Townhouse cleaning Almaty

How Townhouse Cleaning Differs from Apartment Cleaning

A townhouse is not just a large apartment on the ground; it’s an object with a completely different geometry of dirt, cleaning logistics, and safety requirements. What works in a high-rise building fails in a private home. Let’s break down the key differences using the example of Almaty realities — from stairs to street dust.

Area and Vertical Layout

The average area of a townhouse in Almaty is a significant space spread over 2–3 floors, whereas an apartment rarely exceeds 100 m² on a single level. The staircase is the main “time consumer”: cleaning each step manually, especially with carpet covering, takes up to 15 minutes per flight. At profi-clean, we allocate 40–50 minutes more for a three-story house than for an apartment of the same area — due to transitions between floors, railings, and baseboards at turns. Plus, vertical surfaces: walls along the staircase get dirty from hands and collect dust falling from the upper floor, requiring separate wiping. In my opinion, the main mistake owners make is trying to clean a townhouse using the same scheme as an apartment, quickly skipping the stairs, and then wondering about the film of dust appearing the next day.

Street Dust and Dirt from the Doorstep

In an apartment, dirt ends at the doormat by the elevator — in a townhouse, you bring it directly from the street. In the suburbs (Kargaly, Zhetysu, Irgeli), dirt roads, sand, and poplar fluff in summer are not just litter but fine dust that settles on all horizontal surfaces. Moreover, in Almaty, the factor of mountain winds adds to this: dust rises from the street and flies into open windows even on the second floor. In practice, this means that during standard maintenance, we change the water in the bucket on each floor — otherwise, the micro-abrasive scratches the laminate. In apartments, this problem doesn’t exist: one pass with a vacuum cleaner and a wet mop is usually sufficient.

Windows — Not Just in the Living Room

In an apartment, you wash 3–5 windows maximum; in a townhouse, it’s 8–15, including facade windows on the first floor, dormer windows, and panoramic sashes. The height of the windows here is different: on the second floor, they often reach a ceiling height of 3.5 m, and reaching the top hinge from the floor is impossible without a telescopic pole. And if the house has French windows to the floor, they must be washed on both sides, including the outside, where ice and pollen accumulate. In our practice, there was a case: in a townhouse in the “Zelyony Kvartal” residential complex, the owner hadn’t washed the external sashes for a year because she was afraid of heights — during that time, deposits from lawn watering had etched into the glass, requiring a professional isopropyl alcohol-based solution. I recommend allocating 2–2.5 hours for townhouse windows versus 40 minutes for an apartment.

Different Types of Flooring in One Area

In an apartment, floors are usually of one type — laminate, parquet, or tile. In a townhouse, the first floor often has porcelain stoneware or heated floors with carpet in the living room area, the second floor has laminate, and the third floor has carpet in the bedrooms. Each covering requires its own chemicals and techniques: for stone — neutral pH (otherwise it eats away the grout), for carpet — dry cleaning with extraction, for laminate — minimal moisture. At our profi-clean warehouse, we stock five types of cleaning compounds for different floor types, and on-site, our cleaner switches between them every 20–30 minutes. If you use a universal product, after six months, salt streaks will appear on the porcelain stoneware, and the laminate seams will swell. In an apartment, this problem doesn’t exist: one type of covering means one cleaning mode.

Furniture and Zoning

A townhouse is often furnished with large-sized items: corner sofa beds, massive wooden tables, floor-to-ceiling shelving. Moving furniture to access baseboards and walls is a separate task: a 200 kg sofa cannot be moved alone. In apartments, furniture is more compact, and access to corners is easier. Plus, townhouses have more niches, built-in wardrobes, and mezzanines — dust accumulates there, invisible until you open the door. Our cleaners in Almaty use crevice tools for the vacuum cleaner and microfiber cloths with an antistatic agent to not just wipe away dust but to bind it. Without this, it will settle back on the floor in two days.

Bathrooms and Utility Rooms

An apartment typically has one or two bathrooms, while a townhouse has three or four: a guest bathroom on the first floor, a main one on the second, an ensuite in the master bedroom, and possibly a separate toilet in the basement or on the third floor. Each has different tiles, plumbing, and ventilation. Humidity in a townhouse is higher due to the proximity of the ground and the lack of central forced ventilation, so mold appears faster in the tile grout and under the sink in the bathrooms. In Almaty, with its sharp humidity fluctuations in spring, we recommend treating silicone joints with an antifungal compound once a quarter — in apartments, this is needed less often, once every six months. If this is not done, mold grows into the sealant within two months, and then it requires not cleaning, but replacing the grout.

Loggias, Terraces, and Courtyard

In an apartment, the balcony is 3–6 m² of tile or concrete. In a townhouse, there is a terrace on the second floor, a patio on the first, and often a small yard of 20–50 m². Cleaning the terrace includes washing the wooden decking (oil coating requires delicate chemicals, otherwise it fades), cleaning garden furniture, and sweeping leaves from drainage grates. The courtyard is no longer just cleaning, but housekeeping: sweeping, washing tiles, and cleaning storm drain grates of debris. In practice, the terrace and yard take an additional 30–40 minutes, which simply doesn’t exist in an apartment. And if the drainage grates are missed, after a downpour, water will flood the foundation — this is a common problem in Almaty in July and August.

How to Prepare a Townhouse for Professional Cleaning

Preparing a townhouse for the cleaners’ arrival is a step that directly affects the quality and speed of the cleaning: chaos on countertops and uncovered fragile items eat up to 40% of the team’s time just on simple rearranging.

Why Preparing a Townhouse Differs from an Apartment

A townhouse has three floors and at least one staircase — cleaners physically cannot finish within the standard 4-6 hours if they also have to clear clutter. At profi-clean, on a job in the Medeu district, a team spent 45 minutes just removing collectible figurines from windowsills and putting away children’s toys from the first floor. Such scenarios almost never happen in an apartment: the areas are more compact, and things are usually concentrated in one room. In a townhouse, however, there is a living room-studio, a children’s room on the second floor, a study on the third, and each level requires a separate pass. If the owner hasn’t cleared the surfaces, cleaners are forced to either work around the items (leaving dirt in corners) or spend time carefully moving them — which risks damaging decor. Our experience shows that 30 minutes of townhouse preparation reduces the actual cleaning time by 1-1.5 hours because the team starts washing immediately instead of sorting.

What Needs to Be Removed from Surfaces on Each Floor

• First floor (living room-kitchen): remove all dishes, vases, documents, and remote controls from tables and countertops — cleaners will wipe every surface, and greasy deposits in the kitchen can only be removed with open access to the countertop.
• Second floor (bedrooms and children’s room): remove bedspreads and throws from beds, put fragile accessories in the closet — during wet cleaning, dust from the floor settles on fabrics, and without preparation, the textiles would need separate washing.
• Third floor (study or terrace): clear the desk of papers and electronics, remove boxes from the floor — on the terrace, cleaners wash facade windows and the floor, and any small debris on the floor slows down vacuuming with a HEPA filter.

Which Areas Require Special Attention Before the Cleaners Arrive

The staircase is the most vulnerable area in a townhouse. If there are carpet runners on the steps, it’s better to remove them in advance: up to 70% of dust accumulates underneath, which a regular vacuum cannot extract due to the tight fit. Our recommendation: 15 minutes before arrival, remove the runners, open all interior doors, and check that the plumbing in the bathrooms is not blocked — a clogged sink or toilet can stop the cleaners’ work for 20-30 minutes. Another common nuance in Almaty townhouses is panoramic windows on the first floor: if there are flower pots on the windowsills, move them to the bathroom or terrace; otherwise, when washing the windows, water with chemicals will get on the leaves and leave white streaks on the glass.

Homeowner’s Mistake: Leaving Items on the Floor of the Walk-in Closet or Pantry

When cleaners enter a walk-in closet on the second floor of a townhouse, they see more than just a floor—it’s a zone for vacuuming and wet cleaning baseboards. If shoes, boxes, or seasonal items are on the floor, the crew either works around them (leaving dirt underneath) or wastes time rearranging—and this isn’t included in the paid scope of work. We had a case in a townhouse in the Alatau district: the owner left three boxes of books on the closet floor, and underneath we found a 2 mm layer of dust—we had to call the client to coordinate moving them. Our advice: an hour before cleaning, walk through all three floors and pick up everything off the floor that’s out of place—shoes, bags, children’s toys, charging cables. This takes 10 minutes but ensures the vacuum covers 100% of the floor area, not just 70%.

Common mistakes when cleaning a townhouse yourself

Eager to save money, townhouse owners often take on cleaning themselves—only to find the results last a day or two, and some surfaces require professional restoration after such “DIY” efforts. Here are six costliest mistakes we see on our calls.

Mistake with cleaning products: all-purpose chemicals vs. different surfaces

Using one all-purpose cleaner for all surfaces is the main cause of micro-damage in a townhouse. In the kitchen, greasy residue on MDF facades requires an alkaline formula, while marble windowsills and granite countertops dull and stain from alkalis—natural stone needs neutral pH products without acids. Wooden floors (parquet, engineered wood) fear excessive moisture and abrasives, while laminate tolerates only mild alkaline gels. In our high-value orders, we use the Sodasan line for delicate surfaces and Kiehl for stubborn dirt—each bottle is labeled for a specific surface type. Before cleaning yourself, check the product label against your surface material—if the bottle doesn’t specify “for [your material],” don’t risk it.

Incorrect window washing technique: streaks and scratches on double-glazed windows

DIY window washing in a townhouse most often leaves streaks and scratches due to wrong tools and technique. A regular sponge with an abrasive layer scratches glass, while newspapers leave lint on plastic frames—for panoramic first-floor windows and skylights (up to 3 meters high), you need a rubber squeegee with a microfiber attachment and a telescopic pole. The washing water should be distilled or settled—Almaty tap water is hard, leaving a white carbonate residue that only a vinegar solution removes, which is aggressive for rubber seals. In my opinion, the most common failure is trying to wash second-light windows (4-5 meters high) from a stepladder: a drop of cleaning solution falls on already washed glass, leaving a permanent streak.

Cleaning the inner courtyard and terrace: dirt gets tracked back inside

Owners clean the indoor floors but forget the patio and terrace—dirt, sand, and pollen from outside are tracked back in within a day, negating the cleaning. Terrace boards made of WPC or larch are washed with a Karcher and a rotary nozzle (pressure 80-100 bar), but without professional chemicals to remove green algae—within a week, the tiles turn green again. On our routes around Almaty, we’ve noticed: if the terrace isn’t treated with an antifungal compound in spring, by July black deposits appear at the joints, spreading to the front door threshold. We have a separate “Terrace and Facade Washing” service in our price list, but if you’re doing it yourself—be sure to wash the paths from the gate to the entrance and the doormat, otherwise all the neighborhood dust ends up in the living room.

Ignoring the range hood and ventilation system: grease settles on all surfaces

The kitchen range hood in a townhouse is the main grease accumulator, often overlooked during DIY cleaning. Grease on filters and fan blades heats up when turned on and sprays micro-particles throughout the kitchen—they settle on facades, ceilings, and textiles, creating a sticky film that attracts dust. In open-plan townhouses (kitchen-living room), this grease reaches sofas and curtains—we see such cases when clients complain of old oil smells, even though the hood looks clean. Filters need to be soaked in an alkaline solution (pH 11-12) for 20-30 minutes, and the fan must be disassembled and cleaned with a brush—without this, a month after a deep clean, the kitchen becomes greasy again.

Improper textile care: carpets and upholstered furniture are ruined by household chemicals

Attempting to remove stains from a sofa or carpet with “Vanish” or a stain remover without testing on an inconspicuous area is a guaranteed way to get a discolored stain of irregular shape. Textiles in a townhouse (carpets 4-6 m², sectional sofas, blackout curtains) require a composition selection based on fiber type: polyester and polypropylene tolerate alkaline compounds, while wool and viscose require only neutral enzyme-based products. The most common mistake is rubbing the stain: the fiber fluffs up, and dirt is ground in deeper. At profi-clean, for extraction cleaning, we use machines with a water vacuum and Kiehl shampoo without optical brighteners — chemical residues are removed by double rinsing. If you clean yourself, wet the textile minimally; excess water causes mold in the sofa filling, especially during Almaty’s humid spring.

Neglecting basement and garage area cleaning: dust rises upstairs

The basement or garage in a townhouse is an area where construction dust, wheel dirt, and old paint accumulate, and when the door to the house is opened, all this aerosol rises to the first floor. Dry cleaning with a broom or a vacuum cleaner without a HEPA filter only suspends dust in the air — it settles after about two hours on all horizontal surfaces in the house. Owners often mop the garage floor but fail to rinse off salt streaks from wheels — in winter, de-icing reagents eat into the concrete and are tracked into the hallway. In our practice, there was a case: after self-cleaning, a client complained about a film on furniture, and the source turned out to be in the garage — we treated the floor with a professional neutralizer, and the problem was resolved in one visit. Before cleaning the main house, be sure to wash the garage with a wet vacuum and treat the threshold with an antistatic agent.

Comparison of townhouse and private house cleaning

Many owners equate these two property types, but in practice, the room geometry, surface load, and dirt logistics are fundamentally different. We break down the key differences that affect the cleaning approach.

Difference in vertical surfaces and glazing

In a private house, the area of walls and ceilings is often comparable to the floor — the basement, first, and attic floors can yield up to 250–300 m² of vertical surfaces. In a townhouse with the same dimensions, there are fewer floors, meaning a higher proportion of glazing: panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and bedrooms. This changes priorities — at profi-clean, we spend 40% more time on townhouses washing glass and frames than on a similarly sized cottage. Dust on vertical blinds and stained glass in a townhouse accumulates faster due to proximity to the street (the entrance often opens directly onto the sidewalk), so without professional antistatic treatment, the clean effect lasts no longer than 2–3 days.

Specifics of the adjacent area and entry zones

The plot of a private house covers dozens of acres with a lawn, paths, a barbecue area, and often a utility block: dirt from shoes, pollen, and sand enter the house through three or four entrances. In a townhouse, the adjacent area is limited to a patio or a small yard of 10–30 m², but there is one entrance, and it is a common vestibule for several units. This creates a paradox: the volume of street dirt per square meter of a townhouse hallway is higher than in a private house because the whole family and guests pass through one door. In our practice, for townhouses, we change the water in buckets when mopping the hallway floor twice — otherwise, after the first pass over the tiles, streaks from reagents and sand remain.

Different sources of odors and their neutralization

A private house has an autonomous sewage system (septic tank), a boiler room, and often a basement with high humidity: odors from there rise through ventilation ducts and settle on textiles on the first floor. In a townhouse, the main problem is kitchen odors, which, due to the open-plan living-dining room, penetrate upholstered furniture and carpets across the entire first floor. We use different ozonation protocols: for a private house — treatment of the basement and ventilation ducts with preliminary dehumidification; for a townhouse — airing the kitchen and living room area followed by dry cleaning of sofas. Without this distinction, the odor returns within a week, and the client considers the cleaning to be of poor quality.

Load on flooring and cleaning logistics

In a private house, the floors on the first floor are most often tile or porcelain stoneware (hallway, kitchen, corridor), and on the second floor — laminate or parquet. In a townhouse, due to the smaller floor area, the coverings alternate every 3–5 meters: tile in the hallway transitions into laminate in the living room, then into carpet on the stairs, and back to laminate in the bedroom. This “patchwork” floor requires changing the cleaning mode every few steps: wet cleaning of tiles with a neutral pH, dry cleaning of carpet with an extractor, and parquet with minimal moisture. A mistake at the boundary of coverings — for example, leaving a wet laminate mark on the carpet — leads to stains that can only be removed with a return visit using a foam shampoo.

Difference in access to facades and external elements

A private house has a full-fledged facade up to 10 meters high, downpipes, a plinth, and a blind area: cleaning them requires an aerial work platform or telescopic poles with pressurized water supply. A townhouse shares a facade wall with neighbors, while the back and front walls are two stories high, but access to them is limited by a narrow passage between sections. At profi-clean, for townhouses we use compact high-pressure washers with a 50-liter tank and poles up to 6 meters long — they fit through a standard vestibule. For a private house, the equipment is larger: a 200-liter tank and an aerial platform are required, which increases preparation time by 30–40 minutes. Townhouse owners often overlook this nuance and order facade cleaning at the price of a private house, although due to cramped conditions, it costs no less — simply because of manual labor in awkward areas.

Tips for maintaining cleanliness between cleanings

Even after a high-quality professional cleaning, a townhouse accumulates dust and dirt faster than an apartment due to its two levels, outdoor shoes, and proximity to the ground. Here’s how to extend freshness between cleaner visits without extra effort.

Zonal rule: shoes stay in the vestibule

In a townhouse, dirt from the street is tracked not only onto the doormat but also onto the stairs, the second-floor hallway, and the living room if there is no clear boundary. At profi-clean, we recommend placing not one but two mats in the vestibule — a rough one for soil and an absorbent one for moisture — and laying a microfiber runner on the stairs that is easy to vacuum. In our orders in Almaty, the entry area accounts for 60% of all dirt in a townhouse — if it’s clean, the first floor stays tidy for 3–4 days longer. Moreover, wet cleaning of the threshold is enough to do once every two days with a damp cloth without chemicals — it takes a minute.

Kitchen: daily protection of the backsplash and countertop

In a townhouse kitchen, oil splatters from cooking fly 1.5–2 meters, especially if the stove is against a tiled or glass backsplash wall. We had a case: a client complained about a sticky film a day after cleaning — it turned out she wasn’t covering the pan with a lid when frying. Tip: after each cooking session, wipe the backsplash and countertop with a solution of water and vinegar (1:3) — it breaks down grease without abrasives, and no streaks remain on the tile. And for the range hood, use the recirculation mode if there is no external vent — this way, grease settles inside the filter rather than on the furniture.

Stairs and second floor: dust rises from below

In a townhouse, dust from the first floor rises up the stairs to the second floor due to air convection, especially when the heating system is running. We’ve noticed: if you don’t wipe the steps with a damp cloth 2–3 times a week, by the end of the week, as much dust settles on the second floor as downstairs. Life hack: place a small air purifier with a HEPA filter on the stair landing — it reduces settling by 40% according to our measurements. And never use a dry broom on the stairs — it only stirs up dust, which then settles on walls and railings.

Windows and windowsills: pollen and poplar fluff

In Almaty, from April to June, poplar fluff and pollen get into the gaps of window frames and onto windowsills even with closed windows — this is especially noticeable in a townhouse with panoramic glazing. Wiping windowsills with a damp microfiber cloth once every 2 days is sufficient, but once a week, be sure to rinse the drainage holes in the frames — if fluff clogs them, moisture will seep inside, and mold will appear on the seals. In our townhouses, we use the hypoallergenic product Sodasan for windows — it doesn’t leave a sticky film that attracts dust again.

Bathrooms and toilets: humidity control without chemicals

In a townhouse with two or three bathrooms, humidity stays higher than in an apartment, especially if there is no forced ventilation. After a shower, leave the door open for 10–15 minutes — this is enough for condensation to evaporate rather than settle on tiles and silicone joints. For mirrors and faucets, a dry microfiber cloth is sufficient — hard water in Almaty leaves white spots that abrasive paste only sets in. If you notice buildup on silicone, wipe it with hydrogen peroxide once a month — this prevents mold without chlorine.