Who this is for
- Villa owners, whether you live here all year or come out for part of it.
- Owners of high-value apartments with large-format porcelain that never quite looks the way it did when it was laid.
- Holiday-let owners who need the floors right before guests arrive and between seasons.
- Property managers looking after several homes, who want one booking, a clear price and a floor they can hand back to the owner.
What we see in villas and apartments
- Big open-plan floors. Kitchen, dining and living space run into one, often 60 to 150 m² of the same tile. Dirt shows most where people walk: the route from the terrace doors to the kitchen, the hallway, around the dining table.
- A dull or grey look after mopping. Mopping moves dirty water around and leaves a thin film of detergent and dirt behind. On porcelain, especially matt or lightly textured tiles, that film builds up until the floor looks grey however often it is cleaned. More on why: why porcelain looks dirty after mopping.
- Dark grout lines. Grout is porous and sits slightly below the tile, so it collects what the mop leaves behind. Light grout turns grey or brown, most of all in kitchens and near doors.
- Sand, sun cream and pool water. Bare feet and beach bags bring sand in, and wet feet from the pool carry chlorinated water and sun cream across the floor. The area inside the terrace doors is almost always the worst.
- Glazed ceramic in older properties. Older villas and apartments often have ceramic with wider grout joints that have held years of dirt. See ceramic floor cleaning.
When to book a deep clean
- Before the season. Spring is the usual time for holiday lets and second homes, before the first guests or the family arrive.
- Between seasons or at changeover. After a busy summer of guests, or in a gap between bookings when the floors have taken a lot of traffic.
- Before selling or letting. Clean floors make a real difference in photos and viewings, and a new tenant or buyer notices grey grout straight away.
- After winter closure. A house shut up for months collects dust, damp marks and a stale film on the tiles, and a quick mop rarely shifts it.
If you have a new build or a renovation with grout haze and cement film left on the tiles, that is a different job: after-builders floor cleaning. Terraces and pool surrounds are covered on terrace and patio tile cleaning, and we can do inside and out on the same visit.
How we clean
- Check the floor. We confirm the tiles are ceramic or porcelain, note the finish (matt, polished or textured) and look at the grout, thresholds and any stone sills or steps, which we protect.
- Sweep and pre-treat. Loose dirt and sand come off first. Then a cleaner chosen for the floor and the dirt: usually alkaline for grease, residue and traffic film, with spot treatment for marks.
- Machine scrub. A rotary machine with a pad suited to the tile works the surface and the grout lines evenly, room by room, with extra hand work along skirting and in corners.
- Wet-vac. The dirty water is extracted straight away rather than left to dry back onto the floor, which is the step mopping misses.
- Rinse and extract again. Clean water, then the wet-vac again, so no detergent film is left behind to attract dirt.
The full method, step by step: tile and grout deep cleaning. Most villas are porcelain, and that page goes into the different porcelain finishes in more detail.
Furniture and access
The more floor we can reach, the better the result. Chairs, side tables, rugs and small items should be off the floor, or we can move light pieces as we go. Heavy, fragile or valuable furniture we work around unless it has been moved before we arrive. Tell us what is in the rooms when you send photos and we will agree the plan with you. We also need water and power on site, and access to the property for the day.
What we don’t do
We clean ceramic and porcelain only: no limestone, travertine or other natural stone, and no wood, vinyl or laminate. A deep clean can’t repair chipped or cracked tiles, worn glaze, scratches or missing grout, and grout that has been stained right through may lighten but not come back to its original colour. If your photos suggest any of that, we’ll tell you before you book rather than after.
Price
€15 per m², grout lines included. +€2/m² when a very dirty floor needs an extra pass, +€5/m² for extreme build-up or heavy-use floors. Minimum job 50 m² (€750), and indoor floors and a terrace can be combined to reach it. We quote from photos: a wide shot of the main room, a close-up of the worst area, and a close-up of the grout.
Villa and apartment questions
Do I need to empty the rooms?
Not completely. Light furniture such as chairs, side tables and rugs should be moved off the floor, or we can move them as we go. Heavy or fragile pieces like sofas, beds and cabinets we clean around, unless you arrange for them to be moved before we arrive. We agree this from your photos.
How long does a villa take?
It depends on the size and how dirty the floor is. A typical villa floor is usually a one-day job; larger houses or heavy build-up can take longer. We give you a time with the quote.
Can you clean between guest changeovers?
Often, yes. Tell us the changeover window when you ask for a quote. The floor needs time to dry after the final rinse, so we plan the rooms in an order that keeps the property usable.
Will the floor look like new?
A deep clean removes the dirt, residue and film that make porcelain and ceramic look dull and grey, and lifts most of the dirt from grout lines. It can’t repair chips, scratches, worn glaze or stained grout that has soaked in. If your photos show any of that, we’ll say so before you book.
Do you clean natural stone floors?
No. We clean ceramic and porcelain only. Limestone, travertine, slate and other natural stone need different products and methods, so we leave them to stone specialists.
Also see: how to remove grey film from porcelain · how to clean porcelain grout · areas we cover