What can a cleaner do in 2 or 3 hours?
A realistic guide to what fits into a two or three hour clean, what does not, and how to choose between a regular clean and a longer booking.
As a rough guide, in two hours one cleaner can do a maintenance clean of a small flat or a single floor: kitchen, bathroom, dusting and floors. In three hours the same cleaner can usually cover a two or three bedroom home to the same standard. Neither is enough for a backlog of grease, limescale or clutter. Those need a deep clean.
These times are rough guides, not promises. They assume a home that is already reasonably tidy, one cleaner, and a regular clean rather than a first visit.
What fits into two hours?
Two hours suits a one-bedroom flat or a small two-bedroom flat that is kept up.
- Kitchen surfaces, sink and hob wiped and degreased
- Bathroom cleaned and sanitised
- Surfaces dusted
- Floors vacuumed and mopped
- Bins emptied
It does not usually stretch to the inside of the oven, the fridge, or interior windows. If those matter, say so when you book so they can be planned in.
What fits into three hours?
Three hours covers a typical two or three bedroom home with one bathroom, or a larger flat.
- Everything in the two hour list
- Bedrooms dusted and floors done throughout
- Beds made or linen changed if left out
- Skirting boards and door handles wiped
- One extra job, such as the inside of the microwave or fridge
Homes with two or more bathrooms are where the time goes. Bathrooms are slower than any other room, so a three bedroom house with three bathrooms can need longer than three hours.
What does not fit into a short clean?
- Limescale that has built up for months. In Brighton and Hove, which is generally described as a hard water area, this takes dwell time, not scrubbing. See our guide to limescale.
- Oven interiors that have never been cleaned (see oven cleaning)
- Behind and under appliances and furniture
- Grout and silicone seals
- Radiators, extractor filters and window tracks
Those are deep clean jobs. A regular visit simply does not have the hours, so they never get done however many visits you book. Our deep cleaning is built for exactly that backlog, and it is worth doing once before starting a regular schedule.
How do the options compare?
| Two hours | Three hours | Deep clean | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small flat, tidy home | Two or three bedroom home | A home that has slipped |
| Usually covers | Kitchen, bathroom, dusting, floors | The same, plus bedrooms and skirting | Everything, including inside appliances and behind furniture |
| Usually does not cover | Oven, fridge, windows | Backlog work | Nothing on the checklist is skipped |
How do you choose between two hours, three hours and a deep clean?
Ask one question: when was the inside of your oven last cleaned? If the answer is "recently", a regular clean will keep the home where it is, and two or three hours is the right size. If the answer is "I cannot remember", the first visit should be a deep clean.
Why a fixed price beats an hourly rate
An hourly rate tells you what one hour costs, not how many hours the job takes. A fixed price per job tells you the total before anyone arrives, and it removes the incentive to work slowly. We quote per job for that reason. Our guide to what cleaning costs in Brighton explains what actually drives the figure.
Get a figure for your home
Tell us the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and how often you would like a visit. You will get a fixed price for house cleaning before you commit, or call us and we will work it out with you on the phone.