Routine cleaning or deep cleaning? The difference — and how often each is needed

Both terms tend to turn up in a cleaning contractor's quote — routine cleaning and deep cleaning — without it always being clear where the difference lies and why a property actually needs both.

Routine cleaning: the ongoing upkeep

Routine cleaning covers the regularly recurring work that keeps a stairwell or communal areas clean:

• Sweeping and mopping the floors
• Dusting handrails and window sills
• Emptying waste bins
• Cleaning glass doors in the entrance area

How often depends on how intensively the building is used — weekly is usual for stairwells with heavy footfall, while a fortnightly cycle is sometimes enough for smaller properties. There is more on this in our article Stairwell cleaning: cycle, checklist, who is responsible?.

Deep cleaning: the thorough refresh

Deep cleaning goes considerably further than the ongoing upkeep: it covers areas that are not cleaned routinely from day to day — for example

• ingrained dirt in floor joints
• limescale deposits on taps and fittings
• stubborn soiling on window frames or light switches
• stripping and, where necessary, resealing heavily used floors

It is typically carried out once or twice a year, independently of the ongoing routine cleaning cycle.

Why a property usually needs both

Routine cleaning does keep visible dirt at bay from day to day, but it cannot fully catch gradual build-up (limescale, dirt trodden into joints, deposits in places that are hard to reach). Where only routine cleaning is done, this usually shows up first on floors and joints after a while — an annual deep clean stops long-term damage or permanent discolouration taking hold there.

What WEG resolutions usually cover

In practice the cleaning cycle is usually set out in the caretaker or cleaning contract, or in a corresponding resolution of the residents' association — § 19 Abs. 1 of the Wohnungseigentumsgesetz (WEG, the German act on apartment ownership) places the regulation of the management and use of the common property squarely within this power to pass resolutions, unless something else has been agreed. It makes sense to itemise routine cleaning and deep cleaning separately from the outset — that also makes it easier later to allocate them correctly in the operating costs statement. Under § 1 Abs. 1 of the Betriebskostenverordnung (BetrKV, the German operating costs regulation), operating costs are only those costs that the owner incurs on an ongoing basis; the costs of building cleaning are expressly listed there in § 2 Nr. 9. Whether a deep clean falls under this therefore depends in each individual case on whether it recurs on a fixed cycle or remains a one-off measure.

How Zamsa helps

We handle both from a single source: ongoing building cleaning on the agreed cycle, and deep cleaning as a separate item — itemised separately in the quote, so that it remains clear from the start which part of the cost is incurred for what. Every visit is documented, so the managing agent can evidence the work carried out to the owners.