We clean homes all over Rowley

Rowley's antique houses need a careful clean

Rowley is one of the older towns on the North Shore, and it shows around the town common. Many of the houses there are antique, with wide plank floors, low ceilings, exposed beams and small-paned windows. They are lovely to live in. They also give dust more places to settle than a newer house does, from the tops of beams to the gaps between floorboards.

Old floors are where a careless clean does damage. Grit works down into the gaps between boards, and every footstep grinds it against the finish. A soaking wet mop is worse, because water runs into those same gaps and the wood swells. So we vacuum floors first to pull the grit out, then use a damp mop, not a wet one. On a first visit, tell us about any surface you want left alone or handled a certain way.

If the house has a fireplace or a woodstove, a winter of fires leaves a fine gray ash on the mantel and every shelf near it. Ceiling fans pick up the same film, and so do the frames of anything hanging on the walls. We dust from the top of the room down, starting with fans and door frames, so nothing we knock loose lands on a clean surface. The floors always come last.

• Ceiling fans and door frames dusted first
• Wall hangings and mini blinds wiped down
• Floors vacuumed before a damp mop
• Beds made and linens changed
• Oven and microwave cleaned inside

Salt and sand get tracked into Rowley homes

Winters here are long, and the roads stay open with salt and sand. All of it comes home on boots. It dries into a white crust on entry floors, and the grit gets carried from the back door into the kitchen and up the stairs. Left alone, that grit scratches floors, and the salt leaves a dull film that a quick sweep will not lift. Entryways get extra attention on our winter visits.

The east side of town runs out to the Great Marsh, and the wind off the water carries some salt with it. That salt settles on glass as a hazy film, on the outside and, once windows have been open, on the inside too. It builds up on patio doors and the sills under them. We clean windows inside and out. Near the marsh, it is worth adding them to a deep clean whenever the view starts to look cloudy.

Spring brings its own mess. Pollen from the pine and oak woods lands on every sill as yellow dust, and mud season follows the snowmelt through the back door. In summer, bathrooms in older houses with little airflow stay damp, and mildew starts along the grout. Spring is a good time to book one of our seasonal cleans and get into the corners that winter left behind.

Rowley renovations and moves need deeper cleans

When an older Rowley house gets a new kitchen or an addition off the back, the dust does not stay in that room. It is fine enough to drift through the whole house and settle into floor gaps and on top of trim. Post construction clean up is on our service list. It takes longer than a regular visit, because the dust has to come off every surface, including the ones you cannot see from the floor.

After a renovation job, one customer wrote: “Called for a one-time clean after renovations and they handled all the dust and leftover mess without complaining. Communication was easy and the price was fair.” That is the job. When the contractor packs up, what is left is fine dust on every ledge and a film on the windows. We clean all of it so the new room and the rest of the house are ready to live in.

Moving is the other time a house needs more than a regular visit. For a move-in or move-out clean, we get inside the oven and the microwave and wipe down every appliance. The floors get done last, once the furniture is out. If a house has been sitting empty, we also do foreclosure cleaning and trash out. Whatever was left behind goes out before the cleaning starts.

Getting a price in Rowley

Call (617) 803-6705 or ask for an estimate online. Tell us how big the house is and whether you want recurring visits or a one-time clean. Mention the age of the house too, since an antique with plank floors and a newer home of the same size are different jobs. You get a free quote before anything is booked. We are open on Saturdays and Sundays as well as weekdays.