What is extreme cleaning?
The term ‘extreme cleaning’ is generally used by those within the industry and sets about differentiating a level of cleaning requirement from that of others, such as standard general cleaning and deep cleaning.
With a growing need for biohazard cleaning, after death cleaning, drugs den clearance, hoarding clearance and hoarding cleaning across the UK, including a rise in violent crime, people seek clarity on the terminology and an increased ease of accessing the right service for them.
There is no set definition of ‘extreme cleaning’. It is often referred to as heavy-duty cleaning or deep cleaning, but it is in fact to a greater level than deep cleaning. The definition within dictionaries of ‘extreme’ is of a character or kind removed from that of the average. Extreme is usually defined as the very highest degree. This could mean that the three levels of cleaning would be general (or domestic), deep (more thorough) and extreme (requiring the highest level of time, effort and attention to clean).
Extreme cleaning usually partners biohazard cleaning, waste removal (food, human, animal, filth and grime), extremely soiled items and contamination. This can be carried out in private land, private homes, commercial premises and industrial buildings.
So if deep cleaning is deeper cleaning, how is this different to extreme cleaning?
Think of a property which hasn’t been cleaned for 5 years. There is a lot of clutter, food waste, animal waste, the toilet is full so the occupants have been using the bath as a toilet. The carpet has trodden-in animal waste and there is an unhealthy and unpleasant smell. This is extreme cleaning and requires Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and generally Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE). Amongst the clutter and waste there may be sharps which can be extremely difficult to see to the untrained eye. There is likely to be human waste and decomposition of food-stuffs. In general it would appear quite unpleasant and the majority of standard domestic cleaning companies would be within their rights to decline such a job as this demands a greater period of time to clean, specialist equipped and knowing ‘where to start’. Regularly cleaning companies contact us for such a job and ask that we either offer them advice or complete the clean ourselves.
Quite rightly, such an environment should only be tackled by those who are trained in extreme cleaning, carry the appropriate insurances to cover such work and have all of the equipment at their disposal to ensure a thorough and safe working environment with the greatest level of results.
Due to the nature of such a cleaning need, an extreme cleaning company will need to visit ahead of any work estimate. This is two fold; to understand the work required, the hours, the risk level, equipment, and personnel required and secondly to ensure that an accurate estimation of cost can be made.
As with all work of this nature, every situation is different to the last and to the next. Each environment must be taken on its own merit and for that reason we personally do not provide an estimate without first attending the location, or at very least seeing some pictures so that we can understand fully what the requirements are.
With the varying levels of cleaning requirements and a multitude of companies who offer different degrees of cleaning solutions, it is important that you contact the right people. If you were to search for a ‘cleaning company’ in your local area you will see a long list of general domestic cleaning companies. If however you were looking for a specialist to take on an extreme cleaning project near you, you would look to search for something similar to ‘extreme cleaner Oxford’ or ‘extreme cleaning company Oxfordshire’ or perhaps ‘biohazard cleaning Swindon’ or ‘hoarder cleaning Cheltenham’. It’s important that the company you are speaking with are equipped and able to complete extreme cleaning tasks to the highest standard.
Always look for a suitably insured company (they should be insured for biohazard cleaning and deep cleaning as a minimum) one that has the appropriate waste carrier licence and have in mind that extreme cleaning by its very definition, is more costly than general domestic cleaning. It is true to say that you get what you pay for and that is true of any professional service.
If you think that we may be able to help you, please do feel free to get in touch. You can complete our short contact form or give us a call. Our friendly team are on hand to offer advice, guidance and a no obligation visit.
