Vacant-home cleaning
Move-out cleaning Austin · House cleanouts & trash-outs · Emergency & deadline cleaning · Move-out cleaning checklist
Heavy-duty home cleaning in Austin
Heavy-duty cleaning for neglected Austin homes
Insured · Written cleaning scope · One point of contact · 5.0 stars from 12 Google reviews · Austin, TX
Some homes are past a normal clean. Grease that has hardened on the cabinets, showers gone orange and green, a fridge nobody wanted to open, pet hair in every corner, a film on every wall. We clean homes in that condition. No lectures, no surprises on the invoice — a scope built on what is actually there.
What is heavy-duty house cleaning?
Heavy-duty house cleaning is a restoration-level clean for a home with buildup a standard clean cannot remove in one pass: baked-on kitchen grease, heavy hard-water scale and mildew, spoiled food in appliances, pet hair and litter, smoke or nicotine film, and accumulated ordinary trash. It is not biohazard cleanup. Bailey & Bear scopes it from photos, removes trash first, cleans in degreasing and descaling passes, and tells you before starting if anything is outside the scope.
Standard clean or heavy-duty? An honest test
Most of the friction in this kind of job comes from a standard-clean price meeting a heavy-duty house. Here is how we tell the difference from photos.
| Area | Standard clean handles | Heavy-duty when you see |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | Normal cooking splatter, crumbs, a used oven | Sticky film on cabinet faces, grease you can scrape, oven floor carbonized, range hood dripping |
| Appliances | Fridge with a few spills | Spoiled food left in a fridge without power, mold on gaskets, freezer melt |
| Bathrooms | Soap scum and light scale | Orange or black rings, mildew in grout and caulk, scale you cannot see through on glass |
| Floors | Dust and tracked-in dirt | Dark traffic lanes, sticky residue, pet accidents on hard floors, hair matted into carpet |
| Walls and ceilings | Fingerprints near switches | Yellow smoke or nicotine film, grease haze on kitchen walls, cobwebs at every corner |
| Trash | A few loose bags | Bags, food packaging and debris through several rooms — see trash-outs |
How we work a heavy job
A heavy home is not cleaned faster by working harder. It is cleaned by doing things in the right order, so each pass actually removes something instead of moving it around.
- Trash and clutter out first. You cannot clean a floor you cannot see. Bagged trash, spoiled food and debris leave before cleaning starts.
- Air it out. Windows open and fans running where possible, before chemicals go on.
- Dry before wet. Hair, dust and cobwebs are vacuumed and brushed off first. Wetting them first turns dust into mud.
- Top to bottom. Ceilings, fans and upper cabinets before counters, counters before floors.
- Dwell time, not elbow grease alone. Degreaser on the kitchen and descaler in the bathrooms are left to work, then agitated and rinsed. Hardened grease takes two or three passes.
- Appliances on a soak. Oven racks and drip pans soaked while other rooms are worked.
- Second pass and photos. A final walk with fresh cloths, then photos of every room.
Where heavy-duty stops: what we do not do
Heavy-duty cleaning covers dirt, grease, scale, ordinary trash and normal household and pet mess. Some conditions are a different trade with different training, equipment and rules. When we find one, we stop that area, tell you, and refer it.
- Blood, bodily fluids, an unattended death or a crime scene — biohazard remediation.
- Needles and sharps — set aside untouched and reported to you.
- Sewage backup and standing contaminated water — a flood and sewage remediation trade.
- Active rodent or insect infestation — licensed pest control first, cleaning after.
- Mold growth beyond surface mildew — in Texas, larger remediation is a licensed trade (TDLR mold program).
- Hoarding with structural, fire-safety or health concerns that need a coordinated specialist team.
Most “this is the worst house you have ever seen” calls are none of the above. They are heavy dirt and neglect, which is exactly what this service is for.
Odors: what cleaning fixes and what it does not
Most odor in a neglected home comes from something you can remove: spoiled food, trash, a dirty fridge, grease, litter, a bathroom that has not been cleaned. Removing the source and cleaning hard surfaces takes care of most of it.
Odor that has soaked into carpet pad, subfloor, drywall or ductwork is different. Cleaning the surface does not reach it, and we will not promise odor elimination when the source is inside the building materials. If carpet or pad is the problem, replacing it is usually cheaper than trying to clean it twice. We will tell you which situation you are in.
Why some heavy homes get two cleans
If a neglected home is getting repairs, paint or new flooring, the best result is a heavy clean before the trades arrive and a lighter final clean after they leave. The first clean makes the house workable and shows what actually needs repair; the second removes the dust the work created. It costs less than one heavy clean done after the trades and then redone. Property managers know this pattern from make-ready turns; it applies equally to a single house.
No judgment, and no surprises on the invoice
People call about homes in this condition for every reason: a tenant who left in a hurry, a parent who could not keep up, a long illness, a rental that went unchecked, a house bought as-is. The reason is not our business. The scope is. We quote from photos, put the price in writing, and if we find something on the day that photos did not show, we call you before doing the extra work.
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Reviews
Read what Austin clients say on our reviews page, then send photos of the property for a written scope.
About Bailey & Bear Cleaning
Owner-operated in Austin, Texas. The owner oversees the written cleaning scope, access plan, schedule and final quality check for every vacant-home job. The price is agreed in writing before work starts, and anything found on site that falls outside the scope is raised before it is touched. Certificates of insurance available on request. Call or text 512-689-8346; the line is open 24/7, and crew availability is confirmed before booking.
Frequently asked questions
Is heavy-duty cleaning the same as biohazard cleaning?
No. Heavy-duty cleaning is for heavy dirt, grease, scale, spoiled food, ordinary trash and normal household and pet mess. Biohazard work such as blood, bodily fluids or an unattended death is a specialist remediation trade. If we find a biohazard condition we stop that area and refer it.
How much does a heavy-duty house clean cost?
More than a standard clean of the same home, because labor is driven by condition rather than size. We quote it flat from photos of the kitchen, bathrooms and worst rooms, and you approve the written price before we start. If the day reveals something the photos did not, we call before doing extra work.
Can you clean a home with pet urine and litter problems?
Yes, on hard floors, walls and fixtures. Litter, hair and accidents on hard surfaces are cleaned and treated. Urine that has soaked into carpet pad or subfloor usually cannot be fully removed by cleaning, and we will tell you if replacement is the honest answer.
Will the house smell clean afterward?
Usually, because most odor comes from things we remove: spoiled food, trash, grease and dirty bathrooms. Odor that has soaked into carpet pad, subfloor, drywall or ducts is not reachable by surface cleaning, so we do not promise odor elimination in those cases.
Do you clean smoke and nicotine film off walls?
Yes. Smoke film is washed off walls, doors, cabinets, blinds and fixtures in degreasing passes. Heavy staining sometimes shows through after cleaning, in which case the walls need sealing primer and paint rather than more cleaning.
Can you clean a fridge that sat without power?
Yes. The food is bagged and removed, the interior is cleaned and deodorized, and gaskets and drawers are scrubbed. If the fridge is beyond saving and is being thrown away, it is routed for refrigerant recovery rather than put in a general load.
Does the house need to be empty?
Not necessarily, but trash and clutter come out before cleaning starts. If there is a lot of furniture or belongings to remove, we scope a cleanout first and the heavy clean after.
Do you handle hoarding situations?
Many homes described as hoarding are heavy clutter and trash with neglect, which we can scope as a cleanout followed by a heavy-duty clean. Homes with structural, fire-safety or serious health concerns need a coordinated specialist team, and we will say so if that is what the photos show.
Send the address, photos and deadline
Tell us what the property looks like now and when it has to be ready. Photos let us scope the job before anyone drives out. Prefer to text? Send photos to 512.689.8346.