End of Tenancy Cleaning in Kentish Town

A split-level maisonette in a large Victorian terrace on the Dartmouth Park side of Kentish Town — a 10-minute walk from Parliament Hill and the Hampstead Heath lido, 7 minutes from Kentish Town station (Northern Line). The maisonette occupied the ground and lower ground floors, with a cellar below, and a rear garden. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open-plan kitchen-living room, and the cellar. The couple — a documentary producer and a charity fundraiser — had rented for 2.5 years at £3,100/month. Managed by Dexters (Kentish Town & Camden office on Kentish Town Road).

We started where we always start: the kitchen. Open-plan kitchen-living room on the ground floor — a modern installation along the rear wall with bifold doors to the garden. Integrated Bosch oven and separate Bosch induction hob. The oven was dismantled: door glass removed (inner pane had a light grease film between the layers after 2.5 years), both shelves pulled and soaked, cavities sprayed with professional degreaser and left 20 minutes. The induction hob surface was cleaned with ceramic hob cleaner — these glass surfaces show every mark and the agent checks them at eye level. The extractor was a ceiling-mounted unit with a push-release filter — removed and soaked in alkaline solution. Cupboards opened and wiped (the ones nearest the hob had a light grease film on the hinges). Quartz worktops cleaned with pH-neutral product. Fridge-freezer interior wiped, seals checked — clean.

The bifold door tracks had 2.5 years of Parliament Hill: mud from the Heath (the couple walked up there most evenings), leaf fragments, small twigs, and grit from the park path. Crevice vacuum first, then wiped with a damp cloth. The kitchen floor between the bifold doors and the hallway had that familiar traffic-path wear from daily Heath walks.

The ground-floor bathroom was modern — walk-in shower with frameless glass, wall-hung basin, wall-hung toilet. Limescale at ~275 ppm. Phosphoric acid descaler applied to the shower glass with a 10-minute dwell, then scrubbed. One pass was enough. Taps descaled and polished. The wall-hung toilet was cleaned underneath (agents check the underside because it's visible from floor level). Mirror and tiles cleaned, floor mopped including behind and under the wall-hung fixtures — the advantage of wall-hung units is you can see the floor underneath; the disadvantage is you have to clean it.

Down the internal staircase to the lower ground floor: two bedrooms and a second bathroom. The master bedroom had a bay window (original Victorian sash, tracks vacuumed) and a marble fireplace — pale grey veined marble with a carved surround. We cleaned it with pH-neutral stone cleaner applied with a soft cloth, then buffed dry. Never acidic product on marble — it etches the surface permanently. The hearth was swept of a thin layer of dust (the fireplace was sealed but dust still settles). The second bedroom was smaller, rear-facing. Both had original pine floorboards mopped with specialist wood-safe cleaner.

The lower-ground bathroom was compact — a shower cubicle, basin, and toilet. Same descaling process. A small patch of mould on the ceiling corner — lower ground, rear-facing, less ventilation. Anti-mould spray with 10-minute dwell before the descale.

The cellar: accessed from the internal staircase, a single room with a concrete floor and timber shelving against the back wall. The couple had used it for storage — boxes already removed, but the shelves were dusty and the floor had a gritty layer from 2.5 years of foot traffic. Floor swept with a stiff brush, then dry-mopped. Shelves and shelf brackets wiped. Walls checked for damp — one small damp patch in the corner below the garden level (photographed, documented as building issue). Light fitting wiped.

The internal staircase from ground to lower ground to cellar — carpeted treads vacuumed, handrail wiped. The hallway at the front door: original Victorian tiled floor, swept and mopped with pH-neutral product.

Dexters inspected two days later. Their Kentish Town office is a 10-minute walk. They focused on the induction hob surface (no scratches), the marble fireplace (no etching — they checked with a torch at an angle), the bifold door tracks (clear), the cellar damp patch (documented, accepted as building issue), and the lower-ground bathroom mould (treated). The wall-hung toilet underside was specifically checked. Everything passed. Deposit returned within 8 days.