What's the best way to find a cleaner?

[meow]

I'm pretty sure no-one I know around here is using a cleaner so I've started ringing around from ads in the local paper. Might go with a franchise for the 'security'... though I'd like to save money and support a smaller local business. It's tricky.

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

I'll PM you Marcellus

[Swoop]

We've had a couple of different cleaners and the good ones have always been the ones that were recommended, either by friends or work colleagues. They were usually fairly small companies.

We had friends in London who had had a recommendation for a cleaner from their friends... everyone in their local group of friends had the same cleaners. One weekend the whole group of friends went for a weekend away together and the cleaners cleaned out each and every one of their houses! So check them out yourself,even if they do come highly recommended!

My DH is travelling a lot with work so he would randomly show up while they were there, seemed to keep them on their toes!

[Rivlas]

When I need cleaning I have a few friends who are in the business so use them.

Ask around as someone will know someone etc

[BellyBelly]

Cleaners are in seriously short supply and hard to find around here - and then you just have to hope you find a good one. In desperation I checked out the gumtree website and found two cleaners who are awesome and I use them all the time. At first I used one, an Australian mother who is lovely but recently she has become more unavailable due to family problems, so I have been using a second I found who has lots of experience. Most of them have a police check which is important and also references. I am here when they clean so I feel okay with it, but its been great. They both clean really really well and are great people, who charge $20p/h using my stuff or $25 with theirs. You can always give someone a trial clean and if you dont like them, dont ask them over again.

That way you're not paying a third party, it just goes direct and also usually very little waiting time especially if you want an urgent clean. I think Absolute Domestics I called once and had a very bad experience with, at a time in my life when I was desperate for any help and at the worse parts of postnatal depression. Still makes me mad thinking about it now, but I will check before I say anything further.

[*Ali*]

I was also going to suggest gumtree- we started looking and there were a few adds on there, you can also place your own add looking for a cleaner. There are a few websites with just cleaners listed on them, I just did a google search and found some.

[rubibaby]

i'd go with word of mouth...ask friends, fam, mother's group buddies, etc...