Over poetsen, pauzes nemen en het wel verdiend hebben

What does “poetsen” mean in Belgium vs the Netherlands?

Poetsen in Belgian Dutch usually means cleaning the house. In Standard Dutch (NL), the same word more often means polishing (shoes, silver, teeth), and house-cleaning is schoonmaken. This is one of the cleaner Belgium-vs-Netherlands lexical splits. Belgians also say kuisen (literally “to cleanse”) for the same act, which in Dutch (NL) sounds vaguely religious or surgical. The Belgian poetsvrouw (cleaning lady) is the Dutch werkster or schoonmaakster.

In this Play clip, the host asks the guest directly: “Poets jij zelf, Charlotte? Of heb je daar personeel voor?” Charlotte: “Nee, ik poets zelf.”