Key points
- Send every company the same check-out list and see whether the price is built from it or from a bedroom count.
- Get the re-clean window as a number of hours or days, in writing. Ivory's is 48 hours if the clean is queried.
- Sort out what counts as an extra before you compare totals. With Ivory, inside the oven, fridge and cupboards are paid extras.
- Book the clean between belongings out and the check-out. GOV.UK says your landlord must return your deposit within 10 days of you both agreeing the amount.
We think Ivory is the best end of tenancy cleaning Manchester has. In our honest view nobody here does it better, and you'll get the reasons. Better still, you'll get a way to test them.
Because a five-star score only tells you people were happy. It doesn't tell you whether the quote in your inbox covers your landlord's list, or what happens when the agent frowns at the oven. So this guide is about the quote: what the price is built from, the re-clean window, the extras, your handover date and the deposit rules.
What makes the best end of tenancy cleaning in Manchester?
It depends on the tenancy. A one-bed flat with a fussy landlord is a different job from a family house handed back through a busy agent, and the right company is the one that fits yours: the list, the deadline, the person holding the clipboard.
Reviews are a blunt tool for that. A five-star score doesn't say what was in the price, or whether the oven was a surprise on the invoice. Five questions do better, and most of them take one message to settle.
- How is the price built: from your check-out list, or from a bedroom count?
- How fast does the company come back if the agent queries something?
- Which jobs cost extra?
- Does the clean fit between your removals and the check-out?
- Is anyone promising you the deposit back? (Nobody can.)
Each gets a section below. Skip to the table near the end if you'd rather just copy the questions into an email.
Is the quote priced to your check-out list?
Every tenancy starts with an inventory, usually with photos, and ends with an agent walking each room against it. That walk-through is where the deposit gets decided. Whoever you hire should be cleaning to the same list.
A quote that comes from a bedroom count alone hasn't looked at your list. It might still be a fair price. You just can't tell what you're buying.
Ask your landlord or agent for a copy of the inventory, then send each company the same few details:
- Postcode and size of the property.
- The day the keys go back.
- Anything your list adds: oven, fridge, cupboards, carpets.
- An honest line on condition. A flat that's been looked after is quicker to bring up to the list than one with a year of limescale on the shower screen, and the price should say so.
The usual trouble spots are the hob and extractor, taps and splashbacks, limescale and grout in the bathroom, skirting boards and light switches. What letting agents check at the end of a tenancy has the room by room version.
Ivory's end of tenancy clean works through the check-out list room by room and starts from £190. The final price depends on the rooms and the condition, and you see it before you book.
What happens if the agent queries the clean?
Agents flag things. It happens, and it's fixable. What matters is how quickly the company turns up again, because your check-out date won't move and the landlord may already have someone waiting to move in.
"We'll sort it out" is a nice sentence with no deadline in it. Before you book, ask if the company re-cleans at all, within how many hours or days, and if you can read that in writing before you pay. Ask what counts as a query, too, and whether the re-clean costs anything.
Ours is a re-clean within 48 hours, at no extra cost, if the clean is queried. Send us what the agent flagged and we go back to those areas. It's on the end of tenancy page for you to read now.
A re-clean fixes cleaning problems. It won't repair a burn in the carpet or settle an argument over what a landlord wants to claim. Does professional cleaning protect your deposit explains where that line sits.
What counts as an extra on an end of tenancy quote?
This is where two quotes that look identical stop being identical. One includes the oven. The other leaves it out and adds it later, and you find out when the invoice lands.
Get every extra named and priced before you book. The ones that most often sit on a check-out list are the inside of the oven, the inside of the fridge once it's emptied, cupboards and drawers, a machine carpet clean when vacuuming won't lift the marks, and a full wall wash if the walls have taken a beating.
With Ivory, inside the oven, fridge and cupboards are paid extras, and so are a machine carpet clean and a wall wash. Tell us what your list adds and it goes into your price. If the oven's all you need, there's a standalone oven cleaning service.
Ask what's left out as well. Cleaning is the job. Repairs, repainting and garden work aren't, and Ivory isn't a clearance service either, so rubbish and left-behind furniture need to be gone before the team arrives. Most companies draw a similar line, but ask.
Already cleaned most of it yourself? Ask for a targeted top-up of the tricky bits instead of a full clean. Staying put and want the same standard? A deep clean is the better fit. It starts from £150 and includes interior windows, though not the sills.
Will the clean fit around your handover date?
Moving days never run to plan. The van's an hour late, the sofa won't clear the stairwell, and the agent says Friday at 4 when you'd pencilled in 2.
The order that works: belongings out, clean, keys back, check-out. Book the clean too early and the cleaner is working round boxes. Finish it after the inspection starts and it does nothing for the inspection.
Give every company the same three facts. The day your removals finish. The day and time the keys go back. The time of the check-out, if you've been given one. Then ask what happens if you overrun, and how fast they reply when plans change at 9pm the night before.
Ivory's open seven days a week, 8am to 10pm, with same-day availability, and we reply within 30 minutes. It's the sort of thing you don't value until a removal firm cancels. More on the order of events in when to book an end of tenancy clean. We cover Didsbury, Chorlton, Manchester city centre, Sale and plenty more.
What do the deposit rules mean for your clean?
They come from the government, not from cleaning companies. GOV.UK says your landlord must put your deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme if you rent on an assured periodic tenancy. In England and Wales that means the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and your landlord or letting agent must do it within 30 days of getting your money.
At the other end, your landlord must return your deposit within 10 days of you both agreeing how much you'll get back. If you're in a dispute, GOV.UK says the deposit stays protected in the scheme until it's sorted.
Two things follow. The 10 days only start once you've both agreed an amount, so an open argument about cleaning leaves the clock stopped. And no cleaner decides what your landlord claims. Damage, unpaid rent and missing items have nothing to do with how clean the place is.
So treat any company that promises your deposit back with suspicion. Ours is a promise about the clean, because the rest isn't ours to give. The scheme rules are all on GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).
Which questions should you ask every company?
Paste these into one message and send it to everyone on your shortlist, us included. Same words, easier comparison. The right-hand column is what Ivory can show, so check it as hard as you'd check anyone else.
| What to ask | What a good answer sounds like | What Ivory can show |
|---|---|---|
| Is the price built from my check-out list? | They ask for the list, the size and the condition before they name a figure. | A price built from the rooms and the condition, confirmed before you book. |
| What's the re-clean window if the agent queries it? | A number of hours or days, not "we'll sort it". | A re-clean within 48 hours for end of tenancy, at no extra cost. |
| Can I read the re-clean policy before I pay? | They point you to a page or send it in writing. | The 48-hour re-clean is on the end of tenancy page. |
| What's an extra, and what does each one cost? | Every extra is named and priced up front. | Inside the oven, fridge and cupboards, a machine carpet clean and a wall wash are paid extras, priced when you book. |
| Can you fit between my removals and the check-out? | They ask for your key and check-out times, and say what happens if you overrun. | Open 7 days, 8am to 10pm, same-day availability, reply within 30 minutes. |
| Who's insured, and who actually turns up? | A public liability figure and a straight answer on vetting. | £2m public liability, vetted cleaners who bring their own equipment and eco products. |
| Will you promise me my deposit back? | No. They guarantee the clean and say the claim is the landlord's call. | A guarantee on the clean. The deposit decision isn't ours to promise. |
Watch how each company answers, not just what it says. If someone dodges a plain question before you've paid, don't expect them to get clearer afterwards.
Where does Ivory fit?
We think Ivory is the best end of tenancy cleaning in Manchester. That's our view, and we wrote this guide, so weigh it that way. Here's what sits behind it.
- The clean follows your check-out list room by room, and the price is confirmed before you book. It starts from £190.
- If the agent queries anything, the re-clean happens within 48 hours at no extra cost.
- Oven, fridge and cupboard interiors are named, priced extras. No surprises on the invoice.
- Open seven days, 8am to 10pm. Same-day availability. A reply within 30 minutes.
- £2m public liability insurance, vetted cleaners, and a team that brings its own equipment and eco products.
- A 5.0 rating on Google.
Add that up and our honest view is that nobody here does it better. If you want our pick, it's us. But don't take our word for it. Ask every company the same questions, then see whose answers hold up.
To get a price, send the postcode, the size of the property and the day the keys go back. Call 0161 3939 247, message us on WhatsApp or email info@ivorycleaning.co.uk.
Questions people ask
Send every company the same details: postcode, property size, the day the keys go back and anything your check-out list adds. Then compare what each quote covers, what counts as an extra and how long the re-clean window is, before you look at the totals.
Ask each company for a number of hours or days, in writing, rather than a promise to sort it out. For end of tenancy, Ivory's re-clean happens within 48 hours at no extra cost if the clean is queried.
It depends on the company, so ask for each one to be named and priced before you book. With Ivory, inside the oven, fridge and cupboards are paid extras, priced when you book. Tell us if your check-out list includes them.
After your belongings are out and before the check-out starts, with a gap before it. Give each company your removal day, key handover day and check-out time, and ask whether the clean fits between them.
No. The claim is the landlord's or agent's decision, so a company can only guarantee the clean. GOV.UK says your landlord must return your deposit within 10 days of you both agreeing how much you'll get back. Ivory re-cleans within 48 hours if the clean is queried.
Sources
Written by M.A. Published .
Keep reading
Does professional cleaning protect your tenancy deposit?
Cleaning is the part of your deposit you can control. Here is what a professional clean covers, what it cannot, and what to do if a deduction is proposed.
End of tenancy cleaning checklist: what letting agents check, room by room
What a letting agent checks at check-out, room by room, matched to the inventory. Tick it off before the keys go back, and see which items cost extra.
When should you book an end of tenancy clean?
Book the clean after your belongings are out and before the check-out. Here is the order of events, and the two timing mistakes to avoid.
