Why Do I Need A Post-Construction Cleaning?
Guest Post By Sabrina Fierman, New York's Little Elves - Fine Interior Cleaning
You are nearing the home stretch of your renovation, discussing move in dates, punch lists, and visualizing the time when you can actually sleep in your new or upgraded home. Thoughts of candle-lit baths, dinners, or just the thrill of unpacking into your new closets are dancing around in your head. And just then, another thought intrudes: the dust, the dirt! How will it ever get clean? Will the contractor’s broom clean be enough? And what does ‘broom clean’ even mean? Will I be able to unpack or have to start cleaning?!
“Even with a small apartment under 750 square feet, a house keeper is not in the habit of going up a ladder to dust off crown moldings and remove drawers to clean behind them. Is there even a vacuum on site before the movers arrive?”
You are likely over budget and thought this renovation would be completed long ago. The last thing you want to contemplate is yet another trade to hire, and just like that more money added to your budget. Why not send your housekeeper in to clean, you think. She can bring a friend to help her, and everyone wins, right? This is pragmatic thinking but will not have the results you hope to achieve, which is a clean, dust free environment into which you can happily unpack. Here is why.
Dust is circulating in the air, and everything is coated with fine particulate construction dust. It is on everything. Even if you have sealed off closets and kitchen cabinets, these areas are not hermetically sealed and dust is insidious and migrates no matter how well you or your contractor have sealed off areas. Dust is on walls, ceilings, tops of doors and crown moldings, vents, light fixtures, in closets, inside and behind drawers, and let’s not forget the bathrooms, one of which may have been dedicated to contractor use. This job is simply too big for a housekeeper. Even with a small apartment under 750 square feet, a house keeper is not in the habit of going up a ladder to dust off crown moldings, wipe down window frames, remove drawers to clean behind them and, does your vacuum even have an attachment to allow for vacuuming out the inside the radiator covers!? Is there even a vacuum on site before the movers arrive?
After investing so much time, money and care into your renovation, you will want to ensure that it is not only clean and ready for living, but that whomever cleans it is familiar with how to clean it. Perhaps you have Venetian plaster walls, all new Rocky Mountain hardware, unsealed wide-plank wood flooring, or extensive and detailed closet systems. Even if your finishes are more pedestrian, a post-construction cleaning of a home requires a dedicated team of cleaners familiar with delicate surfaces and comfortable with a top to bottom, detailed cleaning. The order in which things are cleaned, the existence of new and possibly delicate surfaces, details that might require chopsticks covered with rags to get into small crevasses, ceiling high hat lighting that will show dust and fingerprints, vacuuming ceilings, dusting walls, removing finger prints, dusting new light fixtures... A bootie-clad crew, trained and experienced, bonded and insured, and equipped with the right kind of supplies, is really what you need for this level of cleaning. And, don’t forget the windows.
Moreover, If anyone in your family is very young or old, has respiratory issues, or allergies to dust, the need for a post-construction cleaning becomes even more essential. Circulating construction dust can take weeks to settle. To help expedite its removal we run HEPA filter air machines during our cleaning. We also make them available for longer term rental though we urge clients with any kind of health issues to purchase HEPA air purifiers for long-term use in bedrooms.
A professional post-construction cleaning transforms a job site into a livable home. It protects your residence by respecting the time, care and investment you put into making your new home. Your family’s health benefits from this level of cleaning. We have been eradicating dust from New Yorkers’ homes for over 25 years. And, we cannot over emphasis how essential it is for you to put this final level of care into your home.
Sabrina Fierman, New York's Little Elves
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”