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House and home

A Deep Clean

(39 Posts)
NotAGran55 Tue 03-Aug-21 07:43:55

On our village FB page there are frequently requests for recommendations of Deep Cleaners .

I have never had a cleaner and wondered what the difference is from a regular clean?
What extra tasks are generally undertaken.

dogsmother Tue 03-Aug-21 07:48:40

Deep cleaning is doing all the cleaning, not just surface stuff.
So walls, curtains, cookers. As opposed to emptying waste paper baskets and wiping sinks and tops and tables.

tanith Tue 03-Aug-21 08:00:24

A deep clean is as described and is usual on rented properties at tenancy end.

Charleygirl5 Tue 03-Aug-21 08:40:44

It also usually costs a lot more.

eazybee Tue 03-Aug-21 08:55:10

I did a deep clean on my bedroom yesterday, necessitated by retrieving a paper from behind the bed and being horrified by all the dust and dirt accumulated underneath when I finally heaved and pushed it away from the wall. It made me womanhandle out the equally heavy chest and dressing table and clean behind/under them, hoover the curtains, wash the windows, wipe the walls. Not easy as the bedroom is quite small, and of course now I realise the room is in dire need of redecoration. Downstairs is so much easier.

Calendargirl Tue 03-Aug-21 08:57:30

I think the thing with bedrooms eazybee is that you can tell yourself no one else is likely to see the dust etc, unlike the downstairs rooms!

Teacheranne Tue 03-Aug-21 09:22:46

If you want to move heavy furniture in carpeted rooms, get some sliders ( mine came from Amazon). If you put one of the flat discs under each leg, the furniture glides across the floor without effort!

I have some under my bed legs ( it’s a wooden frame) permanently and my cleaner is so impressed that she has bought some for her business as she does deep cleans as well as regular work.

Fennel Tue 03-Aug-21 16:13:11

Anyone remember Spring Cleaning? I hated it - no regular meals.
Before fitted carpets there were carpet squares.
We were living in an upstairs flat and Mum schlepped the sitting room carpet down the back stairs, tried to hang it over the washing line in the back lane. Thr old man downstairs tried to help her - pushing it up fron underneath with a prop. Success! Then the line broke, with him under the carpet shock.
Poor old fella! He was a retired sea captain and very good at weather forecasting. And most practical things. Dad was at work.

Calendargirl Tue 03-Aug-21 16:35:13

My sister told me the other day how she has ‘bottomed’ everywhere before going on holiday. I’m sure she says things like that as a bit of one upmanship.

When I go away, I certainly like to leave the house clean and tidy, but wouldn’t say it has been ‘bottomed’.

I expect deep clean is the new word for it.

M0nica Tue 03-Aug-21 16:44:58

A deep clean is usually a one off event, as someone said, having it done to an empty flat before new tenants move in, or after having builders in when the house is liberally coated in brick dust. It is not something you have done every week.

NotAGran55 Tue 03-Aug-21 22:17:49

Thanks for all the replies .

Witzend Tue 03-Aug-21 22:25:56

Whatever happened to a good old ‘thorough’ clean?

A ‘deep’ clean used to be a term reserved for the likes of operating theatres, didn’t it?

Chestnut Tue 03-Aug-21 23:02:18

I have quite high ceilings but can't get on a ladder any more, so I'd need my kitchen, bathroom and hallway walls cleaned, plus the high level woodwork over doors and the lampshades. Does that constitute a deep clean? It's more than a normal vacuum and dust.

Calendargirl Wed 04-Aug-21 07:16:04

The term ‘deep clean’ seemed to be used a lot in the pandemic, i.e. schools that had to be closed and given a ‘deep clean’.

I’m not sure how ‘deep’ the cleaning was or what was involved.

sandelf Wed 04-Aug-21 11:42:04

I have a friend who has a weekly cleaner - once a month they deep clean just one room together. Interesting the different systems people have.

jaylucy Wed 04-Aug-21 11:57:14

Just to throw in - when I was in hospital several years ago, the lady in the next bed was moved into a single room to be isolated as it was decided that she had shingles .
The next thing was that a "high clean" was requested from housekeeping.
Basically, one of the cleaners came along with a small stepladder and took down the curtains around the bed , put them in plastic bags and put new ones up, after wiping down the curtain rails. She then mopped around the bed then left!
I fully expected something a bit more than that , considering that one of the other patients in the bay was a cancer sufferer, the woman opposite was waiting to be transferred for major surgery and I had only just been disconnected from a blood transfusion!

Jess20 Wed 04-Aug-21 12:28:23

If you get professional cleaners in make sure you have in writing what you want done, IE pull the appliances and furniture out and clean behind/under it, tops of cabinets/wardrobes and doorframes/picture rails. You may need them to bring ladders, specialist chemicals for ovens, sliders as previous poster says. You may need to empty storage in order to do all this, so decide what you want done well in advance. They should send a full list of what they do, make sure insides of windows are covered or get a window cleaner who will do inside as well as outside, plus sills. We do all this at home now we're retired but used to pay someone else between tenancies when we were landlords. The key thing is that many of these jobs require two people, not just one.

grandtanteJE65 Wed 04-Aug-21 12:33:46

I imagine a deep clean is the modern term for what we called spring cleaning, or "turning the house out of doors".

I am willing to believe it costs more than having an ordinary cleaner in, but I shall be greatly surprised if it come up to my standards for spring cleaning!

I doubt you can get a cleaner to move all the heavy furniture to clean behind it, or to stand on a step-ladder these days!

kwest Wed 04-Aug-21 13:42:53

I feel truly blessed. Before the lock-down our cleaner came every week and always worked hard. she has her own system and certain extra jobs were done every week. We never interfered as she was much better than us at it anyway. The lock-down put a stop to that. about three or four months ago my husband decided that if we could persuade her to come back once a month a do a deep clean we would pay her a higher rate and we would manage during the intervening time. Thankfully she agreed, it fitted in with her changed caring responsibilities in her own family and suited us all. She comes every month and as before, she decides what needs doing and is very thorough. We go out for the day to keep from under her feet.
She is wonderful. I would say regarding a deep clean, you know it when you see it.

Aepgirl Wed 04-Aug-21 14:07:46

I thought ‘deep cleaning’ was disinfecting and steam cleaning where there had been some infection.

Theoddbird Wed 04-Aug-21 14:12:43

What is this obsession with getting rid of fleck of dust and polishing things to within an inch of their lives. I sanitize things that need sanitizing and take a damp cloth round where needed. You can't get that time back spent cleaning. Live the time you have enjoying your life x

Nanny27 Wed 04-Aug-21 14:14:52

So a 'deep clean' is a proper job then as opposed to the weekly once over. ?

Grammaretto Wed 04-Aug-21 14:21:13

exactly Aepgirl.
I want to let out part of my house and when I told my girl friends, someone immediately said I should have it professionally cleaned.

I don't want to as it's small and not dirty by my standards.
The walls and windows have just been painted. The hall carpet has a couple of stains but apart from being rather "dated" now, it's not bad.

Mapleleaf Wed 04-Aug-21 14:24:39

To me, a deep clean at home; (as opposed to schools, hospitals, etc), entails moving furniture that isn't moved weekly, to get behind and give a good dust and vacuum- surprising how much dust accumulates there! Also, wiping down skirting boards, wiping doors and walls, paintwork, vacuuming curtains and rails, climbing up to reach the tops of kitchen cupboards, washing said cupboard doors, cleaning the cooker, fridge, microwave, thoroughly as opposed to general wipes and so on - so a more thorough clean than the usual weekly/bi-weekly clean around, dust and tidy. I imagine the deep clean for hospitals & schools, etc involves thorough disinfecting of equipment, floors and surfaces, followed by washing down as needed and change of curtains etc, and so on.

Mapleleaf Wed 04-Aug-21 14:26:56

Oh, and shampooing the carpets at home, too, only as needed!