What Deep Cleaning Really Includes (vs. Regular Cleaning)
Not sure whether you need a “regular cleaning” or a “deep cleaning”? You’re not alone – these terms can be confusing if you’re new to cleaning services. In a nutshell, regular cleaning (also called basic or maintenance cleaning) refers to routine upkeep tasks to keep your home or office at a good baseline of cleanliness.
Deep cleaning goes further – it’s a more intensive, occasional service aimed at eliminating built-up dirt and grime in those nooks and crannies that aren’t addressed during regular cleans. Both types of cleaning are important, but they serve different purposes.
Let’s break down the differences in detail:
Regular Cleaning – The Maintenance Basics
A regular cleaning is the kind of cleaning most people do on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, whether themselves or via a professional cleaning service. The goal is to maintain order and cleanliness by taking care of the most common household chores.
Typical tasks in a regular cleaning include:
General Tidying: Picking up clutter, straightening pillows and blankets, organizing items that are out of place.
Dusting: Wiping down visible surfaces that collect dust – think countertops, tabletops, shelves, and windowsills. This often includes electronics (TV screens, computer monitors), picture frames, and other décor.
Sweeping/Vacuuming and Mopping: Cleaning the floors in all rooms. Carpets and rugs are vacuumed; hardwood, tile, or laminate floors are swept and then mopped. This removes everyday dirt, crumbs, and dust.
Wiping Surfaces: Cleaning the commonly used surfaces in the kitchen and bathrooms. In the kitchen, this means wiping down the stove, countertops, and exterior of appliances; in bathrooms, it means cleaning the sink, wiping the mirror, and a quick swish of the toilet bowl with cleaner.
Trash Removal: Emptying wastebaskets and taking out the trash.
General Bathroom Cleaning: Aside from wiping surfaces, a regular clean will include scrubbing the toilet, quickly cleaning the shower/tub (e.g. wiping down tiles and glass doors to prevent soap scum buildup), and polishing the faucets and mirrors.
Making Beds: If requested, we’ll straighten or change bed linens.
Light Cleaning of High-Touch Areas: Wiping down doorknobs, light switches, and cabinet handles to remove fingerprints and germs, although this might not be as in-depth as a deep sanitization.
Regular cleaning is essentially what’s needed to keep a home livable and generally presentable day-to-day. It focuses on the surfaces and areas you use most frequently. Importantly, a regular cleaning is often time-limited to what can be reasonably accomplished in a set period (like 2 hours).
It usually does not include moving heavy furniture, scrubbing every corner, or cleaning inside appliances – those are typically part of a deep clean. Many of our clients have us do regular cleaning on an ongoing schedule to keep their homes consistently tidy, with the occasional deep clean for a more intense refresh.
Deep Cleaning – A Thorough Refresh
Deep cleaning is all about the details and reaching the hidden dirt that gradually accumulates even with regular upkeep. Think of deep cleaning in Vancouver as the spring cleaning or the periodic reset that goes beyond the basics. A deep clean covers everything in a regular cleaning, plus a lot more.
Deep cleaning typically includes tasks such as:
Intensive Kitchen Cleaning: Cleaning the inside of appliances (oven, microwave, refrigerator) to remove built-up grease, food particles, and grime. Scrubbing backsplash tiles and grout lines. Cleaning cabinet interiors (if requested or empty). De-greasing range hood filters. Essentially, every reachable surface in the kitchen gets attention.
Detailed Bathroom Cleaning: Going much deeper on bathrooms – for instance, scrubbing tile grout lines on the shower walls or floor to remove mold or mildew, cleaning under and behind the toilet, descaling faucets and showerheads to remove mineral buildup, and cleaning inside bathroom cabinets or vanities if they’ve been cleared out.
We also address soap scum and hard water stains that a regular quick wipe might miss.
Baseboards, Doors, and Trim: Wiping down or washing baseboards along the walls, door frames, window trim, and sometimes even walls if there are scuffs or stains. These areas are often neglected during regular cleans but can collect dust and dirt over time.
Windows and Blinds: Cleaning interior windows (glass panes) and wiping down window sills and tracks. Dusting or washing blinds and window treatments thoroughly.
Furniture and Upholstery: Lifting and vacuuming under couch cushions, vacuuming upholstered furniture crevices, and polishing wood furniture. We might also move sofas or beds slightly (if feasible) to vacuum underneath or behind them.
Light Fixtures and Vents: Carefully cleaning light fixtures, ceiling fans, and air vent grates that have accumulated dust. This might involve using a ladder (within safe reach) to get to ceiling corners, crown moldings, and fans.
Deep Floor Cleaning: Beyond regular mopping, a deep clean might involve scrubbing tile floors and grout, steam-cleaning or shampooing carpets (if arranged as an add-on service), or applying special wood floor cleaners for a refreshed finish.
Inside Cabinets and Drawers: If you’re doing a deep clean as part of moving out or just re-organizing, we can clean inside storage spaces once they’re emptied – removing dust and crumbs from drawers, cabinets, and closets.
Detailed Dusting: Reaching areas like behind appliances, the tops of tall furniture or cabinets, and other places that aren’t touched in a regular clean. We ensure cobwebs are gone from ceiling corners and chandeliers are dusted.
Sanitizing and Disinfecting: Deep cleans often involve more thorough sanitization – for example, using stronger disinfectants on bathroom and kitchen surfaces to eliminate germs.
During a deep clean, our team pays extra attention to disinfecting high-touch areas and any spots that might contribute to household odors (like trash bins, under sinks, etc.).
In short, a deep clean means no nook or cranny is left untouched. It’s a more exhaustive service that aims to bring a space to a high level of cleanliness across the board.
Deep cleaning can make your home healthier by getting rid of built-up dirt, dust, and other junk, and by sanitizing areas that rarely get disinfected. After a deep clean, many clients say their home feels as clean as when they first moved in.
When to Choose Deep Cleaning vs. Regular Cleaning
Regular cleaning is ideal as ongoing upkeep. If your home is already relatively clean and you just need help maintaining it, or you want to keep up appearances on a weekly/bi-weekly basis, regular cleaning is the way to go.
It’s cost-effective for routine service and keeps things from ever getting too out of hand. Most of our recurring clients start with a deep clean (to get baseline perfection) and then use regular cleans to maintain that standard.
Deep cleaning is recommended in certain situations or intervals:
First-Time or Occasional Service: If you’re hiring us for the first time and it’s been a while since your home had a thorough clean, we usually suggest a deep cleaning initially. This lets us “reset” your home by tackling all the accumulated dirt. After that, subsequent regular cleanings will be more effective and quicker.
Seasonal Cleaning: Many people schedule deep cleans once or twice a year (spring cleaning is common) to refresh their entire home. After events like a renovation or hosting a big gathering, a deep clean can also be beneficial.
Moving In or Out: When moving into a new home, a deep clean ensures you start fresh in a sanitized space. Moving out deep cleans are often required by landlords or just courteous for the next occupants – we clean areas that were behind furniture, inside all cabinets and appliances, etc., leaving the place spotless.
Homes with Special Conditions: If there’s been an illness in the household and you want to ensure the home is thoroughly disinfected, or if you have allergy sufferers and need to get rid of dust in all the hidden spots, a deep cleaning is a good choice. It can seriously improve indoor air quality by removing dust and allergens that normal cleaning doesn’t reach.
After Long Neglect: If regular cleaning has not been done for months, a one-time deep clean can bring the home back to a maintainable state. This might be the case for estates, post-tenancy turnovers, or just a busy homeowner who hasn’t had time to clean in a while.
Cost and Time Differences
Naturally, a Vancouver deep cleaning costs more than a regular cleaning because it requires more labor and time. A deep clean of a home might take 2-3 times longer (or more) than a standard clean of the same home, because of the level of detail involved.
We’ll usually send a larger team or allocate a whole morning/afternoon for a deep clean.
Regular cleaning, on the other hand, might be just a couple of hours with one or two cleaners to keep things in check. We are always upfront about these differences in our quotes, so you can decide which option fits your needs and budget.
Maintaining the Results
After a deep clean, your home will be in tip-top shape. To keep it that way, we highly recommend scheduling regular cleaning services. Many of our clients do a deep clean once or twice a year and regular cleans every 2 weeks, for example.
This way, the deep cleaning tasks (like inside appliances or scrubbing grout) only need to be tackled occasionally since our regular cleans will maintain the general cleanliness in between.
To wrap it up, regular cleaning keeps your home consistently clean and livable, addressing the routine chores, while deep cleaning is a periodic intensive service that reaches the hidden grime and restores a like-new level of cleanliness.
C&M Cleaning Services offers both options, and we’re happy to guide you on which one is right for your home. If you’re ever unsure, we can even start with a deep clean and then transition to regular cleanings, giving you the best of both worlds.
Remember, a deeply cleaned home is not just prettier, but also healthier and more comfortable to live in. So when it’s time to go beyond the basics, our deep cleaning team is ready to roll up their sleeves and make every inch of your space shine.
