Moving Out in Wandsworth: What Local Renters Ask Us For

We took a closer look at all the cleaning requests we’ve had from Wandsworth postcodes since May. SW18 is what came up the most. And most requests were for small flats; over half of the people who gave us a date needed the clean within a week of getting in touch.

Handing the keys back on a flat in Earlsfield, Southfields or Battersea anytime soon? Well, check out what your neighbours booked, what their extras were, and what we include before they ask.

Who books a move-out clean in Wandsworth?

Most of our requests in the borough, more than half, come from SW18. This includes Wandsworth Town, Earlsfield and Southfields. SW11, around Battersea and Clapham Junction, took most of the rest.

Flats made up almost all of them. Four out of five requests were a flat or a studio. Outside London, only a third of requests were for flats, so that’s new.

The flats are small. One- or two-bedroom homes made up three in four requests. Larger homes? Not common at all.

The bathrooms definitely stand out. Unlike a third across the rest of London, half of the Wandsworth requests had two or more bathrooms. Every extra bathroom brings more taps, more tiles, and more screens. And, considering the area’s hard water, all those extras add more time to the job.

Across the streets, the homes vary a lot. Long Victorian terraces line the streets in Battersea, Tooting, Balham, Earlsfield and Wandsworth Town; many were divided into flats. Edwardian mansion blocks with shared stairwells are also in the picture. The housing stock also includes the new towers around Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station.

What tenants want vs what we include

When booking, many people add notes. Across London, about half of bookings include a note. More often than not, the same requests come up. Many of them are for things already included in our work.

The oven. One in four notes across London, and almost one in three from Wandsworth, list the oven as the no.1 request. You don’t have to ask for it. Every move-out clean includes a full clean of the oven, inside and out; you don’t pay extra.

The fridge and freezer. Around one in eight notes pointed them out. The job includes them too, inside and out, shelves and seals. And we will defrost the freezer, if need be.

Inside the cupboards. They were mentioned in nearly one in twelve notes. We clean kitchen cupboards and drawers inside and out, as well as wardrobes and bedroom shelving.

Windows. Around one in seven notes mention them. Our list includes cleaning inside windows, sills, frames and tracks in every room. If there’s a balcony to reach outside windows, we’ll clean those too.

Balconies and terraces. With so many flats, it makes sense that about one in eight notes list them. So, our cleaning covers balconies and terraces.

Carpets. Close to one in four notes. While the standard clean doesn’t include carpet cleaning, you can definitely add it. We do hot-water extraction, stain treatment and deodorising. Book it together with the clean, and you only pay 40% of the standard carpet cleaning price.

Do you see it on your landlord’s checklist but not above? When booking, give us the details. We’ll tell you whether it’s included.

Getting in and getting up (lifts or stairs)

One thing people tell us the most. And it’s not a cleaning request. In fact, it’s about how to get to the flat. Nearly a third of the notes from London mention a floor number, a lift, or the stairs. For instance, one Wandsworth request was for a fourth-floor flat with a lift. And that alone affects our cleaning approach for the day.

So, when you book, please tell us:

• Which floor is the flat on? Is there a lift we can use?
• Are there any door codes or concierge arrangements we need to make?
• Where can our vehicle stop?

Many people skip the part about parking. In Wandsworth, a trade parking permit only applies in the CPZ sub-zone it was issued for. Plus, it has to be purchased before the job. It doesn’t apply in pay-and-display bays, on private roads or in housing estate car parks. Do you live on an estate or a private road? Please mention it when booking.

You don't need to be at home when we clean. When you book, give us key instructions; we’ll proceed as asked.

Need space for a removal van? Our guide explains how to suspend a parking bay in Wandsworth.

When do people book? How long is the cleaning?

Wandsworth renters book rather late. For requests with a preferred date, six days was the most common gap. More than half needed the job within a week. Across the rest of south-west London, most people request it closer to two weeks.

Many clients ask for the job over the weekend. One in four requests was for a Saturday or a Sunday; it’s higher than we see outside London.

This is a summer job, for sure. Four in five requests come in June, July and August, at the end of contracts and the beginning of new ones.

Booking in that window? It’s good to know how long cleaning will take:

• a studio or one-bedroom flat: 3 to 4 hours;
• two bedrooms: 4 to 5 hours;
• three bedrooms: 5 to 6 hours;
• four bedrooms: 6 to 7 hours.

Short-notice dates depend on the schedule, especially in summer, so we'll confirm the date with you before you book. The earlier you ask, the more choice you'll have. Change of plans? No worries! Cancelling is free up to 24 hours before.

What you get, and what you pay

Prices start at £120 + VAT for a studio and £150 + VAT for a one-bedroom flat, and our price list for every property size covers bigger homes. London jobs can cost more than these starting prices.

We don’t ask for deposits. If you want to pay by card or bank transfer, you can do so the day before. If not, you can pay in cash on the day. The price covers all products and equipment.

If something falls short, you have 7 days to let us know with photos. We’ll return for free re-cleans. This means: the guarantee is about the standard of the clean. Your deposit depends on things outside of our control, such as damage or other mentions in your tenancy agreement.

At the end of the job, we hand you a signed cleaning checklist, an invoice and before-and-after photos. If there are cleaning talks at the check-out, that’s helpful proof.

Our cleaners are DBS-checked, and we're insured for over £5 million.

Before you hand back the keys

Not everyone understands that the order you do things is important. You need to start by moving everything out and clean the flat afterwards. Then, it’s time to take photos and videos. Go one room at a time. Read the meters too. The last step should be returning the keys, with the photos and readings already saved.

Take a good look at the taps and shower screens before you leave. Thames Water says all the water in its region is hard, and limescale is one of the first things inspections spot. Here's how to get limescale off before check-out. If you have two bathrooms, that work doubles.

Moving out of a block? Find out from the managing agent which bin store to use and the building’s rules on moving day- if there are any. If you leave bags in a corridor or the wrong bin store, you might get after-charges.

Need to dispose of a sofa, a mattress or an old fridge? That calls for another job. The council's bulky waste collections and the Smugglers Way recycling centre are the two main options, and our guide to clearing a Wandsworth flat before the final clean explains both.

Moving out of SW18 or SW11 this month?

You're in the right place. Most of the people who contacted us for a clean in Wandsworth this year were vacating a small flat and booked less than a week ahead. If this sounds familiar to you, see our page on end of tenancy cleaning in Wandsworth. You’ll see what’s included and can ask for a quote. Moving to another part of London? Here's how moving out differs across London's boroughs.