Post-renovation cleaning, because drywall dust does not vacuum out once
Fine construction dust gets into everything and keeps resettling for days. This is the heaviest clean we do, and it is done in passes rather than in one sweep.
After a renovation the problem is not dirt, it is particulate. Drywall and sanding dust is fine enough to stay airborne for hours, ride the HVAC into rooms the trades never entered, and land again on everything you just wiped.
That is why a post-reno clean is done in multiple passes, top down, with HEPA filtration, and why cleaning too early is money wasted.
Wait until the trades are actually done
The single most common mistake is booking the clean before the last touch-up. One afternoon of sanding puts the room back where it started. Book us after the final trade has left and the site debris has been removed by your contractor.
We are a cleaning company, not a disposal service. Lumber offcuts, drywall scrap, packaging and paint cans are the contractor's responsibility to remove before we start.
How we work a post-reno clean
Top down, always: ceilings, light fixtures and vents first, then walls and trim, then cabinetry inside and out, then windows, tracks and sills, then floors. HEPA vacuuming rather than sweeping, because a broom just relaunches the dust.
Adhesive residue, paint flecks and sticker glue come off glass, tile and hardware. Cabinet and drawer interiors get done, because they were open boxes during construction. Then a second pass the same day on horizontal surfaces, after everything has had time to resettle.
Change your filters
Replace your furnace or HVAC filter after the clean, not before. It has been pulling construction dust the whole time, and if you leave it in, the system will keep redistributing that dust into the rooms we just finished. It is a $20 item that protects a $700 clean.
Why drywall dust behaves differently
It helps to know what you are actually dealing with, because it explains every decision in how the clean is run. Drywall dust is gypsum ground to a powder far finer than household dust. The particles are light enough to stay suspended in still air for hours and small enough to pass straight through a standard vacuum filter and back into the room.
It is also mildly abrasive and slightly alkaline. Wiping a dusty surface with a dry cloth grinds it across the finish, which is how new hardwood and painted trim pick up fine scratching during a badly done post-reno clean. It has to be lifted with HEPA extraction first and only then wiped, damp, with the cloth folded to a clean face regularly rather than pushed around.
This is also why a normal domestic vacuum makes things worse. Without proper filtration it collects the coarse material and exhausts the fine fraction back into the air, so the room looks better for twenty minutes and then does not.
Condo renovations have extra constraints
A reno in a downtown condo adds rules a house does not have. Most buildings restrict work to weekday daytime hours, require the service elevator to be booked and padded, and expect common corridors to be protected and left clean. Some corporations require notice before any work begins and will send someone to inspect the corridor afterwards.
Practically, that means the clean often has to include the hallway outside your door and the path to the lift, because dust escapes into the corridor no matter how well the trades sealed the entrance. Tell us if your building has already flagged it and we will build it into the quote rather than discovering it on site.
What we do not do
Debris removal, as above. Also paint overspray on masonry, stripping cured adhesive or grout haze from stone that needs an acid the surface cannot take, and anything at height beyond a two-step ladder. High-level window work after a reno is a job for a company with the right equipment and insurance for it.
If we look at a surface and think the honest answer is a refinisher rather than a cleaner, we will say so. Construction leaves marks that are damage rather than dirt, and no amount of cleaning turns one into the other.
What this costs
Flat rates, for a post-renovation. The recurring column shows the every-two-weeks price.
| Home | One time | Every 2 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / 1 bed condo | $302 | $257 |
| 2 bed / 1 bath condo | $363 | $308 |
| 2 bed / 2 bath condo | $470 | $399 |
| 3 bed semi-detached | $626 | $532 |
| 3 bed detached | $689 | $586 |
About post-renovation
When should I book a post-renovation clean?
After the final trade has left and your contractor has removed the construction debris. If any sanding, cutting or painting is still to come, wait, because one more dusty afternoon undoes the entire clean.
Do you remove construction debris and materials?
No. Offcuts, drywall scrap, packaging and paint cans need to go before we arrive, and that is normally written into your contractor's scope. We handle dust, residue and finish cleaning.
Why does post-renovation cleaning cost more?
It takes far longer and needs multiple passes plus HEPA equipment. Fine dust keeps resettling for days, so a single wipe-down does not hold. Expect roughly double a standard clean for the same home.
Will one clean be enough?
For most jobs, yes, if it is done after the trades finish and you change the HVAC filter afterwards. On large or dusty renovations we sometimes recommend a lighter follow-up a week later, once everything that was going to resettle has resettled. We will tell you if we think you need it rather than assuming.
How long does a post-renovation clean take?
Roughly twice a standard clean of the same home, and often longer on a full gut. A renovated one bedroom condo is usually most of a day. A whole-house renovation is normally a two-person team across a day or two, because the second pass cannot start until the first has had time to settle.
Can you clean while the trades are still working?
We can do an interim tidy to keep a site workable, but it is not a post-renovation clean and we will not price it as one. The real clean has to come after the last dust-producing task, otherwise you are paying to clean the same room twice.
Do you clean inside the new cabinets?
Yes, and it matters more than people expect. Cabinets and drawers stand open through construction and collect a layer of fine dust on every interior surface. Anything installed during the reno gets done inside and out as part of the job.
My contractor says they will clean up. Is that the same thing?
Usually not, and it is worth clarifying before you assume it is covered. A contractor's clean-up normally means removing debris and sweeping, which is a necessary first step and genuinely their job. It is not dust removal, and the two get confused often enough that it is worth asking exactly which one is in your contract.
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