Carpets, Stairs and Houses: Moving Out of a Maidstone Home

Moving out of a house takes more work than moving out of a flat, and in Maidstone, most jobs are for people vacating houses. Over half of the jobs we receive from ME14 to ME17 are for houses, not flats. In London, it’s the opposite.

Houses mean stairs, landings, carpeted bedrooms and more than one toilet. This guide looks at what that means for the final clean, where to fit carpets, and what we include in our Maidstone move-out clean.

The homes we cover here

Most rented homes in Maidstone are family houses. Victorian terraces fill the town centre, while 1930s semi-detached houses line the streets in Bearsted and Loose. Penenden Heath and Park Wood carry newer estates. Loose has its own conservation area.

The requests we get reflect that. The most common jobs are for two bedrooms –nearly half of all requests. Many requests are for three- and four-bedroom houses. The notes refer to a staircase up from the front door, a downstairs toilet, a porch, a hallway and, in one case, a range oven.

Carpets: the most common extra in Maidstone

Carpet cleaning comes up in nearly half of the Maidstone requests we get. In London, it’s closer to one in three; here that’s more than anywhere else.

The layout is the reason. A typical Maidstone house features carpet on the stairs, the landing and the bedrooms, while the kitchen and living room have vinyl, tiles or wood. In one request, we found just that: “the only carpet is on the stairs and the landing”. With another job, there was carpet in two bedrooms and the living room.

Here's what the job looks like with us:

• Vacuuming is always included. Our standard clean includes vacuuming every carpet, including the edges and every stair thoroughly.
• A deep carpet clean is an add-on. When vacuuming isn’t enough, we run hot-water extraction, stain treatment, and deodorising.
• It costs less with the clean. Booking it with the move-out clean means you pay 40% of the regular carpet-cleaning price.

Your check-in inventory decides whether deep carpet cleaning is necessary. If it says the carpets were professionally cleaned before you moved in, the landlord will typically expect the same at check-out. Before you book, read it carefully.

Stairs, landings and all the bits in between

House cleaning takes longer than flats because of stairs. Dust collects on every step at the back, the bannisters and spindles. When people come up, the first thing they see is the landing at the top.

We wipe skirting boards, doors, door frames, light switches and sockets in every room and on every landing. We remove cobwebs from ceilings and corners. If there’s a stairwell, it’s usually room for a high ceiling over the hallway. Throughout the house, we clean inside windows, sills and frames, including any on the landing.

When booking, let us know if there’s a garage, a porch or a patio; mention it when you book.

Kitchens and bathrooms in a family house

Commonly, the kitchen is the biggest single job. We degrease the oven, hob, and extractor; clean the fridge and freezer inside and out; and clean every cupboard and drawer inside and out. One Maidstone landlord requested a “real big focus on the kitchen, cupboards and all”, and that makes perfect sense: it’s where inventory clerks scrutinise.

Many houses have a bathroom upstairs and a toilet downstairs. We descale and disinfect both. Both are descaled and disinfected. Maidstone’s water is rated as hard. So, a surface wipe on taps, shower screens, tiles and the toilet waterline won’t suffice; they all need descaling.

Time and price for a house

For reference:

• a studio or one-bedroom home: 3 to 4 hours, from £120;
• two or three bedrooms: 4 to 6 hours, from £180;
• four bedrooms or more: 6 to 8 hours, from £250.

A house with stairs, a second toilet and a big kitchen will get towards the top of its range. Many Maidstone renters book late; they do it six days before the clean; over half want the clean within a week. If possible, book early in advance.

We can clean while you’re away and arrange keys as instructed. We can do it through your letting agent too. Our prices include all products and equipment. At the end of the job, we provide a cleaning checklist, an invoice, and before-and-after photos. If issues arise after we clean, please tell us with photos. You have 7 days to do so and receive a free re-clean.

Start with clearing the house

A house fits more things than a flat. To clean, rooms must be empty, so start with emptying the place. It's a lot more than a flat. The clean needs empty rooms, so move everything out first. Read our Maidstone move-out guide to learn about the council’s bulky waste collection and the Kent recycling centre; you can also find out how to book a slot at the tip. Don’t want to deal with the clearance? Check out our house clearances; we can do them on the same day as the clean, if needed.

If you're a landlord preparing a house for the next tenant, check out our landlord's guide to the gap between tenants.

Moving out of a Maidstone house?

Take a good look at the inventory for details about the carpets, clear the house; if possible, give yourself a week. Ready to book? Here’s what to expect from our end of tenancy cleaning in Maidstone.