What a deep clean actually means
A regular weekly clean handles the visible — the floors, the surfaces, the bins, the bathroom reset. A deep clean handles everything a weekly clean ignores: skirting boards, behind furniture, the top of kitchen cupboards, the inside of the oven, the limescale ring around the base of the taps, the mould in the shower sealant, the grease on the extractor filter, the dust on the tops of door frames.
Most homes need a full deep clean every 6–12 months. Homes with pets, smokers, young children, or heavy family traffic benefit from one every 3–4 months. This checklist covers every room, with a focus on the areas that actually collect grime, limescale, and heavy dust.
Allow a full day. A 2-bed flat takes a team of two around 4 hours. A 4-bed house takes 7–9 hours. If you are tackling it alone, split across a weekend.
Before you start
- Open all windows — ventilation matters for fumes and drying times.
- Move as much clutter off surfaces as possible — you cannot deep-clean around stuff.
- Have the following to hand: limescale remover, oven cleaner, degreaser, glass cleaner, bathroom cleaner, a decent vacuum, microfibre cloths, an old toothbrush, gloves.
- Work top to bottom in each room. Ceilings, then high surfaces, then middle, then floor last.
- Do wet work first (bathroom descaler, oven cleaner) — it needs contact time while you crack on with other rooms.
Kitchen deep clean
High-reach areas (do first)
- Ceiling and corners — cobwebs and cooking dust
- Light fittings and shades — removed if possible, washed
- Top of wall cupboards — thick dust and cooking grease mix here, needs degreaser
- Top of fridge
- Extractor hood exterior and filter (soak filter in hot water + degreaser for 20 minutes)
Heavy grease zones
- Oven interior — proper oven cleaner, 30+ minutes contact time, then scrub
- Oven racks — soaked in hot water with a dishwasher tablet
- Oven door glass — inside and between panes if possible
- Hob — degreased, burn marks treated
- Splashback tiles and grout
- Cupboard doors and handles — especially around the oven and hob
Heavy limescale zones
- Sink — interior descaled, particularly around the drain and tap base
- Taps — aerator unscrewed and soaked
- Kettle — descaled inside
- Dishwasher — filter cleaned, descaler cycle run
- Washing machine — detergent drawer removed and scrubbed, door seal wiped, hot empty cycle
Inside appliances and storage
- Fridge — everything out, shelves washed, interior wiped, seals cleaned, back vent dusted
- Freezer — defrosted, interior washed, drawers cleaned
- Microwave — interior and exterior, turntable washed
- Toaster — crumb tray emptied, exterior polished
- Inside every cupboard — contents out, interior vacuumed and wiped
- Drawers — runners degreased, interiors cleaned
Finish
- Radiator — dusted and wiped
- Window — inside glass, sill, frame, track (track collects fly carcasses)
- Skirting — full circuit
- Door and frame both sides
- Light switches and sockets
- Bin — emptied, scrubbed inside and out
- Floor — swept, mopped, corners and edges
Bathroom deep clean
Heavy limescale
- Showerhead — unscrewed if possible, soaked in descaler or white vinegar
- Shower taps and mixer — descaled, rinsed
- Bath taps and overflow — descaled
- Basin taps and aerator
- Toilet — under the rim treated with limescale remover, 30 minutes contact
- Shower screen glass — limescale and soap scum removed (white vinegar works well)
Mould and grout
- Tile grout — scrubbed with bathroom cleaner and old toothbrush, bleach-based for mould
- Silicone sealant around bath and shower — bleach-treated, or replaced if beyond saving
- Extractor fan grille — removed, washed, refitted (dust is a fire risk)
- Window and frame — mould spots treated
Surfaces and finishing
- Mirrors and chrome polished streak-free
- Shelves and cabinets — contents out, wiped inside
- Medicine cabinet — expired items binned, interior wiped
- Radiator / heated towel rail
- Toilet brush holder — interior scrubbed
- Bin — emptied and washed
- Floor — edges, behind toilet pedestal, under bath feet
- Skirting and door frames
Living room / dining room deep clean
- Ceiling corners and centre light — cobwebs, dust on shade
- Picture rails, coving, and cornices — dust
- Tops of doors, door frames, architraves
- Curtains vacuumed with brush attachment or taken down and washed
- Curtain rails and pelmets — thick dust
- Behind and under sofas — pull out, vacuum, wipe hidden skirting
- Under cushions — vacuum, check for crumbs, lost items
- Sofa fabric or leather — appropriate cleaner for the material
- Bookshelves — books off, shelves wiped, books tapped dust-free
- TV, consoles, speakers — dust, fingerprint-free
- Skirting — full circuit
- Radiators — between fins (a radiator brush helps), behind, underneath
- Windowsill, frame, interior glass, track
- Light switches and sockets
- Full carpet vacuum including edges and corners
- Rugs — shaken outside or taken up and vacuumed under
- Hard floors — swept, mopped, corners
Bedrooms deep clean
- Mattress — vacuumed both sides, flipped if flippable, stain-treated
- Under the bed — full vacuum, including edges
- Bed frame — dusted, especially headboard and any fabric panels
- Inside wardrobes — emptied, vacuumed, wiped, shelves cleaned
- Top of wardrobes — thick dust
- Drawers — contents out, runners cleaned, interiors wiped
- Dressing table — top, underneath, drawers
- Curtains, blinds — washed or dust-wiped, slats of blinds individually
- Windowsill, frame, track, interior glass
- Skirting and door frame
- Radiator — including behind
- Light switches and sockets
- Carpet — full vacuum, edges, stains treated
Hallway, stairs, landing
- Banister top to bottom, including underside and spindles
- Stair carpet — edges and corners meticulously vacuumed
- Skirting up the whole staircase
- Pendant lights and lampshades
- Under-stairs storage — cleared, dusted, wiped, vacuumed
- Front door — inside and outside, letterbox, knocker, doorbell, handle
- Radiator in hall
- Shoe racks and coat hooks — everything off, dusted
- Thermostat, alarm panel, intercom — wiped
Whole-home details most people miss
- Light switches and sockets. Grey finger marks. Degreaser, not glass cleaner.
- Door frames and handles. Both sides. Top of the frame collects dust.
- Tops of skirting. Thick dust line. Damp cloth, full circuit.
- Radiators. Between fins (radiator brush), behind, the bracket on the wall.
- Window tracks. Open the window, vacuum the track, wipe with hot soapy water.
- Smoke alarms. Dust them, test them, battery replacement if old.
- Vents and air bricks. Vacuum grilles — dust restricts airflow and gathers mould.
- Picture frames and mirrors. Tops collect dust you never see from below.
- Remote controls, door handles, light pulls. Disinfectant wipe — these are the germiest surfaces in the house.
Tips from our teams
- Contact time is everything. Spray oven cleaner, limescale remover, and mould treatments first. Walk away for 30 minutes. They do most of the work if you let them.
- Microfibre beats paper. A decent microfibre and warm water cleans almost everything without products.
- Two-bucket rule for floors. One bucket of clean water, one for dirty. Dirty mop water is why floors streak.
- Do the inside of windows on a cloudy day. Sun dries glass cleaner before you can buff it, leaving streaks.
- Top to bottom. Always. Clean the light fitting before you mop the floor, or you are doing the floor twice.
When to call a professional
A full deep clean is a full day's hard work. If you have not got a spare day, if you have pets and heavy hair to deal with, if the kitchen is badly lived-in, or if you just do not want to spend your weekend on your knees behind a radiator — we do this every day. 07377 506669, or online quote in 2 minutes.