London cleaners: how to find a decent one

London has more cleaning companies than anyone could ring in a lifetime, and the gap between the good and the bad is enormous. You want one that turns up, does the job properly and doesn’t bill you for things you never agreed to.

WotsItCalled lists a decent spread of cleaners and cleaning services across London, from one-off end-of-tenancy deep cleans in the suburbs to contract window cleaning for businesses. In a city this size, the first filter is matching the job to the right kind of outfit.

Work out what kind of clean you need

“Cleaner” covers at least five different trades in London. Book the wrong one and you’ll either pay double or get a light tidy when you needed a full strip-out:

• Regular domestic clean. Weekly or fortnightly, two to four hours, ideally the same person each time. Agencies that rotate cleaners sound fine on paper but fall down if you want someone who gets to know your flat.
• One-off deep clean. You’ve just moved in, you’re hosting, or it’s been a while. Expect a bigger team, longer hours and a much bigger price, and spell out what’s included: oven, inside windows, skirting boards, behind appliances.
• End-of-tenancy clean. This gets judged by an inventory clerk rather than you, so use a company that guarantees the clean against the inventory report. That guarantee is the whole point; don’t book without it.
• Commercial contract clean. Offices, shops and restaurants are priced, insured and contracted differently, so they need their own shortlist.
• Specialist work such as carpets, windows, upholstery or post-build cleans. These are separate trades again, and a domestic cleaner isn’t a carpet cleaner just because they said yes.

Get this match right and half the usual problems disappear before you’ve rung anyone.

Five questions to ask before you book

London has more chancers in this trade than most cities, and these questions slow things down enough to catch them.

1. Are your cleaners employed by you or subcontracted? Employed cleaners are insured through the company, vetted, and tend to stay. Subcontractors are more of a lottery. Neither is automatically bad, but you should know which you’re getting.
2. What’s the exact rate, and what does it include? Some firms quote a low hourly rate, then add products, travel, insurance and booking fees. Get the all-in figure in writing.
3. Will it be the same cleaner every week? For regular work, that consistency is what you’re paying for. If the agency can’t promise it, treat that as a warning.
4. Are you insured, and what does it cover? Public liability is the minimum, so ask about breakages and accidental damage too. A decent company answers in one breath.
5. What happens if I’m not happy? Good companies offer a re-clean within 24-48 hours, and end-of-tenancy specialists often re-clean free if the inventory clerk flags something. No complaints process usually means no quality control either.

What a good listing actually tells you

A good listing saves you most of the ringing round. Look for:

• A clear scope. The good ones say exactly what they do: domestic only, commercial only, carpets.
• Visible pricing or a rate card. When prices are hidden, the real number turns up later.
• Recent reviews that name the cleaner or team. “Marta’s been coming weekly for eight months and my flat’s never been cleaner” beats generic praise.
• Replies to bad reviews. A company that offers a re-clean in public is showing you how it handles mistakes. Silence is the worst answer.
• Insurance on the listing. Firms that have it aren’t shy about saying so.

London cleaners worth a look

Here are a few already on WotsItCalled, with a mix of specialisms and areas:

• Simple Clean is an established domestic service with 60+ reviews and a sensible default for regular or one-off home cleaning.
• Goldservice Contract Cleaning Ltd, around Biggin Hill, handles commercial contract cleaning.
• Reach & Wash Cleaning Services specialises in windows and has top reviews.
• Capital is a cleaning service for anyone who’d rather use a smaller operation.
• ICE Services Group does water damage restoration rather than standard cleaning, which is handy to know if that’s the mess you’re dealing with.

London is huge and the directory is still growing. If none of those cover your postcode or your job, the full list is on the London cleaners category page, and the national cleaners directory covers the rest of the country.

The short version

• Decide whether it’s regular, one-off, end-of-tenancy, commercial or specialist work, because each has its own shortlist and prices.
• Ask whether cleaners are employed or subcontracted; it says a lot about consistency and insurance.
• Get the all-in price in writing, not just the hourly rate.
• For end-of-tenancy, only book a company that guarantees the clean against the inventory.
• The bar is a cleaner who turns up on time, does what was agreed and re-cleans without fuss.

WotsItCalled is a free UK business directory. No signup, no catch. Find the place everyone’s on about, or browse everything listed in London.