You’ve just completed a major home renovation but the only thing you can focus on is the dust, dirt and debris left behind. It’s likely you weren’t expecting to have to clean up after your renovation crew, but depending on the contract you signed, this task could be left entirely up to you. Unlike a regular house cleaning, post-renovation cleaning is intensive and necessary to make your home livable again. A special post-renovation cleaning crew is needed to turn your recent renovation from dust haven to dream home.
Many homeowners may be surprised to learn that post-renovation cleaning is their responsibility. Depending on the contract, the company may not have agreed to do any cleaning at all. In general, the industry standard is to leave your home “broom-swept.” This means that the company will vacuum up larger pieces of debris, do a light dusting of surfaces, and potentially wipe surfaces down. This is far from the magazine-ready look you’re probably expecting to come home to.
Cleaning up after a major renovation is very different from your regular house cleaning. During a renovation, dust will go everywhere and get into everything. To ensure your home is thoroughly and properly cleaned, it’s a good idea to hire post-renovation cleaners. They are used to dealing with post-renovation cleaning tasks and will have the proper equipment to tackle the job. Take a look at some of the tasks involved and use the below checklist to ensure your home is thoroughly cleaned after your renovation.
Post-Renovation Cleaning Checklist
While a post-renovation cleaning is an essential final step to get your home back to normal, there are other benefits as well. Removing all the excess dust and debris ensures that your home is safe and healthy for your entire household. Continually breathing in dust can lead to a number of health issues that could be easily prevented by a post-renovation cleaning.
Dust
When you agree to renovate your home, you’re also agreeing to copious amounts of dust everywhere. The problem with dust is that it gets into everything and can be hard to completely remove. Your post-renovation crew will have to wipe down every surface, including the insides of drawers and cabinets. Any furniture or linens that were left inside during the renovation will have to be dealt with as well.
Clean Air Vents and Replace Filters
Once the surface layer of dust has been dealt with, it’s important to remove any airborne dust. Dust can become trapped in air filters and travel through your ducts to other rooms in your home. For example, dust from your kitchen renovation could end up in your bedroom upstairs.
To keep dust at bay, have your post-renovation cleaning crew remove the air vents and wash them with soap and warm water. Be sure to replace any exposed air filters with fresh ones before replacing the vent covers. If you had particularly extensive renovations done, you may want to schedule a duct cleaning as well.
Floors
Your floors will be covered in dust, dirt and footprints. A thorough sweeping and mopping should be enough to take care of them. If you have carpets, ask your post-renovation clean-up crew if they offer carpet cleaning services. If not, you can always contact a carpet cleaner to do a deep cleaning.
Clean Windows
Windows are magnets for all sorts of dust and dirt. If left uncleaned, these layers of dirt and dust will continue to build up, letting less light into your home and potentially damage your windows. Depending on the materials left on your windows, you can risk scratching the glass if not cleaned properly. If your windows need to be cleaned both internally and externally you can contact a window cleaning company to finish this task.
Extra Materials
Another unexpected surprise you may encounter is extra materials. These items could include things like extra tiles, pipes, wood, paint, drywall or anything else that was not used by the crew during your renovation. It’s most likely you will never use these extra materials so you will need to find a way to dispose of them. Check to see which items can be picked up by your local garbage service. You can also enlist the help of a junk removal company for bigger items or things you cannot put out with your regular garbage.
When it comes to post-renovation cleaning your best option is to hire a team that specializes in this sort of clean up. Some regular house and apartment cleaning companies will also offer this service, but not all. Be sure to state that you need post-renovation cleaning when getting quotes from companies. A post-renovation specific cleaning company will be able to turn your newly renovated home into the sparkling clean home you had hoped for all along. Enjoy your newly renovated and cleaned home!
Article updated June 2022.
