What to Expect During a Professional Cleaning Appointment

Having someone clean your home for the first time is a slightly odd experience. Most people aren't sure whether to stay or go, whether to help, or what they're allowed to ask for. So here's exactly how a professional cleaning appointment runs - no mystery, no etiquette to work out on the spot.

Before the day

When you book we'll ask for your suburb, roughly how big the place is, how many bathrooms, whether there are pets, and what you most want done. That's not small talk - it determines how long we allow and what comes in the van. If there's a specific reason for the clean (an inspection, guests arriving, someone in the house with allergies), say so. It changes the order of work.

Arrival: the walkthrough

The first five minutes are a quick walk through the property together. We're looking for three things: your priorities, anything fragile or off-limits, and anything that will need more time than a normal clean allows - heavy oven grease, mould in a shower, a room that hasn't been touched in a year. If something is going to take longer than expected, you hear it now, not in the final invoice.

We bring our own equipment, our own non-toxic products, and fresh cloths for every job - colour-separated by zone so nothing that touched a bathroom ever touches a kitchen bench.

The order of work, and why it's that order

1. Top to bottom. Cobwebs, light fittings, high edges and door frames first, because dust falls. Cleaning the floor first means cleaning it twice.
2. Dry before wet. Dusting and vacuuming before anything damp goes on a surface.
3. Products go on early. Oven, shower and toilet get their treatment applied first and left to dwell while other work happens. Dwell time is what makes a product work - spraying and wiping immediately is the most common shortcut in the industry.
4. Bathrooms and kitchen get the detail time. Grout, taps, screens, handles, the edges of the sink.
5. Floors last, working back towards the door.

How long it takes

As a rough guide for a regular clean: a one-bedroom apartment is usually 2-3 hours, a two-bedroom home 3-4, and a three-bedroom home 4-5. A first visit or a deep clean typically runs 1.5 to 2 times longer, because there's accumulated build-up to get through before the place is at a maintainable baseline. After that, subsequent visits are faster and cheaper for the same result.

Do you need to be there?

No. Plenty of clients leave a key or a lockbox code and come home to it done. If it's a first visit, being there for the walkthrough helps - after that it's entirely up to you. If you do stay, you don't need to hide or apologise for being in the way; we work around people constantly. Working from home during a clean is completely normal, and we'll do the room you're in first or last, whichever you prefer.

At the end

We do a final pass together if you're home, or send photos if you're not. If something isn't right, say so at that point - it's far easier to fix a missed shower screen while the equipment is still in the hallway than to discuss it a week later. Good cleaners want to hear it; nobody improves from silent disappointment.

Two small things that make a real difference

Clearing loose items off benches and desks beforehand buys you noticeably more actual cleaning time. And telling us your priorities honestly - "I don't care about the spare room, I care about the kitchen" - is more useful than politeness. A clean built around what you actually want always lands better than an evenly spread one.