End of Tenancy Cleaning in Putney

A Victorian semi-detached on one of the tree-lined streets between Upper Richmond Road and Putney Heath — a 10-minute walk from Putney station, 5 minutes from the Heath. Three bedrooms, a double reception room on the ground floor, a kitchen-diner extension at the rear with doors to a 70ft garden, a family bathroom, a downstairs WC, and a front drive. The couple — a corporate solicitor and a publishing director — had rented for 2 years at £3,200/month. They had a chocolate Labrador named Barley. Managed by Winkworth (Putney office, established 1977).

The dog was the defining factor. Two years of a Labrador living in a Victorian house near the Heath. Every room showed it in some way — not damage, just the accumulated evidence of a large dog in a period property.

The hallway was the first clue: original encaustic floor tiles with a visible traffic path from the front door to the kitchen — daily Heath walks with Barley, twice a day, rain or shine. The tiles weren't dirty in the usual sense; they had a ground-in layer of Heath mud and fine grit in the grout lines that normal mopping hadn't shifted. We applied pH-neutral tile cleaner, let it sit for 5 minutes, then scrubbed the grout with a grout brush before mopping. Two passes. The front door mat area was grimier — cleaned with more concentrated product.

The kitchen extension was a decent size — rear addition with French doors to the garden. A Rangemaster range cooker (gas, two cavities plus grill). We dismantled the door glass, sprayed both cavities, left 20 minutes. The Rangemaster's cast-iron pan supports and burner caps were soaked. The grill tray had 2 years of weekend roasts — paste degreaser, 15 minutes. Total Rangemaster time: 50 minutes. The French door tracks had 2 years of garden-to-kitchen traffic — mud, grit, a tennis ball fuzz fragment (Barley's, presumably). Crevice vacuum, then wiped.

The kitchen door frame — the one between the hallway and the kitchen — had scratch marks at dog height. Three light parallel scratches in the paint, consistent with a dog jumping up. We cleaned around them and documented them for the agent. These were cosmetic scratches in paintwork, not structural damage — the agent would assess whether to charge for repainting or accept as fair wear.

The double reception on the ground floor had ornate cornicing, a tiled fireplace (pale cream tiles with a leaf-pattern border, cast-iron insert), and stripped pine floorboards. Dog hair was visible along the skirting edges and in the crevice between the floor and the fireplace hearth. We vacuumed with the crevice tool along every skirting edge and around the fireplace base before doing the general clean. The fireplace tiles were cleaned individually with pH-neutral product. Cornicing dusted. Pine floor mopped with specialist wood cleaner.

The family bathroom was a premium installation — a freestanding roll-top bath on claw feet, a separate walk-in shower with a rainfall head and frameless glass panel, heritage-style crosshead taps on the basin, and heated towel rail. Limescale at ~270 ppm. The shower glass got phosphoric acid with a 10-minute dwell — one pass, clear. The crosshead taps were descaled individually, with targeted application around the decorative detailing (scale builds up in the grooves of the crosshead). The roll-top bath was cleaned on all accessible sides — the outside of the bath near the feet collects dust because nobody moves a freestanding bath during a tenancy. Bath waterline ring descaled. Towel rail wiped rung by rung. The downstairs WC was quick.

Three bedrooms upstairs. The master had a bay window with sash tracks vacuumed, a sealed fireplace (surround wiped), and carpet that needed thorough vacuuming — Barley had clearly slept in this room. The carpet edges, under the bed area, and the wardrobe base all had dog hair accumulation. We used the upholstery attachment on the carpet edges and the crevice tool along the skirting. The second bedroom was straightforward — guest room, lightly used. The third bedroom had been used as a home office — we cleaned it as a bedroom but wiped the desk surface and cable management area (dust collects around cables).

The garden — 70ft, patio, lawn, and a shed at the far end. The patio was swept (autumn leaf debris and garden soil — the Labrador had been digging near the fence line, judging by the soil scatter pattern). The shed was not within the let's scope. The French door threshold cleaned.

Winkworth inspected two days later. Their Putney office has managed West Putney houses for nearly 50 years. They focused on the hallway tiles (grout clean after two passes), the kitchen door frame scratches (documented — they photographed and passed to the landlord for a decision; ultimately accepted as fair wear and tear), the Rangemaster (both cavities, grill, door glass between panes — passed), the roll-top bath exterior (clean, feet area dust-free), and the crosshead taps (descaled in the decorative grooves). The dog hair on the master bedroom carpet was checked — clean after our thorough vacuum. The encaustic hallway tiles were confirmed as properly cleaned without residue. Passed. Deposit returned within 10 days, minus £40 for the door frame repaint (landlord's decision, not the agent's recommendation).