If you are currently wondering how long an End of Tenancy Cleaning takes, then in all likelihood, you are about to clean your home. And time, quite logically, is valuable to you. You are now literally overwhelmed with the commitment - to find a new home, to transport your personal belongings to it, to complete any additional administrative small, but important and sometimes difficult, relocation tasks. All this requires a strict plan if you want the move to go smoothly. And scheduling is effective when you allocate time properly for each task. A good sign of the success of your relocation move is that you include End of Tenancy as an important commitment, and that you even wonder what it will cost you to clean it. Unfortunately however, we do not have a clear answer and a definite answer to the question, because it depends on many factors. We'll look at each one to find out exactly how long an End of Tenancy Cleaning Service will take.
What exactly is an End of Tenancy Cleaning?
There is no way to know how long a task will take if we are not aware of its specificity. So let's start directly with its main features. End of Tenancy is a cleaning service required after a tenancy has ended and before a new tenancy starts. These services are offered for both apartments and houses. What is specific, however, is that the properties usually are rented. Typically, it is the tenants who are obliged to carry out an End of Tenancy Cleaning - complete cleaning of absolutely all rooms and adjacent living spaces, without any exceptions or compromises, even when it comes to multi-storey houses. On the other hand End of Tenancy Cleaning Service is an obligation, not an optional cleaning. In most cases, tenancy contracts contain an explicit clause stating that the tenant must bring the property to a normal, clean and representative condition before leaving. Often even a specific arrangement is made to hire a professional End of Tenancy Cleaning Service. In any case, the mandatory nature and specificity of this cleaning is confirmed by the tenancy deposit. It is provided by the tenant to the landlord as a guarantee precisely that the End of Tenancy Cleaning will be carried out thoroughly and appropriately. Otherwise, as you might guess, the landlord will simply not refund you the money back.
What does the End of Tenancy Cleaning Service include?
Yes, we already mentioned that EOT means a top-to-bottom and thorough sanitizing procedure and that it includes all rooms of a rental home no matter how big it is. However, it is a fact that people understand cleaning differently. For some, it is just tidying up, for others it involves everyday housekeeping tasks such as washing dishes, vacuuming and possibly dusting furniture. Without frightening you, we will tell you directly that End of Tenancy Cleaning is much more than that. Apart from including all the premises of the home, End of Tenancy also requires a very thorough, throughout cleaning. By the way, it is very similar to seasonal cleaning (for example, spring cleaning). In this regard, if you are planning a DIY End of Tenancy, you can now conditionally answer the question of how long it will take you - about the same time that it takes for a standard spring cleaning. Spring cleaning we do it for ourselves, we will appreciate it as a result. An End of Tenancy cleaning is accompanied by a subsequent inventory check. It is much more detailed, and the requirements are from your landlord. You can figure out for yourself what happens if these requirements are not met, right? Therefore, when planning a DIY End of Tenancy cleaning, it is a good idea to be aware in advance of a standard checklist:
- Removing your personal belongings and arranging everything that was in the apartment at the time of application, that is, the landlord's property
- Cleaning the carpets and flooring, including removing stains
- Cleaning all kinds of stains - no matter where they are, how difficult they are to remove, and whether they can be seen at a glance
- Cleaning any glass surfaces, including mirrors, and windows inside, plus window sills and window frames
- Wiping furniture and, where necessary, wet cleaning
- Complete disinfection of sanitary facilities, including descaling, cleaning the toilet, dealing with mold
- Complete cleaning of the kitchen - eliminating dried food stains and other soilages
- cleaning all the equipment - including, refrigerator, kitchen accessories (yes, oven and inside too), laundry and other
- cleaning and the smallest details that I may seem insignificant and deliberately forget, but subsequently cost you deposit - light switches, door handles, inside cabinets, removing cobwebs and other
Can you figure out how long it will take? However, before doing so, you still need to ask yourself another question.
Will I do an End of Tenancy Cleaning myself or call a professional cleaning company?
A key point in answering the question of how long it takes an EOT is who will do it, of course. As you might guess, there are two options for you. And if we have to be honest, they are very different in duration.
- DIY End of Tenancy Cleaning. You can navigate yourself at the time you need for the procedure. We already gave you two options. Comparison with basic spring cleaning, but add to it what you don't normally do but are required in the above End of Tenancy Cleaning checklist. For us personally, this is a minimum two-day job - full-time, if you can even take leave from your boss - and if you find helpers. From personal experience we tell you that children will not be enthusiastic, and working in a team with friends means too much time lost in breaks and sweet talks. Add to your entire bill shopping time. That's right, the cleaning supplies you have tucked away in your kitchen cupboard are hardly enough to clean the whole house, and to remove so many stubborn stains. Plus - some of the cleaning tasks on the list may require much heavier duty machinery and are generally difficult to perform by hand.
- Professional End of Tenancy Cleaning. Things will be a little more specific here. Do you know why? Because professional companies work with teams and employees who already have plans and strategies in place. In fact, the End of Tenancy Cleaning checklist we presented above is taken from the practice of cleaning companies. They follow it closely and in addition enrich it, so to speak, with the client's personal instructions or additional hygiene requirements included in the contract mentioned by the landlord. Although they take so many things into consideration, professional cleaners follow standards and procedures that have a uniform lead time, so it's easy to get an idea of how long their End of Tenancy Cleaning will last. And another plus - the professional service does not include shopping. In most cases, End of Tenancy employees provide all the necessary equipment detergents, tools, accessories and cleaning machines (the latter can remove blood stains at least five times faster than you if done by hand).
How do they answer the question of how long does it take for End of Tenancy professionals?
Not only do they have specific answers, but they also guarantee certain deadlines for performing their service. It's time to note that professional cleaning companies are ready to even assist you in the event of an emergency. Yes, it may cost you a little more, but if you want your deposit and leave tomorrow, the extra cost will be worth it. When negotiating the service, the terms and conditions to be provided to the employees are discussed in addition to the price (nothing that knows, except a parking space for a cleaning van and a key to the property if you are not available during the procedure). However, as a customer, you will also receive estimated time to complete the service. It depends on the following factors:
- Condition of the property. This includes not only the stubborn stains available but also the regularity of cleaning up to now. Of course, if you do not clean at least once a week, a studio apartment will require a more thorough End of Tenancy cleaning. By the way, all this is judged on the spot. End of Tenancy Cleaning Companies send a team of employees to evaluate the condition of the property. Most often, this is a free consultation.
- The size of the property. Professional companies can take on the End of Tenancy task for any type of home - both apartments and houses. As a rule, the houses take up 10% more time than the apartments, even if their size is the same. On the other hand, cleaning companies will charge for End of Tenancy Cleaning Service based on the size of the property. The standard one-bedroom apartment most often is done in about 4 hours, and the standard three-bedroom house - about 7 hours.
- Number of employees. According to the size of the house and the condition, the cleaning company not only determines a specific cleaning plan of action for maximum time efficiency, but also the number of employees who will take on the service. Keep in mind that it is not only you that want the End of Tenancy to end faster. The cleaning company fits the norm, as you do, because it still puts human resources in its services. Sometimes the number of employees can be explicitly determined by the client. Most often, however, this works in the direction of expanding the team at the explicit request of the client. Professional cleaning companies aim to send two people for standard apartments and small to medium-sized houses, as well as up to 5 people maximum for larger homes.
- Availability of additional features or requirements. These are emergencies, but they can delay the cleaners. If the customer has special instructions for services that are not included in the standardized End of Tenancy cleaning checklist - for example, carpet cleaning service - the time will increase. By the way, in many cases, such an additional service is required in the case of heavy soiled properties. A number of companies give discounts when booking an additional service together with End of Tenancy cleaning. Another type of service is emergency services. If the property allows it and you, as a client, agree to pay more for an emergency End of Tenancy cleaning, a professional company can assist you with this.
At the end of this material, we think that you can already make a sober comparison yourself between a professional End of Tenancy Cleaning and a DIY End of Tenancy Cleaning. The first will take you several hours and the second will take at least two days. Not to mention that a professional End of Tenancy Service comes with a guarantee. This warranty gives you the right to call for a free re-clean within a time limit set by the company if issues are found during inventory check. The guarantee is given for the purpose of making sure that the clients receive their full deposit back.
Last but not least - how long does it take to arrange a professional End of Tenancy Cleaning Service: about 2 minutes of phone calls or online booking. And how long does it take to plan a DIY End of Tenancy Cleaning? Yes, at least a few hours. If your hours are valuable before removal, using a professional End of Tenancy service is definitely the more appropriate option for you.
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