Your first cleaning sets the tone for every visit after it. A little preparation, about 15 minutes, helps your cleaner spend their time actually cleaning, and helps them learn what matters most to you. Here’s what to do before the first visit, and what you don’t need to worry about.
The 15-minute checklist
- Clear the surfaces. Put away items on counters, tables, nightstands and the bathroom vanity. Cleaners clean surfaces; they don’t sort your belongings.
- Pick up the floors. Clothes, toys, shoes, bags and cords off the floor so it can be vacuumed and washed edge to edge.
- Do the dishes or load the dishwasher. Dishes aren’t part of a cleaning, and a full sink can’t be cleaned.
- Put away laundry. Laundry isn’t included, and a pile on the bed means the bed area can’t be done properly.
- Secure valuables and anything fragile you’d rather no one handle.
Tell your cleaner what matters
The first visit is when your cleaner learns your home. Share:
- Your priorities: the rooms or tasks you care most about (for example, the kitchen and main bathroom).
- Special surfaces: natural stone, unsealed wood, delicate fixtures, anything that needs a particular product or gentle handling.
- Off-limits areas: a home office, a child’s room, anything you’d rather have left alone.
- Pets: let us know if you have pets and how they react to visitors.
With Axiom’s bi-weekly cleaning, you only explain this once: the same cleaner comes back every visit, on the same day and time.
Access and parking
In Montreal, getting in the door can take longer than you’d think. Before the visit, tell us:
- How to get into the building (door code, concierge, buzzer)
- Where your cleaner can park, including any visitor parking or street parking rules
- Anything unusual about your unit (a hard-to-find entrance, a lock that sticks)
What you don’t need to do
- Buy supplies. Axiom cleaners arrive fully equipped.
- Pre-clean. Tidying helps; cleaning before the cleaner doesn’t. Leave the scrubbing to us.
- Feel embarrassed. Cleaners have seen it all. An honest description of your home’s condition helps us plan the right amount of time.
Booking a deep clean or move clean?
- Deep clean: clear space around movable appliances and furniture so the team can get behind and under them. See deep cleaning vs regular cleaning.
- Move-in / move-out: the home must be empty, including cabinets, drawers and closets. Use our move-out checklist.
- Post-renovation: make sure contractors have finished and removed their materials. See the post-renovation checklist.
After the first visit
Walk through your home and note anything you’d like done differently next time. With Axiom, the first clean is how you try the service: if you’re happy, you continue every two weeks with the same cleaner. There’s no contract, so you can pause, skip or cancel anytime.
More: FAQ · all cleaning guides
Book your first clean
Get your quote online in a few minutes, or call (438) 814-9124 (Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).