Deep cleaning vs. regular cleaning is the first choice most people face when they book a professional house cleaner. Both cover every room. However, a deep clean goes much further into the detail. So here’s what each one includes, how long each takes, what each costs, and how to tell which one your home needs.
What a Regular Cleaning Covers
We call a regular cleaning a standard clean. It’s a thorough maintenance clean for the main living areas of your home, and it’s also the list every recurring visit follows. Room by room, it covers:
- Kitchen: counters, including beneath movable items; the sink, faucet, cooktop, and stove front; and the microwave, inside and out.
- Bathrooms: the whole toilet, including behind it; tub and shower walls; and streak-free mirrors and window glass.
- Bedrooms and living areas: dusting for furniture, shelves, blinds, and baseboards; a wipe for the window sills; and disinfecting for switches and handles.
- Floors: vacuuming for every carpet and mopping for every hard floor.
A one-time standard clean starts at $189, and it usually takes 2 to 4 hours, depending on your home’s current condition. In short, it suits a home you already keep reasonably tidy.
What a Deep Cleaning Adds to a Regular Cleaning
A deep clean includes everything in a standard clean first. Then it adds detailed attention to buildup, edges, and the surfaces routine visits don’t reach:
- Hand-washing baseboards and toe-kicks, edge to edge
- Scrubbing grout, and detailing shower-track grooves and corners
- Washing cabinet doors, detailing handles, and degreasing the hood and backsplash seams
- Detailing window sills and tracks, spot-wiping walls, and wiping doors and frames
- Wiping reachable fan blades, and vacuuming beneath furniture we can move safely
A deep clean starts at $229 and usually takes 3 to 5 hours. Because it covers so much more detail, it costs more than a standard clean. In return, it resets the whole home at once.
Deep Cleaning vs. Regular Cleaning: The Key Differences
When you compare deep cleaning vs. regular cleaning, look at detail, time, and price. A regular cleaning keeps a home on track. A deep cleaning, on the other hand, brings a home back to that standard first.
- Detail: a standard clean dusts and wipes, while a deep clean also hand-washes, scrubs, and details.
- Windows: both clean the interior glass, but only a deep clean details the sills and tracks.
- Time: about 2 to 4 hours for a standard clean, and 3 to 5 hours for a deep clean.
- Price: a standard clean starts at $189, and a deep clean starts at $229.
- Best for: a standard clean suits a maintained home, and a deep clean suits buildup or a first visit.
Signs Your Home Is Ready for a Deep Clean
Most homes show the same signs when routine cleaning stops being enough. For example, look for these:
- Grout and shower tracks look darker than they used to
- Dust collects on baseboards, vents, and fan blades
- The range hood or backsplash feels greasy to the touch
- Window tracks hold grit, dead bugs, or grime
- It’s been months since anyone cleaned the home top to bottom
If two or more sound familiar, start with a deep clean. After that, a regular cleaning schedule keeps those spots from building up again.
Deep Cleaning vs. Regular Cleaning: Which Does Your Home Need?
A deep clean is usually the better fit when your home needs more than routine upkeep, or when you’re starting recurring service and want an initial reset first. On the other hand, if you already keep your home reasonably tidy, a standard clean is enough.
Still weighing deep cleaning vs. regular cleaning? Tell us about your home’s condition when you request a quote, and add photos if you have them. Then we’ll recommend the right clean and confirm your fixed price before we start.
What Neither Clean Includes
Some tasks sit outside both lists, so you add them only when you want them. For example, you can add the inside of the refrigerator, oven, or cabinets to a deep clean for an additional cost. You can also add wall washing, a garage, balcony, or patio, laundry, and outside window glass we can reach without a ladder.
How to Get Ready for Either Clean
You don’t need to be home. If you’re out, we can use a key, a lockbox, or a door code, and we’ll arrange access when we confirm your visit. Also, please keep pets in a separate room or a kennel while we work. Finally, we bring all the supplies and equipment, so you don’t need to buy anything.
Keep It Clean Between Visits
After a deep clean, recurring cleaning keeps your home at that standard. Most of our clients choose every 2 weeks, starting at $179 a visit. Meanwhile, if you clean between visits yourself, the EPA’s Safer Choice program lists cleaning products that meet its safety standards.
Common Questions About Deep Cleaning vs. Regular Cleaning
Are Windows Included in a Regular Clean?
Yes. We clean interior window glass in every clean, regular or deep. With windows, the difference in deep cleaning vs. regular cleaning is the detail: a standard clean dusts and wipes the sills, while only a deep clean details the sills and tracks.
How Long Does a Deep Clean Take?
A deep clean usually takes 3 to 5 hours, depending on your home’s current condition. By comparison, a standard clean usually takes 2 to 4 hours.
Is the Inside of the Fridge, Oven, and Cabinets Included?
Not by default. Those are add-ons, so you can add them to your deep clean for an additional cost. Just mention them when you request your quote.
Book the Right Clean
We clean homes across Greater Seattle, from our base in Lynnwood to Seattle, Bellevue, Edmonds, Shoreline, Bothell, Everett, and Renton. Every visit also comes with our promise: if we missed something, tell us within 24 hours and we’ll come back and fix it at no charge.