Crystal Clear Cleans
After builders cleaning in London
What's included
High-level dust
Tops of door frames and architraves, picture rails, curtain poles, light fittings, the tops of wall units and wardrobes, and extractor hoods. These are done first, because anything knocked off them lands on the surfaces below.
Walls, doors and woodwork
Skirting boards, internal doors and their frames, handles, light switches and socket plates wiped free of dust. Loose dust is lifted off walls and window sills, which tend to hold a fine layer after plastering or sanding.
Fixtures, fittings and units
Fine dust removed from surfaces, fixtures and fittings. New kitchen units are wiped inside and out, including drawers and shelves, along with worktops, splashbacks, appliance fronts and the sink.
Bathrooms
Basins, baths, shower trays, screens, taps and toilets cleaned of dust and light residue. Tiles wiped down so the dust that settles on the glaze and grout lines comes off before the room is used.
Glass and leftover residue
Inside glass, frames and window tracks cleaned. Stickers, protective film and light splashes are taken off where they lift without harm to the surface underneath.
Floors, last of all
Hard floors hoovered and then mopped, and carpets hoovered, once everything above them is finished. Doing the floors at the end means dust brought down from higher surfaces is collected in the same visit.
What's not included
Worth knowing before you book, so nothing on the day is a surprise.
- Rubble, skips, offcuts, packaging and bagged building waste. Under the government's waste duty of care code, a tradesperson is responsible for the waste their work produces, so it should be gone before the clean.
- Making good. Filling, sanding, touching up paint, regrouting and sealing belong on the builder's snagging list.
- Exterior windows. We don't offer window cleaning.
- Upholstery. We don't clean sofas or upholstered chairs, so cover them or move them out while the work is going on.
- Communal stairwells, landings and hallways in a block of flats. We don't offer communal area cleaning.
- Carpet and rug cleaning. That is a separate service, and it can be quoted alongside the clean if you ask.
What changes the price
Quoted per job. Tell us the rooms, how often you want a clean and your postcode, and we'll send you a written price.
- How big the property is, and which rooms the work reached. Two rooms of plastering and a whole house refit are very different jobs.
- What the trades did. Tell us whether there was plastering, sanding, wall chasing or a kitchen or bathroom fit, since those decide how far the dust has travelled.
- Whether the builder's waste, materials and tools have gone, and whether any furniture is still in the rooms.
- Whether you'd like carpet or rug cleaning quoted at the same time.
- Your postcode and the date you have in mind, including whether you need an early start or a weekend.
Building work leaves two kinds of mess. The first is the obvious one: rubble, offcuts, packaging and the odd forgotten tin of filler. The second is fine dust, and it is the reason an after builders clean is staged the way it is.
Why fine dust keeps coming back
HSE groups construction dust into three kinds: silica dust from concrete, mortar and sandstone, wood dust from timber and boards such as MDF, and general dust from materials like the gypsum in plasterboard. In a home refurbishment you can end up with all three, depending on whether walls were chased, floors were sanded or new plasterboard went up.
The coarse part of that dust drops quickly and is easy to sweep up. The finest part is light enough to hang in the air after the work stops. It drifts through open doors, gets pulled along by draughts and extractor fans, and settles slowly onto whatever is below it. Wiping a worktop in the afternoon doesn't stop a fresh film appearing on it by the next morning. Every time someone walks through, opens a window or shakes out a dust sheet, some of it goes back up.
So if you clean up after your own building work and the dust is back the next day, it has usually come down from somewhere higher in the room.
Working from the top of the room down
The clean is staged from high to low. It starts with the surfaces nobody looks at: tops of door frames, picture rails, light fittings, curtain poles and the tops of wall units. Anything dislodged from up there falls onto surfaces that haven't been done yet.
Walls, doors and woodwork come next, then the fixtures, units and fittings at waist height, inside and out. Glass and window tracks follow, along with any stickers or protective film the fitters left on. Floors are always last. By the time they're hoovered and mopped, everything above them is already clean, so the dust knocked down during the job is collected in the same visit.
Each property gets its own checklist, built from what the trades actually did. A new bathroom and a rewire leave dust in different places, and the list reflects that.
When to book it
Book the clean for after the snagging list is done and the last trade has left. If the decorator is coming back for touch ups, or the electrician still has socket plates to fit, wait until they've been. Each return visit stirs up dust and usually makes a little more.
Book it before the furniture comes back in. Sofas, beds and rugs moved into a dusty room pick up dust on top and trap it underneath, and soft furnishings are hard to get it back out of. Curtains and blinds are better rehung after the clean for the same reason. If you can, leave the house closed up overnight after the last trade finishes, so the air has had time to settle before the clean starts.
We work from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, and take one-off and short notice bookings when a team is free. If your handover date is fixed, get in touch as soon as the builder gives you a finish date.
What your builder should clear first
An after builders clean starts from a property that has already been emptied of building waste. The government's waste duty of care code is clear that a tradesperson who works on your property is responsible for the waste they produce, including taking it away and disposing of it. That covers rubble, offcuts, packaging, empty containers and the skip itself. If you add your own old furniture or junk to their skip, the duty for that part passes to you.
HSE also treats clearing small rubble, dust and debris as a dusty job in its own right, with its own controls such as damping down and using extraction units rated for construction dust. That clear-up belongs to the building work. When you agree the contract, ask your builder what their "builder's clean" covers and get it in writing. Then you'll know exactly where their job stops and the cleaning starts.
Leftover materials, tools and dust sheets should be gone too. A clean done around stacked plasterboard or a tile cutter has gaps in it wherever those things were standing.
Homes, lettings and business premises
Homeowners book it after an extension, a loft conversion or a new kitchen or bathroom. Landlords refurbishing between tenancies can book it so the property is ready for the check-in inventory; our guide to end of tenancy cleaning sets out what that inventory is later measured against. Businesses book it after an office or shop refit, so staff and customers come back to a room they can use straight away.
If anyone in the building has sensitivities, or the fitter left care instructions for a new floor or worktop, tell us. You can ask for particular products, or ask us to leave some out.
Getting a price
Use the form on the contact page. Tell us which rooms the work covered, what the trades did, whether the waste has gone, and your postcode. You'll get a written price back, and it's free to ask.
Facts and where they come from
Each one names its source.
- Three kinds of building dust
- HSE groups construction dust into silica dust (from concrete, mortar and sandstone), wood dust (including MDF and plywood), and general dust from materials such as the gypsum in plasterboard.
- Source: hse.gov.uk
- Building waste is the builder's
- The government's waste duty of care code says that when a tradesperson works on your property, they are responsible for the waste they produce, including its transport and disposal. If you add your own waste to their skip, the duty applies to you for that waste.
- Source: gov.uk
- Site clean-up has its own controls
- HSE's construction dust sheet treats removing small rubble, dust and debris as a dusty task in its own right, and for regular site cleaning lists damping down and vacuum attachments on an H or M Class extraction unit.
- Source: hse.gov.uk
Common advice that is wrong
-
False
“Builders' dust is just a lot of ordinary household dust.”
The HSE sorts construction dust into silica, wood and general dust, and treats clearing it as a dusty task in its own right.
HSE groups construction dust into silica dust from concrete, mortar and sandstone, wood dust including MDF and plywood, and general dust from materials such as the gypsum in plasterboard. Its construction dust sheet treats removing small rubble, dust and debris as a dusty task in itself, and lists damping down and vacuum attachments on an H or M Class extraction unit for regular site cleaning. A domestic vacuum is not that.
Source: hse.gov.uk
-
False
“Once the builders leave, the rubble they left behind is the homeowner's problem.”
The waste duty of care puts a tradesperson's own waste on them, including moving it and disposing of it.
The government's waste duty of care code of practice states that when a tradesperson works on your property they are responsible for the waste they produce, including its transport and disposal. The code also warns the other way: if you add your own waste to their skip, the duty applies to you for that waste. Settle whose waste is whose before the skip goes, because an after-builders clean is not a waste carrier.
Source: gov.uk
Common questions
Other cleaning services
Residential cleaning
Regular cleaning of kitchens, bathrooms and living areas, as often as you need it.
What it involvesDeep and detailed cleaning
For built-up grease and limescale, and the spots a regular clean skips.
What it involvesEnd of tenancy cleaning
Move-out cleans for tenants, landlords and letting agents, ready for the inventory check.
What it involvesLandlord and letting agent cleaning
Cleans between tenancies for landlords and letting agents, so the property is ready for the next occupants.
What it involvesAirbnb turnaround cleaning
Quick cleans between guests, including changing the linen and setting the place up.
What it involvesCommercial and office cleaning
Out-of-hours cleaning of desks, washrooms, kitchens and floors in offices, studios and shared spaces.
What it involvesTell us about the property
Send us the rooms, how often you want a clean and your postcode, and we'll reply with a written price.
Coverage
Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow
Hours
Mon to Sun, 6am to 10pm