Builders clean or bond clean
Two different jobs that get booked interchangeably, with different scopes, different equipment and different reasons for failing.
These are the two most commonly confused cleans in Australia, and booking the wrong one wastes both a visit and a deadline.
The difference
| Builders clean | Bond clean | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Make a newly finished building presentable for handover | Return a tenanted property to its condition report standard |
| What is being removed | Construction residue: dust, paint, silicone, adhesive, stickers, grout haze | Ordinary living soil: grease, soap scum, dust, marks |
| Who judges it | Builder, client or handover inspection | Property manager against the entry condition report |
| Typical equipment | Scrapers, blades, chemical neutralisers, industrial vacuums | Standard domestic cleaning equipment |
| Risk if wrong | Failed handover, delayed occupation | Withheld bond |
Our comparison, drawn from how the two are commonly scoped in Australia.
Why a bond cleaner may struggle with a builders clean
The difference is not effort, it is method. Grout haze needs chemical neutralisers and repeated polishing, published at $100 to $200 per bathroom. Silicone and adhesive embedded in tile joints need manual tools, at $80 to $150 per bathroom. Paint on glass needs blades and a technique that does not scratch.
A domestic cleaner working with normal products will spend a long day and still leave a building that fails inspection, and neither party will be happy about it.
Source: Everyday Clean, After Construction Cleaning Cost Guide Australia
Which to book
- New build, renovation or fitout being handed over: builders clean.
- Leaving a rental: bond clean.
- A renovation in a property you are also vacating: both, and in that order.