ᐅ Unsatisfied with the final cleaning after construction – am I being too particular?
Created on: 28 Sep 2020 17:39
K
kati1337
Hello everyone!
We just got back after our cleaning company finished the final construction cleaning.
We had a fixed price booked through MyHammer. Final cleaning including windows – ready for move-in. The company has 7 reviews there, all five stars, so I thought nothing could go wrong.
First, they arrived half an hour late – not a big deal, we were home anyway. Then they came with two people instead of three. One worker had called in sick.
That wasn’t a major issue either since we had a fixed price. Later, it turned out that the young man who was on site with the supervisor was completely new to the company. You could tell by the results. :/
It started in the kitchen. I had already mentioned that our cabinets have matte lacquered fronts and that the kitchen builders specifically told us not to use microfiber cloths for cleaning. I passed this information on and reminded the cleaning company when they arrived. When they got to the living/dining area, the young man immediately used a Swiffer on all the fronts. When I asked if those weren’t microfiber cloths, they said, “Swiffer won’t do any damage.” I hope they were right about that.
At that time, they were already done upstairs. I went upstairs on socks to have a look and wanted to take some pictures of the bathroom. The floor and wall tiles in the bathroom had been wiped but still had numerous stains everywhere. Not small ones, but paint drops, some up to 10cm (4 inches) long streaks of white paint, drops of tile adhesive or grout – I’m not exactly sure what it was, but I definitely didn’t want to see any of that in a finished, cleaned bathroom.
I asked if the upstairs cleaning was finished, and when they said yes, I requested they go over the floor again because there were still many paint stains. The young man went back up, touched it up, apologized, and said, “That really wasn’t thorough enough.”
So far, so good.
When everything was supposed to be finally done, I went upstairs for a quick walk-through with the supervisor – mostly spent in the bathroom – and together we scraped off more paint spots, tile adhesive/grout residue, and God knows what else from the tiles.
But I’m also not happy with what the supervisor delivered. Yes, the windows look noticeably better than before. BUT none of the windows are truly clean. Not in any room. I can still run a scraper over each window to check if the marks are dirt or actual scratches. So far, everything has come off with my fingernail, so it’s just cleaning errors up to now.
Am I being too picky? I mean, this is exactly why I hired a final construction cleaning: so I could judge afterward whether the windows are okay or not.
Other things I’m not happy about:
I could go on like this forever.
Overall, you can say: it’s just not really clean.
Am I expecting too much? Is a final construction cleaning only meant for the big stuff, even when the offer says “ready for move-in”?
I’m attaching some pictures, but they are just examples. This is what it looked like when they had already left, so “finished.”
We just got back after our cleaning company finished the final construction cleaning.
We had a fixed price booked through MyHammer. Final cleaning including windows – ready for move-in. The company has 7 reviews there, all five stars, so I thought nothing could go wrong.
First, they arrived half an hour late – not a big deal, we were home anyway. Then they came with two people instead of three. One worker had called in sick.
That wasn’t a major issue either since we had a fixed price. Later, it turned out that the young man who was on site with the supervisor was completely new to the company. You could tell by the results. :/
It started in the kitchen. I had already mentioned that our cabinets have matte lacquered fronts and that the kitchen builders specifically told us not to use microfiber cloths for cleaning. I passed this information on and reminded the cleaning company when they arrived. When they got to the living/dining area, the young man immediately used a Swiffer on all the fronts. When I asked if those weren’t microfiber cloths, they said, “Swiffer won’t do any damage.” I hope they were right about that.
At that time, they were already done upstairs. I went upstairs on socks to have a look and wanted to take some pictures of the bathroom. The floor and wall tiles in the bathroom had been wiped but still had numerous stains everywhere. Not small ones, but paint drops, some up to 10cm (4 inches) long streaks of white paint, drops of tile adhesive or grout – I’m not exactly sure what it was, but I definitely didn’t want to see any of that in a finished, cleaned bathroom.
I asked if the upstairs cleaning was finished, and when they said yes, I requested they go over the floor again because there were still many paint stains. The young man went back up, touched it up, apologized, and said, “That really wasn’t thorough enough.”
So far, so good.
When everything was supposed to be finally done, I went upstairs for a quick walk-through with the supervisor – mostly spent in the bathroom – and together we scraped off more paint spots, tile adhesive/grout residue, and God knows what else from the tiles.
But I’m also not happy with what the supervisor delivered. Yes, the windows look noticeably better than before. BUT none of the windows are truly clean. Not in any room. I can still run a scraper over each window to check if the marks are dirt or actual scratches. So far, everything has come off with my fingernail, so it’s just cleaning errors up to now.
Am I being too picky? I mean, this is exactly why I hired a final construction cleaning: so I could judge afterward whether the windows are okay or not.
Other things I’m not happy about:
- Cleaning/wiping inside all kitchen cabinets was explicitly part of the offer since it was supposed to be ready for move-in. In the kitchen, the young man only went through the drawers with a Swiffer once. I opened two display cabinets, and at the bottom, there was still wood dust from cutting/drilling. The drawers in the island area have water spots/splashes on the front. Those were NOT there before the cleaning company came. You could say the kitchen actually looks worse afterward. :/ During the final inspection, I pointed out that the toe kick (baseboard near the floor) was still covered in sawdust, which should be fixed. But when they left, the dust was still there.
- The vinyl floors were mopped but also look worse than before cleaning. I don’t know how, but when you come up the stairs now, everything is streaky/smeared somehow.
- Despite damp mopping, there were still small piles of crumbs/dust/dirt upstairs.
- Still paint splashes on the stair railing
- Front door – a black mark on the white door frame, I don’t understand how that was missed
- In the hallway, my shoes and the supervisor’s shoes were there because we walked upstairs in socks during the inspection – the young man just mopped around them. Seriously?!
- All strap winders still covered in paint/plaster
- Many window frames still have plaster/paint on the edges
I could go on like this forever.
Overall, you can say: it’s just not really clean.
Am I expecting too much? Is a final construction cleaning only meant for the big stuff, even when the offer says “ready for move-in”?
I’m attaching some pictures, but they are just examples. This is what it looked like when they had already left, so “finished.”
K
knalltüte28 Sep 2020 18:24You’re not being too picky. This is simply poor workmanship. For example, my sister even cleans behind the fixtures with an (old) toothbrush because the cleaning lady never manages to do it properly.
However, considering the amount of money involved, I would just let it go and not get upset any longer (time without frustration is much more valuable than money).
Some things you just have to do yourself.
However, considering the amount of money involved, I would just let it go and not get upset any longer (time without frustration is much more valuable than money).
Some things you just have to do yourself.
P
pagoni202028 Sep 2020 18:25Pinky0301 schrieb:
Have you already paid? Unfortunately, I've had the experience that on MyHammer, you mostly find contractors who are so bad that they can't get jobs on the open market. I wouldn't be satisfied with the results either. How much does something like that cost? But what can you do? Refuse payment or request a refund—you'll have to clean yourself anyway. I think that's a bit too general. I've hired contractors before, and they fulfilled the work as requested, even without me being there. In one case, the owner of a small local interior finishing company did all the painting in the house with a perfect result.
I guess it's as always—sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't, whether on MyHammer or elsewhere.
@kati1337 I believe you can definitely demand proper corrections, but whether it will improve...?
At our office, a colleague once complained to the cleaning lady that it was still dirty, and she asked him where exactly the dirt was. He replied, "If you really haven’t seen it yourself, then there’s no need for you to come back."
Anyway, I would do the final cleaning myself, simply from the feeling that everything is as clean as I want it to be, and not just because the mop water was changed twice.
There is another important point. In my opinion, not everyone is able to handle delicate or special items (surfaces, TVs, leather, fabrics, etc.) properly; it requires knowledge. This is usually different in an office or school compared to a private home.
The question is whether you paid for a standard move-in cleaning or a final construction cleaning? What exactly did you pay for, and what level of quality did you expect? A regular cleaner won’t scrub the paint out of the grout—that kind of work is tedious and requires scrubbing on your knees. My neighbors hired a professional company that cleaned for two days with a team of four people. If you hired a service on a similar scale, then you can expect more thorough results. How much did you agree on as a fixed price?
Here is the quotation text I received:
So, it was already advertised as a final construction cleaning.
I think I will follow your advice, clean up a bit more myself, and write it off as a learning experience.
It is definitely cleaner than before. However, I will have to damage their review rating significantly. It’s not worth 5 stars to me, not even 3.
for your order 150 m² (1,615 sq ft) complete cleaning + cleaning supplies needed in XXXXX I can offer you the following:
Price: 420 € (incl. VAT)
The quoted price is based on the details you provided and includes the following services:
* Labor: 3 persons
* Cleaning materials & equipment
* Travel costs
Cleaning: final construction cleaning - move-in ready
Cleaning date: Monday, 28.09.2020
Time: approx. 9:00 am
- Window cleaning including frames & sashes
- Kitchen: wiping out all cabinets
- Bathrooms: cleaning tiled areas up to the ceiling, cleaning and polishing fixtures as well as bathtub/shower, toilet, and washbasin, including cabinets if applicable
In all rooms:
- Dusting walls, doors/door frames, and damp wiping
- Vacuuming and damp mopping floors and baseboards, removing paint or silicone stains if necessary
......
So, it was already advertised as a final construction cleaning.
I think I will follow your advice, clean up a bit more myself, and write it off as a learning experience.
It is definitely cleaner than before. However, I will have to damage their review rating significantly. It’s not worth 5 stars to me, not even 3.