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A Practical Apartment Cleaning Checklist for Abu Dhabi Homes

Room-by-room priorities for keeping an apartment fresh despite dust, balconies, busy schedules, and shared building spaces.

By 7 min read · 18 June 2026

A Practical Apartment Cleaning Checklist for Abu Dhabi Homes

Daily 8 AM – 8 PM · all of Abu Dhabi

Licence
Licensed since 2021
Abu Dhabi trade licence CN-4175959
Materials
Yours or ours
Liquids, vacuum, mop, cloths and a step ladder
Team
Our own cleaners
Trained in-house and in uniform
Re-clean
Free if reported within 24 hours
Anything on your agreed checklist
Table of Contents

Before you start

Apartment living in Abu Dhabi comes with its own cleaning pattern: compact kitchens that spread grease to nearby surfaces, bathrooms that scale quickly in hard water, balconies that collect sand and AC vents that blow fine dust back into the room. A checklist helps you — or a cleaner — cover all of it in a predictable amount of time.

Work from high surfaces to low, and from the cleanest room to the dirtiest, so dust you loosen lands on areas you have not vacuumed yet. Vacuum before you mop; mopping over sand turns it into a paste.

The weekly checklist, room by room

Entrance and living area

  • Dust shelves, TV unit and furniture tops
  • Wipe light switches, door handles and the front door
  • Vacuum sofa cushions and under cushions
  • Vacuum rugs, then the floor, including under the sofa
  • Mop hard floors last

Kitchen

  • Clear and wipe counters, including behind appliances
  • Degrease the hob and the splashback behind it
  • Wipe cabinet fronts and handles
  • Clean the sink and tap, then dry it to stop water marks
  • Wipe the fridge, microwave and oven fronts
  • Empty the bin and wipe the lid

Bathroom

  • Toilet inside and out, including the base
  • Basin and tap, with a descaler on white marks
  • Shower screen squeegeed and descaled
  • Mirror and any glass shelves
  • Floor, corners and behind the door

Bedrooms

  • Change bed linen
  • Dust bedside tables, wardrobe fronts and window sills
  • Vacuum under the bed where you can reach
  • Mop or vacuum the floor

Balconies and windows

High-floor balconies collect sand fast, especially after a windy day. Sweep the floor, wipe the railing and furniture, and vacuum the sliding-door track before it hardens into grit that makes the door stiff. Clean the inside of the balcony glass; the outside only where you can reach it safely without leaning out. Tower facades are cleaned by the building's contractor with rope access — never try to reach them yourself.

The monthly extras

Once a month, add the jobs that do not need doing weekly:

  • Wipe AC vent covers; if dust returns within days, the ducts may need cleaning
  • Clean inside the microwave and wipe the fridge shelves
  • Wash the shower curtain or deep-clean the screen
  • Dust the tops of wardrobes, door frames and ceiling lights
  • Vacuum mattress surfaces and flip or rotate the mattress

How long it takes

A studio or 1-bedroom apartment takes a professional cleaner about 2–3 hours on this checklist; a 2-bedroom around 3 hours; a 3-bedroom 3–4 hours, often with two cleaners. A 3-hour visit is AED 130, materials included. Outside the areas that take short visits the shortest visit is 4 hours, and a visit of 4 hours or more is 20% off: AED 136 for 4 hours. Booked 3 or more times a week, at least 3 hours each, the visits become our weekly package at 20% off every visit: AED 104 for 3 hours.

When to hand it to a professional

If the checklist regularly takes you most of a weekend, a weekly or fortnightly cleaner is usually worth it. If the flat has fallen behind — grease on the kitchen walls, heavy scale, dust on every high surface — start with a deep clean and then keep it up weekly. Sofas, carpets, mattresses and curtains are best cleaned professionally every 6–12 months; they are priced per item and can be added to any visit.

Services in this article

Questions we get asked

How much does home cleaning cost in Abu Dhabi?

AED 60 for 1 hour, AED 90 for 2 hours and AED 40 for each hour after that, with 20% off a visit of 4 hours or more, per cleaner, with our cleaning materials and equipment included. Every price already includes 5% VAT, so the figure you see is the figure you pay, with no travel or call-out charge added at the end. A 2-bedroom apartment cleaned by one cleaner for 4 hours is AED 136 after the 20% discount, materials included. The shortest visit depends on your area: One or two hours can be booked in Khalifa City, Shakhbout City, Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Zayed City, Baniyas, Al Shawamekh, Al Raha Beach, Al Raha Gardens, Abu Dhabi Gate City, Shabiya, Al Muntazah and Rabdan. Everywhere else the shortest visit is 4 hours, and 6 hours in Al Wathba, Al Shahama, Al Rahba and Al Samha, which are further out. There is no travel fee. The price is identical on weekends, public holidays and same-day visits.

Is the price per cleaner or for the whole team?

Per cleaner. Each cleaner's visit is priced from the list by its length, so a team of 2 working 4 hours is 2 × AED 136 = AED 272, materials included. More cleaners finish sooner at the same price per hour; the 20% discount goes by the length of the visit, so it applies from 4 hours whether one cleaner comes or four. Most customers put two cleaners in a two-bedroom apartment so the home is done by lunchtime. You can book between 1 and 4 cleaners on a single visit.

What is the minimum booking?

It depends on the area. In Khalifa City, Shakhbout City, Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Zayed City, Baniyas, Al Shawamekh, Al Raha Beach, Al Raha Gardens, Abu Dhabi Gate City, Shabiya, Al Muntazah and Rabdan one hour per cleaner can be booked, AED 60, or two hours for AED 90. Everywhere else the shortest visit is 4 hours (AED 136 with the 20% off), and 6 hours in Al Wathba, Al Shahama, Al Rahba and Al Samha (AED 200), where the team travels further. Deep cleaning and move-in or move-out cleaning need at least 2 cleaners for 3 hours each where short visits are accepted (AED 260), and for the area's shortest visit elsewhere, because those jobs cover the inside of cupboards, appliances, skirting boards and bathrooms in detail. The ceiling is 4 cleaners at up to 8 hours each in one visit.

What materials and equipment are included?

Cleaning liquids and sprays, a vacuum cleaner, a mop and bucket, a broom, microfibre cloths and rags, and a step ladder — everything a normal apartment or villa clean needs, carried in by the team. Tall ladders and scaffolding are not included, so exterior windows above ground level and facade work are quoted separately. All of this is part of the visit price, with nothing added per hour.

Can I use my own cleaning products?

You do not need to prepare anything: the team brings the full kit to every visit. If you prefer a particular product for a delicate surface such as marble or wood, tell us in advance and the team uses it on that surface only. The price is the same either way.

Is there a travel fee?

No. There is no travel fee anywhere we work in Abu Dhabi; instead, the shortest visit depends on how far the team travels. One or two hours can be booked in Khalifa City, Shakhbout City, Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Zayed City, Baniyas, Al Shawamekh, Al Raha Beach, Al Raha Gardens, Abu Dhabi Gate City, Shabiya, Al Muntazah and Rabdan. Everywhere else the shortest visit is 4 hours, and 6 hours in Al Wathba, Al Shahama, Al Rahba and Al Samha, which are further out. There is no travel fee. If your community is not listed, book it as another area and we confirm coverage before the visit.

Do you charge extra for same-day, Fridays or holidays?

No. Same-day bookings, Fridays, weekends and public holidays are all charged at the standard rate, with no call-out fee and no peak pricing of any kind. We work daily from 08:00 to 20:00, and the only scheduling rule is that the work has to finish by closing time, so a long job simply needs an earlier start. Same-day visits need roughly 2 hours of notice for the team to reach you.

What if the job finishes early or takes longer?

You pay for the hours you booked. If the team finishes the agreed scope early, they stay for the remaining time and spend it on anything else you would like done — windows, a balcony, the inside of the fridge. If the property needs longer, the team leader asks you first, and the extra time is charged as the difference to the longer visit on the price list, in 30-minute steps. Nothing is ever added to your bill without your approval.

Is there a weekly or monthly package?

Weekly cleaning package: 3 or more visits a week, at least 3 hours each, 20% off every visit, on a fixed weekly schedule booked in advance. A 3-hour visit on the package is AED 104 instead of AED 130. Visits of 4 hours or more already get 20% off whether they repeat or not, and the two discounts do not add up. Monthly, fortnightly and weekly repeats can be booked at the normal price. Monthly package: AED 4,000 for 26 working days of 8 hours, 208 hours of cleaning in the month on a regular schedule. Extra services, materials and special requirements are agreed in advance. Package and repeat visits are paid visit by visit, and any visit can be paused, moved or cancelled under the normal policy.

How do I pay?

By card, online, after we confirm your booking. You send a request with nothing to pay; once we confirm it you pay from My bookings, on Nomod's secure payment page — we never see your card details. Jobs priced after photos (fabric care, AC ducts, repairs) are priced by the team first. Jobs of AED 1,000 or more take a 30% advance once confirmed and the balance online before the visit (a visit less than 24 hours away is paid in full, in one payment). The team comes once the visit is paid. There is no cash, card-on-site or bank-transfer option. All prices include 5% VAT, and a receipt for your booking can be printed or saved from My bookings.

Book in a minute

Reading up before you book?

When you are ready, pick the service, the size of your home and a time. We confirm the checklist with you before the team travels.