KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Please share your tips and method to ensure that your house is properly cleaned by your maid

If you have a man in the house (ie. husband), ask them to conduct "stand by bed" for the maid.

Singaporean man who goes through army training knows exactly how to keep a room sparkling clean...

I do not have a maid but i have a distant relative who "plants" litter around to make sure the maid does the work. She will break tissue paper into small little pieces and leave them on coffee table, on the floor, under the mat etc. If she comes back and see the tissue paper still there, she knows the maid did not clear up the places.
I find it kind of extreme though..... tissue paper under floor mat.

b2b3m4 wrote:I do not have a maid but i have a distant relative who "plants" litter around to make sure the maid does the work. She will break tissue paper into small little pieces and leave them on coffee table, on the floor, under the mat etc. If she comes back and see the tissue paper still there, she knows the maid did not clear up the places.
I find it kind of extreme though..... tissue paper under floor mat.

this relative of yours is a little extreme... although results can be seen... i still think i pity the maid... if i'm the maid and my boss is like tat, i would feel really miserable...

i dun do such extreme things.. my logic is, as long as i dun get see fingerprints on them, i'm fine. fyi, i have many black glass surfaces in my hse so my maid got to clean them regularly... the fingerprints are so visible compared to clear glass...

Teach her to use Clorox for the bathrooms and toilets, with gloves and slippers : )

Generally, three-step process:
1. Show them how to do it, eg you sweep and mop the floor, she watches
2. They perform with guidance, eg. she sweeps and mops, you watch
3. They perform independently

It would be useful also to list all the jobs that is required and come up with a daily/weekly/monthly routine. I used to write and print them, and communicate with the maid using them Make sure we are as clear as possible with our communication of expectations.

Most of the them just want to make an earnest living. We should't be asking them to do things that we ourselves would not do.

If their work is not up to scratch, I would gently remind them and be specific about what i want them to do, how to do it and how frequent that job is to be done.

I think the tissue paper example is rather demeaning. I wouldn't do it. Mutual respect is important.

I have a daily, weekly and monthly list of what my maid need to do. Easier for them to follow and for me. We just need to explain and show the maid how it is to be done. Matter of few weeks they are used to it.

I would agree that a "task list" is the best way. I break things down into daily, twice-weekly, weekly and monthly tasks.

I think it's quite easy to tell if it isn't being done. And if you don't notice then does it really matter? ;-)

nkthen wrote:If you have a man in the house (ie. husband), ask them to conduct "stand by bed" for the maid.

Singaporean man who goes through army training knows exactly how to keep a room sparkling clean...

lol. My dh teaches me and then I teaches my maid. My dh is a captain, he literally use his finger to swipe on furniture to look for dust and if there is any, the maid will get scolding immediately. The maid only have to clean the house and i take care of my kids and cook, so if she cant even do such a simple job, its terrible.