Deep Cleaning vs. Regular Cleaning: What's Included, How Long It Takes, and When to Book Before the Holidays
Marcos Ortiz
Cleaning Expert
Regular cleaning is upkeep on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly visit: floors, counters, bathrooms and dusting. A deep clean is a one-time, top-to-bottom job. It adds scrubbed baseboards and trim, grout, light fixtures, blinds and the spots behind appliances. Most homes take one full day. Inside the fridge, oven and cabinets are add-ons for both.
Below is what each service covers, how long a deep clean takes, what it costs next to a regular visit, and when to book one before Thanksgiving and December guests. What we say about our own services comes from our deep cleaning in Manchester, CT and routine house cleaning pages and from our quote tool.
What's included: deep cleaning vs regular cleaning
Our deep cleaning page describes the deep clean as top to bottom, covering everything routine cleaning misses. The table lists what each service page names, plus the add-on prices from our quote tool.
| Regular (routine) cleaning | Deep cleaning | |
|---|---|---|
| How often | Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly | One time, for a seasonal refresh, an event or the holidays |
| Kitchen | Counters, surfaces and appliances wiped and disinfected | Appliance exteriors, plus behind the appliances |
| Bathrooms | Toilets, sinks, showers and mirrors scrubbed, fresh linens put out | Detailed grout cleaning |
| Baseboards and trim | Baseboards dusted | Baseboards scrubbed, trim cleaned |
| Dusting | Furniture and shelves | Light fixtures, blinds, window sills and vents |
| Rest of the house | Floors vacuumed, living areas and bedrooms tidied, trash taken out | Hidden corners sanitized, with furniture moved where needed |
| Inside fridge, oven, cabinets | Add-on, $25 each | Add-on, $35 each |
| Finished basement | Add-on, $35 | Add-on, $45 |
| Interior windows | Add-on, $6 per window | Add-on, $10 per window |
| Walkthrough | A quick final check with you | An assessment before we start and a final walk-through with you |
| Time | 2 to 4 hours for most visits | One full day for most homes |
Inside the fridge, the oven and the cabinets are paid add-ons with every clean we do. They are never part of the standard price, deep or regular. The lower add-on price applies when you add them to a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly visit. The higher one applies to a deep clean.
How long does a deep clean take?
Most homes take one full day for a deep clean. The exact time depends on the size of your home and its condition. We give you an estimated timeframe during the walkthrough before we start.
A regular visit is shorter. Most routine cleanings take 2 to 4 hours, depending on the size of your home and the tasks on your list.
Doing it yourself is a different story. Deep cleaning a full home on your own takes days. We do it in one, so plan for a full day on the calendar, not a morning.
What a deep clean costs compared to regular cleaning
Take a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home. Our quote tool prices a deep clean at $380. A regular visit for the same home is $150 weekly, $170 bi-weekly or $240 monthly. So the deep clean costs $210 more than one bi-weekly visit, and $40 more than two bi-weekly visits together. All of those prices are before Connecticut's 6.35% sales tax, which brings the $380 deep clean to $404.13. If you would rather set the priorities yourself, the hourly deep clean is $100 an hour with a 5-hour minimum, so $500 before tax. Prices for every home size are in our house cleaning cost guide.
Prices are current as of October 2026 and may change without prior notice. Our instant quote always shows the current price for your home.
Start with a deep clean, then go recurring
If your home hasn't had a thorough clean in a while, a deep clean first makes regular visits easier to keep on track. A regular visit is 2 to 4 hours of upkeep. When the baseboards, the grout and the floor behind the fridge have months of buildup, that time goes to catching up instead.
This is advice, not a rule. You can price a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly visit on its own in the quote tool. You can also book a one-time clean to try us before you pick a schedule.
If you do go recurring, add-ons cost less. The inside of the fridge, oven or cabinets is $25 each with a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly visit, against $35 each with a deep clean.
When to book before Thanksgiving and December guests
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. Here is how we would plan around it.
- Pick the week before. A deep clean between Monday, November 16 and Saturday, November 21 leaves a few days of buffer. If something comes up, there's still time to move it without running into the holiday.
- Block out a whole day. Most homes take one full day, so keep the day open, not just a morning.
- Know our hours. We clean Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 6:30 PM and Saturday from 8 AM to 5 PM. We're closed on Sundays, so the Sunday before Thanksgiving isn't an option.
- Ask early. Asking in October or early November gives you more dates to pick from.
- Decide on the fridge. If you want the inside of the fridge cleaned, add it to the deep clean and book it before the big grocery run, when the fridge is at its emptiest.
Christmas falls on Friday, December 25, 2026. If you host for Thanksgiving and again in December, one deep clean in mid-November and a regular visit in mid-December covers both. The regular visit keeps the kitchen, bathrooms and floors ready for guests without paying for a second deep clean. If December is your bigger gathering, move the deep clean to the first week of December instead.
Seasonal deep cleaning in Connecticut
Outside the holidays, we recommend a deep clean at least twice a year. Once in spring to clear out winter dust and salt, and once in fall before the windows close and the heat comes on. Each season leaves something different behind.
Spring: after the winter
- Salt and sand. Road salt and sand tracked in from snowy sidewalks scratch hardwood. Grit left on a floor works like sandpaper under your feet.
- Dust. Months of closed windows and a running furnace leave fine dust on baseboards, blinds and vent covers. Dry winter air makes it cling.
- Filters. Swap your HVAC filter around the same time, before pollen season.
Fall: before the heat comes on
- Bathrooms. Summer humidity can leave mildew in grout lines. Left alone, it can mean regrouting later. Detailed grout cleaning is part of our deep clean.
- Kitchen. Behind the fridge and stove is where crumbs and grease collect. With the holidays coming, fall is a good time to get it out.
- Rugs and upholstery. A summer of open windows lets dust and pollen settle into soft surfaces. Vacuum them before the house closes up for winter.
In older houses, like many in Wethersfield and Glastonbury, a deep clean is careful detail work on old woodwork, window sills, stair treads and baseboards. Both towns are about 20 minutes from our Manchester base.
What a customer said
"Ortiz Cleaning Services came to my house yesterday and did a GREAT job making my house look better than ever. They did a Deep clean and the results were much better than I would have guessed. Thank you so much. The best!!!!"
Bob F., Google review
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between deep cleaning and regular cleaning?
Regular cleaning is upkeep on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly schedule: floors, kitchen surfaces, bathrooms, dusting and tidying. A deep clean is a one-time, top-to-bottom clean. It adds scrubbed baseboards and trim, detailed grout cleaning, light fixtures, blinds, window sills, vents and the spots behind appliances.
What does deep cleaning include?
Our deep clean covers trim, baseboards, light fixtures, corners, appliance exteriors, behind appliances, vents, window sills, blinds and detailed grout cleaning. It starts with an assessment and ends with a final walk-through with you. Inside the fridge, oven and cabinets are add-ons at $35 each.
How long does a deep clean take?
Most homes take one full day. The exact time depends on the size and condition of your home, and we give you an estimate during the walkthrough. A regular visit usually takes 2 to 4 hours.
How much more does a deep clean cost than regular cleaning?
For a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home, a deep clean is $380 and a bi-weekly visit is $170, before 6.35% Connecticut sales tax. That's $210 more for the deep clean. Weekly visits for that home are $150 and monthly visits are $240.
Do I need a deep clean before starting regular cleaning?
No, it isn't required. If your home hasn't had a thorough clean in a while, a deep clean first makes regular visits easier to keep on track. A 2 to 4 hour visit is built for upkeep, not for catching up.
When should I book a deep clean before Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is November 26, 2026. Aim for the week of November 16, which leaves a few days of buffer. Ask early so you have more dates to pick from. We clean Monday to Saturday and are closed on Sundays.
Book your pre-holiday deep clean
Get your price in the quote tool, pick any add-ons, and ask for a date before Thanksgiving.
