Did you hire a cleaning company after your remodeling was done?

12 years ago

I am over whelmed with the thin coating of fine dust that is covering everything and spreading through to adjoining rooms, and my kitchen remodel is only about 1/2 done. The walls, the doors, window sills, the ceilings, the fireplace screen, covered with fine dust! I covered all the furniture with heavy sheets and/or plastic and removed art from walls. But still how did you deal with it "after the dust settled" and those contractors were finished and long gone? I could room by room take the vacuum with the brush attachment and go up and down the walls, and hand dust computer screens, light fixtures, etc, etc. It just seems so much work is ahead of me to get it sparkling once again! How did you handle this?

Featured Answer

User

12 years ago

My contractor did a really good job on keeping the floors vacuumed and the trash picked up, but I still needed to hire a crew when he was done to thoroughly dust and mop. My house was empty when it was remodeled, so it was a little easier. Be forewarned, if you have been running central air during the remodel, the dust is in your ducts. I didn't think about this, so for months afterward dust was a major problem. If I could do it again, I would have my ducts cleaned before the cleaning crew came in.

Also - be very vigilant with the crew you hire. Even though I had purchased the cleaning products I wanted used in my house, they still put fabulouso on my brand new marble. Luckily it didn't etch, but it did leave a greasy film that took me hours to get off.

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Comments (10)

grobby
12 years ago
Would be nice if contractor would do this for you. I would certainly mention and see, who knows, they just might take care of it. Otherwise, I would relax and hire a cleaning crew afterwards. It will be a good start to enjoying your home.
sarabeth2 thanked grobby
dclostboy
12 years ago
My contractor gave me an allowance for cleaning...I had to exceed to get all the dust off the chandeliers
sarabeth2 thanked dclostboy
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witch06
12 years ago
I just did that myself :'(
sarabeth2 thanked witch06
User
12 years ago
Mop with towel wrapped around it, to scrub my ceilings, walls.... and just a room by room. One end of house to other, just gave it the Mother Of Spring Cleans.
sarabeth2 thanked User
sarabeth2
Original Author
12 years ago
My workers have been very diligent about sweeping and cleaning up debris before they leave each day, and they use a shop vac to suck up stuff as they go along. But I'm sure it isn't in the works for them to do room by room deeper cleaning when they finish here -- as they have lots of jobs on their books after this one. I like to clean - generally - but this is going to take quite a while to get it all done - to do what my mother would call the 'tooth pick' job. When we were kids she would hand us tooth picks during The Fall Cleaning and The Spring Cleaning days, and we had to go around and use tooth picks to really get in the cracks to get it nice. Thank goodness that was only about twice a year!
sarabeth2
Original Author
12 years ago
I heard that if you take a wet rag to this wall board dust that is on the walls, windows and nik naks it will just smear -- that it is better vacuum it first and wipe it down but not get it all wet.
sarabeth2
Original Author
12 years ago
Amy, I sympathize with you about the hired cleaners using products you did not want them to use. I've been there too.
User
12 years ago
The dust will smear. I got most of it up with my shop vac with a wide brush attachment. -- I vacuumed the walls and ceilings too -- then I used a ton of swiffers to get what the vacuum missed (baseboards, moldings etc), then cleaned all of my wood (baseboards, doors, cabinets, etc) with a light Murphy oil solution (about 1/2 of the recommended amount). The cleaners did the Murphy oil part and mopped the floors. I was pushing up on my move in date, so I brought the crew in so I could pack.
sarabeth2 thanked User
PRO
BuildClean
11 years ago
Hi Sarah Beth,

Dust unfortunately is a major part of a remodel. The best ways to try and eliminate dust from settling lies in the hands of your contractor. Make sure your contractor has a dust control plan in place before they begin the project. The plan should include the latest technology and best practices to contain dust. Eliminating dust while airborne is the best way to prevent dust from spreading and settling on your belongings. Otherwise, you'll have this headache at hand. Although dust is inevitable, you deserve the livable remodeling experience so the Swiffer and/or shop vac is not needed after your next remodel.