How to Know What Cleaning Services to Hire for You
“Oh - just a quick clean” is a sentence I never assume is just a “quick clean.”
Why - because one person’s clean may not be another person’s clean. Cleaning includes a whole spectrum of definitions and skills. Today, that’s what we’re going to dive into a bit deeper - how to know what type of cleaning service you need for your home. It’s the best way to ensure that your clean is THE clean that is being met!
Regular Cleaning
Regular cleaning is exactly that - cleaning that happens on a regular cleaning schedule. For residential services, these are most often weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly schedules.
Typically, a regular cleaning includes a:
Wipe down of the kitchen, particularly now since more people are cooking at home these days
Deep clean of the bathroom (toilet, tub/shower, etc.)
Good vacuuming
Mopping - twice!
Removing those pesky prints - whether human or animal - from surfaces (such as cabinets, walls, windows, light switches.)
The specific details of a regular clean very much depend on the personality and preferences of the home itself.
At the end of the regular clean, we provide you checklists of what was done so you know what was included in your cleaning service.
A sample of these checklists can be found here, just scroll to the bottom of the page: Residential Checklists.
For all other cleans, know that there is A LOT of crawling around. Regular cleanings, while strenuous on the body, are gentler than the others for this reason alone. The other cleaning types we’ll talk about involve way more crawling, bending, elbow grease, sometimes even a handstand or two!
Deep Cleaning
Deep cleaning is essentially what one thinks of when you hear “Spring Cleaning” - intentionally done with a very clear purpose over and above “to maintain a clean.”
At Clean Club Calgary, we always begin with a deep clean when we onboard a new regularly scheduled client. This allows us to get the house ready prepared for their ongoing regular schedule.
Other deep cleanings are typically done by request. These cleanings are best done once or twice per year and require additional time and detail than a regular clean. Involved in the cleaning are a lot of additional wiping down and washing of items such as ceiling fans, walls, inside/outside of appliances, inside of windows and blinds, baseboards and door frames, and so on.
One of the other differences between a regular clean and a deep clean is cleaning underneath and behind appliances. This is not included in a regular clean. For appliances that we are easily able to slide out without scratching the floor, we remove the additional dust, dirt, hair (pet and human), and all other bits of grime that have fallen behind.
To learn more about the ins and outs of how to do a deep clean, read our post on Spring Cleaning considerations here.
If you’re curious about our deep cleaning checklist, you can find it here. Again, just scroll to the bottom of the page: Deep Clean Checklist.
Move-In/Move-Out Cleaning
Move-in and move-out cleans are deceptively detailed. Sure, they may seem like a quick and easy task as there is (typically) no furniture or other items to move out of the way, but did you know that these cleans take quite some time and deep, deep elbow grease.
For instance, a regular size kitchen will take between 3-4 hours to finish. This is because we clean EVERYTHING. Sliding out appliances to clean behind, scrubbing away long forgotten fingerprints or dried-on food bits, washing the ins and outs of cabinets, and so much more.
These cleans also include the not so regularly cleaned (if ever) rooms, such as the furnace room, storage areas, sweep out the garage, etc. It’s about removing all grime and dirt to prepare the home for the new owner.
If you’re looking for a move-in clean, check with the Realtor to see if the previous owner is doing a move-out clean. If so, then chances are you will not need to do a move-in clean.
Other things to know when booking a move-in or -out cleaning are that cleaners are not handymen. We are not able to take things apart, nor can we put things back together. (This even includes IKEA furniture!) Make sure that when hiring for this service, you know what the cleaners are and are not able to support you with.
What to look for with a move-in or-out service? Have a look at our checklists right here: Move-In/Move-Out.
Post Renovation/Construction Cleaning
The dustiest cleaning of them all! That’s right, if you’ve been through any sort of renovation, you know that there is always a lot of drywall dust to clean up. And not a quick dusting either. This is the kind of dust that sticks and needs two, three, even four wipe downs to fully remove.
Everything must be freshly wiped down with the post-renovation cleaning. Top to bottom, left to right, not a single surface is left unwiped and shined. Baseboards to door hinges; high corners to itty bitty nooks and crannies; and everything in between. “Detailed” is the word of focus for cleaning.
The primary factor that impacts how long a post-renovation cleaning will take depends on how contained the renovation area itself is. If your contractors diligently taped off the room, covered the air vents, and cleaned up every day, cleaning time is typically minimal. If protecting the rest of your home from the renovation didn’t happen, then in-depth cleaning across rooms will be required.
What is also different with a renovation clean are the tools we use. We tend to use the bristle head and pointed brush attachment for our vacuuming tools to get the dust that is hiding in the corner. We also use a flat blade to remove paint splatters that may be left behind by the painters.
For appliances and renovations, we very rarely need to clean these as they are typically new post-renovation and simply need a wipe and dry down.
Download our Post-Renovation Cleaning Checking to learn more about all the details.
Knowing that there is a difference between cleaning is important in building a relationship with your professional cleaner. It helps to make sure that you get cleaned what you want when you want.
To learn more, download the individual checklists:
If you’d rather chat about what type of cleaning you need, connect with me to share what is perfect for you!