End of Tenancy Cleaning in Ilford

An Edwardian semi on one of the tree-lined streets off Cranbrook Road, backing onto Valentines Park — a 10-minute walk from Ilford Elizabeth Line station. Three bedrooms, two reception rooms, a family bathroom, a downstairs WC, and a 50ft rear garden. The family — a pharmacist and an IT consultant with one primary-school child — had rented for 2.5 years at £2,200/month. Managed by Charlesons (Gants Hill and Ilford offices, 10+ years in the area).

The kitchen was in a rear extension — a decent size with a window overlooking the garden. This was a proper South Asian cooking household: daily dhal, weekly biryanis, regular deep-frying. The ceiling above the hob had a visible yellow-brown discolouration from turmeric and ghee vapour — not dramatic, but clearly beyond what a normal wipe-down would address. We applied alkaline degreaser to the ceiling section in two passes, then treated the turmeric-stained grouting between the wall tiles with a grout-specific paste left to sit for 10 minutes. The extractor hood was a chimney-style unit — we removed the metal mesh filters and dropped them into a tray of alkaline solution while we worked on the rest of the kitchen. After 20 minutes soaking, the filters came out orange. They cleaned up well but the colour tells you what was caught in them.

The oven was a freestanding Belling range — wider than a standard cooker, with two cavities and a separate grill. Total oven time: 55 minutes. We dismantled the door glass (inner pane had grease between the layers), removed the shelves and side racks, and degreased each cavity individually. The grill pan had baked-on tandoori marinade — 15 minutes of targeted work with a paste degreaser.

After the kitchen degrease, we applied enzymatic odour neutraliser across the kitchen ceiling, the wall tiles, and the floor — left to dwell for 15 minutes while we moved to the bathrooms. The enzyme breaks down the organic spice compounds that bind to porous surfaces. Without it, the smell lingers even after the visible staining is gone.

The family bathroom — limescale at ~285 ppm. The shower screen was cloudy white with scale buildup from 2.5 years of daily use. We applied phosphoric acid descaler and let it dwell for 10 minutes, then scrubbed with a non-scratch pad. Two applications to get it clear. The taps were traditional crosshead style — each descaled individually and then polished. The bath had a heavy scale ring at the waterline. The downstairs WC was quicker — basic suite, moderate scale.

Two reception rooms with Edwardian features: ornate cornicing, ceiling roses, decorative tiled fireplaces (one in each room — a deep green surround in the front room, a burgundy surround in the dining room). Each fireplace cleaned with pH-neutral product, tiles wiped individually, mantels dusted and polished. The cornicing was dusted with an extendable soft brush at the full Edwardian ceiling height.

Three bedrooms upstairs — pine floorboards mopped with specialist wood cleaner, sash windows with tracks vacuumed, built-in wardrobes wiped inside. The child's bedroom had a couple of sticker marks on the window (removed with adhesive remover) and a small patch of crayon on the wall (specialist remover, came off cleanly).

The rear garden — 50ft, patio and lawn — was within scope. Patio swept, the garden gate cleaned, and the back wall of the extension had cooking ventilation residue on the brickwork (wiped as far as practical, noted for the agent).

Charlesons inspected two days later. They focused on the kitchen ceiling (two-pass alkaline treatment had worked — no residual staining flagged), the extractor filters (clean), the shower screen (clear after two applications), and the fireplaces. Everything passed. Deposit returned within 10 days.