Clapham, SW4, begins where Lavender Hill runs out, and the terraces are the same Victorian stock as the Battersea streets we come from. Where the front and back reception rooms have been knocked into one long room, that shapes the visit more than anything else.
Knock-through lounges
A knocked-through room is priced as a through lounge at £61. It gets cleaned in two halves, from the far end back towards the door, so nobody walks on the wet side. The lane from the door to the kitchen is usually the darkest strip and gets extra pre-spray and slower passes. The sofa and chairs wait at the door end while we do the far half, then go back onto it on pads before we finish the rest.
A draught from end to end
A through lounge has windows at both ends, which suits drying very well. Open the bay at the front and the window or garden door at the back, and air runs the full length of the room. With that draught a synthetic carpet is walkable in a couple of hours. Wool needs longer; on a cold day, put a little heating on and keep the windows open.
Draughty bays
Victorian bays are rarely airtight, and the boards under an old carpet seldom are either. Air moving through those gaps leaves grey lines along the skirting in the bay and under the doors, which is dust the carpet has filtered out. Those edges get a stronger pre-spray and hand-tool work. The long curtains in a bay collect the same dust and can be done hanging during the same visit (see curtain cleaning).
After a walk on the Common
Clapham Common is close to most of SW4, and wet walks mean mud in the hall. Let it dry, vacuum it, then deal with what is left; scrubbing it wet spreads the clay deeper. Anything that survives is handled as stain work within the room price.
A typical visit
Take a through lounge, two bedrooms, the hallway, one flight of stairs and a landing: in a terrace like these that comes to £205. A sofa can be added at its own price while the machine is in the house.
| Clean | Price |
|---|---|
| Bedroom | £36 |
| Lounge | £43 |
| Through lounge | £61 |
| Stairs, per flight | £41 |
| Small rug (to 3m²) | £35 |
| Rug, over 3m² | £51 |
| Carpet per bedroom, alongside an end of tenancy | £29 |
| Living room carpet, alongside an end of tenancy | £36 |
| Stairs, with a move-out clean | £35 |
Each step of a room clean is set out on the carpet cleaning page.