Vacancy Cleaning Prices

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So the other day I replied to a client request for a vacancy service. As usual, i looked up the most recent completed jobs that were similar in size and difficulty as the one described. I came up with a list of what is include with the service, along with a price. I emailed the information and waited for a reply. Soon after I did get a reply and thought we were ready to set the service appointment, but boy was I wrong.

 

Within minutes after getting the email, I got a call from this client. Well, about 10 minutes later and after a lengthy conversation about the average service rates for regular cleaning and what's involved, I realized we were too far away from making a deal. I wrote this for clients looking to get a vacancy cleaning service that do not have a clear idea of the amount of work that is involved with this type of service. Here is a quick summary of the reasons why most vacancy services cost more, much more than a regular recurring service. 

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Cabinets

Yes, I understand that all the furniture is out of the way and all the figurines and picture frames will not need to be dusted. So lets start with the cabinets. Once everything is moved out it is time to clean all the cabinets. That does not mean just dust the outside of the cabinets, it means to clean out the inside and  scrub the outside of them. What many people don't realize is just how many cabinets they actually have. Beside the kitchen, you may also have cabinets in each bathroom, inside some closets, bedrooms, and the garage. 

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One thing I'd like to mention about the inside of the cabinets is this. If the inside of any cabinet has a liner that was glued on, we will not make an effort to remove it. This will be the owner/tenants responsibility to remove or place a new cabinet liner over the existing one. 

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Appliances

Now lets look at some of the other items that normally need to be cleaned during a vacancy service.  Appliances include any one or all of the following:

 

• Stove

• Refrigerator

• Microwave

• Dishwasher

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Believe it or not, but our staff have had to clean some stoves that have so much grease built up, that it's taken a s much as 2 full hours just to complete! The refrigerator is next on the level of difficulty to clean of the listed appliances. For the most part, most people seem to take much better care of the inside of their refrigerator as compared to the stove.  Once again, this appliance may take a full hour to properly clean from the inside, as well as the from, sides, and top. If requested, it may need to be pulled forward or to the side to get the floor underneath cleaned as well. 

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Floors

This only applies to tile or wood floors. Several passes may be necessary to get the floors cleaned to the standards requested by the new owner/tenant. Yes, we have had to deal with a number of vacancy cleanings that had floors so dirty, the surface grime had to be scrubbed off a few times to get them clean. Not only that but many times the grout needs to be scrubbed well and cleaned up during most vacancy cleaning services. 

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For houses with wood floors, it may take even more time to clean than a tile floor. Wood is much more delicate and special care needs to be taken from the very start. First, all the loose dirt and debris needs to be swept or vacuumed up. Then it needs to be cleaned with a special wood cleaner until all surface dirt is gone. Along the process, the wood floors need to be dried so that minimal amount of moisture sits on the wood to prevent any type of damage. And at the end, a wood polish will need to be applied to give it a sheen and to protect the surface. 

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While we're on the subject we'd like to mention a very important point about floors. If your floors look foggy or flat even after a complete and thorough cleaning, they made need some kind of restoration work by a qualified floor restoration expert. Floors, no matter the kind, will wear down after a certain period of time. It is out of the ability of a house cleaning company to get involved with restoration work. 

 

As you can see, the main reason vacancy cleanings are more expensive have to do with two basic things. First, the surface are that gets cleaned is much more with a vacancy. That is because of the empty counters, cabinets, and floors that are normally covered by household items. The other item has to do with the extra number pf passes that are usually required to clean some floor areas that may have either not been cleaned on a regular basis, or were covered by furniture and now need additional cleaning. So the next time you get a quote for vacancy cleaning, we hope this will give you an ideas about the higher price.

 

If you have a doubt or a question, please be sure to ask us on the day we provide you with a quote or call us at (805)914-4520.

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