Weekly Communal Cleaning in Kingston

The property

A modern low-rise residential development in Kingston. Each core is three floors with nine flats (the entrance signage lists ground, first and second floor apartments), and more than one core is cleaned on the round. The finish is consistent throughout: deep blue carpet in the corridors and on most flights, oak veneer flat entrance doors, white spindle balustrades with oak handrails, and perforated acoustic ceiling tiles with circular bulkhead lights. One core has carpet tiles with aluminium nosings on the stair rather than the fitted blue carpet. Corridors are long and narrow, and residents use them for storage.

What the managing agent needed

A modern block with a plain, light finish has nowhere to hide. Scuffed skirting, dull stair nosings and marked corridor walls read as neglect even when the floor is clean. The managing agent needed a weekly clean that treated the vertical surfaces as seriously as the floor, and a cleaner who would work around residents' belongings rather than move them.

What the clean covers

Vacuum all corridor carpet and every stair flight, including the cores residents rarely use
Wipe the aluminium and black stair nosings, because vacuuming alone leaves them dull
Lift residents' doormats, vacuum beneath and replace them where they were
Wipe skirting, door frames, flat entrance doors and riser cupboard doors
Sanitise the handrails, door handles, intercom panels and light switches
Clean the entrance lobby glazing and the building signage
Vacuum both sides of the entrance barrier matting
Dust the bulkhead lights and acoustic ceiling tiles on a periodic rotation

How the clean is delivered

The development is cleaned weekly on a fixed day, working core by core. Items residents leave in corridors, such as pushchairs, scooters and deliveries, are cleaned around, not moved. Where something blocks an escape route we report it to the managing agent rather than relocating it ourselves.

We inspect each core on the visit and report obstructions, damage and failed lighting to the managing agent, so corridor storage is dealt with as a management issue rather than quietly worked around forever.

Inside the block

Photographs taken at this property. Select any image to view it full size.

Blue carpeted communal corridor in the Kingston block with oak flat doors — A residential corridor. Blue carpet the full length, vacuumed on every visit.

Open stairwell in the Kingston block with a white balustrade and blue carpet — The stair core. Full-height glazing keeps the landings bright, which also means marks show quickly.

Carpet-tiled staircase with aluminium stair nosings in the Kingston block — Carpet tiles on the stair. The metal nosings are wiped separately; vacuuming alone leaves them dull.

Blue carpeted staircase with white spindles and an oak handrail in the Kingston block — Stair and handrail. The handrail is a high-touch surface, so it is sanitised rather than just dusted.

View down the Kingston stairwell to the ground floor entrance and notice board — Looking down to the entrance. The notice board and entrance matting are cleaned on the way past.

Blue carpeted corridor in the Kingston block leading to a window at the far end — A corridor after cleaning. Residents do store items in corridors; we clean around them and report obstructions to the agent.

Kingston corridor with a numbered oak flat door and residents' doormats — Flat doors and mats. Mats are lifted and the carpet beneath vacuumed.

Kingston communal corridor with riser cupboard doors and a flat entrance door — Riser cupboards. Their doors are wiped and their safety signage left clear.

Ground floor stair and hallway in the Kingston block with a wall heater and notice board — Ground floor. The heater, notice board and skirting are dusted on the same visit.

Entrance lobby of the Kingston block with the building sign, stair and barrier matting — The entrance lobby. The barrier mat is vacuumed on both sides, not just the top.

Half landing in the Kingston block showing the flights running up and down — A half landing. Every flight is vacuumed, including the ones residents rarely use.