So youve jumped in with both feet and taken on a cleaner to do your housework. Along she comes for her weekly session, and youre over the moon. The burden of housework is lifted, your weekends span ahead of you, oases of sheer bliss at the end of each long hassle-filled week.

How are you going to hang on to this little treasure? All your friends are asking about how its going. They want a little treasure of their own. It is a fact that in the UK at present there are more people seeking help in the home than there are suitable people available to do the work. In some areas the hourly rate exceeds 10. The fact is that its a sellers market and good, reliable cleaners really are worth their weight in gold.

So how do you stop her leaving you for your neighbour who has offered her more money? Surprisingly, most cleaners do not do the job for the money. Most of them do it because its convenient. It suits them at a particular time of their life. They may have young children at school, or they may have taken early retirement from a high-pressure job or they may be caring for elderly relatives. Whatever their reason, they are looking for part-time work that is not stressful and requires nothing more from them than they turn up, do the job, get paid and dont have to give it another thought until the same time next week.

The best relationships between employer and cleaner are those where the two parties actually like one another. If you look forward to her coming and welcome her every week, and if she likes coming to your house and feels valued its quite likely that she will think twice about being lured away by your neighbour for an extra 50 pence per hour.

Do

 Make sure you pay her correctly, preferably weekly.

 Make sure she knows what you expect of her. Take time to go into detail about the tasks you expect her to do. Draw up a list C shell find it invaluable for the first few weeks.

 Point out anything that requires special treatment.

 Be clear about the number of hours you expect her to work. Youre probably paying by the hour so you need to get value for money. Be aware that the clock starts ticking when she walks in the door and stops when she closes it behind her.

 Ensure you have the correct equipment and materials for her to do the job properly.

 Leave her to get on with the work without hindrance.

 Thank her when she has finished, and if she has done a particularly good job then remember to tell her how pleased you are.

 Try to have the house tidy so that she can concentrate on the cleaning which is what youre paying her for.

Dont

 Clean the house before she comes C she wont thank or respect you for doing the job for her.

 Follow her round while shes working, pointing out bits that shes missed.

 Keep asking her to change the day or time of day she comes. Cleaners like a routine and she may have to fit you in around other clients.

 Expect her to clear up your pets accidents or your babys dirty nappies.

 Keep telling her how your previous cleaner used to do it. Thats like your partner continually talking about his ex!

Bear the above points in mind and with respect on both sides you and your cleaner should be in for a long and mutually beneficial relationship.