For those considering having their Battersea home professionally cleaned for the first time, you’ll want to become familiar with the processes. The staff of a cleaning service are often referred to as domestic cleaners.
Independent housekeepers work outside the cleaning companies or are self-employed. Go here for guidance on choosing a domestic cleaning agency.
Typically, with an independent housecleaner, homeowners will seek referrals from confidants who have employed the same services since these individuals are often not credentialed or insured, an exceptional risk. When referred and experienced, this risk is mitigated.
Without this, the safest option is staff hired through professional services who have undergone training, receive adequate certifications, and employ specific policies and procedures, including stringent scheduling, to avoid delays or missed appointments.
As a first-time cleaning, many homeowners are uncertain how to prepare or what to expect with the services.
In some cases, the company will confirm the booking plus remind you before the professional arrives and will advise on how to prepare your home for the cleaning. Does that mean you should do a preliminary clean or not clean? Let’s find out.
What Should You Do Before the Cleaning Service Arrives
Many trusted Battersea professional cleaning services including TSD domestic cleaning focus on the client experience and offering the greatest value for the most affordable rates.
Companies like these prioritise keeping first-time clients informed throughout the process, from confirming the booking, reminding them of the arrival, and supplying details on how to prepare for the service. Often homeowners feel obligated to clean before the domestic cleaners arrive.
While cleaning the house is unnecessary and defeats the purpose of hiring the team, there are things you should do to prepare, some things that the crew won’t handle. You’ll want to have these details when reviewing the agreement with the company.
As far as “cleaning” before the service arrives, the company does not want a homeowner to do that. While decluttering and stowing away personal items makes sense, otherwise you should check in with the specific service you’ll work with to see their particular guidelines.
For some, laundry or dishes can be part of the cleaning service, but these are an added fee. That means you’ll want to have these chores taken care of. Of course, any garbage should be tossed in the bin and food stored away.
Domestic cleaners will be hesitant to toss things away if you want to hold on to the items or keep things you consider rubbish. When things are strewn around, that’s the biggest issue for a professional, not knowing what to do with the items. Here are a few tips on how to prepare for housecleaning.
Laundry
If you tend to take clothes off and toss them in the corner instead of having a hamper or lay clothes out for an occasion or to be prepared for going out, professionals coming to clean your home won’t understand the differences between dirty or clean clothing.
These clothes should be picked up and separated if you expect the house cleaner to handle the laundry. Some professional cleaners will, and some may not perform laundry services, with many charging extra fees for the duties. In any event, the expert is not there to try to discern what constitutes laundry.
It should be picked up and separated in the laundry room ready to be washed instead of being strewn throughout the bedroom or other spaces in the house making cleaning a challenge.
Bedding linens
Linens can be included with laundry, but if that’s something you want to add, this should be discussed when reviewing the contract. It’s helpful to have the bed stripped and the linens stacked in the laundry area. The service should also have instructions to remake the bed after washing if that’s the expectation.
Again, this might not be an included charge with the housecleaning services. There might be added fees for the laundry and also for remaking the bed. If you have a change of linens, these should be stacked beside the bed, ready for changing.
The clutter
Usually, through the week, with the hectic pace of life, clutter accumulates in living spaces. Many things are brought out and don’t find their way back into their designated space. It takes too much effort after a long day. Still, the domestic cleaner won’t be privy to where these items belong.
The expectation is that the bulk of the clutter will be put back where it belongs since personal belongings and displaced items will get in the way of organising the space. Even a professional team of cleaners will hesitate to move personal effects.
That means clothing or shoes, food items, trash, or anything construed as intimate should be tucked away in closets, drawers, or bins. Otherwise, the crew will need to try to work around the items. This could lead to you finding the work less than satisfactory; however, the problem will be a personal issue.
The countertops
For the countertops to be washed down thoroughly, these need to be cleaned off of any items that don’t belong there. Any open or empty containers, food items, or personal objects can create obstacles in getting to the surfaces. This is not just countertops but includes desktops or shelving that you request to have dusted.
The team won’t move personal effects or other objects to dust or clean beneath these objects unless there are specific instructions to do so. In that case, there could be associated fees or charges since it’s not customary.
Final Thought
If you’re uncertain how to prepare your Battersea home for professional housecleaning, go over the details with the service when reviewing the agreement.
The companies won’t want a homeowner to clean their home before the team arrives, but picking up personal belongings, decluttering, and preparing the tasks for the cleaners will not only be appreciated but ensure your home exceeds your satisfaction at the end of the day.
