House-sellers are being urged by estate agents to virally deep-clean properties to guarantee that sales go through.
There has been a spike in demand for deep cleaning services from house-sellers.
Chris Alexander, branch manager at Aspire Estate Agents, said: “In the last week we’ve had safety concerns from buyers who won’t move into a new property until they know that it’s been properly cleaned.
“This issue obviously isn’t going away and if you’re looking for a quick sale, it’s really essential that regular deep cleans are being done. I can see it becoming part of the buying and selling chain for the rest of the year.”
Simon Gerrard, PPNEA, managing director of Martyn Gerrard estate agents, said “When you are given the keys to a new house, you change the locks as a matter of security.
“For the same reasons of security, I see no reason, following the Covid-19 crisis, why anyone wouldn’t be going for a deep clean before they move in, unless the house they are buying is a new-build. It would be silly not to.
“Moving forward, I don’t think anyone will be looking to clean it themselves.”
During a viral deep clean, a technician in protective gear uses a spray cannister to apply non-toxic virucidal solution, killing 99.999% of germs.
Rune Sovndahl, co-founder of cleaning firm Fantastic Services, said: “Now more than ever, people are treating their home as their protective bubble and this is even more true when people move into a new home that had a different family living in it only days before.
“Our customers want to know we can get to them quickly and carry out the anti-viral deep clean professionally, so that sellers can reassure buyers that the property is safe to move into.
“We started this service at the beginning of lockdown and it’s now in huge demand.”
