The proper clean checklist, room by room
A surface clean makes the obvious areas look cleaner. A proper clean looks at the whole room and cleans the things people forget. Here is the list we work to on every regular visit. Use it for your own home, or to check what you are paying for.
The golden rule
Work ceiling to floor. Cobwebs and high dust first, floors last, so nothing falls onto a surface you have already cleaned.
Kitchen
- Cupboard doors and handles, degreased
- Worktops, hob and the front of the oven
- Everything on the worktops: kettle, toaster, tea, coffee and sugar pots, cleaned and put back
- Sticky rings under jars wiped away
- Outside of the fridge and appliances
- Skirting boards, bins and floors
Bathrooms
- Toilet scrubbed properly, not just a brush round
- Limescale off taps, shower heads and plug holes
- Shower screens, water marks gone
- Removable shower plugs lifted out and cleaned
- Sink, bath, tiles and mirrors
- Floors, skirting and door
Bedrooms and living rooms
- Ceiling to floor: cobwebs and corners first
- Blinds, window sills and the tops of curtains
- Doors, including the dusty panels
- Skirting boards and light switches
- Polish on surfaces, so dust does not settle straight back
- Beds changed if there is time in your booking
- Hoovering throughout
Hallways, stairs and landings
- Banisters and spindles
- Stairs hoovered edge to edge
- Front door, handles and marks on walls
- Floors hoovered and mopped
Three things almost everyone misses
- The removable shower plug. Lift it out. You will be glad you did, and then a bit horrified.
- Under the tea and coffee pots. And the pots themselves. Sticky rings go straight back onto a clean worktop otherwise.
- The panels on internal doors. They collect a line of dust that nobody sees until the light catches it.
A tip on dusting
Use a little polish. Dust on a bare surface tends to settle straight back down. Polish lifts it and leaves a proper finish. Check first on wooden units, as some finishes should not be polished.
Rather not do it yourself? This is exactly what our regular clean includes.