Preparing for an end of tenancy cleaning can be daunting, but with the proper steps, you can ensure a smooth and efficient process. From removing personal belongings to clearing out the fridge and cabinets, several vital tasks must be completed before the cleaners arrive. In this article, we will discuss the importance of end of tenancy cleaning, what to expect from professional cleaners, and what you need to do to prepare for their arrival. Let’s dive in and get your rental property sparkling clean!

What is an End of Tenancy Cleaning?

End of tenancy cleaning is a thorough cleaning process that tenants undertake before leaving a rental property.

This cleaning process is crucial for several reasons. It helps tenants fulfil their responsibilities outlined in the tenancy agreement regarding the condition in which the property should be left. A well-cleaned property meets contractual obligations and increases the chances of receiving the full security deposit refund. Landlords often expect the property to be in the same pristine condition as when the lease was initiated. Therefore, thorough tasks such as cleaning appliances, floors, walls, and fixtures are essential for a successful end of tenancy cleaning.

What to Expect from Professional End of Tenancy Cleaners?

Professional end of tenancy cleaners are expected to deliver detailed, reliable, and efficient cleaning services to meet the highest standards.

Their experience handling various properties ensures that every nook and cranny is thoroughly cleaned, leaving the premises spotless. These professionals understand the importance of meeting strict deadlines and strive to complete all tasks within the agreed timeframe.

Tenants and landlords can expect impeccable service, from meticulously cleaning appliances to sanitising bathrooms and dusting hard-to-reach areas. By entrusting the cleaning responsibilities to these experts, both parties can have peace of mind knowing that the property will be left in pristine condition.

What Areas of the House are Included in After-tenancy Cleaning?

End of tenancy cleaning typically covers all areas of the house, including furniture, appliances, surfaces, floors, windows, bathrooms, and kitchen.

This comprehensive cleaning checklist involves scrubbing the bathrooms, ensuring all taps and showerheads are descaled, and sanitising the toilet.

The kitchen requires a deep clean, including degreasing the cooker, cleaning out the fridge, and wiping down all cupboards and worktops.

The living room and bedrooms need thorough vacuuming or mopping of floors, dusting surfaces, and washing of windows.

All furniture, such as settees and armchairs, should be vacuumed or steam cleaned to remove any built-up dust or stains.

What Cleaning Supplies Do End of Tenancy Cleaners Use?

End of tenancy cleaners utilise a range of professional cleaning supplies tailored to different surfaces and tasks.

These supplies include multi-surface cleaners, disinfectants, glass and mirror cleaners, scouring powders, and specialised products for removing limescale or mould.

Appropriate cleaning equipment such as microfibre cloths, scrub brushes, mop and bucket systems, and vacuum cleaners is essential for a thorough end of tenancy cleaning. High-quality supplies effectively remove dirt and grime and help maintain the integrity of various surfaces, making the property look sparkling clean and well-maintained for the next occupants.

What Do You Need to Do Before Your Move-out Cleaners Arrive?

Before your end of tenancy cleaners arrive, you must prepare by following a checklist of tasks to ensure a smooth cleaning process.

1. Start by decluttering and organising your personal belongings to make it easier for the cleaners to access all areas. Take the time to go through each room, sorting items into categories such as keep, donate, or discard.
2. Address any repairs or maintenance issues in the property beforehand to avoid any complications during the cleaning process. It may include fixing leaky taps, repairing scuffed walls, or replacing broken fixtures.

By completing these tasks proactively, you can streamline the cleaning process and ensure a thorough job by the end of tenancy cleaners.

Remove Personal Belongings

Removing personal belongings is crucial before the end of tenancy cleaning to facilitate thorough property cleaning.

By clearing out personal items, you allow the cleaning team to access all areas, ensuring a deep and comprehensive clean. To make the process smoother, consider categorising items into boxes for easy organisation. Valuables should be securely stored in a separate place to avoid any potential damage during the cleaning process.

To maximise cleaning efficiency, remember to declutter surfaces, including countertops and furniture. Tying up before the cleaning crew arrives can significantly expedite the cleaning process and leave your property sparkling.

Take Care of Any Repairs

Addressing repairs and maintenance tasks before the cleaners arrive can contribute to a successful end of tenancy cleaning process.

By promptly taking care of any damages, you can avoid any possibility of them worsening over time and incurring higher costs. Simple fixes such as repairing leaky taps, filling in wall cracks, or replacing broken tiles can significantly enhance the property’s overall appearance.

Inspecting areas like the walls, floors, and appliances for wear and tear is essential. Ensuring everything is in working order benefits the cleaning process and leaves a positive impression on the next occupants.

Unplug and Defrost Appliances

Unplugging and defrosting appliances in advance is essential to facilitate proper cleaning and prevent any damage during the process.

This step is crucial to ensure the safety of the person cleaning the appliance and the appliance itself. Defrosting a freezer, for example, allows for a more thorough cleaning as ice buildup can harbour bacteria and odours. Unplugging electronic devices minimise the risk of electric shock and short circuits. Cleaning appliances by removing any detachable parts, such as shelves and drawers, makes cleaning more efficient and ensures no areas are overlooked. Taking these precautions ensures a clean and sanitised appliance and prolongs its lifespan.

Clear Out the Fridge and Cabinets

Clearing out the fridge and cupboards before cleaning ensures that these areas are empty and ready for deep cleaning.

This practice helps prevent food spoilage by allowing you to check expiration dates, remove expired items, and facilitate a more thorough cleaning process.

When emptying the fridge, organise food items by category to make it easier to put them back once cleaning is complete.…

Continue reading

If I have to describe my job in one word, it has to be “routine”. But while other people associate the routine with something dull or dreary, I find it helpful. It gives me the structure to plan my day and every single job I take – how much time I will need, what challenges to expect and how to overcome them. However, sometimes even the most carefully laid plans get derailed by the unexpected.

Such was the case a few weeks ago when I took a move-out cleaning job for a two-bedroom apartment on Wilson Str. in Camberwell. I knew the neighbourhood well – a quiet residential area nearby the spacious churchyard of St Giles. From the conversation with the customer – a polite, business-like sounding lady – I got the impression that my crew was in for an easy job with no potential complications. “We have already packed and moved the boxes out and tried our best to keep the place clean while we lived there. I cannot think of any particular issues requiring extra attention.”

Music to my ears. Don’t get me wrong, I do like a nice cleaning challenge from time to time. But the appointment was on Monday, and I like to ease into the week with a hassle-free cleaning job. When we arrived at the address, my expectations for a simple case grew stronger. We parked the cleaning van in front of a small, cosy white terraced house – the kind you can see on countless streets across London. In the distance, probably less than two hundred yards away, I could make out the steep grey spire of St Giles over the treetops.

Sometimes you can pretty much sort out what the interior of a house will look like from how property owners maintain the exterior. Our cleaning job-to-be was no different. When the crew entered the front door, we knew the former tenants had taken pride in keeping their second-floor residence in perfect condition. There were no spiderwebs in the shady corners, no thin layer of dust on the windows or the residual smell of fried oil in the kitchen. The apartment might have been stripped naked of possessions and decorations, but you can discern good housekeeping when you see it.

Not to get too technical, but a tenancy cleaning crew usually starts the job from the one room furthest from the front door and moves clockwise until it covers the entire residence. In our case, it meant starting from the bathroom at the left corner of the hallway, splitting the apartment in two. Then we had to cover the two bedrooms, finish with the living room/kitchen box, and finally vacuum-clean the hallway carpet. Overall, I did not expect the whole thing to take us more than two and a half hours.

I will not bore you to death with all the cleaning details of the procedure. The appointment was proving as straightforward as it possibly could, without a single hiccup slowing us down. My colleagues had already moved to the living room, and I was about to plug in the vacuum cleaner and start working in the hallway when Dave – the newest member of the crew – called me from the other room.

“Boss, I am not sure what to do with this one.”

Although a rookie, Dave has a good head on his shoulders and a problem-solving attitude, so he must have stumbled into something irregular. Was our perfect tenancy cleaning job about to be derailed?

A quick aside – one of the main chores in our move-out cleaning task sheet is dusting all shelves and drawers and checking if the former tenants have forgotten something there. Quite often, they do, so our job is to return these possessions to their owners. Dave was standing near an old walnut chest of drawers. One of the compartments was sticking to the right, and I could see a small, antique-looking wooden box. “I was dusting the drawer from the outside when this thing popped out of nowhere!”, Dave explained excitedly.

I felt like, all of a sudden, I had stepped into a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story. A secret drawer and a mysterious box inside – that called for an investigation! I carefully picked up the box, noticing beautifully carved initials on its top, M. E. It was definitely hand-made and probably at least a hundred years old. Fortunately, I had seen similar boxes before and knew how to open them. I slid the cover to the right, and it gracefully revealed the contents of the box.

It was full of black-and-white photos, none of them taken with a modern camera. One picture captured a wedding, with the unmistakable mass of St Giles in the background. The clothing style and the grainy quality of the image made me think it was taken before the Second World War. Another photo depicted a young woman with a very young girl, probably four or five, on a beach. Yet another was the beautiful portrait of a dashing young soldier in a First World War uniform, probably one of Kitchener’s volunteers.

I had the strange feeling I had unknowingly opened a time machine and travelled back a hundred years ago. Some inner instinct told me the pictures must be important to somebody – they looked like a family heirloom, and throwing them away would be just a crime.

I picked up my phone and called my customer. “It most definitely is not ours, but let me contact my landlady and see if she knows anything about it.” From our previous conversations, I knew the landlady lived nearby, so I hoped she could arrive before we finished the job.

And so she did – an elegant woman in her early forties, who caught us packing up our equipment minutes after doing the final check-up. “Bill, nice to meet you”, I extended my hand and gave her the box with the other. She introduced herself as Victoria and looked at the pictures.…

Continue reading

You will be surprised how many of my customers have no clue how to deal with tenancy cleaning. I know nobody reads these long lease contracts, and the mandatory cleaning clause comes as a shock when you decide to move out. Therefore, customers unknowingly set traps for their cleaning contractors – here are a few tips on how to avoid them. 

Carpet cleaning IS NOT included in the service

Most tenancy cleaning contractors do not include a carpet deep-clean in their service package. You can still book a hot water extraction service as an additional option for an extra charge. 

Of course, regular tenants are usually not aware of this. They assume the cleaners will take care of their dirty carpets, and they are bitterly disappointed when they receive just a standard vacuum cleaning. I think this might be the single most common reason for arguments I’ve had with my customers.

How do you avoid the trap? During the initial conversation, ask your customer what their floor covering type is. If they say it is carpeting, explain their options and ensure they understand the choices.

Exterior window cleaning IS NOT included in the service

The same logic applies in this case – tenancy cleaners polish the windows from inside only. If the customers feel like the panes need exterior washing, too, they have to book it as an additional service. 

Tenants do not see the need to invite their landlords for the final quality check-up

I beg to differ. Tenants have no vested interest in the procedure – landlords do. Besides, when you move out, your priority is to move forward with your life and how your former residence looks is of little concern to you. On the contrary, landlords will look to rent the place again as soon as possible. 

Bottom line – invite the property owners to check your work. It is the easiest and most effective way to avoid further problems.…

Continue reading