Reputable cleaners are crucial in getting bond back

ANGIE’S Domestic Duties owner Angela Brown says they have been “flat out” with bond cleaning jobs across the region.

“We would do four or five bond cleans a week, but over the Christmas and New Year period this skyrockets to two or three a day, and sometimes we have to decline up to five jobs a day,” she said.

“A lot of the bond cleans we do are severe, especially if they abandon the property and it hasn’t been touched for some time.”

One house took a team of six people to complete over two full days and had crayon and permanent marker scribbles on the walls, footprints on the ceilings and so many cockroaches that they had to get the house bombed before they could return.

Another house was filled with knee-high rubbish throughout, dozens of dead mice and piles upon piles of dirty nappies.

One house was repossessed and demolished in the end because it was cheaper than what it would have cost to be cleaned.

Some of the strangest incidents to date have been the peculiar things they find inside some houses, from large boulders and motorbikes in the loungeroom, to piglets and horses going about their business.

Ms Brown said one of the hardest things to clean was the yellow nicotine stains left behind by tenants who smoked inside with the stains often found on walls and windows.

On one occasion, a client who had hoarding tenancies had collected so many items over the years that cleaning staff could not open the door to a room.

The business owner said tenants should always choose reputable cleaners and ensure they took the time to review their entry report or they might be liable for it.