How often does a home actually need a deep clean?

Less often than you've been told

The standard advice — deep clean every three months — comes from people selling deep cleans. For a home that gets a proper regular clean, once a year is usually enough, and some rooms never need one at all.

What actually drives it isn't time. It's three things: soap and mineral build-up, cooking grease, and foot traffic. Everything else looks after itself if surfaces are wiped regularly.

By room

Bathrooms — every 6 months

This is the room that genuinely benefits. Soap scum and mineral traces build on glass and chrome no matter how often you wipe, grout absorbs moisture, and extractor vents clog. Twice a year keeps glass clear and grout healthy.

Kitchen — every 6 to 12 months

Grease is the issue, and it travels further than people expect: cupboard tops, the wall behind the hob, the extractor housing, the sides of units. Fry regularly, six months. Mostly reheat, a year is fine.

Bedrooms — every 12 to 18 months

Dust under the bed and on top of wardrobes, plus mattress and headboard work. Low priority unless someone has allergies — then pull it forward to six months and add carpets.

Living rooms — every 12 months

Behind and under the sofa, skirtings, radiators, curtain tops. More often with a shedding dog or an open fire.

When to bring it forward

• Before a new regular arrangement starts — one reset makes every visit after it quicker and cheaper.
• Before moving in, before the furniture arrives. Half the price and twice as thorough with an empty home.
• After building work, always. Plaster dust migrates for weeks.
• After illness in the house, or after a tenant leaves.