End of Tenancy Cleaning in New Cross

A Victorian mid-terrace on one of the steep streets climbing Telegraph Hill — the upper floors had a panoramic view north toward the City and Canary Wharf through the sash windows. Three bedrooms across two upper floors, a double reception on the ground floor, a kitchen extension at the rear with doors to a terraced garden, a family bathroom, and a ground-floor WC. The couple — a Goldsmiths fine art lecturer and a graphic designer — had rented for 3 years at £2,600/month. Managed by Winkworth (New Cross office on New Cross Road, one of the longest-established agents in SE14).

The couple were former Goldsmiths students who'd stayed in New Cross after graduating. The property reflected that: the third bedroom had been used as a shared studio space. There was a paint-spattered dust sheet folded in the corner (their item — bagged), a dried acrylic drip on the pine floorboard near the window (tested with isopropyl alcohol — the drip was recent enough that it softened and came off cleanly without damaging the floor finish), and a faint spray-fixative haze on the inside of the sash window glass (glass cleaner, two passes, clear). The room itself was otherwise in good condition — we cleaned it as a bedroom, plus the art-material remediation.

The kitchen extension was modern — full-width rear addition with a skylight, quartz worktops, and an integrated Neff oven and induction hob. The oven door glass was removed (inner pane with 3 years of home cooking — moderate, not heavy). Cavities sprayed, left 20 minutes. The induction hob glass cleaned with ceramic hob product — these show every mark at eye level. Extractor was a slimline integrated unit, filter accessed by pressing a release button. Soaked in alkaline solution. Quartz worktops cleaned with pH-neutral product. The skylight above the island was reached from a stepladder (stable surface). Cupboards wiped inside. Fridge-freezer cleaned.

The kitchen doors opened onto a terraced rear garden — the slope of Telegraph Hill means the garden drops away in levels. The first terrace (patio, within scope) was swept. A couple of terracotta plant pots had left rust-coloured rings on the paving slabs — we treated them with an acidic cleaner on the concrete (not pH-neutral — the paving can handle it, unlike the interior stone surfaces). The door threshold vacuumed and wiped.

The family bathroom on the first floor — modern suite, walk-in shower with frameless glass. Limescale at ~270 ppm. Phosphoric acid descaler, 10-minute dwell on the shower glass, one pass, clear. Taps descaled and polished. Toilet cleaned under the rim. The ground-floor WC was quick — basin, toilet, floor.

The double reception on the ground floor had the best period features: an ornate plaster ceiling rose, deep cornicing, a tiled fireplace (green and cream art nouveau tiles with a cast-iron insert), and stripped pine floorboards. The ceiling rose was dusted carefully — the plaster petals collect dust in every crevice. Cornicing dusted with extendable brush. The fireplace: each tile wiped individually with pH-neutral product, cast-iron insert wiped with a damp cloth (never wet — it rusts), mantel dusted. The pine floor mopped with specialist wood product.

The master bedroom on the second floor had the panoramic view — two sash windows facing north toward the City skyline. Sash tracks vacuumed (3 years of packed dust), glass cleaned both sides. The view was the selling point of the property and the agent would check the glass quality against that backdrop. We spent extra time on these two panes — any smear would be visible against the cityscape.

The second bedroom was straightforward — rear-facing, carpet vacuumed, wardrobe wiped inside. The studio-bedroom was the third.

The hallway had original Victorian encaustic floor tiles in a geometric pattern — swept and mopped with pH-neutral tile cleaner. The front door (original Victorian with stained glass panels) wiped on both sides, the glass panels cleaned carefully around the leading.

Winkworth inspected two days later. Their New Cross office has managed Telegraph Hill properties for nearly 20 years. They checked the studio room first (acrylic drip gone, fixative haze cleared, floor undamaged), then the fireplace tiles (clean, no damage), then the master bedroom sash windows (clean against the view — they stood at the window and checked for smears against the skyline). The encaustic hallway tiles were checked for cleaning marks (none — pH-neutral product leaves no residue). The terracotta pot rings on the patio — resolved. Passed. Deposit returned within 9 days.