End of Tenancy Cleaning in Canning Town

A first and second floor maisonette on the Keir Hardie Estate — the estate at the heart of Canning Town's community on Fife Road, partially redeveloped between 2011 and 2018 but with older blocks still standing alongside the new Countryside Properties homes. This maisonette was in one of the surviving 1960s blocks: right-to-bought in the 1990s and privately let since 2018 at £1,650/month. The family — a couple with two children, the father commuting to Canary Wharf via the Jubilee Line (4 minutes) — had rented for 4 years. Managed by Samuel King (local E16 independent on Barking Road).

The property was a split-level maisonette across two floors of a concrete-frame block — accessed via a shared external walkway on the first floor. Three bedrooms, a through-lounge, a separate kitchen, a family bathroom, and a storage cupboard on the landing. Total floor area approximately 900 sq ft. The block faced south toward Newham Way, and the external walkway and kitchen window both caught the A13 particulate — a fine grey film on the window frames and the kitchen windowsill that's barely visible until you wipe a cloth across it.

The kitchen was the most time-intensive room. A separate galley kitchen with a freestanding Beko cooker (gas hob, electric oven — dismantled and degreased in 45 minutes, 4 years of daily family cooking), laminate worktops, and a ceiling that had accumulated heavier grease than the cooking volume would suggest. The limited ventilation — a small wall-mounted extractor that hadn't been serviced during the tenancy — meant the grease film had spread across the entire ceiling and onto the upper sections of the walls. Alkaline degreaser applied to the ceiling and wall tops, then wiped in sections. The extractor grille was removed and soaked. The kitchen windowsill was wiped to remove the A13 road dust film — it took three passes.

The bathroom was the anticipated challenge. A bath-shower combo in a windowless room with a mechanical extractor that hummed but barely moved air. Mould on the silicone around the bath, on the grouting between the wall tiles, and in the ceiling corner above the shower. Royal Cleaning applied specialist anti-mould spray — not household bleach — with a 15-minute dwell time on the silicone before scrubbing. The grouting was treated separately. The ceiling corner mould was persistent — we reduced it significantly but documented the residual discolouration as a building ventilation issue for Samuel King. Limescale heavy at ~290 ppm across the taps, showerhead, and toilet bowl.

The through-lounge had two storage heaters — Economy 7 night storage units on the main wall. Dust had accumulated in the intake grilles and behind the front panels over 4 years. Royal Cleaning carefully removed the front panels and vacuumed the grille sections and the dust that had settled on the internal ledges. The heating elements were not touched — these are electrical components and cleaning beyond the accessible surfaces is not within scope. Both heaters were reassembled and the wall behind each unit wiped.

Three bedrooms across both floors. Carpet throughout — vacuumed to the edges, stains noted near the children's bedroom doorway. The master bedroom had a built-in cupboard with sliding mirrored doors — interior wiped, tracks vacuumed. The landing storage cupboard was cleared of residual tenant items (a broken umbrella, a pair of children's wellies, a plastic bag of old batteries — all removed).

The shared external walkway was not within scope, but the tenant's front door and the internal side of the entry mat area were cleaned.

Samuel King inspected the following day. They're on Barking Road — a 5-minute walk — and they handle a significant number of the right-to-buy lets on the Keir Hardie Estate and surrounding blocks. The checkout focused on the bathroom mould documentation (accepted — they know the ventilation issue is building-wide), the storage heater condition (confirmed clean and undamaged), and the kitchen ceiling. Royal Cleaning passed. Deposit returned within 14 days.