How long do cleaning sessions take?
How many hours do I require for the cleaning sessions?
These are actually simple and frequently encountered questions when you want to book cleaning sessions.
Despite the information provided in many cleaning companies’ websites, including FAQ sections, many clients still face this conundrum.
Hence, let MEIDE.SG clear your doubts today about the exact duration you should, and would need for cleaning! We hope this 4-step recommendation can help you!
Step 1- Determine Your Type of Cleaning
Firstly, you need to determine your type of cleaning here!
In general, we can split all types of cleaning into two types: general cleaning versus deep cleaning.
For Deep Cleaning and Checklist Cleaning
For deep cleaning, the aim of the cleaning is to accomplish a certain outcome after the cleaning. Hence, the duration of the cleaning session should be determined by the cleaning experts.
For instance, mold removal, rust removal, stain removal, and grout cleaning, cannot be restricted to a specified number of hours. Instead, cleaning specialists will obtain detailed information including floor area, and photographs, to evaluate the condition. Then, they will inform you how long the cleaning session(s) will take.
Similarly, for post-tenancy, post renovation and spring cleaning sessions, most homeowners want the whole house cleaned. As such, it is important to follow a quality checklist for cleaning.
On top of the checklist, clients, tenants, landlords and property agents should inform the cleaning company on these:
- Floor area
- Photographs to demonstrate actual conditions
- Additional cleaning required such as curtains, upholstery, high ceiling and wall fixtures;
- Staircases Cleaning and Railings;
- Lifts and Lift areas (if any);
- Outdoor areas such as porch, backyard, gardens, swimming pools and ponds;
With this information, we can then decide on how long cleaning sessions would take.
For General Cleaning and Regular Cleaning
For general maintenance cleaning, also known usually as general cleaning, the duration can be decided by the houseowner.
Although the amount of tasks that can be completed varies, here is a rule of thumb based on MEIDE Cleaning Team’s years of experience in this industry:
| Frequency (Per Week) / Size | Studio / 1 Bedroom | 2 Bedrooms | 3 Bedrooms | 4 Bedrooms | 2 Storeys / 5 Bedrooms | >2 Storeys |
| Floor Area | <450 sqft | 450-700 | 701-900 | 901-1300 | 1301-1600 | >1600 sqft |
| 5-7x Per Week | 1-2 Hours | 2 Hours | 2-3 Hours | 2-3 Hours | 3-4 Hours | 3-5 Hours |
| 3-4x Per Week | 1-2 Hours | 2 Hours | 2-3 Hours | 2-3 Hours | 3-4 Hours | 3-5 Hours |
| 1-2x / Weekly | 2 Hours | 2-3 Hours | 3-4 Hours | 4 Hours | 4-5 Hours | 4-5 Hours |
| Fortnightly | 3 Hours | 3 Hours | 4 Hours | 4-5 Hours | 4-5 Hours | >=5 Hours |
| Monthly | 3-4 Hours | 3-4 Hours | 4-5 Hours | 4-5 Hours | >=5 Hours | >=5 Hours |
Recommended Number of Hours Per Cleaning Session, By 1 HSS Cleaner from MEIDE.SG
Our most popular bookings (as of writing) are 3-4 hours weekly sessions!
For cleaning sessions more than five hours, we recommend letting the cleaners take a break before continuing for higher work efficiency and also to ensure their welfare!
We hope that you would find this guide table useful when booking the number of hours for your cleaning sessions!
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Claim your Discount for a General Home Clean by our dedicated HSS Cleaner! Quote #MEID15BLOG for 15% Off (First Time Customers ONLY) (Valid to 12 Dec 2024 Only)
Book your #1 home services today, or join our team!
meide.sg is here for you, always.
Step 2- Consider the Floor Area and Frequency of Cleaning Sessions
Quick hack: simply use our summarized recommendations of how long each cleaning session should take, in the table above!
Do note however that the table is applicable for general maintenance cleaning only. Hence, the importance of knowing your exact TYPE of cleaning!
For once-off cleaning, like ad hoc spring clean, post renovation, post-HIP, or moving in/out cleaning, these are usually just one time clean.
Hence, it is really important for you to provide us with the floor area.
Notably, for landed properties, we should have the BUA (Built Up Area), preferably with the breakdown of how many levels (including basements and attics), and floor area of each.
Alert! This is a common mistake. Please do not provide the “land area” as it is easily a few times less than the total BUA!
Step 3- Evaluate the Residence’s Actual Conditions
Here are some true stories.
A one-bedroom apartment has actually required 2-3 cleaners and 8 hours to clean it entirely. Thus, floor area alone may not be the sole deciding factor for how long do cleaning sessions take. Such cases are not common, but are definitely not out of the world.
In today’s property market, studio apartments are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Not to mention, there could be loft designs and mezzanines, even for studio and one-bedroom residences.
Coupled with increasing creativity from interior designers, cleaning up a seemingly small unit can become as daunting as cleaning up a HDB mansionette! Think hidden tables, drawers, foldable beds, built-in appliances, and the full range of floor-to-ceiling carpentry!
On top of all these, if an abode has not been maintained properly, our cleaners would need to organize and pack up stuff before cleaning. Hence, please consider adding 1 or 2 more hours for the cleaners to have sufficient cleaning time!
Step 4- Bear in Mind Realistic Situations
All in all, the length of cleaning sessions varies from individual to individual.
The factors elucidated above are important tools to calculate how long do cleaning sessions take.
However, there are also many other considerations, which would be hard to quantify, such as:
- Is the cleaning team, or cleaner familiar with your house?
- Familiarity breeds efficiency! Cleaners who have attended your residence before will usually clean faster over multiple sessions.
- How clean do you want the cleaning results to be?
- Often, cleaning companies proclaim to make things “like brand new”. However, is that really realistic?
- Would you want to have a cleaner spend 2 hours cleaning the whole fridge? Or spread the time to cover the kitchen instead?
- Obviously, the more time spent on a particular area, the better the cleaning results. However, some clients need a broader surface to be covered and hence may need to consider either accepting a more realistic result or catering longer hours for cleaning.
- Do you require laundry, ironing and possibly pet-sitting too?
- Yes, under the Household Services Scheme (HSS), MEIDE Services can provide these. Nonetheless, do not forget to take into account these adding to the time required for each cleaning session!
- Will there be only 1 cleaner present, or 2 or more cleaners?
- We can plan this, but sometimes, it depends on the manpower and schedule availability. For team cleaning, it is possible that a cleaner may fall ill and thus result in 1 manpower short for the team cleaning. This will increase cleaning time by a bit.
- Do you have multiple types of cleaning required?
- Quite often, house owners may need post-tenancy clean together with steam and vacuum extraction cleaning of curtains, and even sofas and mattresses. Hence these require proper scheduling for the appropriate specialist to do the cleaning.
- Plus, aircon servicing can be done too. It should be ideally done just before the cleaning. Hence, such extra post-tenancy errands may add to the total duration.
At the end of day, you may find yourself needing a custom quote.
Not to worry! Here at MEIDE.SG, our customer service representatives and cleaning coordinators are here to guide you step by step on how to arrange your desired cleaning sessions!
Hey… don’t miss this!
Claim your Discount for a General Home Clean by our dedicated HSS Cleaner! Quote #MEID15BLOG for 15% Off (First Time Customers ONLY) (Valid to 12 Dec 2024 Only)
Book your #1 home services today, or join our team!
meide.sg is here for you, always.
