Cleaning Manhattan apartments
Most Manhattan homes are apartments, and the size and layout vary widely: tenement walk-ups in the East Village and Lower East Side with galley kitchens and small bathrooms, prewar co-ops on the Upper West Side and Upper East Side with long hallways and plenty of tile, and high-rise rentals in Midtown and Kips Bay with compact, efficient layouts. Space is tight in most of them, so we work room by room and keep our equipment out of the way.
Limited storage means kitchens and closets fill up quickly and counters double as shelving. For regular cleaning, clearing counters before we arrive makes a real difference. For deep cleaning or move-outs, we can clean inside emptied cabinets and closets, which is often the only time those get done.
Doorman buildings, freight elevators and building rules
Many Manhattan buildings have doormen or front desks that need our name before we arrive. Some send vendors to a service entrance or require the freight elevator, and some limit vendor hours or move-day work to weekdays. Co-ops and condos may ask vendors for a certificate of insurance, particularly for move-outs and post-renovation work. Tell us your building's rules when you request a quote so we can plan around them.
If you will not be home, the usual options are leaving keys with the doorman, using a lockbox where the building allows it, or another arrangement you choose. We confirm access before every first visit.
Lofts, townhouses and older buildings
Downtown loft buildings in SoHo, Tribeca and the Flatiron District have high ceilings, large windows and open plans where dust settles on high ledges and pipes. Townhouses in the West Village, Greenwich Village, Harlem and the Upper East Side mean multiple floors, stairs and original woodwork. Tell us about ceiling heights and the number of floors so we bring the right equipment.
In older buildings throughout Manhattan, from Morningside Heights to Washington Heights and Inwood, expect steam radiators, prewar tile and older window frames that collect city soot. These details are part of every deep cleaning and move-in/move-out cleaning we do.