The difference between a deep clean and a regular clean
A regular (or general) clean keeps your home consistently fresh — surfaces wiped, floors vacuumed, bathrooms sanitized. A deep clean is restorative. It gets into the areas that accumulate grime over weeks and months: grout lines, baseboards, ceiling fans, behind appliances, and inside fixtures. Think of it as resetting your home to a higher baseline.
- Deep cleaning targets build-up that weekly cleaning skips
- It includes detail work like grout scrubbing and vent dusting
- Many people schedule a deep clean seasonally or before a special occasion
Kitchen deep cleaning tasks
In the kitchen, a deep clean tackles the grease and grime that builds up around cooking areas.
- Backsplash deep scrub — grout lines agitated and rinsed
- Baseboards wiped, including behind furniture
- Small appliances cleaned — toaster crumb trays, coffee maker exteriors
- Inside the microwave — interior roof and turntable removed
- Inside the refrigerator — shelves washed and seals detailed (often an add-on)
- Cabinet fronts wiped — handles and pulls sanitized
Bathroom deep cleaning tasks
Bathrooms are where deep cleaning makes the most visible difference — hard water stains, soap scum, and grout discoloration all respond to detailed scrubbing.
- Tile grout deep scrub with an agitation brush
- Showerhead descaled to remove mineral build-up
- Hardware polished — towel bars, robe hooks, hinges
- Toilets deep scrubbed — targets grime at the base, bolts, and behind the bowl
- Exhaust fan cover removed and vacuumed
- Baseboards and door frames — top and side faces
Living areas, bedrooms, and throughout the home
A deep clean extends detail work to every room, not just the kitchen and bathrooms.
- Ceiling fans dusted — blade tops and light kits
- Window sills and tracks wiped
- Picture frames and decor dusted — behind and beneath items
- Wall spot cleaning — scuffs and marks removed
- Light fixtures wiped — globes removed and cleaned
- Vents and registers dusted — HVAC return and supply covers
- Hardwood floor detail — edge and corner crevice tool
What's typically not included
Even a deep clean has limits. Most professional cleaning services — including Peppermint's — don't handle certain tasks that require specialized equipment or pose safety concerns.
- Interior oven cleaning
- Exterior window cleaning
- Carpet extraction (steam cleaning)
- Mold or hazardous material removal
- Heavy scrubbing of walls
- Lifting or moving items over 25 pounds
- Accessing areas beyond a two-step ladder