It’s like anything else, the owners of these cleaning companies are the ones making the money, not the housekeepers.
The one thing that’s scary with an independent housekeeper is if they steal. I’ve had that experience. I walked in on her.
I confronted her immediately and asked her why was she taking my things? Her response was that she needed them. I told her if she would have asked for them I would have gladly given them to her.
She didn’t apologize. I think she was stunned that I walked in on her. I asked her not to come back because I couldn’t trust her. She worked hard but stole from me.
I had in home caregivers for my parents and my husband. Their job was caregiving - not deep cleaning a bathroom. That was the duty of the housekeeper/cleaning lady who did cleaning was responsible for deep cleaning.
I now live alone in a condo. I have a twice weekly cleaning lady. She works four hours each day - $25.00 an hour which is the going rate in my area. She does deep cleaning, but no laundry. I use a service for that.
I pay my housekeeper $30/hr to clean whatever I'd like her to clean. I made $10/hr years ago as a care giver to an elderly couple in their home. I believe the going rate thru an agency is now under $15/hr. I cooked for them, did light housekeeping (no floors, no heavy duty bathroom cleaning, etc), and took her to the hairdresser. I also watched Wheel of Fortune with them every night, which they loved. If the lady needed assistance changing into her nightclothes, I helped with that also.
If you want a care giver, she will do primarily care giving tasks. If you want someone to clean your house, call a house cleaning service. In reality, you probably need both!
Holy cow! (Is that really what 'light houskeeping' means?) Cuz that's almost nothing, (imo). I must be out of touch with the world!😱. But I do see my value more now, cuz I'm a virtual cleaning machine! (Thanks to obsessions & compulsions)! Lol. Hi gladimhere.🙋
Independent housekeepers do very well! I was on complete bedrest with my pregnancy. Tons of medical issues so doctor put me on bed rest.
I had to hire help. The neighbor had a great housekeeper so I hired her. She drives a Mercedes Benz! She cleaned up. She started out with a cleaning service and made no money. She started working independently and does very well. She wasn’t cheap but she cleaned like I would. That’s rare because most of the cleaning companies that I tried weren’t as good.
I’m very laid back with people. I don’t breathe down their back. My husband’s grandma used to stand beside her housekeeper and tell her how to clean the toilet! Hahaha, like she didn’t know! She was very insulting though. Then she would complain if the woman stopped to get something to drink! She worked her to death! Made her polish the silver, clean the crystal every week, iron her sheets, etc. Who irons sheets?!!!
Back then the housekeepers stayed all day working! She arrived in the morning, she fed her lunch, then back to work until shortly before her husband got home. Paid her nothing! That’s slavery.
Did anyone see the movie, The Help? It’s so good, so funny about housekeepers here in the south back in the day! They raised the kids and everything, cooked, cleaned, you name it they did it. The book was better than the movie but it’s still good.
The agencies here all tell clients that there is no deep cleaning such as cleaning tubs or toilets. Cleaning up the floor if something spilled is different.
I have had caregivers from Council on Aging come and leave towels, clothes on the floor after bathing mom. Honestly, I didn’t care about it. I simply picked it up. Things like that don’t bother me.
Here’s the funny thing though, mom wouldn’t say a single word of criticism to them.
But when I bathed her, she told me every single time to pick up that towel, get my clothes off the floor! I had to start telling her that I wasn’t a child that she had to tell me to do my chores and that nothing ever gets left on the floor. She wanted me to do it that second. The thing is that it’s hot in the bathroom bathing someone. I wanted to step out of the bathroom to cool off.
Once I told her that I can faint and you have no one to help you dress or I can step out of the bathroom momentarily. Take your pick. She got mad!
She enjoyed nothing more than watching me work. If I sat down with a cup of coffee because I was tired she would tell me things I should be doing. Never did I tell her or anyone else how to clean their house. Would irritate me when she did that. Especially because I don’t have a messy house.
I only had them 8 hours a month. Basically 4 hour shift every other week. So I bathed mom the week off and I had to wait years to get them. We have a lot of elderly in the community so clients basically have to wait until someone moved from their house into a facility or they died.
The last caregiver was terrific! She did pick up stuff off of the floor because she wanted to. Once she saw me mopping the kitchen and told me that she would do it. I told her that I didn’t expect that but told her thanks for offering and told her how sweet I thought she was. I did not let her mop my floor. I have a big kitchen, still she offered. That is going above and beyond. I told the agency she deserved a raise!
Did you hire the aide privately or thru an agency? Either away, did you tell the agency or the person that you expected cleaning to be done? If you made it clear that cleaning was needed then the aide should be doing some cleaning. Usually though, its light cleaning.
I worked for a Visiting Nurse Assoc. We had a wife whose husband, client, had an aide thru a government agency. She complained that the aide wasn't doing cleaning or laundry. It was explained to her by our dept head that aides are for the patient. If they live alone, then the aide is expected to clean up, run the vacuum and do laundry. Light housekeeping not full cleaning. If the patient has a wife or lives with someone, those jobs are the spouses or families responsibilities.
Just my opinion here. If a mess is made in the bathroom, yes its the aides responsibility to clean it up. I don't feel that the cleaning of the whole room is the aides responsibility. I don't think a whole cleaning of a bedroom is the aides responsibility either. If client soils the bed, then stripping the bed, washing the items soiled and remaking the bed are the aides responsibility. Cleaning up the kitchen after making a meal, aides responsibility. Cleaning the whole kitchen no.
There are two types of aides. Their duties are similar. One, CNA, does more hands on care and may do some light cleaning. The other a Home health aide, does more of the cleaning, laundry and make meals. HHA responsibility is usually more helping a person with ADLs than actually doing the heavy part of Caregiving. Its hard to explain. Ex: a HHA, may help a person to the shower but doesn't actually do the bathing because the client can do that for themselves. A CNA will take the person to the shower and actually do the bathing because the client no longer can. A HHA may help a client dress when its something they need help with like socks but can pretty much dress themselves. A CNA may have to dress them from top to bottom because the client can't. You don't want a HHA if there is a lot of care needed. Like lifting, rolling over, changing depends. Thats what a CNA does. And because they provide more care, they usually don't clean. Just clean up.
So, if messes are caused while aide is there, then yes, they should clean it up. But I know of no aide that does heavy cleaning.
If you established that cleaning was part of the job discription, then yes u have a right to complain. But if you thought that this was what an aides responsibilities generally are, they aren't.
Caregivers primary responsibility is caregiving. Some light housekeeping. Not deep cleaning a bathroom each day. Only immediate messes that happen when on duty.
You need a cleaning person if you expect top to bottom cleaning and disinfecting.
Is this a shared bathroom with your LO? I'm sorry I don't understand the setting. Have they left poop on the floor or what? If so, then yes, ur right that the caregiver must clean it.
It is an ongoing problem with little messes. The BR needs a good cleaning top to bottom at least once a week. No one should have to tell her this. Thank you so much for your suggestions. I really appreciate them.
Why do you think the entire room needs to be cleaned? If this is a full bathroom and only toilet and sink are used, why would the entire room have to be cleaned? If it’s just your preference then you’ll need to do it yourself. Do you clean your bathroom top to bottom after every use? Have you considered the amount of time the caregiver will spend cleaning when she is really there, first and foremost, to take care of an elderly patient?
Realistically the only parts of the bathroom that need to be cleaned after every use would be parts that were soiled. If urine or fecal matter are on the toilet, and or floor that should be cleaned. If fecal matter gets onto the sink, that should be cleaned. If there is no urine or fecal matter then the entire bathroom does not need to be cleaned. (Do you clean the entire bathroom when you are done using it?) A wipe down with a sanitizing wipe, or a spray of bleach water and a mop would be enough to sanitize.
Just wondering does the care giver let the elderly patient use the bathroom by themselves? If so that might be more the problem in that the care giver needs to supervise better.
cleaning it after every use is not reasonable unless there is a mess with every use. My Dad always made a smelly mess, but my Mom was very neat and clean and her bath could be cleaned a couple times a week.
The one thing that’s scary with an independent housekeeper is if they steal. I’ve had that experience. I walked in on her.
I confronted her immediately and asked her why was she taking my things? Her response was that she needed them. I told her if she would have asked for them I would have gladly given them to her.
She didn’t apologize. I think she was stunned that I walked in on her. I asked her not to come back because I couldn’t trust her. She worked hard but stole from me.
I now live alone in a condo. I have a twice weekly cleaning lady. She works four hours each day - $25.00 an hour which is the going rate in my area. She does deep cleaning, but no laundry. I use a service for that.
If you want a care giver, she will do primarily care giving tasks. If you want someone to clean your house, call a house cleaning service. In reality, you probably need both!
The duties may include:
watering plants
dusting off surfaces
picking up newspapers, magazines, and other clutter
meal prep
clearing away the dishes
And remember you are not the client your mom is. It is about what your mom needs.
I had to hire help. The neighbor had a great housekeeper so I hired her. She drives a Mercedes Benz! She cleaned up. She started out with a cleaning service and made no money. She started working independently and does very well. She wasn’t cheap but she cleaned like I would. That’s rare because most of the cleaning companies that I tried weren’t as good.
I’m very laid back with people. I don’t breathe down their back. My husband’s grandma used to stand beside her housekeeper and tell her how to clean the toilet! Hahaha, like she didn’t know! She was very insulting though. Then she would complain if the woman stopped to get something to drink! She worked her to death! Made her polish the silver, clean the crystal every week, iron her sheets, etc. Who irons sheets?!!!
Back then the housekeepers stayed all day working! She arrived in the morning, she fed her lunch, then back to work until shortly before her husband got home. Paid her nothing! That’s slavery.
Did anyone see the movie, The Help? It’s so good, so funny about housekeepers here in the south back in the day! They raised the kids and everything, cooked, cleaned, you name it they did it. The book was better than the movie but it’s still good.
I have had caregivers from Council on Aging come and leave towels, clothes on the floor after bathing mom. Honestly, I didn’t care about it. I simply picked it up. Things like that don’t bother me.
Here’s the funny thing though, mom wouldn’t say a single word of criticism to them.
But when I bathed her, she told me every single time to pick up that towel, get my clothes off the floor! I had to start telling her that I wasn’t a child that she had to tell me to do my chores and that nothing ever gets left on the floor. She wanted me to do it that second. The thing is that it’s hot in the bathroom bathing someone. I wanted to step out of the bathroom to cool off.
Once I told her that I can faint and you have no one to help you dress or I can step out of the bathroom momentarily. Take your pick. She got mad!
She enjoyed nothing more than watching me work. If I sat down with a cup of coffee because I was tired she would tell me things I should be doing. Never did I tell her or anyone else how to clean their house. Would irritate me when she did that. Especially because I don’t have a messy house.
I only had them 8 hours a month. Basically 4 hour shift every other week. So I bathed mom the week off and I had to wait years to get them. We have a lot of elderly in the community so clients basically have to wait until someone moved from their house into a facility or they died.
The last caregiver was terrific! She did pick up stuff off of the floor because she wanted to. Once she saw me mopping the kitchen and told me that she would do it. I told her that I didn’t expect that but told her thanks for offering and told her how sweet I thought she was. I did not let her mop my floor. I have a big kitchen, still she offered. That is going above and beyond. I told the agency she deserved a raise!
I worked for a Visiting Nurse Assoc. We had a wife whose husband, client, had an aide thru a government agency. She complained that the aide wasn't doing cleaning or laundry. It was explained to her by our dept head that aides are for the patient. If they live alone, then the aide is expected to clean up, run the vacuum and do laundry. Light housekeeping not full cleaning. If the patient has a wife or lives with someone, those jobs are the spouses or families responsibilities.
Just my opinion here. If a mess is made in the bathroom, yes its the aides responsibility to clean it up. I don't feel that the cleaning of the whole room is the aides responsibility. I don't think a whole cleaning of a bedroom is the aides responsibility either. If client soils the bed, then stripping the bed, washing the items soiled and remaking the bed are the aides responsibility. Cleaning up the kitchen after making a meal, aides responsibility. Cleaning the whole kitchen no.
There are two types of aides. Their duties are similar. One, CNA, does more hands on care and may do some light cleaning. The other a Home health aide, does more of the cleaning, laundry and make meals. HHA responsibility is usually more helping a person with ADLs than actually doing the heavy part of Caregiving. Its hard to explain. Ex: a HHA, may help a person to the shower but doesn't actually do the bathing because the client can do that for themselves. A CNA will take the person to the shower and actually do the bathing because the client no longer can. A HHA may help a client dress when its something they need help with like socks but can pretty much dress themselves. A CNA may have to dress them from top to bottom because the client can't. You don't want a HHA if there is a lot of care needed. Like lifting, rolling over, changing depends. Thats what a CNA does. And because they provide more care, they usually don't clean. Just clean up.
So, if messes are caused while aide is there, then yes, they should clean it up. But I know of no aide that does heavy cleaning.
If you established that cleaning was part of the job discription, then yes u have a right to complain. But if you thought that this was what an aides responsibilities generally are, they aren't.
You need a cleaning person if you expect top to bottom cleaning and disinfecting.
Thank you for your input.
If urine or fecal matter are on the toilet, and or floor that should be cleaned.
If fecal matter gets onto the sink, that should be cleaned.
If there is no urine or fecal matter then the entire bathroom does not need to be cleaned. (Do you clean the entire bathroom when you are done using it?)
A wipe down with a sanitizing wipe, or a spray of bleach water and a mop would be enough to sanitize.
Just wondering does the care giver let the elderly patient use the bathroom by themselves? If so that might be more the problem in that the care giver needs to supervise better.
cleaning it after every use is not reasonable unless there is a mess with every use. My Dad always made a smelly mess, but my Mom was very neat and clean and her bath could be cleaned a couple times a week.
This is is a great forum.