A deep cleaning tackles dirt that has built up over months or years. Unlike regular maintenance cleaning, which keeps surfaces fresh, deep cleaning goes deep: limescale in bathroom and kitchen, layers of grease behind the stove and in the extractor hood, dirty joints, yellowed windows, blinds and frames, emptied and wiped-out cupboards as well as intensive floor care including deep cleaning and, in some cases, resealing of parquet or linoleum.
The process depends on the property. First the most heavily soiled areas are assessed, then work proceeds room by room from top to bottom. Machines such as steam cleaners, single-disc floor machines or window vacuums are often used. A deep cleaning takes much longer than maintenance cleaning — for an average flat, expect several hours up to a full working day.
A deep cleaning makes sense when moving into a new flat, after a renovation or construction work (post-construction cleaning), once a year as a spring clean, when taking over an office or shop, and anywhere normal cleaning no longer suffices. It also restores a hygienic level to a property that has been neglected for a while.
As a rough guide (no guarantee), costs in Switzerland are around CHF 45 to 70 per hour and cleaner or — for flat rates — about CHF 8 to 15 per square metre, depending on how dirty the property is. Extras such as window cleaning with blinds or floor sealing are billed separately.
When reviewing a quote, check exactly which services are included, whether materials and machines are covered, and whether billing is by time or fixed price. For recurring properties, a deep cleaning is a good baseline on which the cheaper maintenance cleaning can build.