Phase one: builders' clean
Once trades are out, bulk dust, packaging, offcuts and debris come out first. This phase is about volume, not finish, and it determines how efficient the detailed clean can be.
Phase two: detailed post-construction cleaning
Surfaces, fittings, frames, glass, tracks and floors are worked through in sequence. Residue — paint spots, adhesive, cement film — is handled where it can be removed safely, and reported where it cannot.
Phase three: pre-handover clean
The final pass happens as close to inspection or occupation as access allows, because a cleaned building that sits open for two weeks is not a cleaned building.
Common area handover
Common areas hand over to the body corporate or estate management. A first clean at handover, rolling into a recurring common-area contract, avoids the gap where nobody is responsible yet.
What to confirm before committing to a date
Cleaning crews need the same things trades do, and they are usually the last to get them.
- • Access, keys and security arrangements
- • Power and water availability on site
- • Whether trades are genuinely finished in that section
- • Who removes structural rubble, and by when
- • How many units or areas release at a time
More guides
- How to Choose a Commercial Cleaning Contractor in Gauteng →
- What Facilities Managers Should Include in a Cleaning Scope of Work →
- Cleaning Contract Checklist for Residential Estates →
- Commercial Cleaning vs In-House Cleaning →
- Cleaning Requirements for Shopping Centres →
- How to Evaluate Commercial Cleaning Quotations →