End of Tenancy Cleaning in Lower Morden

Selley-built semi on Hillcross Avenue. You can tell a Selley from the street — wider frontage than Blay, more generous proportions, the kind of 1930s house where the rooms aren't fighting for space. Three bedrooms, bathroom with separate WC, lounge, dining room, kitchen at the back, garage at the side, and a garden that runs maybe 70ft down to the fence that backs onto the school playing field. Family — two children at Hillcross Primary, 50 metres through the back gate — 4 years at £1,700. Ellisons managing from their Morden office.

Van on the driveway. The garage door was open. Free parking throughout.

Kitchen. Separate room at the back, maybe 11ft by 9ft. Not huge, but bigger than a Blay kitchen. Refitted — shaker units, laminate worktop. Freestanding cooker, Hotpoint, gas. Pull it forward. 4 years, family of four, two children. Good amount of grease behind — this family cooked properly. Wall: one pass on the degreaser, second pass on the stubborn patch behind the hob. Both cavities spray, 20 minutes. Main oven: two passes. Top oven: one. Hob done, four burners, gas. Extractor hood, filter soaked. Fridge-freezer cleaned. Cupboards wiped. Floor: vinyl tile, degreased.

Back door to garden. 70ft. Lawn, shed at the bottom, a trampoline frame (disassembled, stacked against the fence). Door track: mud, grass, 4 years of children going in and out to the school gate at the back. Vacuumed and wiped twice.

Dining room. Middle of the house, maybe 11ft by 10ft. Carpet vacuumed. Hatch to kitchen (original 1930s feature). Radiator cleaned.

Lounge. Front room, about 14ft by 12ft. Bay window — painted timber frame, not uPVC. Three panes plus two returns. Cleaned per section. Original 1930s tiled fireplace — green and cream, same palette as the St Helier terraces in Morden but a different pattern. Wiped. Carpet vacuumed.

Upstairs. Bathroom. Bath-shower combo, tiled walls. ~260 ppm, 4 years, family. Waterline: two passes. Heavy. Four years of a family of four is where the calcium really shows. Taps done. Toilet done. Separate WC: toilet and basin, quick. Floor: lino, mopped. 30 minutes for both rooms.

Three bedrooms. All carpet. Front bedroom: bay window matching downstairs, painted timber. Children's room: poster tack marks — removed. Felt-tip on skirting — specialist product. Box room: desk marks on wall, photographed.

Garage. Side of the house. Concrete floor. Some oil staining — permanent. Shelving, workbench, cobwebs. Swept, wiped. 10 minutes.

4 hours. Two people. The oven and the bathroom are the work — 4 years of family cooking and bathing at 260 ppm. The Selley proportions mean bigger rooms, which means more surface area, which means more time.

Ellisons come next morning. Their SM4 person handles Hillcross, Shaldon, and Templecombe — the Selley roads. Kitchen: oven opened, wall checked, second pass noted. Bathroom: waterline gone. Bay windows: tracks checked. Fireplace: tiles clean. Poster tack: removed. Felt-tip: cleaned. Desk marks: accepted. Garage: oil permanent, shelving clean. Garden track: clear. 10 minutes. Passed.

Deposit back in 8 days. Full return. Family moving to a 4-bed extended Crouch on Lower Morden Lane — more space, mock Tudor, bigger garage, same school through the back gate.

Lower Morden is 1930s builder-specific cleaning. Blay, Selley, Crouch, Bilham — each one built slightly different proportions, slightly different features. The Selley semis are wider. The Crouch houses have half-timbering. The Blay terraces have the oak handles. We know the differences because we clean them all. Our guide on deposit dispute evidence covers 1930s family homes and builder-specific features.