It sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud.
You have booked a cleaner because you do not want to spend your free time cleaning, and then the night before they arrive you suddenly find yourself wiping benches and apologising for the state of the bathroom.
You do not need to clean your house before your cleaner arrives.
That is what you are paying them to do.
There is, however, a difference between cleaning the house and giving the cleaner enough room to actually clean it.
A little preparation can make a surprisingly big difference to what gets completed during the booked time.
Don't clean. Clear the way.
If you have booked somebody for two or three hours, you ideally want those hours spent cleaning bathrooms, kitchens, floors and surfaces — not trying to work out where six pairs of shoes, yesterday's mail and a pile of toys belong.
You certainly do not need to mop the floor or scrub the shower beforehand.
Instead, concentrate on the things only you can easily deal with.
Put clothes in the laundry basket. Pick toys up from the floor. Clear paperwork from the kitchen bench. Move personal products off the bathroom vanity.
Five or ten minutes doing that can give your cleaner much better access to the areas you actually want cleaned.
The kitchen is usually where preparation helps most
Bayside family homes tend to have busy kitchens.
Breakfast bowls, school bags, coffee cups, paperwork, appliances and whatever came home from work the night before can quickly consume most of the available bench space.
A cleaner can clean around those items, but that is rarely going to give you the same result as having a clear surface.
Before the cleaner arrives, it helps to:
- put food away;
- load or stack dirty dishes;
- remove paperwork and personal items from the bench;
- move anything fragile you do not want handled; and
- let the cleaner know if there is a particular area needing extra attention.
That is preparation.
Actually wiping the splashback, scrubbing the sink and cleaning the cooktop beforehand is not necessary.
You don't have to make the house look respectable
This is one of the stranger parts of hiring a cleaner for the first time.
People often feel they need to make the home look reasonably clean because somebody else is about to see it.
There is genuinely no point.
Professional cleaners work in occupied homes. They expect bathrooms to need cleaning, floors to have dirt on them and kitchens to have marks and grease.
If everything was already immaculate, you probably would not need the booking.
It is much more useful to be upfront about what needs attention.
If the shower has significant build-up, say so.
If there is a lot of pet hair, mention it.
If the kitchen has not had a thorough clean for months, tell the cleaner before the appointment.
That gives them a much better chance of allocating the right amount of time than pretending the property is easier than it actually is.
What about toys, clothes and general clutter?
This depends on what you have agreed with your cleaner.
Some customers want light tidying included. Others want every available minute spent on cleaning.
There is no universal rule.
But if you are paying for an hourly service, remember that time spent putting belongings away is time that cannot be spent somewhere else.
If the bathroom needs serious attention but the cleaner first spends twenty minutes picking items up around the living room, that may not be the best use of your booking.
For most homes, putting loose belongings away beforehand gives better value.
Should I move everything off shelves and benches?
No.
A lived-in house is supposed to have things in it.
You do not need to strip every surface bare.
Normal items such as lamps, small appliances and everyday household objects can generally stay where they are.
The things worth moving are clutter, fragile possessions, valuables, paperwork and personal items that make the surface difficult to access.
If you are concerned about a particular item, put it somewhere safe.
That removes any uncertainty for both you and the cleaner.
Let your cleaner know about pets
Pets are part of many Bayside homes and generally are not a problem.
But your cleaner should know they are there.
A friendly dog can still become excited by a vacuum cleaner or an unfamiliar person moving through the house.
Cats can disappear through doors surprisingly quickly.
If an animal needs to stay inside, outside or in a particular room, explain that before work starts.
It takes thirty seconds and avoids a potentially much bigger problem.
Decide what matters most before the cleaner arrives
This is particularly important with an hourly booking.
There may be ten things you would ideally like completed and only enough time for seven.
Tell the cleaner what you care about most.
For example:
Bathrooms and floors are the priority. If there is enough time after that, please do the kitchen cupboard fronts.
That is much more useful than discovering at the end of the visit that time was spent on a low-priority area while something important was left unfinished.
A good cleaner should understand that every household has different priorities.
What should you do before your first clean?
The first visit deserves slightly more communication because the cleaner does not know your home yet.
Before the appointment, make sure they know:
- how to access the property;
- where they can park;
- whether pets will be home;
- any surfaces requiring particular care;
- your highest-priority rooms;
- anything you do not want moved or cleaned; and
- any additional work you expect to be completed.
If the property requires a lot more work than a normal maintenance clean, sending photos beforehand can also help.
That is especially useful when deciding whether the home needs a regular clean or a deeper first clean.
The short answer
So, should you clean before your cleaner comes?
No.
Do a quick tidy if you have time, put away the things that could get in the way and tell your cleaner what matters most.
Then leave the actual cleaning to them.
That is the entire reason you booked the service in the first place.
Nash Property Services provides regular, fortnightly and one-off house cleaning across Highett, Sandringham, Hampton, Brighton, Beaumaris, Black Rock, Cheltenham and surrounding Bayside Melbourne suburbs.
If you are arranging your first clean, tell us what you need help with. We can work out the right service and priorities before the booking begins.
Cleaning Services Instant Quote
Regular Cleaning vs Deep Cleaning: What Does Your Bayside Home Actually Need? 5 Things That Make Your Home Look Cleaner Instantly