What is a deep clean, and how long does it take?
A deep clean is a longer, more detailed clean that reaches the build-up a regular visit skips. What it covers, what needs a specialist, and how to size one.
By the HomeMaster team · · Updated · 5 min read
A deep clean is a longer, more thorough clean that deals with the build-up a regular visit only maintains: grout and shower glass, window and sliding door tracks, fan blades, door frames and switches, behind and under movable furniture, and the kitchen's greasy corners. There is no official definition, so what you get depends on who you book. In practice, most deep cleans are simply more cleaning time, spent on detail.
This guide explains what people usually mean by a deep clean, what it does not include, how to size one, and the questions to ask before you pay for one.
What people usually mean by a deep clean
A regular clean keeps a home in a steady state. A deep clean restores it after months without help, before a move, or before a festive season. A good regular clean touches the same places every visit, lightly; a deep clean spends real time on them to remove months of build-up. These are the places it usually focuses on:
| Area | Where build-up hides |
|---|---|
| Bathrooms | Grout lines, limescale on fittings and tap bases, shower tracks, wall tiles from top to bottom |
| Kitchen | The hood's underside and oil tray, backsplash grout, inside the microwave and fridge, inside empty cupboards, wall marks |
| Bedrooms and living areas | Fan blades, aircon vents, light switches, door frames, skirting, under and behind movable furniture |
| Windows and balcony | Grilles, sills, sliding door rails and tracks |
None of that needs special equipment. It needs time, a methodical order, and the right tools: brushes for grout and tracks, a non-scratch scrub pad, an extendable duster and a kitchen degreaser.
What a deep clean does not include
Some jobs sound as if they belong in a deep clean but need specialist machines, chemicals or licences. Expect to book them separately.
| Job | Who usually does it |
|---|---|
| Sofa, mattress and carpet deep cleaning | Upholstery and carpet specialists with extraction machines that wash the fabric and pull the water back out |
| Curtain cleaning | Curtain cleaning services that take curtains down, clean and rehang them |
| Floor polishing | Marble polishing and timber floor restoration specialists |
| Pest control | A company registered with the National Environment Agency (NEA) as a vector control operator |
| Cleaning inside an aircon unit | An aircon technician, through a general service, chemical wash or overhaul |
| Paint, cement and renovation debris | A post-renovation cleaning crew |
| Mould caused by a leak | A plumber or contractor to fix the leak first, then a clean |
On pest control, NEA says only companies registered with it as vector control operators can be engaged for vector control work, and it publishes the list of registered operators on its vector control operator page.
For the fuller picture of what a home cleaner does and does not do, see our guide to what a part-time cleaner does.
How to size a deep clean
The honest answer is that it depends on the home's size, how many bathrooms it has, and how long it has gone without a proper clean. A few rules of thumb help.
Count the bathrooms and the kitchen first. They hold most of the detailed work. A flat with two bathrooms that have not been descaled in months will take far longer than its floor area suggests.
Think in visits, not one marathon. A very long day is tiring for one person, and the detail at the end of it suffers. Two visits close together work better: the first for the heavy work (bathrooms, kitchen and build-up), the second for everything else. As a starting point, a 3 or 4-room flat that has gone a few months without help usually needs at least a full 4-hour visit, and a larger or neglected home two. Our guide to how many cleaning hours a flat needs has starting points by home type.
Prepare the home. A deep clean is cleaning, not decluttering. Clear surfaces, empty the cupboards you want wiped inside, move fragile items, and decide what you are keeping before the visit. Every minute spent moving belongings is a minute not spent on grout.
Check who brings what. Ask what the cleaner brings and what you need to have ready. With HomeMaster you provide a working vacuum cleaner and mop, and the cleaner brings cloths, a scrub pad, detail brushes for grout and tracks, and a multi-purpose cleaner. For a deep clean, it helps to add a kitchen degreaser or any specialist product your surfaces need, and an extendable duster for fan blades.
Questions to ask before you book any deep clean
Deep cleans are priced in different ways, as a fixed package or by the hour, which makes them hard to compare. Ask:
- What exactly is included? Ask for the list. Is the inside of the oven, the fridge and the cupboards on it? The windows?
- How many people, for how many hours? A fixed-price package could be two people for three hours or one person for six. Both are six hours of work, but you should know which it is.
- What does the cleaner bring, and what must you have ready? And are their products safe for your surfaces?
- What is excluded? Extraction, polishing and pest control usually are.
- What happens if it runs over? Is there a charge for extra time, or does the work stop?
- Are there surcharges for weekends, public holidays or payment methods?
Our guide to reading a cleaning quote goes through the pricing questions in more detail.
After the deep clean: keep it
A deep clean is a reset, and resets fade. A regular weekly or fortnightly visit keeps the home in the state the deep clean left it, and each regular visit is shorter than a catch-up after the build-up returns. A long first visit followed by a regular slot is often the simplest way to get there.
How it works with HomeMaster
HomeMaster does not sell a deep cleaning package. We book the same work as long hourly sessions of 3 or 4 hours with one cleaner, working to our written 75-point housekeeping standard, and for a bigger reset we suggest two sessions close together. You can read how we handle deep, move-out and post-renovation requests on our cleaning services page.
A one-off 3 to 4 hour clean is $25/hour. If you want a reset followed by upkeep, a pack of three eligible 3 to 4 hour sessions is $18/hour. All rates include GST, and weekends and public holidays cost the same as weekdays.
Tell Helen, our AI assistant on WhatsApp, what state the home is in and when you need it done. She replies with real open times, the exact price, and how she would split the work. If you need a single reset rather than a regular slot, our one-off home cleaning page has the details.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a deep clean take?
It depends on the size of the home, the number of bathrooms and how long it has gone without a proper clean. With one cleaner, a 3 or 4-room flat that has gone a few months without help usually needs a full 4-hour visit, and a larger or neglected home two visits close together.
Is a deep clean the same as spring cleaning?
They overlap. Both mean a detailed clean of the whole home. Spring cleaning usually also involves sorting and decluttering, which only the household can decide on. The smoothest approach is to declutter first, then have the home cleaned once the surfaces and cupboards are clear.
Do I need a deep clean before starting regular cleaning?
Not necessarily. A longer first visit, usually 4 hours, clears most build-up and lets the cleaner learn your home. If the home has gone many months without help, two visits close together make a better start before a regular slot takes over.
Does a deep clean include the oven?
Not usually in an hourly home clean, because it takes time and a strong product. Ask before booking. If you want it done, allow extra time and provide an oven cleaner you are comfortable with, and keep the kitchen ventilated while it is used.
Sources
- Vector Control Operator, Vector Control Technician and Vector Control Worker, National Environment Agency
Need a hand at home?
Tell Helen what you need on WhatsApp. She replies with real open times and the exact price, GST included, and weekends cost the same as weekdays.
