What does a house deep cleaning include? Deep vs regular clean

A regular clean keeps a home at a standard. A deep clean gets it there. A regular clean covers the jobs that come round every week or fortnight: benches, bathrooms, floors, dusting and bins. A deep clean does all of that, then goes inside and behind: the oven and rangehood filters, the fridge, skirting boards, doors and light switches, shower screens and grout, inside windows and their tracks, and wardrobes and cupboards.

Below is the plain difference, a room-by-room list, what affects the time it takes, and how to move to a regular clean afterwards.

The plain difference

Think of it as maintenance versus reset.

	Regular clean	Deep clean
Purpose	Keeps the home at a standard you are happy with	Brings the home up to that standard, or back to it
What it covers	Surfaces you use and see every day	Everyday surfaces plus inside, behind and underneath
How often	Weekly, fortnightly or monthly	One-off, or now and then
How it is priced	Usually a set visit for a known list	Quoted for the home, because the work varies

If a home has had a regular clean for months, a deep clean may simply catch up on the slower jobs. If a home has not been cleaned properly in a while, the deep clean does the heavy lifting so regular visits can keep up.

A regular clean, room by room

These are the jobs a regular visit typically covers:

• Kitchen: benches, sink and cooktop wiped and cleaned
• Bathrooms and toilets: cleaned and disinfected
• Floors throughout: vacuumed and mopped
• Living areas and bedrooms: dusting and surfaces
• Mirrors and glass: spot cleaned
• Bins: emptied

A deep clean, room by room

A deep clean includes everything above, plus the following.

Kitchen

• Inside the oven
• Rangehood filters
• Inside the fridge
• Cupboards wiped out

Bathrooms

• Shower screens
• Grout

Bedrooms and living areas

• Skirting boards
• Doors and light switches
• Wardrobes wiped out
• Inside windows and window tracks

Common extras to ask for separately

Some jobs sit outside a standard deep clean and are worth mentioning when you ask for a quote:

• Beds changed and made
• Balconies and outdoor areas
• Carpet steam cleaning
• A clean for moving in or moving out
• A clean after a renovation

Lists vary between cleaners, so ask for the list in writing before you book and compare it line by line. If something matters to you, such as the inside of the dishwasher or the tops of high cupboards, ask whether it is included rather than assuming.

How long it takes, and why it is quoted

A deep clean is usually quoted for the specific home rather than charged at a fixed price, because the time it takes can vary a lot. The main things that affect it:

• Size and layout. The number of bedrooms, bathrooms and living areas, and whether there are stairs.
• Starting condition. Built-up grease in an oven or rangehood, or grout that has not been scrubbed in a long time, takes longer.
• What is on the list. Every extra, from window tracks to wardrobes, adds time.
• How much is cleared. Empty cupboards and an empty fridge are quicker to clean well than full ones.
• Access. Parking, lifts and whether the home is occupied during the clean all play a part.

A good cleaner will ask about these before quoting, and may want to see photos or the home itself. Be wary of any quote given without asking anything about the home.

When you compare quotes, compare the lists as well as the totals. A lower quote that leaves out the oven, the windows or the cupboards is not cheaper for the same job. Ask each cleaner what is included, what costs extra, and what happens if something on the list is missed, and keep their answers in writing.

When to book a deep clean

A deep clean is worth booking when the home needs a reset rather than a tidy-up:

• Before you start regular cleaning, so the regular visits begin from a clean baseline
• After a renovation or repairs, when fine dust settles on every ledge and inside cupboards
• Before guests or a family occasion
• When you move in or move out of a home
• At a change of season, the traditional spring clean
• After a long stretch without a proper clean, such as after an illness, a new baby or a busy period at work

If you are leaving a rental, what an end-of-lease clean needs to cover depends on your lease and your state’s tenancy rules. Check the guidance from NSW Fair Trading if you are in NSW, or Consumer Affairs Victoria if you are in Victoria, and agree the list with your cleaner. No clean can promise that a bond will be returned in full.

Moving to a regular clean afterwards

The value of a deep clean lasts longer when a regular clean follows it. A few tips:

1. Pick a frequency that suits the household. Busier homes, pets and young children usually need more frequent visits.
2. Write down the regular list. Agree what is done at every visit and save it with the booking, so every visit covers the same ground.
3. Rotate the slower jobs. Ask whether one deep clean task, such as the inside of the fridge or the skirting boards, can be added to each regular visit in turn.
4. Review after a month. If the home is slipping between visits, adjust the frequency or the list rather than waiting for the next deep clean.

You can see what our regular and deep cleans cover on the residential cleaning page. When you are ready, you can get a quote for your home.