What a housekeeping visit covers
Every arrangement is written room by room before the first visit. The schedule below is the usual starting point, and we adjust it rather than ask you to accept it.
Every visit
- Beds stripped, remade or changed as agreed; linen laundered or bagged for collection
- Bathrooms: sanitary ware, glass, mirrors, taps and fittings descaled and dried
- Kitchen: surfaces, splashbacks, sink, hob, exterior of appliances, interior of the microwave
- Reception rooms dusted, including skirtings, sills, picture frames and lamp bases
- Floors vacuumed throughout; hard floors damp-mopped to the correct dilution for the surface
- Mirrors and interior glass; fingerplates, handles and switch plates
- Waste removed, bins relined, recycling separated to the borough's scheme
On rotation, weekly through monthly
- Interior windows, reveals and shutters
- Oven interior, extractor filters, refrigerator interior
- Upholstery and curtain vacuuming with the appropriate head
- High-level dusting: cornicing, coving, pelmets, light fittings
- Under and behind furniture that can be moved safely by one person
- Brass, silver and metalware to the agreed schedule
Opening and closing-up
For houses used seasonally or left empty between visits, the arrangement changes shape. Closing up covers a final full clean, soft furnishings covered, perishables removed, water systems and heating set as instructed, and a written condition note.
Opening covers airing, running water through every outlet, dust removal from covered surfaces, linen refreshed and the house brought to full readiness for an agreed arrival date. We hold keys and alarm codes throughout, and attend at an agreed interval while the house is empty rather than only at the ends.
How an arrangement starts
We visit the house first, with you or your property manager, and walk every room. That visit produces the written specification: what is cleaned, how often, what is dusted rather than cleaned, and what is not touched at all. Nothing begins until you have approved it.
We then match a housekeeper rather than send one. Matching accounts for the property type, the hours you want, whether the house is occupied during visits, and any languages spoken in the household. You meet them before they start, and you may decline.
A named deputy is appointed at the same time and works alongside the principal housekeeper at least once before covering independently. This is the part most arrangements get wrong: a stranger arriving unannounced on the one week it matters undoes a year of trust.
What we use, and why
Our default is a pH-neutral cleaner. Most surfaces in a period London house — marble, limestone, sealed timber, lacquered brass, painted plaster — are damaged by the acidic and alkaline products sold as all-purpose, and the damage is cumulative and invisible until it is not. Where a stronger product is needed, it is chosen for that surface and used only there.
Cloths are colour-coded and separated by area: one colour for sanitary ware, another for kitchens and food surfaces, another for general and dusting. They are never carried between those uses within a visit. All cloths are returned to us and laundered at 60°C; nothing is rinsed and reused in the house.
Vacuums are HEPA-filtered, and we use the correct head for the surface rather than one head everywhere — a beater bar on a wool rug or an antique textile does irreversible damage in a single pass.
We do not use steam on unsealed stone, unsealed timber, or any painted or gilded surface. Where a surface is unfamiliar, we patch-test out of sight and ask before proceeding.
Properties we work in
Period terraces and townhouses. Four to six storeys, original joinery and plasterwork, usually listed. The constraint is product choice and the time stairs take.
Mansion flats. Porters, service lifts booked ahead, fixed delivery windows. We keep the same housekeeper on the same building so access stops costing an hour.
Lateral and new-build apartments. Specified stone, home automation, unforgiving lighting. These run to a detailed written schedule signed off by the client or property manager.
Houses with grounds. More glazing, constant traffic between outside and in, and a seasonal pattern we plan for rather than react to.
Mews and studio houses. Compact, steep, no service access. Equipment choice matters more than scale.
Questions
Common questions
Is it the same housekeeper every visit?
Yes. That is the arrangement. A named deputy covers holiday and illness, and will have worked your house alongside your housekeeper before they cover it alone.
Are your housekeepers employed or self-employed?
Directly employed by us, paid above the London Living Wage, with holiday, sick pay and training. That is why retention is high, and retention is what makes consistency possible.
Do you bring your own equipment and products?
Yes, as standard. Where a household prefers its own products — for allergy, fragrance or surface reasons — we use them and note it in the specification.
What vetting do your staff have?
A current Basic DBS check before a first visit, and an Enhanced check where the role is eligible — households including children or vulnerable adults. Two references taken up directly by us, right-to-work verification, and photographic identification carried on every visit.
Do you hold keys?
For most of our households, yes. Keys are held in a numbered safe, never labelled with an address, and signed in and out against a named housekeeper on each visit.
Is there a minimum commitment?
We work on retained arrangements rather than single visits, so there is a minimum frequency rather than a minimum term. We will say plainly at the consultation if what you need is better served by someone else.
Coverage
Where we provide this service
North-west
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