I have just experienced my worst end of tenancy oven cleaning job ever. It's not often that I freak out when a difficult cleaning task comes my way. Hey,some jobs are easier than others and I realize that you just have to take the good with the bad sometimes.
After 10 years in the end of tenancy cleaning business, it's not often that you arrive at a property, take a look at the oven and say "OH MY GOODNESS, THROW THAT OVEN AWAY!" Seriously, the oven and hob were absolutely terrible with no doubt several species of dangerous bacteria happily breeding in "bacteria heaven". I never saw the tenants who lived there which is lucky because I would have given them a piece of my mind. Who knows, they may have even died from severe food poisoning.
How dare they leave me with such a terrible end of tenancy oven cleaning nightmare. Right now I know you are probably thinking: "Mark, stop over exaggerating. It cannot be that bad".
Below are some of the end of tenancy oven cleaning "before" pictures. I think you may even say that this has been staged and that nobody will live in that dirt and grime. Believe me, even if I wanted to "stage" this to make up a story, not even the top Hollywood special affects demon could re-create this scene.
If you get nauseous looking at disgusting scenes, please look away now and read on further down.
Picture #1 – End Of Tenancy Oven Cleaning – Hob(Before Cleaning)
End Of Tenancy Cleaning is often mistakenly compared with issues arising from the misunderstood fair wear and tear policy.
Allow me to clarify further by using an example I recently experienced when doing some end of tenancy cleaning at a property. The property was cleaned to our usual high standards and then inspected by an inventory clerk. The inventory clerk as you may know or not is the person that represents both the landlord and estate agent to give them an unbiased report on how the property has been maintained during your tenancy. Their job is twofold:
1. Make sure that all the contents of the property are in good order and accountable eg. crockery, cutlery, furniture, ornaments, lamps etc etc.
2. Make sure that the end of tenancy cleaning has been done to the required standard.
Now you may ask what this has to do with fair wear and tear and end of tenancy cleaning. Well, in this particular example the tenant was pulled aside about scratches and scuffs on walls, skirting boards, doors as well as residual marking on sofa covers and carpets.
It is incredible how a routine end of tenancy cleaning job can go all belly up with all parties including tenant, landlord, estate agent and cleaning company all having the hugest disagreements about end of tenancy cleaning and wear and tear in a property that has just been vacated.
This subject has so got under my skin that you must read this completely to appreciate how serious things have become when you end your tenancy and employ an end of tenancy cleaning company to do the professional cleaning of your property.
After nearly 9 years of doing end of tenancy cleaning it is clear that I still have a lot to learn about making sure that all parties involved in an end of tenancy transaction communicate with each other before , during and after an end of tenancy period. Sure, everything is cushy at the beginning of your tenancy but bad experiences start more than often at the end of a tenancy
….or does it??? What do I mean? Let me explain with the following key points you should consider:
Some people say that I am a bit of a workaholic, including my wife, saying that end of tenancy cleaning has taken over my life.
I disagree strongly and to prove it I have a short video as proof. The link is below for you all to watch.
Click here to See the Winning Pot and me bragging long before judging started
The "Cooking Cowboys" as we called ourselves entered a cooking competition which involves cooking a meal in cast iron 3 legged pot called a "Potjie" which is a way of life in South Africa alongside Barbecues and Rugby.
Jul 10
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As the summer months kick into full swing tenants are now moving out by the hundreds which leaves landlords requiring end of tenancy cleaning along with carpet cleaning a lot of the time.
Some landlords have their properties rented by university/college students who have come to the end of writing exams and are now moving out to go off on their summer vacations. The nightmare is that a lot of house sharers and especially students(sorry but experience tells me this is true), do not take any responsibility in maintaining the cleanliness of the property and over the last 9 years I have seen this gross negligence before my very eyes over and over again.
The questions I have are:
1. Do the renters just not care about how they live?
2. Do they think that the property can be left in this diabolical state because "that's just how it is"?
3. Why should they clean, they are students and only study and party?
4. Mom and Dad will pay for the cleaning when we leave. Isn't that their job?
5. Why should I take responsibility for the cleaning when they have 4 other house mates that should do their bit too?