How Much Do You Pay For Cleaners?

[OxfordWill]

I remember a thread on this but when I searched, I could not find it, so possibly I am remembering wrong.

For those of you who live in a condominium or apartment, how much do you pay (if you do pay) for the maids in the building (or externally from elsewhere) to come and clean your place?

By clean your place I mean, clean it, do the dishes, maybe even do your laundry (although this might be unusual).

Some maids will go through drawers and clean/organise things, some will just do surfaces.. it varies obviously. But I have lived in many buildings and I have found the price fluctuates hugely.

I would be interested in getting a sense of average. Do you pay per time? per week? per month? How many times are included? etc..

Boring but potentially practical thread.

[georgey]

we pay around twice that (on the basis of per person per hour) for a maid who comes in once a week for about 3 hrs, & does everything including ironing (central BKK). I know we're paying way too much, but don't really mind as we know we can trust her absolutely - we leave money & valuables out all the time.....that is worth a lot to us, & she is also very pleasant....

[Traxster]

I pay my cleaning lady 3000 Baht per month

and she comes three days a week.

Edited February 7, 2013 by Traxster

[Prince17]

"potentially practical thread"

Very good thread - I am also very interested to know/read more about.

Thank you

[kblaze]

I pay mine 2500 per month and she is only supposed to come twice a week, but actually comes 3 times a week for some reason. My place is a very small condo in downtown bkk. She does all the cleaning. dishes, sheets, laundry, bathroom. She is very trustworthy and has been with me for about 5 years. I was paying her 3500 for 3-4 days a week, but then told her I don't need cleaning that often and just 2 days would be fine at 2500. I think I pay her less than others she cleans for because my place is so small and she has known me for so long.

How about year-end bonus? What do you guys do for that or do you even give one at all? This year I just gave her an extra 2000 for her Dec salary as kind of a christmas/year end bonus, but I have no idea if thats the norm or what. I can definitely understand not giving a christmas bonus if you have just a temporary maid who you don't really know, but what about people in my situation who have had the same lady for years?

[OxfordWill]

In my house which was much bigger I used to pay 300 baht per visit, and she would come a few times a month. Now I am in a condo and they want to charge 1000 for cleaning and dishes for a few hours. Its definitely the most expensive I have experienced yet. In my previous condo I had 800 baht per month for laundry and the same girl would clean for 600 baht per week (once per week).

regarding bonus I guess if you have enjoyed the service and like her, and after a year, I would give a few thousand at thai new year or whatever. Same with security guards. Find one of those red chinese looking envelopes to put the money in, seems to be appreciated.

[Will2011]

It depends how often you want them to come.

Living in a big condo in bkk, I was charged 400 b. There were three ladies and they clean the 1br apartment and it looked like brand new. Cleaned everywhere you can imagine even behind the fridge and stuff. Now if you want ironing, it might come with a surcharge, but I didn't want to ask for more because they are really hard working ladies who do like 12h per day...

[richard_smith237]

500 Baht once per week for 2 (sometimes 3 people) to clean a 2 bedroom apartment (no laundry or ironing) - They do an excellent job.

[jellydog]

I'm trying to get an idea of what to expect for my money. I have a maid, who works for the condo where I live, who comes in only twice a month. She cleans only, no laundry, no ironing, nothing but the cleaning of a large one bedroom. I pay her $500 baht each time. She only cleans for an hour. Should I expect more time spent than an hour ? I would say she does an adequate job, but only barely.

Thanks for any advise.

[kblaze]

Yeah 1 hour is not much for 500 baht. Does she wash the dishes too? I find it difficult, however, to heap additional duties on a maid after she already has a set system, especially if I don't raise her payment as well. It can be tough to find a trustworthy maid too..

[somtampet]

Do they have to clean the bogs too?????

How can one justify having a maid/cleaner to clean a condo,its a 20 minute job.

Someone that works and has a fair size house,i could justify but not someone retired who,s little tilak has no job,maybe even in between painting her nails too.RElationships are a two way thing,so 2 cleaning,cooking ironing,cleaning is no chore,so quick to do

My gf works 6 days a week so i do the chore,much better than working in the uk.If i had to pay someone due to ill health,then i would have the cleaner do 2 days a week cleaning,and 3 days a week for washing,ironing,and pay her 700 baht a day,which will last approx 4-5 hours.Paid holidays would be appropriate too,and tips for extremely good work.For the right person,who can be dependable and trustworthy then maybe 1,000 baht a day

[ricklev]

I pay 2000 per month for about 2.5 hours twice a week with a 2000 baht bonus each year.

[kblaze]

Do they have to clean the bogs too?????

How can one justify having a maid/cleaner to clean a condo,its a 20 minute job.

Someone that works and has a fair size house,i could justify but not someone retired who,s little tilak has no job,maybe even in between painting her nails too.RElationships are a two way thing,so 2 cleaning,cooking ironing,cleaning is no chore,so quick to do

My gf works 6 days a week so i do the chore,much better than working in the uk.If i had to pay someone due to ill health,then i would have the cleaner do 2 days a week cleaning,and 3 days a week for washing,ironing,and pay her 700 baht a day,which will last approx 4-5 hours.Paid holidays would be appropriate too,and tips for extremely good work.For the right person,who can be dependable and trustworthy then maybe 1,000 baht a day

Its simple; for less than 100 dollars per month one can come home everyday from work tired to a clean condo with everything ironed and washed and no dishes to do, and no dirty bathroom. Doesn't matter if its a tiny studio, cleaning a condo is not a 20 min job. For some, its money well spent. For others, like yourself, it is preferable to do it themselves. Ah, freedom of choice!

Edited May 20, 2013 by kblaze

[HardenedSoul]

Frankly, if I was the OP I'd limit myself to employing someone I knew who is really, really trustworthy.

Failing that, do it youself

I had a cleaning lady once and while she was efficient enough and nothing ever went missing, I swear to God, within a couple of weeks, the local moto-taxis and the massage girls knew where I was from, that I did something in the stock market for a living, that I use red Rizla cigarette papers and the name of the girl I was knocking about with at the time.

Seriously pissed me off

[preliminary]

We pay 600 Baht for a 3-hour cleaning of a large one-bedroom condo in Bangkok. It is a bit pricy compared to what other people wrote here but I am really happy with her thoroughness.

When we lived in a two-bedroom house in Hua Hin we used an agency who sent one maid for 4 hours for 350 Baht of 8 hours for 600 Baht (actually everything was done in 3 hours). The first one they gave us was terrible: never cleaned in the corners or under the bed, could take a sponge, clean a toilet with it and then put it back on a kitchen sink etc. The second one was actually better but still you would have to check everything after her and finish some small things. And all the neighbours knew what was going on in our house.

[Gweiloman]

Can anyone recommend a good live in maid / cook? Duties are simple and not complicated. Just keep my house clean, do the laundry, water the plants, cook some food and occasionally car / bike wash. I'm willing to pay Bht 8,000 or thereabouts to ensure no cockroaches / ants etc

[bangkokburning]

I was talking to my wife and saying my sister in law should start cleaning places and doing odd jobs. She's about 35 and never glomed onto a proper job. She has a good disposition and the whole family honest and good natured.

I could set her up.with a simple web page and pass the info in various ways on the interwebs.

If I can ask, what would this group look for in hiring a stranger, if they would at all. Once she had a few places, Im sure word of mouth could help her immensely - but until them, will be a hard go.

I'd think she'd need roughly 150b for transport per day, depending on the location of the domicile. Id recommend her charge about 350 (puts 300 in pocket and pays lunch)? Once a month, twice a month, once or twice a week??

Im sure she would be ok with laundry, she does it on the side already. She is a great cook, has cooked "professionally" for large corporation sending box meals for staff. You would have to teach her to cook western.

SoSpeaks Thai only

She wouldnt need any proper work arrangements. No need to gift her out on anything Id think. Severence just some token of five hundred baht to tell.her its over, thanks. If you are not happy with the job, nothing required, phone call before she comes. Done.

If anyone could give me some pointers, it would be great. She really needs work. In Bangkok and lives close to MRT.

Thanks for any help or insight what your needs are.

Edited May 28, 2013 by bangkokburning

[lennois]

I always found maiddelivery a pretty good service. Once a week 2-3 hours to clean a 70sqm 2bdrm apt - 450 baht a time. Did dishes and some ironing. Had about 4 maids from them and nothing ever went missing

[lujanit]

While we have a house the maid needs to do nothing outside as I do the garden etc. Also no laundry or ironing. We pay her 500 baht a time (she comes in once a week) and while she is honest her work is starting to become a bit shoddy. She spends a lot of time sitting outside talking on the phone. Lately she only turns up every other week or just changes the day at the last minute which is a bit annoying. My wife rings her to tell her what to do otherwise stuff she should do just doesn't get done anymore (wife goes to work early and it's just me at home usually. No smart comments please).

I thought that maybe we were being to kind to her (I often go and pick her up and take her home, give her fruit out of the garden etc) and she decided I was an easy mark. However it appears that several of our friends have also experienced longer term problems with their maids, either live in or ones that come occasionally. So I guess you have to be pretty strict with them to get them to do what you want done. Maybe the old saying 'give them an inch and they'll take a mile' applies. Having said that one friend has had two maids for 20+ years and the third for 10+ years (big house, 4 cars, 5 dogs, large garden).

Edited May 30, 2013 by lujanit

[twominutesbuddy]

Do they have to clean the bogs too?????

How can one justify having a maid/cleaner to clean a condo,its a 20 minute job.

Someone that works and has a fair size house,i could justify but not someone retired who,s little tilak has no job,maybe even in between painting her nails too.RElationships are a two way thing,so 2 cleaning,cooking ironing,cleaning is no chore,so quick to do

My gf works 6 days a week so i do the chore,much better than working in the uk.If i had to pay someone due to ill health,then i would have the cleaner do 2 days a week cleaning,and 3 days a week for washing,ironing,and pay her 700 baht a day,which will last approx 4-5 hours.Paid holidays would be appropriate too,and tips for extremely good work.For the right person,who can be dependable and trustworthy then maybe 1,000 baht a day

Not all the world is retired. try wrapping your head around that. Also if you can afford it, why clean your own toilet or wash your own clothes.

I know what i bill per hour, and most maids monthly salary doesn't even come close to approaching it.

doing it myself either cuts into my billable time or my leisure time, saving on a maid is simply a false economy.

i pay 6k-8k/mo baht for 4 days per week. the maid also picks my kid up from school 4 days a week, and ferries her between mine and her mothers where she spends weekends. She also helps out at the mothers place 1-2 days a week. She stays over when i want/need to go out during the week and gets my kid to school if required. she pends every race sunday night at my place during the f1 season.

She does all household shopping from a list and if she has a special outing for her kid planned for the weekend asks to borrow mine and will take her with.

she makes good money, but she is a distant cousin and has become family over the last 7 years. regular bonus at xmas and sk of a couple grand.

my time in bkk previously has been spent either looking for a maid or cursing the one i have for every reason from erratic work to theft, someone who is family, dependable, trustworthy and is not going to run away is well worth a couple hundred bucks to me, likely more if she asked.

you go back to the laundry, i have other stuff to do.

Edited May 30, 2013 by twominutesbuddy

[twominutesbuddy]

Frankly, if I was the OP I'd limit myself to employing someone I knew who is really, really trustworthy.

Failing that, do it youself

I had a cleaning lady once and while she was efficient enough and nothing ever went missing, I swear to God, within a couple of weeks, the local moto-taxis and the massage girls knew where I was from, that I did something in the stock market for a living, that I use red Rizla cigarette papers and the name of the girl I was knocking about with at the time.

Seriously pissed me off

believe it or not that can actually be a benefit. It humanizes you and makes you a part of the community. The same is true of my maid, but she knows where to draw the line.

between my favourite motorcycle guy, cleaning lady and th 2 cleaning ladies in the houses next door, my house is a fairly busy place, but in a very non-intrusive way. I work form home and my doors are only locked when i sleep, as there is always someone around to help with the kid etc.

i must be doing something right, everyone else on the sub soi but me has been burglarized at least once in the last 12 years, knock wood.

[scotinsiam]

I'm trying to get an idea of what to expect for my money. I have a maid, who works for the condo where I live, who comes in only twice a month. She cleans only, no laundry, no ironing, nothing but the cleaning of a large one bedroom. I pay her $500 baht each time. She only cleans for an hour. Should I expect more time spent than an hour ? I would say she does an adequate job, but only barely.

Thanks for any advise.

Minumum wage for a day is now 300 Baht, you are paying 500 for an hour of fairly unsatisfactory work......... maybe need a new cleaner.

[Stan42]

I dunno, it's included in my 14k rent. They come 6 days a week and do the laundry every Monday and Thursday.

[SoiBiker]

I do it myself, and pay myself in beer.

[The Big Mango]

I do it myself, and pay myself in beer.

Do you charge yourself alot , or just enough for a few ?

:-)

[wow64]

Have a maid/nanny who lives with us... Place is spotless. 12k per month. When she started it was 8500 just to be a nanny.. 12000 for everything.. And she is a great cook.

Sent from my c64

Edited May 7, 2015 by wow64

[thehelmsman]

I do it myself, and pay myself in beer.

That's the wife's job and I still get the beer.

[SoiBiker]

I do it myself, and pay myself in beer.

That's the wife's job and I still get the beer.

How very last century.

[thehelmsman]

I do it myself, and pay myself in beer.

That's the wife's job and I still get the beer.

How very last century.

In Thailand the women still know how to be women.

[balo]

Have a maid/nanny who lives with us... Place is spotless. 12k per month. When she started it was 8500 just to be a nanny.. 12000 for everything.. And she is a great cook.

Sent from my c64

That's just a waste of money , you could clean the house yourself.

And cook yourself. LIke the rest of us poor people.