When do I need a deep clean instead of a regular cleaning?

You need a deep clean instead of a regular cleaning when routine cleaning no longer keeps the home at the level you want: the oven has baked-on spills, the range hood and cabinet doors feel greasy, the showers have soap scum and hard-water film, and dust has settled on baseboards, door frames and the tops of cabinets. Certain moments call for one too, such as a move, a first visit from a new cleaner, the end of a renovation, or a pet leaving the home. After a deep clean, regular visits keep it there.

Deep clean or regular cleaning: the difference

A regular cleaning is upkeep. The cleaner dusts what can be reached, wipes counters, sinks and toilets, vacuums and mops. It works when the home is already in good shape.

A deep clean is a catch-up. It adds the slow, detailed work a routine visit skips: degreasing the hood and cabinet fronts, scrubbing grout and shower walls, cleaning inside the oven and refrigerator, wiping baseboards, blinds, light switches and door frames, and getting into corners and under furniture. That is why it takes longer and costs more; see what a deep clean costs in Virginia.

The times a deep clean makes sense

Before recurring cleaning starts. Many businesses ask for a deep clean on the first visit, or price it as one, because recurring visits assume the home is already caught up.

Moving out of a rental. Virginia law requires a tenant to keep the part of the home they occupy as clean and safe as its condition permits and to keep plumbing fixtures as clean as their condition permits.^[1] At the end of a tenancy, a landlord may apply the security deposit to damages from a tenant's failure to meet those duties, less reasonable wear and tear.^[2] Within five days of receiving your notice to vacate, the landlord must tell you in writing that you may be present at the move-out inspection, which, if you ask in writing to attend, must happen within 72 hours of handing back possession.^[2] Book the clean for after the boxes are out and before that inspection.

Moving in. An empty home is the easiest time to clean every cabinet, closet, shelf and floor before your things arrive.

After a renovation. Construction dust settles everywhere, including inside cabinets and on top of door frames, and a regular visit will not get it. In older homes, take care: renovation or repair that disturbs painted surfaces in older homes can create large amounts of lead dust,^[3] and homes built before 1978 are more likely to have lead-based paint.^[3] EPA's advice is to wipe hard surfaces such as countertops, window sills and door jambs with a damp cloth and to wet mop floors,^[3] and, where there is visible dust or debris from chipping or flaking paint, to use only vacuums with HEPA filters and not to dry sweep.^[3] Tell any cleaning business the age of the home and what work was done.

When a pet leaves the home, or allergies flare. EPA notes that when an animal leaves a home, it is important to thoroughly clean the floors, walls, carpets and upholstered furniture.^[4] For households with allergies or asthma, EPA's routine advice includes vacuuming carpets and furniture every week and washing bedding in hot water once a week,^[4] and using a vacuum with a HEPA filter on carpet and fabric-covered furniture, with people who have asthma or allergies out of the area being vacuumed.^[4] A deep clean resets the home; that weekly routine keeps it there.

After an illness. A deep clean is not the same as disinfecting. For that, see how to disinfect a house after someone has the flu.

Before a sale, guests or a holiday. A one-time deep clean before a listing photo shoot, a family visit or a holiday is common.

Signs regular cleaning is not keeping up

• Grease you can feel on cabinet doors near the stove, or a sticky range hood.
• Soap scum, hard-water film or dark grout lines that do not wipe off.
• A smell that comes back soon after a clean. See why a house still smells after a deep clean.
• Dust on baseboards, blinds, ceiling fan blades and the tops of door frames.
• Crumbs and dirt along the edges of rooms and under furniture.

Hiring for a deep clean

Ask for a written quote that lists the tasks, the crew size and expected hours, and who brings products and equipment. Check who employs the cleaners. A cleaner can be your employee if you control not only what work is done but how it is done.^[6] If an agency provides the worker and controls what work is done and how, the worker is not your employee.^[6]

Ask about insurance as well. Virginia's Workers' Compensation Act leaves out domestic servants and employees of a business that regularly has fewer than three employees in Virginia, unless they choose to be covered,^[7] so ask to see the business's certificates rather than assuming. Virginia counties, cities and towns may levy license taxes on businesses,^[8] so an established business may hold a licence from its locality. For a full list of questions, see what to ask before hiring a house cleaner.

Stop and call a pro if

• The clean turns up mold that keeps returning, a musty smell or water damage. If mold covers more than about 10 square feet, or there has been a lot of water damage, EPA says to consult its mold remediation guidance, written for schools and commercial buildings but applicable to other building types.^[5] That needs the moisture fixed first.
• A home built before 1978 has chipping or peeling paint, or a renovation disturbed painted surfaces. Ask about lead-safe practices before anyone sands, scrapes or dry sweeps.
• The home needs a hoarding cleanout, sewage cleanup or biohazard cleanup. Those are separate services with their own safety rules.

Getting a deep clean on Loclis

Browse deep cleaning businesses, look up cleaning services around Blacksburg, or read the other cleaning answers. When you are ready, describe the deep clean on Loclis and businesses will quote.