How easy is it to be sued by a nanny here?

[PoorSoul]

What exactly does an argentine cleaner do in an apartment 4 hours a day? If it takes me 15 minutes a week to clean my apartment and I am not specialized at it, then why does someone who had theoretically developed specialization in it take 4+ hours?

I say that because I rented an apartment previously here that came with cleaning. She somehow spent hours in my apartment doing who knows what. Sure, it was clean when she was finished. But, not much cleaner than it is when I clean it.

 

[Ceviche]

I use my maid mainly to help me in kitchen and iron my clothes, handwash my expensive shirts and sweater. As I cook almost daily - exotoc/gourmet food, and I love dressing smartly, neatly.

 

[sergio]

Ironing clothes takes an hour or so, then there is pushing the vacuum around, washing dishes, cleaning floors, cleaning bathrooms, cleaning the glass in the bathroom takes time. And of course doing everything slowly.

 

[Silvie]

Very often people get hired to do multiple chores and they live with the family. The same person may clean the house, help the elderly family member who's sick at home, cook for the family, do the laundry, iron and take care of children if needed. That's a full-time job and it depends on the family's needs. I grew up with this kind of help and I don't consider it was a luxury at all.

 

[sergio]

Very often people get hired to do multiple chores and they live with the family. The same person may clean the house, help the elderly family member who's sick at home, cook for the family, do the laundry, iron and take care of children if needed. That's a full-time job and it depends on the family's needs. I grew up with this kind of help and I don't consider it was a luxury at all.

You grew up with it so you were accustomed to it, hence it did not seem a luxury but having a servant - and that's what it is - is indeed a luxury.

 

[Silvie]

You grew up with it so you were accustomed to it, hence it did not seem a luxury but having a servant - and that's what it is - is indeed a luxury.

When I mentioned that the service may have included taking care of elderly and sick family members, please note that at that point it used to be unthinkable to send old and sick grandparents to retirement homes, they were taken care of at home by us and that was a lot of work so indeed it was not a luxury but a necessity.

 

[perry]

When I mentioned that the service may have included taking care of elderly and sick family members, please note that at that point it used to be unthinkable to send old and sick grandparents to retirement homes, they were taken care of at home by us and that was a lot of work so indeed it was not a luxury but a necessity.

Having a maid is not a luxury and if one can afford it it is a great investment . A maid does not just clean , she can cook , buy groceries, pay bills, repair clothes, and much more . They are a godsend for many people .

 

[MatameBA]

Let's be honest here.

One of the main benefits to being an expat in Latin America is that help is cheap. That's one of the big reasons why people voluntarily move here. They want "luxurious" living for low prices. Part of that is having someone do the things you don't want to do (i.e. clean your house).

Now, I never had a cleaning person in the US because it's quite expensive.

But in Argentina... it doesn't make economical sense to NOT have someone come clean.

We have a woman who comes 1-2 times a week to clean for a few hours. She does a very good job. The place is immaculate afterwards. And it rounds out to ~$18 USD a week. That's ~$3-4 an hour. You might pay more. You might pay less. But that's the price she quoted. So we pay it.

Now, here's a question:

Is your personal time worth $3 USD an hour? Would you do a job you don't like for $3 USD an hour?

And even if it only takes you 2 hours a week to clean your apartment yourself... that's ~104 hours / year... or 4.3 days a year just spent cleaning.

Time is the most precious thing we have. Those days add up. If you can afford it, why not pay someone to clean your house so you can spend more time doing the things you love to do?

Personally, I scrubbed many toilets working fast food jobs in high school and college. I'm okay with not having to do it anymore.

 

[sergio]

Let's be honest here.

One of the main benefits to being an expat in Latin America is that help is cheap. That's one of the big reasons why people voluntarily move here. They want "luxurious" living for low prices. Part of that is having someone do the things you don't want to do (i.e. clean your house).

Now, I never had a cleaning person in the US because it's quite expensive.

But in Argentina... it doesn't make economical sense to NOT have someone come clean.

We have a woman who comes 1-2 times a week to clean for a few hours. She does a very good job. The place is immaculate afterwards. And it rounds out to ~$18 USD a week. That's ~$3-4 an hour. You might pay more. You might pay less. But that's the price she quoted. So we pay it.

Now, here's a question:

Is your personal time worth $3 USD an hour? Would you do a job you don't like for $3 USD an hour?

And even if it only takes you 2 hours a week to clean your apartment yourself... that's ~104 hours / year... or 4.3 days a year just spent cleaning.

Time is the most precious thing we have. Those days add up. If you can afford it, why not pay someone to clean your house so you can spend more time doing the things you love to do?

Personally, I scrubbed many toilets working fast food jobs in high school and college. I'm okay with not having to do it anymore.

There are different ways of looking at. I had a woman clean for me for many years. During the crisis she really needed the money so I had her come more days than necessary to help her out but the truth was that I wanted to let her go. It became inconvenient for me and I preferred my privacy. Eventually as she got older she decided to cut back and phased out her work for me. Some families (in which both spouses work and there are children) really need help. I understand that. What I don't like is having so many people working at low level jobs, having to travel long distances under bad conditions for very little money. Employers try to conceal from their maids what they pay for things so as not to create jealousy but their employees can figure it out. It's a situation that can only breed social resentment much as it did in the US when middle class families employed mostly black women to clean for them. I realize that the way things are a lot of women need this work but it's not a happy situation.

 

[London2Baires]

Hey,

Some interesting discussion here. For those of you who would like more data on this issue, please see:

Domestic Service in Latin America

:=)

Ps: it's a long read, sorry :x