“Deep clean” is not a regulated term. Nobody defines it, so every company draws the line somewhere slightly different, and that is why you can get two quotes for the same three-bedroom house that differ by a hundred pounds and describe genuinely different jobs.
The useful distinction is simple. A regular clean cleans what you can see. A deep clean moves things, opens things and gets underneath them. Everything below follows from that one test.
The test: if a job requires opening something, pulling something out, or standing on something, it belongs in a deep clean. If it can be done by walking round with a cloth and a hoover, it is a regular clean. Judge a quote against that rather than against the price.
Room by room
Kitchen
Usually a third of the total time
- Oven cleaned inside, including the door glass, shelves and runners
- Hob, burners and the surrounding surface degreased
- Extractor hood and the metal filter itself
- Inside every cupboard and drawer, plus the tops of the doors
- Fridge and freezer cleaned inside, shelves out, seals done
- Washing machine drum, seal and detergent drawer
- Worktops, splashbacks, tiles and grout
- Sink, taps and plughole descaled
- Behind and under appliances where they move safely
- Bin cleaned inside and out
Bathrooms
The descaling is what takes the time
- Toilet inside and out, under the rim, the hinges and behind the pan
- Bath, shower, screen and the screen tracks
- All taps, shower head and hoses fully descaled
- Grout and sealant treated for mould rather than wiped
- Mirrors, cabinets inside and out
- Extractor fan cover
- Tiles floor to ceiling
- Floor including the corners and behind the toilet
Bedrooms and living areas
Quicker, but this is where "at height" matters
- Inside and on top of wardrobes and drawers
- Skirting boards including the top edge
- Doors, frames, handles and switches
- Light fittings, shades and any ceiling cornice
- Internal windows, frames, sills and tracks
- Radiators including behind
- Under the bed and behind furniture that moves
- Floors vacuumed or mopped, edges included
Hallways and stairs
Small but frequently skipped
- Stair treads, risers and the carpet edges
- Bannister, spindles and newel posts
- Front door both sides, letterbox and frame
- Under-stairs storage and meter cupboards
- Any built-in shelving or radiator covers
What is usually not included
None of these are a company being difficult. They are separate trades, separate equipment, or genuinely a lot more time. But they are where a cheaper quote often turns out to differ, so confirm them explicitly rather than assuming.
- Carpet and upholstery cleaning. Different equipment entirely. Almost always priced separately.
- External windows. Internal glass is standard; anything requiring ladders or poles is not.
- Clearance. Removing furniture or rubbish is a waste-carrier job with its own licensing.
- Serious mould. Surface treatment yes; anything structural needs the damp cause fixed first.
- Wall washing and decorating. Spot-cleaning marks is normal, washing whole walls is not.
- Full oven strip-downs. Some include it, some charge extra for removing the door and glass panels. Always worth asking.
How to compare two quotes properly
Price alone tells you very little. These four questions tell you almost everything, and they take one email.
- “Can you send the room-by-room scope in writing?” If a company cannot produce a list, they have not scoped the job. This question alone resolves most confusion between two quotes.
- “How many cleaners, for how many hours?” This converts a headline price into labour hours, which is the only fair basis for comparison. Two people for six hours is twelve hours of work regardless of what it is called.
- “Is the oven included, and to what level?” The most common single difference between quotes, because a proper oven clean is a long job.
- “What happens if I am not happy?” A reasonable answer is a return visit within a set window. No answer at all is informative in itself.
How long it actually takes
| Property | Typical labour |
|---|---|
| Studio or one-bed flat | 4 to 6 hours for a team of two |
| Two-bed flat or small house | 6 to 8 hours for two |
| Three-bed house | A full day for two or three |
| Four-bed and up | A long day, or two days for a smaller team |
Occupied properties take longer than empty ones, and a property that has not had a deep clean in years takes longer still. If a quoted duration looks well under these, ask what is being left out.
If you are trying to work out whether you need this at all, or whether a thorough regular clean would do, we have set the two side by side in deep cleaning vs regular cleaning. And if the price differences between quotes are what is puzzling you, the variables are broken down in what makes one deep clean cost more than another.
Where this advice comes from
We work to the standards below, and we have pointed you to them directly so you can check anything here yourself rather than taking our word for it.
- British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) — The UK professional body for cleaning standards and training. Useful background on what a properly specified clean covers.
- GOV.UK — Tenancy deposit protection — Relevant if your deep clean is tied to a move-out, since the standard you are held to is the check-in inventory.
- Which? home services advice — Independent guidance on comparing quotes and what to check before booking a trade into your home.
What we would actually buy
Mostly this is about preparation rather than purchases. Clearing surfaces before anyone arrives buys you more clean than anything you can buy.
Clear surfaces and floors
The single most useful thing you can do. Cleaners work to a time budget, and time spent moving your things is time not spent cleaning. A cleared kitchen worktop can add an hour of actual cleaning to the same booking.
A written scope, in an email
Ask for the room-by-room list in writing before booking. Two quotes that both say "deep clean" can differ by half a day of work. This is free and it is the only reliable way to compare.
A caustic-free oven cleaner with a soak tray
The oven is the longest single job in the house. Anything that works while you do other rooms is worth the money.
An acid-based limescale remover
London water leaves scale that general bathroom sprays will not touch. Contact time does the work, not scrubbing.
Nobody pays us to list these and there are no affiliate links on this page. They are simply what we have found works, and in several cases the cheapest option genuinely is the best one. Whatever you use, patch-test it somewhere hidden first.
The Carpetix Team
We are a carpet, upholstery and rug cleaning team based in Leytonstone, East London. We write these guides from what we run into on actual jobs, which is why you will find us telling you when to leave something alone or handle it yourself rather than call anyone out. If a guide here saves you a call, it has done its job.
Last reviewed and updated 31 July 2026
