Does my maid cleaning habits bother you? (recalled, boil, Walmart)

[ericjustin2]

Where i'm located, we have over 10 apartments or so. We also get maid service for free every 2 weeks at no cost. Also its more to maintain the place as well. Where i'm located, its very hot.



When she does cleaning, she cleans the entire studio apartment. She would sweep, mop the floor and everything. Its usually done in a bit more than an hour. Thus cleaning bathroom and putting certain thing like on the desk neatly, though I don't need this done, she does do that..



But this is something she has done which does bother me. If you read some of my threads in this forum, you would know that im very germaphobic. So first off when she mops the floor, she uses a mop and a bucket of water where she dips the mop in. She either gets the water from the shower or my kitchen sink... yes you heard that right kitchen sink. But when she first gets the water, its usually from the shower in the bathroom. That bucket is not that big and not that small, its enough to sink the mop in there.



Now after she is done mopping the studio apartment or close to it, she would dump that dirty water that is in that bucket... right into the kitchen sink. She has done that a while back ago and does this every single time. Whenever she cleans, im almost always on the computer so i don't pay attention to what she is doing. By a while back when i noticed she did this, i got a bit disgusted by it. I thought shouldn't you be pouring that in the shower or toilet? I also can't speak the language to say anything but i also don't want to be rude. But i can easily show it on google translate it but i see no point of me doing it anymore. Right now, it doesn't bother me that much since well she has been doing it everytime she comes. So basically if she is cleaning and doing something that disgusts me... i look away and pretend i didn't see it. Thoughts on that?

[ericjustin2]

And here is a few other things she has done which i found pretty disgusting. I'm 100% certain on this but im not sure which method she did it. She uses a towel to clean like the kitchen table, the dirty walls and around the kitchen area. But i did see her cleaning my eating bowl that i use to eat... its a big bowl... imagine like a big cereal bowl that you eat rice, pasta and everything on it as i rarely eat on a regular plate. Im close to 100 percent sure she either has cleaned my bowl with that or a sponge that is used to clean dirty things.



The same towel that she wipes the kitchen table with, the dirty walls... even the futon sofa. If it was not this, it was a cleaning sponge... that sponge is a very disgusting one. Its not even the one i use to wash my dishes. She uses the one where you clean like the stovetop, kitchen top and sink etc. Also my sink is pretty dirty and have some mold there. So basically when i turned my back once or twice, i saw she was cleaning my bowl with either that towel that she wipes the dirty walls and even floor with i believe... OR a very dirty sponge.



When i wash my dishes, i have 2 sponges. One sponge is like to wash my bowls basically anything where you put food on it etc. The other sponge is where i wash like the outside of the bowl if you know what i mean... like where there is no food there. First off, do you consider having 2 sponges for this germophobe or not? For example, i would not use the same sponge to scrub the bottom of a pan or stove as i would with my bowl and anything i clean.


I know that in restaurants obviously when they clean the dishes and everything, they are using towels and other things where its been in a lot of dirty places. But in my situation, do you consider any of these cleaning habits of her bothersome? Many times after she is done, i would later like boil some hot water and then pour it on the sink where the bowl of dirty water got poured into and also put like cleaning liquid with bounty paper and wipe the sink area because of this. Im not using one of my sponges to touch the dirty sink.



I mean i can't imagine many ppl here being completely okay with the sink part right? I mean imagine just throwing your plates and utensils in the sink right after eating and the sink has that water poured from cleaning bucket there...



I feel i need to pour as much cleaning liquid as possible on it everytime she cleans. Also im 100 percent positive she does this at every single apartment that she cleans. But is this normal for maids cleaning? I recalled i read somewhere on how a family hired a maid and let them know things like okay this towel is for cleaning so and so... this sponge is for this... this sponge is for this etc. At first i thought that sounds foolish but then when i saw she was cleaning my bowl with either the same towel she used to clean the walls and wipe the floor... or if it was a sponge that is to wipe dirty things... i got disgusted. I started to wonder... did she wipe the toilet with that? Of course i dont ask any of these things.



But what i do now is make sure anything i dont want washed by her... i put it somewhere where she can't see it. Thoughts on that?

[reneeh63]

Can't you tell her to dump the mop water in the toilet? You must be around or you wouldn't know in such detail about what she's doing. Does she not speak English? SHOW HER if you can't tell her.

I don't know if you can explain about your bowls and such - why aren't they in the dishwasher? Or can't you just have your dishes washed before she comes? When I was a kid and our housecleaner came, we picked up stuff and had things "ready" for her - stuff that she should not have had to deal with because they were perhaps more personal in nature or beyond her usual duties, WE DID before she came.

You'll have to either make some accommodations or actually interact with her - imagine that!

[Nik4me]

Dirty water goes into the toilet before she cleans it
She should clean that toilet after that.
I would not let her use that dirty mop- use your own swifter type swivel mop with disposable pads.
Kitchen sink: use “ bar keepers friend” - Walmart- to scrub the sink so no mildew and everything is shiny.
Clean your own dishes and put them away before the maids comes- she has no clue on hygiene. I would not let her wipe the counters.
You could Supply her with paper towels- disposable/ clean. Or your own cleaning rags of different color for different surfaces.
Sponges harbor bacteria. No exception. If you have to hand wash your dishes use dishwashing soap and baking soda to scrub the dishes. Use soft scrubbers- they drain better- blue color. After use - zap it in microwave to kill bacteria and keep them dry until next use.

[ericjustin2]

reneeh, there is language barrier. I cant speak the language. I can however use google translate on my computer and show her it.



I notice her pouring the water from the bucket into the kitchen sink like the first or second time she started cleaning. Here, we had a few different cleaners and she has been cleaning for like the last year or more. My first thought was wtf... but i didn't say anything. Then i notice she was doing this almost everytime and then basically everytime. So i never said anything after that. I heard some water getting poured into the sink and i turned my back and i thought... wtf. Again i know she does that at everyones apartment when cleaning because few ppl that i know here, they dont care about it when i was at their apartment a few times when she was doing cleaning.



I dont have dishwasher. Most ppl here do not have a dishwasher. Im not in the US. Nobody in our building has one. My dishes are already washed. I wash all my dishes and bowls so it does not have to be washed. But few times she sees the dishes there so she washes it even if it doesn't need washing or looks a little dirty. I don't want to her to do things that she does not need to do. I actually try to clean as much as possible as i can in terms of the kitchen and dishes so she wouldn't have to do that. You are acting like i do not do this. I'm probably the one person in the building who does this the most in terms of leaving things out there in the kitchen.



I know other ppl in our building and they have everything just there... and she has to clean everything.



Here is something else. She doesn't take more than an hour usually when cleaning my place. Almost all the cleaning is sweeping and mopping. And scrubbing around the kitchen area and the walls.k Other ppl in my building... she takes minimum 1 hour 30 minutes. What does that say? I now some ppl where they close to 2 hours... so you can imagine how dirty those places are. And those apartments are either same size as mine or just a bit bigger.



I do as much as I can before she comes and clean. I get up much early to move things and put them to the side or somewhere else where she doesn't have to do cleaning. Everyone else here... they even leave their damn dirty dishes from the day before in the sink.

[ericjustin2]

nik, well she starts cleaning the bathroom, then the bedroom and then the kitchen. Well its basically an open studio apartment. So the water is from the shower... then she dips the mop into it to clean around. Then when she brings it to the kitchen studio area that is what she does. When she is almost done or done cleaning, she pours all that water in the kitchen sink.


I already clean my own dishes. Many times i would have them out on the kitchen counter... then she just cleans it... Then when i see her cleaning i go... oh crap i left dishes there. Few times i had to take those dishes and put it in the fridge or cabinet so she won't clean it even if its already clean.



I have paper towels there. She uses them but very few of it.



But would any of you be fine with what she is doing here or not? I thought... that is zero hygiene at all. The other interesting this is this. My neighbor who is an old retired guy who is in the building, he doesn't care because he has horrible hygiene himself. Example he would soak some clothes in a bucket where its for clothes... but also use that bucket to sometimes put fruits or vegetables there. I was grossed out by it because even if you wash it, you shouldn't be using the same bucket...do you agree? He has also used that bucket when he mops the floor... and sometimes i see him soak vegetables in it in the kitchen.



Well you would say like okay use this sponge for walls and floor, this one for the kitchen table etc right? And this one for dishes?



But of all these things i mentioned, do all of these things she does disgust you?


The cleaning my bowl with a towel that she used to wipe the kitchen top, walls and the sofa... or using a sponge that is extremely dirty to wash my bowl... that grossed me out so much even more than the bucket of water poured into the sink.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

I always pour my mop water in my kitchen sink. I usually scrub the sink afterwards with cleanser. It's just part of my cleaning routine and doesn't seem dirty to me.

I use a sponge for the kitchen table and dishes and countertops. I use a different sponge or a scrub brush for other surfaces.

And wash your own eating bowl and put it away before she comes to clean. Then you don't have to worry about it being clean enough to eat from.

[LLCNYC]

If you're very germaphobic, why are you having her clean at all?

[historyfan]

Just wipe down everything you're concerned about with Clorox wipes after she leaves.

[E-Twist]

I never use sponges. Germy. I use cloths that I bleach. If she dumps the mop water down the sink, she should clean sink appropriately afterwards. Sooooo....the lady doesn't have great hygiene knowledge. If this is a third world country I suspect it's the best you will get. Perhaps if you made an effort to tell her what you want, and TIP her, it would be better.