Anyone who runs a rental flat or a short-let home buys home deep cleaning in Abu Dhabi in turns. A flat is cleaned between tenants or guests, the job has to be done in a fixed window, and the owner needs to know the cost before the next booking is confirmed. The first decision is often how the service is priced: by the hour, or as a fixed price for the rooms that need doing. Both models exist, and each suits a different kind of job.
DesiBhai Abu Dhabi, an Abu Dhabi home services company, publishes both kinds of price for its deep cleaning. That lets you compare the two models on the same flat, rather than guessing which one is cheaper. This guide explains how each model is priced, when each is easier to plan, and how to build a simple worksheet you can reuse for every turnover.
Disclosure: DesiBhai Abu Dhabi did not write, commission or review this piece and does not endorse it. The price details come from the company's own website, as listed in late October, and may change.
Two pricing models for home deep cleaning in Abu Dhabi
Hourly. The company's deep cleaning is priced at AED 25 an hour inside Abu Dhabi City and AED 30 an hour outside it. The minimum booking is two hours, and cleaning products and equipment are included in the rate.
Fixed, by room or item. Several parts of a deep clean carry their own price. For kitchen deep cleaning in Abu Dhabi, a standard home kitchen is AED 150 fixed and a large villa kitchen is AED 200 fixed. For bathroom deep cleaning in Abu Dhabi, a bathroom is AED 80 each, or AED 140 for two bathrooms in one visit. Windows are priced by property size, with inside and outside both included: AED 80 for a studio or 1-bedroom, AED 120 for a 2 to 3-bedroom apartment and AED 220 for a villa of up to 4 bedrooms. Carpet is AED 5 per m2, with a minimum of AED 20 a visit. A whole large-villa deep clean is quoted per job.
The point of the comparison is the scope. A fixed price covers the room or item it names, and nothing else. An hourly price covers the hours you buy, and the scope is whatever you decide to fill them with.
When hourly is easier to plan
Hourly pricing suits a job where the scope is uncertain, or where you want the whole flat cleaned to one standard and do not know how long that will take. The price is a rate per hour, so you estimate the hours from the size and condition of the flat.
As an illustration, not a quote: a flat that needs four hours of cleaning would be four hours at AED 25 an hour inside the city, which is AED 100. If the flat is outside Abu Dhabi City, the rate is AED 30 an hour. The company's deep clean scope covers all rooms, floors, surfaces, bathrooms, kitchen counters, inside cupboards and interior windows, so a turnover clean that needs all of that is the case where an hourly estimate is most useful.
The risk with hourly is that a turnover estimated too low is priced too low in your budget. Set the hours you expect, keep the 2-hour minimum in mind (a one-hour job is still a 2-hour minimum booking, which is AED 50 inside the city and AED 60 outside), and check the total against the quote you receive.
When fixed is clearer
Fixed prices work well when the job is a known set of rooms. A turnover where the owner needs only the kitchen and two bathrooms cleaned to a standard, for example, has a known scope, and each part has a published price. The owner can then add up the rooms that need doing and know the figure before the cleaning starts.
Two details matter for a fixed kitchen. A standard home kitchen is AED 150 fixed and a large villa kitchen is AED 200 fixed, and the kitchen scope includes the exhaust fan, oven interior, cabinets inside and out, stovetop, splashback, grease trap and sink. The job takes about two to three hours. For bathrooms, the fixed price includes descaling and sanitising chemicals, and each bathroom takes about one to one and a half hours.
Fixed pricing is also easier to repeat. Every turnover that needs the same rooms gets the same figure, which makes the budget easier to forecast.
A worksheet for a turnover clean
Use the same steps for every flat, so the two models are compared on the same scope.
- List the rooms and items the turnover needs. Include the kitchen type, the number of bathrooms, the windows if they are part of the job, and any upholstery or carpet.
- Estimate the hourly total. Multiply the hours you expect by the rate for your area: AED 25 an hour inside Abu Dhabi City, or AED 30 an hour outside it. Remember the two-hour minimum.
- Add the fixed prices for each room or item on your list, using the published figures.
- Check the scope. The fixed total covers only what it names. If a fixed item does not cover something you need, either add that item or move the job to hourly.
- Pick the lower total for the same scope, and note the choice next to the flat, so the next turnover starts from the same record.
Upholstery and carpet are priced separately. A three-seater sofa is AED 90, and drying takes about two to three hours, so schedule it so the room is not needed until it is dry.
Where the price can move
Four things change the figure, and each one should be checked before you commit.
- Location. Inside Abu Dhabi City the hourly rate is AED 25, and outside it is AED 30. The company's list sorts each neighbourhood into one of the two groups, so check which group your flat falls in rather than assuming from its postcode or nearby landmarks.
- Minimum booking. The hourly deep clean has a two-hour minimum, so a very short turnover still carries the minimum. Factor that into the estimate for a small flat.
- Property size and type. A window job is priced by property size, and a whole large-villa deep clean is quoted per job. Single items keep their fixed prices: the large villa kitchen at AED 200 and windows for a villa of up to 4 bedrooms at AED 220.
- Condition. A flat that has been neglected will take longer than the estimate for a clean one, which matters most under an hourly rate. The published fixed figures do not say how a badly used flat is priced, so get a quote before you treat a fixed total as the budget.
The published figures are the company's list, as listed on its website. Confirm the figure for your own property before you fix the budget, and keep the quote with the property record.
Putting the cost into the budget
Treat turnover cleaning as a recurring cost per property, not a surprise. Multiply the chosen price by the number of turnovers you expect in a year, and enter the result as a line in the budget for each flat. Revisit the figure once a year against the invoices you actually paid, because the number of turnovers changes with occupancy, and the published prices can change too.
For the broader method of setting this up, hire, outsource or automate helps you decide which tasks to hand to a provider, and how to create a small business budget shows how to fit recurring costs into a yearly plan.
Frequently asked questions
Does the hourly rate include cleaning products? Yes. The company lists cleaning products and equipment as included in the hourly deep clean rate.
Which model is cheaper? It depends on the scope. Price the same rooms both ways, using the worksheet above, and choose the lower total for that job.
Are large villas priced the same way? A whole large-villa deep clean is quoted per job, so get the figure for your property before you plan the year. Single items keep their fixed prices, such as the large villa kitchen at AED 200.