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House Cleaner

  • 23-08-2020 5:40pm
    #1
    NickJohn1911
    Registered Users Posts: 6 ✭


    Hi

    First world query: our cleaner was out of the country back in Poland since March and is now back in Cork. She just sent a Whats app saying that she is available to clean our house again. Previously she cleaned many houses around the city, is reliable etc however I am concerned from a Covid perspective. How safe is it to have her back in the house? For example, what if she picks up Covid in another house, could she not give it to me and the boys? Any thoughts / suggestions welcomed.

    Thanks

    Nickie


Comments

  • #2
    Jim_Hodge
    Registered Users Posts: 10,407 ✭✭✭✭Jim_Hodge


    You've answered this yourself. Of course it's not a safe idea.


  • #3
    Ludo
    Registered Users Posts: 5,015 ✭✭✭Ludo


    Haven't had ours since March also and we won't be having her back any time too soon. It's a pity as she was great, but just not worth the risk now.


  • #4
    jrosen
    Registered Users Posts: 1,629 ✭✭✭jrosen


    Good cleaners are like gold dust.

    Will you be at home while she is cleaning? If not then personally id have her back. Probably not though if I was there.


  • #5
    lsjmhar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 399 ✭✭lsjmhar


    We were lucky. Only our gardener and chef were away. I don't know how we'd cope if we had to clean up after ourselves as well!

    The place has become fierce untidy what with us at home all day on the PUP!


  • #6
    suicide_circus
    Registered Users Posts: 19,802 ✭✭✭✭suicide_circus


    A lot of the Polish staff in our place went back to Poland at the start of lockdown and stayed there on almost full pay until we went back to business. When they were asked to come in during lockdown to do various jobs, they called in sick. All this was on the sly as they were meant to be available for work.


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  • #7
    AMKC
    Registered Users Posts: 15,514 ✭✭✭✭AMKC
    Ms


    NickJohn1911 wrote: »
    Hi

    First world query: our cleaner was out of the country back in Poland since March and is now back in Cork. She just sent a Whats app saying that she is available to clean our house again. Previously she cleaned many houses around the city, is reliable etc however I am concerned from a Covid perspective. How safe is it to have her back in the house? For example, what if she picks up Covid in another house, could she not give it to me and the boys? Any thoughts / suggestions welcomed.

    Thanks

    Nickie

    Well for some.
    lsjmhar wrote: »
    We were lucky. Only our gardener and chef were away. I don't know how we'd cope if we had to clean up after ourselves as well!

    The place has become fierce untidy what with us at home all day on the PUP!

    Some people are just so lazy.

    Live long and Prosper

    Peace and long life.



  • #8
    normanoffside
    Registered Users Posts: 9,922 ✭✭✭normanoffside


    Jim_Hodge wrote: »
    You've answered this yourself. Of course it's not a safe idea.

    Why is it not safe to have a good cleaner? Surely good cleaners are actually important in the mitigation of spread?


  • #9
    Jim_Hodge
    Registered Users Posts: 10,407 ✭✭✭✭Jim_Hodge


    normanoffside wrote: »
    Why is it not safe to have a good cleaner? Surely good cleaners are actually important in the mitigation of spread?

    Dusting and hoovering, making beds and tidying up isn't sanitising your home. If you want somebody, who moves between several households, having free reign of your house then go ahead and use a cleaner instead of doing a half hour of chores yourself each day. For me it's not worth the risk.


  • #10
    Del Griffith
    Registered Users Posts: 1,201 ✭✭✭Del Griffith


    Poland is pretty much the same as Ireland for cases per 100k. Until very recently it was much lower.

    Maybe about others houses etc but her being in Poland is pretty much irrelevant from a risk perspective.


  • #11
    Loveinapril
    Registered Users Posts: 2,326 ✭✭✭Loveinapril


    My only concern is that she self isolated after her return. I would go ahead with her coming to your house if you were leaving her alone to do it.


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  • #12
    Ludo
    Registered Users Posts: 5,015 ✭✭✭Ludo


    Poland is kinda irrelevant alright to the discussion.

    But having a cleaner does mean that by having her back, your families defense against the virus now has an uncontrollable outside factor. No matter how good you are at washing hands, distancing, masking up etc etc your weakest point of defense now is someone coming into your house every when you have no idea how they behave.


  • #13
    JDD
    Registered Users Posts: 1,578 ✭✭✭JDD


    Ludo wrote: »
    Poland is kinda irrelevant alright to the discussion.

    But having a cleaner does mean that by having her back, your families defense against the virus now has an uncontrollable outside factor. No matter how good you are at washing hands, distancing, masking up etc etc your weakest point of defense now is someone coming into your house every when you have no idea how they behave.

    I agree with this. Even if the cleaner is being relatively low key with their own social activities (which you will have no way of knowing for sure) they will be cleaning a number of other houses during the week, probably with the owners present.

    In addition, most cleaners are self-employed and I'd say a good chunk are paid in cash. Which means no sick pay - I'd be worried if they worked through symptoms or didn't take a test when classified as a close contact. You can mitigate that through getting a cleaner from an agency and making sure the agency has a sick pay provision, but that still doesn't change the fact that they are in and out of other peoples houses on a daily basis.


  • #14
    normanoffside
    Registered Users Posts: 9,922 ✭✭✭normanoffside


    Jim_Hodge wrote: »
    Dusting and hoovering, making beds and tidying up isn't sanitising your home. If you want somebody, who moves between several households, having free reign of your house then go ahead and use a cleaner instead of doing a half hour of chores yourself each day. For me it's not worth the risk.

    I honestly don't get it.
    Would you be worried about them leaving the virus on surfaces or something?
    Is that really likely? is it not more of an airborne thing?

    Maybe having them in your home while you are is a small risk but I would normally just let the cleaner in when I wasn't there myself, that would sure negate 99.9% of the 'risk'?


  • #15
    stevek93
    Registered Users Posts: 3,088 ✭✭✭stevek93


    Another point nobody mentioned where is this cleaner living? Most likely shared accommodation could be 8+ people under her roof.


  • #16
    Sunrise.Sunset
    Registered Users Posts: 14 ✭Sunrise.Sunset


    Ludo wrote: »
    Poland is kinda irrelevant alright to the discussion.

    But having a cleaner does mean that by having her back, your families defense against the virus now has an uncontrollable outside factor. No matter how good you are at washing hands, distancing, masking up etc etc your weakest point of defense now is someone coming into your house every when you have no idea how they behave.

    A friend of mine works in a private setting in a families home as a nanny. She's been following the guidelines to a T from the start so family shouldnt need to worry about catching anything from her. The worry is now flipped. Since lockdown was lifted, the parents went back to their old entitled attitude of going nout every weekend. The guidelines were updated last week and the family went out of their way to activately break the guidelines of allowing more than 6 people in the household including my friend who was working and from more than 3 different households. Last week there was about 10 people there in one day from 6 or 7 different households. There has been regular playdates and sleepovers too. Along with this the family didn't isolate themselves or restrict their movements with the onset of cold.

    My friend is at a loss as to what to do. She likes working but her current situation is not sustainable and its not a safe environment. She's at risk for picking up the virus and she wants to keep herself safe from the virus and minimise as much risk. There's not sense in the situation either. She lived life with restricted and reduced movements over the past few months minimising her risks of picking up virus, just to go out to work where there's now high risk there because the family are too greedy and selfish.


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