A vacant one-bedroom off Duke of York Boulevard, cleaned before the keys went back. It is an ordinary job rather than a dramatic one, which is exactly why it is worth writing down. Most move-out cleans are two areas, one lift ride and an afternoon. The parts that decide whether they go smoothly are decided before anyone arrives.
The property
A condo unit in Mississauga City Centre, the cluster of towers off Duke of York Boulevard behind Square One. The unit was empty. Furniture was already out, which is the ideal condition for cleaning carpet and the reason move-out work photographs so plainly: there is nothing left to hide a traffic lane.
The job
Two areas. The bedroom, and the closet floor priced as its own area. That is the shape of most condo move-outs: the carpeted rooms are few, and the closet is the one people forget until a walkthrough finds it.
The constraint was the building, not the carpet
A City Centre tower will not usually let a truck-mounted system run a hose from a van at street level, through the lobby, into a lift and down a corridor. Many physically cannot accommodate it, and suction falls away over that distance anyway.
Our extractor is portable, so it goes up in the service lift with the technician and nothing runs through a shared corridor. On this job that was the whole difference between attending and rescheduling. It is the same reason the equipment suits condo and apartment work across the GTA.
The process, which does not change
Fibre identified before anything is sprayed. Pre-spray, agitation, then hot water extraction at 250 PSI, finished with an acid-side rinse so no cleaning solution is left in the pile. That last step is the one that decides whether the carpet still looks clean in a month, and it is the step a rented machine does not have.
Dry to the touch in four to six hours, fully dry within twenty-four. On a handover that matters more than it sounds, because it decides whether the keys go back the same day.
What it came to
On the published rate card, a condo bedroom is $69 up to 200 sq ft or $99 up to 400, and a closet is $30 as its own area. That is $99 or $129 depending on the floor area of the bedroom. Every visit carries a $175 minimum service call, so a two-area job like this one is billed at the minimum rather than the sum of its areas.
Worth saying plainly, because it is the most common surprise on a small move-out: two small areas do not cost less than the minimum. Three or four areas usually do better on value, and five takes 10% off the carpet subtotal.
What we would tell the next tenant
Book two or three days before handover rather than the morning of. The room rates are identical either way, though a morning-of booking is a same-day visit and carries the $50 priority surcharge. A slot is the one thing that cannot always be promised, and the extra days let the carpet dry fully before an inspection walks on it.
If you are working out whether you are obliged to clean at all, our guide to end-of-lease carpet cleaning in Ontario sets out what the Residential Tenancies Act actually asks of a tenant. Rates and neighbourhood coverage for this city sit on the Mississauga carpet cleaning page.
Frequently asked.
Why does a vacant unit still need the carpet cleaned?
Because a walkthrough looks at the floor. An empty room shows every traffic lane and every edge that furniture used to hide, and the closet floor is one of the first places an inspection checks. Cleaning a unit while it is empty is also the cheapest it will ever be to clean, because nothing has to be moved.
What did this job cost?
On the published rate card a condo bedroom is $69 up to 200 sq ft or $99 up to 400, and a closet is $30 as its own area. That comes to $99 or $129 depending on the floor area of the bedroom. Every visit carries a $175 minimum service call, so a two-area job like this one is billed at the minimum.
Can you get equipment into a downtown Mississauga condo?
Yes, and it is the reason the equipment is portable rather than truck-mounted. The extractor is carried in and goes up in the service lift. There is no hose running from a van at street level, through the lobby and into a corridor, which is the arrangement most City Centre buildings will not permit.
How long before the carpet can be walked on?
Dry to the touch in four to six hours and fully dry within twenty-four, which is the same across every job we do. On a move-out that matters, because it decides whether you can hand the keys back the same day or need to book two or three days before handover.