House cleaners talk about the extra tasks they didn’t really want, cleaning “tips” that weren’t so helpful, and those little things people do that just eat up their cleaning time. Since there’s no rulebook for this, these pros to tell us about those well-meaning habits that actually drive them a bit nuts. Let’s begin with:

Cleaning before they arrive

While you might genuinely think you’re assisting by cleaning before your housekeeper arrives, the impact depends on your definition of cleaning. If you’re hastily mopping a dirty kitchen floor or wiping granite countertops with a wet sponge without drying them, cleaning professionals express gratitude but prefer you not to. With the grime further embedded or streaks on the countertops, fixing these mistakes might take them more time. At the very least, they’ll need to redo the work.