Why it matters
Renovation dust does not behave like household dust. Drywall and sanding dust is extremely fine. It hangs in the air, travels through the ductwork and settles in rooms that were closed off the whole time. Most contractors finish with a "broom clean", which means the big debris is gone and the floor has been swept. That is the right standard for a job site and nowhere near the standard for a home.
Picture a kitchen renovation in a Maple Ridge house. The contractor sweeps up and hands it over on a Thursday. The homeowners wipe the new counters, put the dishes away and move back in. On Saturday there is a white film on the counters again, and on the TV in the next room. The furnace has been pulling dust through the return vents and blowing it back out. The inside of the brand-new cupboards feels gritty, and the plates now have dust on them too.
A proper post-construction clean deals with that in a particular order, top to bottom, so dust is not knocked onto finished surfaces:
- Ceilings, walls, light fixtures and ceiling fans dusted or wiped
- Vent covers and returns removed where possible, washed and vacuumed behind
- Inside and outside of every cupboard, drawer and closet shelf
- Window frames, sills and tracks, and manufacturer stickers removed from glass
- Doors, door frames, trim, baseboards, switches and outlets
- Paint drips, caulking smears and adhesive scraped from floors, tile and fixtures
- Bathrooms and kitchen fully cleaned, including new appliances inside and out
- Floors vacuumed with a fine filter, then mopped, usually more than once
Two things are worth knowing before you book. First, timing: the clean should happen after the last trade has left, including the painter doing touch-ups. One more day of sanding undoes it. Second, dust keeps settling for a few days as the air clears, so a light follow-up wipe a week later is normal and not a sign the first clean was poor. Change the furnace filter after the clean as well.
How Honourable Cleaning helps
We take on post-construction cleans across the Fraser Valley, for homeowners moving back in after a renovation. Because every renovation is different, we price these from the details rather than the standard calculator: which rooms were worked on, whether the dust reached the rest of the house, and how much scraping the floors and glass need.
For comparison, a normal deep clean of a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home takes a crew of two around four and three-quarter hours. A post-construction clean of the same home takes longer, because every wall, cupboard interior and vent is added to the list.
Call or put the details in the booking notes and we will confirm the price before the visit. If the crew finds more than was described, they ask before doing extra work, and anything missed is re-cleaned free if you tell us within 24 hours.
Key takeaways
- Book the clean for after every trade has finished, including paint touch-ups.
- Ask specifically about inside cupboards, vents and window tracks. Those are where construction dust hides.
- Replace the furnace filter after the clean and expect to do one light wipe-down a week later.
- Debris removal is separate. Make sure your contractor's quote includes hauling away materials.
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What is included in a post-construction clean?
A post-construction clean removes the fine dust and residue a renovation leaves on every surface, including the ones nobody touched. It covers walls, ceilings, light fixtures, vents, inside cupboards and drawers, window frames and tracks, floors, and scraping off paint spots, stickers and adhesive. It does not include hauling away debris or leftover building materials. That is the contractor's job.
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