Why exclusions exist
Most exclusions come down to safety, insurance and time. Cleaners' insurance often doesn't cover working at height on ladders, moving heavy furniture or handling hazardous materials. Some tasks need specialist equipment or training. Others simply take more time than a regular visit allows, so they're offered as extras or one-off jobs.
Every cleaner and company is different, so treat this as a guide and ask about anything you're unsure of.
Tasks commonly excluded or charged as extras
These are the tasks most often left out of a regular clean:
- Outside windows – usually a job for a window cleaner
- Working on ladders above a small step stool, such as high windows or light fittings
- Moving heavy furniture and appliances
- Inside the oven, fridge and cupboards – often offered as add-ons or in a deep clean
- Washing walls and ceilings
- Clearing up after parties, or heavy clutter and rubbish
- Gardens, patios and garages
- Laundry and ironing (many do it, but at the hourly rate)
- Washing up large amounts of dishes or doing meal preparation
Tasks most cleaners won't do at all
Some jobs are outside what a domestic cleaner is equipped or insured for. These include cleaning up blood and bodily fluids beyond everyday levels, handling needles, dealing with significant mould growth, pest infestations and their droppings, and hazardous materials such as asbestos. These need specialists – see trauma and biohazard cleaning and hoarder house cleaning.
Many cleaners also prefer not to clean pet waste (litter trays, dog mess in the garden), wet-clean electronics, or handle valuable antiques and artworks. Personal care tasks – helping someone wash or dress – are care work, not cleaning, and need a registered care provider.
Things that slow a cleaner down
Cleaners clean; they don't usually tidy. If floors and worktops are covered in belongings, much of the visit goes on moving things rather than cleaning. Clearing surfaces beforehand gets far more cleaning done in the same time – see how to prepare for a cleaner.
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How to agree what's included
Before the first visit, walk round with the cleaner and agree a task list. Our domestic cleaning checklist shows what a typical regular clean covers. Ask directly about any tasks you're unsure of, and get the answer in writing if you're booking through a company.
If you need something occasional – inside the oven, internal windows, a fridge clean – ask whether it can be rotated into regular visits (for example, one extra task each week) or booked as a one-off. For bigger jobs, a deep clean or specialist such as oven cleaning or window cleaning is usually better value.
Respecting the cleaner's boundaries
If a cleaner says no to a task because of safety or insurance, it's worth respecting – an accident at height or an injury from lifting is bad for everyone. Our guide to cleaner insurance explains what's typically covered.
When a different service is better
Many of the tasks regular cleaners exclude are offered by specialists who do them more quickly, safely and cheaply. A window cleaner handles outside glass and gutters; an oven cleaner restores a heavily soiled oven in a couple of hours; a carpet cleaner deals with stains and deep soil; and a deep clean team can reset a whole home before regular visits begin.
Thinking about the year as a whole helps: a regular cleaner for weekly maintenance, plus a deep clean, carpet clean and oven clean once or twice a year, often costs less overall than trying to fit everything into the weekly visit.
