End of Tenancy Cleaning in Chislehurst

We had a 4-bed detached Edwardian on one of the roads that back onto the Common — the kind of house where the driveway is long enough to park three vehicles and the garden is deep enough that you can hear the woodpeckers in Scadbury Park over the fence. Four bedrooms across two floors, an en-suite, a family bathroom, a downstairs WC, a large kitchen-diner with an Aga, a conservatory, a utility room, and a double reception with a fireplace in each section. Family — two teenagers at Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar — 5 years at £3,200/month. Humphriss & Ryde managing from their High Street office.

Van on the driveway. Three of us on this one — the property needed a full day.

I started in the kitchen while my colleagues took the conservatory and the upstairs. The kitchen was a large rear extension — about 20ft by 15ft — with an Aga at the centre. A 4-oven Aga, cream. We don't rush an Aga. Each lid lifted and cleaned underneath. Each hotplate surface cleaned with the Aga-specific product. Each oven door removed — four doors, four cavities, each sprayed and dwelled. The Aga rail cleaned. The surround tiles wiped with pH-neutral. The Aga alone took about 50 minutes. The rest of the kitchen: granite worktops (pH-neutral), Belfast sink (both basins scrubbed), fridge-freezer cleaned, dishwasher interior wiped. Bifold doors to the garden — track vacuumed and wiped. Utility room: washing machine and dryer pulled forward, floor behind mopped, surfaces wiped.

The conservatory was a full-width addition across the back of the house — maybe 18ft by 12ft. My colleague counted 16 glass panels plus the door. Each panel cleaned inside, frames wiped. The floor was porcelain tile — pH-neutral mop. The drainage channel along the base of the glazing had 5 years of leaf debris compacted into it. Crevice tool, then damp cloth, then finger-test each section. Took about 75 minutes.

Double reception. Two fireplaces — the front one with Arts and Crafts tiles (green glaze, handmade, slightly irregular surface) and a carved oak surround. pH-neutral on each tile individually, the surround polished. The rear fireplace had a cast-iron insert with a slate surround — barely-damp on the iron, specialist cloth on the slate. Cornicing through both rooms — deep moulding, dusted with extension brush. Original timber floors throughout — sealed, mopped with specialist product. Four sash windows across the two sections — tracks vacuumed, glass cleaned.

Upstairs. Three bathrooms. The en-suite had a walk-in shower with two glass panels — descaled at ~260 ppm, 5 years, two passes per panel. The family bathroom had a freestanding bath — cleaned inside, behind, and underneath. The downstairs WC: straightforward. Total bathroom time across three rooms: about 80 minutes.

Four bedrooms. All large, all with built-in storage, all with sealed timber floors. The master had an Arts and Crafts leaded-light window — cleaned with a soft cloth on the lead cames, glass cleaned between. One teenager's room had Blu-Tack marks across two walls — all removed.

7 hours 15 minutes with three of us. The Aga, the conservatory, and the three bathrooms were where the time went.

Humphriss & Ryde came the next morning. Their lettings partner — he's managed properties on these roads for years. Aga: every lid opened, every cavity torched, rail checked. Conservatory: walked the length, checked three panels at random, drainage channel finger-tested. Fireplaces: each tile checked, oak surround inspected. Sash tracks: finger-tested. Freestanding bath: phone-torch behind. Leaded light: checked. 25 minutes. Passed.

Deposit back in 10 days. Full return. The family were staying in Chislehurst — moving to a 5-bed on the other side of the Common. Bigger garden, still in catchment.

The Aga and the conservatory are what separate a Chislehurst clean from a Sidcup clean. Sidcup's 1930s semis take 4.5 hours with a 2-person team. This took 7.5 hours with three. Same borough borders, different property market, different price. If the Arts and Crafts tiles or the Aga patina had been disputed, our documentation would have covered both. Our guide on deposit dispute evidence explains how we handle premium-property checkouts.