Why Do Move Out Cleaning Cost a Lot?
Most landlords require that when tenants move out of a rented house or apartment, they clean it to a state comparable to how it was at the time of move-in. Also, homeowners who want to sell their homes recognize the need to have the home be as clean as possible for viewing by prospective buyers.
In both situations, tenants and homeowners know that the best way to get the level of cleanliness they want is by hiring a professional to do it. However, tenants and property owners struggle to understand why professional cleaners charge the amounts they do for cleaning a house.
In the minds of most people, move-out cleaning costs way too much. They assume that cleaning a home is not a complicated task and there is no reason why they should be made to pay the seemingly high fees that professional house cleaners charge.
The truth, however, is that most people really have no idea what goes into cleaning a home.
How long does it take to clean a house?
When people were asked how long they thought it would take to clean their homes, they gave the following answers:
“It will take about one hour to vacuum the house.“
“It will take 10 minutes to clean the bathroom.“
“Disinfecting the whole house should take one hour, at most.“
“I don’t think it should take more than two hours to clean the whole house.“
But how long does it really take to clean a house?
The answer to that question depends on how dirty the home in question is. A home with a regular cleaning schedule will obviously be easier to clean than one that is cleaned infrequently. Other things that contribute to how long it takes to clean a home are:
The size of the house and how many rooms it has
The number of people who live in the home
If there are any pets present in the home
The number of people who are cleaning the home
The type of equipment and products used by the cleaning team
And the scope of cleaning: how thorough the cleaning has to be
After taking all these into consideration, this is how much it takes to clean the average home. Around one hour is required to clean a 1,000 square feet home if the home is moderately dirty and the cleaning is done by a team of four people. But if the home is very dirty it can take much longer. As a matter of fact, a very dirty oven will take one hour to clean. It takes the same length of time to clean a bathroom.
Given that the average floor space for a single-family American home is between 2,436 and 2,641 square feet, it would take almost three hours for a four-man team to clean the home. And if the home is being cleaned by a single person, it could take up to twelve hours. This of course depends on how dirty the home is and how thorough the cleaning is.
Why does cleaning a house take so long?
It is due to the number of task involved in deep cleaning a home. Here is a sample of the tasks included in a normal home cleaning:
De-scaling faucets and showerheads with vinegar
Removing and washing HVAC vent covers
Spot cleaning the carpet and upholstery
Wiping doors, windows, and their frames free of smudges and fingerprints
Giving blinds a deep clean by spraying with vinegar and scrubbing them.
Cleaning grout in bathrooms to make them bright
Cleaning and wiping baseboards and crown moldings
Vacuuming and scrubbing floors
Disinfecting floors, bathrooms, appliances, and kitchen surfaces
Does move-out cleaning cost too much?
If you have ever tried to give your home a deep clean, you will realize that most move-out cleaning is fairly priced. It is because of how hard cleaning a modern home is that most people never do it thoroughly and only occasionally.
Homeowners, in general, will agree that keeping a home clean is work that never seems to end. A person could easily spend eight hours cleaning their home and the work would still not be done. This is because there are so many corners and crevices where dirt can hide in the home.
Moreover, beyond merely cleaning the home, move-out cleaning help tenants save, explains Bighorn Rentals, while also assuming their liabilities. The owner of an improperly cleaned home has a right to withhold part of the tenant’s security deposit. Also if legal claims arise as a result of the cleaning done in a home, tenants may transfer their liabilities to the cleaner.
Finally, move-out cleaning companies help to reduce the stress of moving house. Few people have the desire and ability to effectively combine cleaning their mold apartment with packing for their new home.
That is why compared to the stress that a move-out cleaning service saves tenants and homeowners, most move-out cleaning is actually underpriced.
