Laleham is the TW18 village west of Shepperton, along the Thames towards Staines, and it is the only place on our round that is not a TW17 postcode. Riverside meadows on one side, a conservation area village street through the middle, and the run of semis along Laleham Road tying it back to us.
Older houses, slower cleaning
The conservation area means much of the village street is older stock with original features. Sash windows, timber floors, tiled hallway paths, plaster that does not enjoy being soaked. We keep water off anything porous, and we will not put an extraction wand near a rug with an unstable dye, which is more common on old wool than people expect. If a floor is waxed or oiled timber rather than sealed, tell us before we arrive, because the mop we would use on laminate would take the finish off it.
The meadows problem
Anyone here with a dog knows what the riverside meadows do to a hallway between October and March. Mud on the runner, then mud on the stair carpet, and then it dries in and gets walked deeper. Extraction cleaning deals with it properly at £36 a bedroom, £43 a living room and £41 for a flight of stairs. There is a £67 minimum on one off work, so a single stair flight on its own does not quite pay its way, and most people add a room.
Parking and access
Better than the Shepperton riverside lanes, worse than the Upper Halliford semis. The village street narrows in places and the older houses do not all have off-street space, so we ask on the phone whether there is a spot outside or whether the van needs to sit further along. No controlled parking zone applies here either.
What people book
Carpets first, then regular cleaning. Move-outs after that. A weekly clean is £22 per cleaner per hour and a fortnightly one £24, both with a two hour minimum, and the regular cleaning page sets out exactly what a visit covers. End of tenancy work is priced by bedroom count from £156 for a studio, and the move-out clean costs the same in TW18 as it does in the village.
Move-outs on the village street
Older properties take longer to clean for a check-out than a modern flat does. Inventory clerks in conservation-area houses itemise things a new build simply does not have: window furniture, timber sills, a tiled path through a hallway, the inside of a sash box. We allow for that when we quote instead of discovering it on the morning. The price still goes on bedroom count, so a two bed is £243 whichever century the house went up in.
What it costs out here
No travel charge for Laleham. Move-outs run £156 for a studio, £207 for a one bed, £243 for a two bed, £339 for a three bed and £425 for a four bed. Ovens are £77 for a single, £110 for a double and £114 for a 90cm range. One off deep cleaning starts at £186 for two cleaners and three hours. We run the same round back through Lower Halliford and into Shepperton most days.
Questions we get asked
Is Laleham charged the same as Shepperton?
Yes. Nothing on the list changes for a TW18 address and there is no travel charge for crossing the parish boundary.
Can you clean waxed or oiled timber floors?
We can, but not with the mop and detergent we would use on a sealed floor. Tell us what the finish is when you book and we will bring the right thing for it.
How long does a stair carpet take to dry?
About two hours before you can use it carefully and most of a day to be properly dry. In winter with the windows shut, expect the longer end and keep shoes off it.
Do you work further west into Staines?
Laleham is as far west as we go on a regular basis. Ring and ask anyway, because if we already have a job nearby that morning the answer is usually yes.
Rather talk? Ring 020 8077 9546, seven days.