Renting is something that a lot of us do right now. Apartments are a lot easier to maintain, and though the monthly rent can be a pain sometimes, it’s not like a mortgage payment would be much better. Something else that apartments bring to the table is the ability to move rather freely once our leases are up.
The thing is, that does require some clean-up. As we go about our daily lives, our homes are bound to have some wear-and-tear damage along the way. This is natural, really – it’s not something to be stressed about. With that said, though, when we’re moving apartments, it can cause some trouble sometimes.
Why is that? Well, a lot of it comes down to the fact that no matter how well we cultivate the relationship between ourselves and our landlord, when the time comes for our lease to finish, problems often arise. If things aren’t perfectly set for when your lease is up, sometimes there’s an issue.
If this is something concerning to you, then you might want to try something known as end of tenancy cleaning. It can be quite helpful, but there’s a pretty big stipulation there – you have to find a good cleaning company. Otherwise, it may not work out very well for you. In fact, here are five ways that it could end up failing – use it as a cautionary tale for finding the best company you can!
Carpet Stains
We’re starting here since it’s perhaps the most obvious of things that gets missed – carpet stains. Depending on the terms of your lease, this is something that should be addressed as soon as possible. The thing is, there are a lot of errors that can happen when you’re trying to do it entirely on your own.
That’s because when it comes to cleaning the carpets in a home, not all stains are the same. Treating them that way can mean that we don’t end up cleaning it properly – allow us a moment to explain this. As you can see on Anyclean London’s site, you need to really target stains and smells properly to alleviate them.
That’s part of why it’s a good idea to bring in a professional team. If you’ve got staining from wine, pets, or some other sort of bodily fluid, then an enzyme cleaner may be the right way to go. However, for a coffee stain, you’d likely want to go with dishwashing soap or even white vinegar. Those are just a few of the examples, though – there’s a lot more that trained experts will be able to handle for you.
The biggest thing is that no stains are left behind. While it can be easy to miss the smaller ones, there should be several examinations beforehand to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
Two: Removing Limescale
Limescale is something that builds up in our sinks, drains, showers, bathtubs, and any other surfaces that often get wet. It’s not harmful necessarily, but it doesn’t look very appealing at all. Because of the more hidden away areas that it can be in, it’s easy to overlook it when performing an end of tenancy cleaning.
The hard-to-reach areas means that professionals with the right equipment tend to be able to reach them better. Although that’s not necessarily always the case, they certainly can see those areas more effectively and thus do a more thorough job. Just something to keep in mind, naturally, but these spots do often go unnoticed.
Three: Bad Odors
No one wants to be in a smelly home or apartment. Landlords sure don’t want their units to be tainted by any foul odors either. Unfortunately, they’re not always the easiest thing to deal with in the world. As you can see, there are certain methods of removing smells from fabrics, carpets, and more.
These aren’t overly accessible, though – at least not to those who aren’t professional cleaners. Additionally, most air fresheners don’t really work properly. While they can temporarily mask a smell, they aren’t getting rid of the source of it. Eventually, it will return, and the next tenants won’t be very happy about it.
All sorts of things can cause these odors – for instance, there might be an old stain hidden somewhere unseen in the carpet. It could also be caused by an overall lack of proper ventilation. Admittedly, this isn’t necessarily something that a cleaning crew can fix, but at the very least, they can identify the problem and help locate a contractor of that ends up becoming necessary.
Four: Windows
When we’re cleaning the house, it isn’t very often that the windows end up on our rotation. Especially here in the United Kingdom, it can almost feel like a waste given all of the dreary, rainy weather. However, it’s often expected at the end of a tenancy – so, it’s something that should definitely be done.
If you decide to hire an end of lease cleaning service in London, they can scrub both the inside and the outside of your windows to make sure they’re squeaky clean. This is honestly something that trips a lot of people up, and during inventory, the landlord could end up charging extra because this wasn’t done. Dirty windows aren’t appealing at all, that’s for sure.
Whether you’re deciding to clean up on your own or you’d rather bring in a team of professionals, don’t forget this crucial step. After all, you don’t want to fail your inventory for such a seemingly small reason!
Grease in the Kitchen – or Elsewhere
The final thing that we’d like to highlight here today is the issue of grease. Most commonly, this will be in the kitchen, but it could end up elsewhere as well. If you do some cooking outdoors on the patio or the porch, for instance, you could end up with grease stains there.
Now, grease is notoriously difficult to clean – and that’s for good reason. People really aren’t exaggerating when they talk about it. Sometimes, only the strongest of cleaners will do the trick, paired with a good bit of elbow grease. Let’s just say it can be a real struggle.
With that said, you definitely shouldn’t leave any grease stains behind when you’re finishing out your lease and having the end of tenancy cleaning done. Double check that it’s been handled before you approach your landlord. Really, that’s the case for everything we’ve discussed here.
Bottom Line?
If you’ve made it to the end of this article, you might be wondering what the main takeaway here is. Is there anything that we can do to help ensure that we don’t fail our inventories? Well, as we’ve mentioned a few times thus far, one of the big options that you have is to hire a professional individual or group to handle the cleaning for you.
Let’s face it – most of us are quite busy with our jobs, and no one really wants to spend their weekend busy cleaning things up. By spending a little extra cash, you can save yourself a whole lot of time and energy. Not to mention, with most of the companies out there, you’ll have a guarantee to pass your inventory when you’re leaving your apartment or condo.
So, if you’re moving soon and you’ve been stressed about it, hopefully you can take this as your sign to consider getting a professional service for your end of tenancy cleaning. Pricing may look a little intimidating at first, but it’s almost always going to be worth it. Spend some time researching the different organizations out there and figure out who has the best customer reviews, best guarantees included, and highest rates of success in your area. There are a ton in London, after all!
