Frequently asked questions
Everything people ask, answered properly.
Twenty-eight questions across five areas. If yours is not here, call 0780 2610 1909 — a real person answers and we would rather add your question than have you guess.
01
Booking and quotes
How to get a price, how far ahead to book, and what happens after you enquire.
6 questions
Three ways, all free. Use the online booking form for an instant guide price and to reserve a slot; send an enquiry from the contact page and we come back with a fixed quote the same working day; or call and get a figure on the phone in a couple of minutes.
Almost never for domestic work — the property size and the service tell us what we need. We do visit before quoting larger commercial contracts and most hoarded properties, because the scope genuinely cannot be judged remotely. Those visits are free and carry no obligation.
The booking form gives a guide price built from the property size, the service and any extras. We confirm it in writing before any work starts, and it does not go up on the day. If we think the job needs more time than the guide suggests, we tell you before you are committed — not afterwards.
A week is comfortable for regular and deep cleans. Two weeks is safer for end of tenancy, especially month-end and the last Friday of the month, which are the busiest slots in Watford. We hold some capacity for short notice, so it is always worth calling.
Yes. Free cancellation or rescheduling up to 24 hours before your slot. Inside 24 hours we ask for 50% of the visit, because the slot and the staff are already committed. Call or email and we will sort it.
No. There are no accounts, logins or passwords required. You can request a quote or submit your booking enquiry directly online in under two minutes.
02
Our staff and your security
Who comes to your property, how they are vetted, and how keys are handled.
6 questions
Directly employed by HTM Cleanning, trained by us and uniformed. We do not subcontract, which is why we can guarantee the standard and why you get the same person each visit on a regular booking.
Every member of staff who works unaccompanied in a client property or holds keys is DBS-checked before their first job. Given how much of our work involves vulnerable residents, this is not negotiable for us.
Keys are logged, tagged with a code rather than an address, and kept in a locked cabinet at our Whippendell Road office. Keyholding is covered by our insurance. Most regular customers use a key safe instead, which we are happy to work with.
On regular bookings, yes — that is the point of them. If your cleaner is ill or on holiday we tell you in advance and offer a briefed cover cleaner or a moved visit, whichever you prefer.
Not at all, and most of our regulars are not. We need a way in — key, key safe, concierge or someone home — and a note of anything we should avoid. Everything else we can work out.
Public liability and treatment-risk cover on every job. Certificates are provided on request, and for commercial contracts they are issued at mobilisation along with method statements and COSHH assessments.
03
On the day
Equipment, products, parking, pets and what we need from you.
6 questions
Yes — commercial-grade machines, HEPA filtration and professional products, all in the van. Nothing to buy, nothing to store. If you would rather we used something specific of your own, tell us and we will.
Yes. We hold fragrance-free and pet-safe ranges as standard and use them on request at no extra cost. Mention allergies, asthma or sensitivities at booking and we will note it on the job sheet so it carries across every visit.
Tell us the parking situation when you book. If a permit or a visitor bay is needed, let us know how it works. Where paid parking is unavoidable we add it to the invoice at cost, and we will always tell you first.
Very. Just tell us what you have and whether they need to be shut in a particular room while we vacuum. Homes with pets usually need an extra half hour, which we build into the quote rather than rushing.
As a guide: two to two and a half hours for a one-bed regular clean, four for a three-bed, a full day for a three-bed deep clean or end of tenancy. Your quote states the hours so there is no ambiguity.
Tell us within 48 hours and we return and put it right at no charge. On end of tenancy work that guarantee runs for seven days and covers anything your letting agent flags on the inventory check.
04
Payment and invoicing
How to pay, when payment is due, and how refunds work.
6 questions
We issue clear, numbered invoices payable by bank transfer or card upon booking confirmation. Commercial clients and letting agents can be set up on agreed invoice terms. We do not take cash.
For confirmed slots, terms are agreed in writing upfront and the balance is settled on completion. All figures are transparently confirmed before work begins, so nothing about the cost is ever a surprise.
HTM Cleanning LTD is not VAT registered at present, so prices are the price — there is no VAT to add. If that changes we will show VAT separately on every quote and invoice.
Always, and it is numbered. Your formal invoice is emailed directly to you upon confirmation. Landlords and letting agents can be invoiced directly with the property address as the payment reference.
Under our 48-hour re-clean guarantee, if anything is not right, contact our office directly and we return free of charge to put it right. If an issue genuinely cannot be resolved, our management reviews and processes any agreed refund within one working day.
No. Products, equipment, travel within our service area and insurance are all in the quoted rate. The only things ever added are optional extras you chose, and paid parking where it is unavoidable — and we tell you about that before the visit.
05
Coverage and availability
Where we work and when we can come.
4 questions
We are based in Watford and cover Watford, Rickmansworth, Bushey, Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Borehamwood, Harrow and North West London. If you are just outside, call and ask — we often can, particularly for larger or regular work.
Weekdays 07:00 to 19:00 and Saturdays 08:00 to 17:00 as standard, with Sundays by arrangement. Most commercial cleaning runs out of hours between 18:00 and 08:00, which is usually what clients want anyway.
Sometimes, and it is always worth a phone call rather than an online booking — the form only offers tomorrow onwards. Void properties, post-incident cleans and last-minute tenancy hand-backs are the ones we most often manage to squeeze in.
Both. Deep cleans, end of tenancy, post-build cleans and hoarded properties are almost all one-offs. There is no obligation to sign up to anything ongoing.
Service-specific questions
Questions about one particular service?
Each service page carries its own set — deposit disputes on end of tenancy, discretion and consent on hoarded properties, method statements on commercial contracts. They are answered there rather than duplicated here.
Question not answered?
Send it over and we will answer it directly — and if it is a good question, add it to this page for the next person.
Happy with the answers?
See your price in under two minutes with the online booking form — no account needed, and nothing is charged until you confirm.
Clean with care · Fully insured · DBS-checked staff · Watford based