'I'm a professional cleaner – people can't believe one of my biggest bugbears'

Professional cleaner Emily, from North Yorkshire, says many people can't believe one of her pet peeves that leaves her "mumbling to herself" in annoyance while on the job

A professional cleaner has revealed one of her bugbears that regularly leaves people stunned.

Emily, from North Yorkshire, has been helping people to keep their homes ship shape for over 15 years. Over that time, she has developed a number of pet peeves when visiting people’s homes.

But there’s one she says people laugh at when she tells them. That is, that Emily isn’t keen on visiting a house that is “too clean”.

Speaking to The i, she said: “I really enjoy my job and when a client cleans up before I come, it takes all the fun out of it! I'm just wiping clean surfaces. I mumble to myself about how ridiculous I am for being annoyed at them for wasting money when they do it themselves anyway."

Money is another one of Emily’s bugbears, especially when clients are taken aback by how much it costs to hire a cleaner. However, she provides her own materials, has to pay petrol costs, and pay herself a wage - the current Living Wage is around £12 an hour.

On top of this, Emily says cleaners have to take care of roles like accounting, marketing, invoicing, and keep up with the latest industry developments.

She explained: “Anything I earn, I have to pay tax and National Insurance from that. Some clients may be shocked when I give them a quote of £18 an hour, but I am insured, bring all my own equipment, have glowing references and have undergone a criminal records check."

Emily also revealed she refuses to work with animals in the room with her, so much so that it is written into her contract with clients. She says this is because she has had dogs lunging at her vacuum cleaner before while cats have taken a swipe at her.

She revealed her biggest bugbears after YouGov revealed 17 percent of households in the UK paid for a cleaner in 2023, despite the increased cost of living. The cleaning industry is estimated to bring around £8bn to the UK economy.

And while some “cleanfluencers” have now become millionaires, many cleaners are said to be struggling to make ends meet. The Low Pay Commission estimates around 54 percent of cleaning jobs pay at or under minimum wage.