What heavy soiling is and how it affects the price

Dirt is subjective: for one person a greasy stove is normal, for another it is a reason to call a cleaning company. So we do not judge by eye — we look at three things: how large an area the soiling covers, how many surfaces in one zone it affects, and how it has to be removed. The first two define the amount of work, the third defines the time and the products.

You can run the simplest test yourself. If the dirt comes off with a cloth, a sponge and a regular product, it is ordinary dirt and it is covered by the price of any cleaning. If it needs strong chemicals, soaking, an abrasive sponge or several passes over the same spot, it is heavy soiling: the same surface takes several times longer.

The threshold depends on the type of cleaning. Standard cleaning is maintenance cleaning, so two or more heavily soiled surfaces in one zone are enough — or one whole zone, such as a shower cabin with thick limescale on the glass and walls. Deep cleaning and All-Inclusive already include intensive treatment, so the threshold is higher: three or four surfaces in one zone, or heavy soiling in several zones at once.

It matters just as much what does not count as heavy soiling. A single grease stain on the stove, limescale around one tap, dust on one surface, a bit of pet hair, ordinary household clutter — all of that is included in the standard price and never triggers a surcharge. Heavy soiling starts where the dirt stops being local.

In practice it looks like this: the stove and backsplash completely caked in grease; limescale on the tap, the shower head and the glass at once; hard water deposits over most of the shower; thick dust or pet hair throughout the apartment that clogs the cloth after a single wipe; a flat so packed with belongings that the surfaces have to be reached first. Each of these is not «dirtier than usual» — it is a different amount of work.

Our procedure is always the same. The cleaner does not discuss money on site: they photograph the problem areas and send them to the manager. The manager calculates the surcharge and agrees it with you before the cleaning starts — and it may apply to a single zone, the kitchen or the bathroom, rather than the whole apartment. You can decline without a penalty: we then clean within the paid cleaning type and the agreed time and tell you upfront which areas will stay imperfect, because complete removal of ingrained dirt cannot be guaranteed in that case.

The easiest way to avoid surprises is to act in advance: if you can see yourself that the kitchen or bathroom is in a rough state, send the manager a couple of photos when you place the order. We will then calculate everything before the visit, and the price you see in the confirmation stays final.