What Can a Cleaner Do in 1 Hour (Explained)

Whether it is a last-minute message saying your relatives are coming home for dinner or a surprise party is underway, cleaning and organizing the house by yourself may be overwhelming.

Searching for the right cleaning products and equipment may seem quite dreadful to get the house clean and in shape within an hour. Only because you have some minutes to spare does not mean you can do the cleaning and expect it to be sparkling. Many may wonder, besides yourself, what can a cleaner do in 1 hour? 

In just one hour, a cleaner can typically help declutter the space, prep the laundry and washing machine, wash dishes, clean bathrooms, vacuum the house, mop floors, and organize the space.

Given positive reviews from friends and family on hiring cleaning services, it would be best if you considered hiring a cleaner that can offer quick but quality cleaning services.

Fortunately, though an hour is not much time to clean the house thoroughly from top to bottom, a cleaner can accomplish a few tasks within this time. Here are some tasks a cleaner can do in 1 hour.

1. Decluttering the Space - 10 minutes

Soon after the cleaner gets to your home, they first need to declutter the whole house. They can walk through the entire house with a box or trash bag, collecting the misplaced items such as toys for your kids, putting things in place, and collecting trash such as junk mail, old receipts, paper wraps, and reusable bottles.

Once the cleaner clears all the clutter in every room, the cleaner will throw away the trash and stash the box with misplaced home items in a closet away from prying eyes. All this done in under 10 minutes.

2. Laundry - 5 minutes

Dirty laundry around the house can make the home appear more untidy than it actually is. A cleaner will take advantage of throwing in a load of laundry to improve the tidiness of the house and give you clean laundry.

Note that an average washing machine cycle can take up to an hour. Thus, since the cleaner is only washing a few clothes, they can consider loading them for 45 minutes, eventually allowing them to unload and hang them up to dry, or putting them in a dryer before their cleaning is complete.

3. Washing dishes - 5 minutes

For this task, let the dishwasher do the heavy lifting. The cleaner may take about two minutes to soak grimy utensils in soapy water first as they fill the dishwasher with other utensils. Soaking in warm soapy water makes it possible to loosen up the oil and grime, making it easier for the machine to clean them effectively.

Depending on the length of your dishwasher’s cycle, the cleaner may be able to unload the dishwasher at the end of the hour. Once the dishwasher has been loaded, the cleaner can tackle the other tasks.

4. Cleaning the bathrooms - 10 minutes

If you are having guests over, you need clean bathrooms they can use during their stay at your house. Of course, these guests will not use your primary bathroom, so your cleaner must focus on the powder rooms or bathrooms that are accessible and available for guests.

First, the cleaners can put some bleach, toilet cleaners, and detergents down the toilet bowl, brush the rim and outside the bowl, and leave the detergents to react for about five minutes.

While waiting, the cleaner can wipe down the sink mirror, surfaces, and walls and use the cleaning solutions to clean the floors and the bathroom glass if present.

When the time is up, the cleaner will return to the toilet bowl, make a quick scrub, flush, and wipe any residual products. Later they can take about five minutes to refill the soap dispenser, put out fresh towels, and light a scented candle for ambiance (although this is very optional).

5. Cleaning windows - 5 minutes

Windows often collect dirt and dust over time, but it’s one of those things you rarely have time to clean–and then don’t notice until you have guests over! Hiring a cleaner is beneficial because they can clean areas you miss or don’t have time to complete. 

The cleaner should start with the living room windows, spray cleaning the window glass, and wiping down the framing as quickly as possible. Later they can move on to the kitchen, dining space, and sitting area, where you expect to have a lot of foot traffic.

6. Dusting the space - 5 minutes

Some areas where you can expect a lot of residual dust are the TV cabinet, coffee table, mirrors, and any flat surface in your home. The cleaner will use a dry microfiber cloth and wipe off any dust on these surfaces.

Additionally, they can use an all-purpose cleaner or polishing varnish to help with dust removal. Provided the cleaner makes a quick sweep around the house, it will only take a few minutes.   

7. Vacuum the living space - 10 minutes

After decluttering and dusting the space, it only fits that the cleaner vacuums the areas you expect to receive a lot of foot traffic, including the living, dining, and kitchen space.

The cleaner can do a quick vacuum behind and under the furniture and the carpets. This allows you to have a cleaner and less dusty space for entertaining your guests comfortably.

8. Mopping the floors - 5 minutes

It is only standard to mop the floors after vacuuming and dusting the space.

The cleaner will use their preferred mop supplies to clean the entryway, living space, dining space, and kitchen, and end with the bedrooms if there is still time.

9. Organizing the space - 5 minutes

Now that all the surfaces, floors, laundry, and utensils are clean, and the space is decluttered and straightforward, it is time to organize the area. You can help the cleaner to save a lot of time.

At this stage, the cleaner’s work ensures that all the furniture, couch pillows, and décor pieces are in place. Depending on the client’s preferences, the cleaner will do the forgotten things, such as opening the windows, lighting a candle, or turning on the humidifier.

Final Thoughts

There you have it— nine tasks a cleaner can do in 1 hour. These tasks may vary from one cleaner to another and time duration. However, you must remember that you should treat your cleaners respectfully and not overwork them, especially with such a short amount of time.

You should also take into consideration that a cleaner won’t be able to perform all these tasks perfectly in just under an hour unless you give them help. Thus, with cleaner surfaces, mopped dry floors, flickering candles, and organized space, you will surely get great comments from your guests.

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