You should deep clean your house every 6 to 12 months, alongside a light weekly clean. Homes with pets, young children, allergy sufferers or a lot of home cooking usually need one every 3 to 6 months, and some moments, such as moving out, finishing building work or treating mould, call for one regardless of when you last had it done.
Key takeaways
- Every 6–12 months suits most households; every 3–6 months suits pet owners, families and people with allergies.
- A deep clean reaches what weekly cleaning doesn’t: inside appliances, behind furniture, limescale, grout, skirting boards and extractor fans.
- Book one before or after a tenancy, after building work, and whenever damp, mould or pests have been dealt with.
- Our fixed deep cleaning prices start at £135 for a studio and £175 for a one-bed, one-bath home.
- April and July are our busiest months for deep cleans, so book early for spring or summer.
From our job records
Counted from the 13,926 cleaning jobs we have completed since March 2023. See deep cleaning.
What counts as a deep clean?
A regular clean keeps a home tidy: surfaces wiped, floors hoovered, bathroom and kitchen refreshed. A deep clean goes into the places that build up grime slowly and get skipped week to week. Typically that means:
- Kitchen: degreasing cupboard fronts, tiles and the extractor hood, cleaning inside the microwave and cupboards, descaling the sink and taps, and (as an add-on) the oven and fridge.
- Bathrooms: removing limescale from glass, taps and shower heads, scrubbing grout and sealant, and cleaning behind and around the toilet.
- Throughout: skirting boards, door frames, light switches, radiators, window sills, interior glass, and under and behind movable furniture.
Our guide to what a deep clean includes goes through the full checklist room by room.
How often should you deep clean your house?
There’s no single rule, because the right interval depends on who lives in the home and how it’s used. This is a sensible starting point:
| Household | Suggested deep clean | Areas that need it most |
|---|---|---|
| One or two adults, no pets | Every 12 months | Kitchen grease, bathroom limescale, skirting boards |
| Family with young children | Every 6 months | Floors, carpets, high-touch points, kitchen |
| Cats or dogs in the home | Every 3–6 months | Carpets, upholstery, hair behind furniture, odours |
| Someone with asthma or allergies | Every 3–6 months | Dust on high and low surfaces, soft furnishings, mattresses |
| Shared house or HMO | Every 3–6 months | Shared kitchen and bathrooms |
| Home you work from or cook in a lot | Every 6 months | Kitchen extractor, hob, desk area |
Treat these as guides rather than fixed rules. If you notice grease on cupboard doors, limescale spreading across the shower screen, dust on skirting boards or a musty smell, the home is telling you it’s due.
What affects how often you need one?
Number of people
More people means more cooking, more showers and more footfall. Hallways, kitchen floors and bathrooms get dirty faster, and moisture from cooking and bathing adds to condensation.
Pets
Pet hair and dander work their way into carpets, sofas and the gaps behind furniture, where a weekly hoover doesn’t reach. Many pet owners pair a deep clean with professional carpet cleaning a couple of times a year.
Health
If anyone in the home has asthma or allergies, dust and damp matter more. Government guidance for landlords notes that people with asthma, allergies and other respiratory conditions are more at risk from damp and mould, and that good ventilation and prompt treatment matter (see the UK government’s damp and mould health guidance). A regular deep clean helps keep dust, mould spots in bathrooms and window seals under control.
The age and layout of the home
Older properties with sash windows, open fireplaces or lots of mouldings collect dust in more places. Homes with poor ventilation tend to need more attention on windows, bathrooms and the corners of outside walls.
When do you need a deep clean regardless of the schedule?
- Moving out of a rental. Your deposit depends on returning the property to the condition recorded at check-in, allowing for fair wear and tear. That usually needs a full end of tenancy clean rather than a standard deep clean, because the checklist is written to match what inventory clerks inspect.
- Moving in. Even a property that looks clean can have grease inside cupboards and limescale in the bathroom. Landlords preparing a property for new tenants often book a pre-tenancy clean.
- After building work. Fine plaster and sanding dust settles on every surface and gets into cupboards. An after builders clean is designed for this.
- After illness in the home, or when an older relative’s home needs catching up on.
- Spring. The traditional reset after a winter of closed windows and drying clothes indoors. Our spring cleaning checklist is a good place to start.
What is periodic or scheduled deep cleaning?
Periodic deep cleaning means planning deep cleans in advance on a fixed cycle, rather than waiting until the home looks like it needs one. It’s how most offices, holiday lets and shared houses are run, and it works well at home too. There are two common ways to do it:
- Whole-home visits on a set interval. A full deep clean every 6 or 12 months (or every 3 to 6 months for busier homes), booked at the same time each year so it never slips.
- Rolling zones. One area deep cleaned each month, so the whole home is covered over the year without a single big day.
A simple rolling schedule for a family home might look like this:
| Month | Deep clean focus |
|---|---|
| January | Kitchen: oven, extractor, inside cupboards after Christmas cooking |
| February | Bathrooms: limescale, grout, sealant and extractor fans |
| March to April | Whole-home spring clean, windows inside and out |
| May | Bedrooms: mattresses, under beds, wardrobes |
| June | Outside: patio, paths, bins and garden furniture |
| July to August | Carpets and upholstery while they dry quickly |
| September | Living areas: skirting, radiators, behind furniture |
| October | Windows, frames and seals before condensation season |
| November | Kitchen again, ahead of winter cooking |
| December | Light refresh before guests |
Adjust it to your home. If mould tends to appear on window frames in winter, move the windows earlier; if you have pets, repeat carpets and upholstery twice a year.
What should you clean weekly, monthly and yearly?
Deep cleans work best when the basics are kept up in between. A simple rhythm:
| How often | Tasks |
|---|---|
| Daily | Wipe kitchen worktops and hob, wash up, quick wipe of the bathroom sink, open a window after showers and cooking |
| Weekly | Hoover and mop floors, clean toilet, bath and shower, change bedding, dust reachable surfaces, empty bins |
| Monthly | Clean the microwave and inside the fridge, wipe skirting boards and door handles, descale taps and shower head, hoover sofa cushions |
| Every 3–6 months | Oven clean, wash or steam curtains, clean behind furniture, clean extractor filters, turn the mattress |
| Every 6–12 months | Full deep clean, carpet cleaning, inside all cupboards, windows inside and out |
Should you do it yourself or hire professionals?
You can deep clean a home yourself with time, the right products and a plan. Work top to bottom and dry to wet, one room at a time, and leave the floors until last. Expect a full weekend for an average two-bedroom home.
A professional team is worth considering when time is short, the oven or bathroom needs specialist products, or the clean is tied to a deadline such as a move-out inspection. Things to look for:
- A fixed price agreed before the clean, rather than an open-ended hourly rate.
- Vetted, insured cleaners. Our cleaners are DBS-checked, and we carry £1M public liability insurance plus employer’s liability insurance.
- A re-clean guarantee. If anything has been missed, tell us within 72 hours and we’ll send a team back to put it right at no cost.
How much does a deep clean cost?
Our deep cleaning prices are fixed by property size, from the prices page:
| Property size | Fixed price |
|---|---|
| Studio (all appliances included) | £135 |
| 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom | £175 |
| 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom | £230 |
| 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms | £270 |
| 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom | £325 |
| 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms | £360 |
| 4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom | £390 |
| 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms | £435 |
| 5 bedrooms or more | from £475 |
Extras include a single oven (£35), fridge freezer (£40) and carpet cleaning (£30 per room). Across the 3,341 deep cleans we completed between March 2023 and September 2026, the typical final bill including extras was £271, with the middle half of customers paying between £209 and £357. About one in five were booked for a Saturday or Sunday.
Frequently asked questions
How often should you deep clean a house with pets?
Every 3 to 6 months is a good rule for homes with cats or dogs, with carpets and upholstery cleaned at least once or twice a year.
Is a deep clean the same as an end of tenancy clean?
They cover similar ground, but an end of tenancy clean follows a checklist built around the check-out inspection, and the property is usually empty. If you’re moving out, book the end of tenancy service.
Can I book deep cleans on a regular schedule?
Yes. You can book a deep clean at the same time each year, or every few months for busier homes, and each visit uses the same fixed prices by property size.
How long does a deep clean take?
It depends on the size and condition of the home and the size of the team. A one-bedroom flat is usually a few hours for a small team; larger homes take most of a day.
Do I need to be at home?
No. Many customers leave a key or arrange access. It helps to clear worktops and floors first so the team can clean rather than tidy. Our guide to what to empty before a deep clean explains what to move.
Can a deep clean remove mould?
It can remove surface mould on tiles, sealant and window frames. If mould keeps coming back, the cause is usually damp or poor ventilation, which needs fixing at the source.
Ready to book? See what’s included on our deep cleaning service page, check local availability in London or anywhere in the UK, and pick a date on the booking page. Prefer to talk it through? Call us on 020 8146 0266.
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Written by the Tenancy.Cleaning team
We complete end of tenancy, deep and specialist cleans across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our guides are based on that work and checked against current UK rules.
DBS-checked cleaners£1M public liability72-hour re-clean guarantee300+ local teams
