everybody has one thing. Streak-free mirrors. The kitchen sink dried rather than left wet. Cushions arranged a particular way. Cleaners cannot guess it, and most people never say it, then feel vaguely unsatisfied for months.

Say it in the booking notes on day one. It goes on your home's profile and every cleaner who ever visits will see it.

The customers who tell us their one fussy thing are the ones who stay for years.

3. We would rather you left the room

This came up more than anything else, and cleaners were embarrassed to say it. Being watched makes people slower and more self-conscious, and hovering in a doorway to be friendly is genuinely counterproductive. Say hello, then go do something else. Nobody is offended.

4. Broken things get reported, not hidden

Every cleaner here has been told from their first shift that reporting a chipped bowl costs them nothing and hiding one costs them the job. If something breaks you will hear it from us before you find it, and we will replace it.

The corollary: if something in your house is fragile, unstable or sentimental, tell us and we will clean around it rather than touch it.

5. Products are negotiable

Our standard kit is fragrance free and plant based, and most people never think about it again. But if you have a floor finish you are protective of, a scent you cannot stand, or a bottle you swear by, leave it out with a note. Cleaners would much rather use your product than argue about ours after the fact.

6. The first visit is the worst visit

A cleaner in an unfamiliar house is slower and less thorough than the same cleaner in a house they know, no matter how good they are. They do not know where the vacuum outlet is, which floor hates water, or that the guest bathroom is never used.

By the third visit on a recurring plan the same house takes noticeably less time and looks noticeably better. If your first visit was fine rather than great, that is normal, and it is worth giving it two more before deciding.