What Does a Bond Clean Include? Room-by-Room Scope

TL;DR

A full bond clean covers every room from skirting boards to cornices: oven, rangehood, all cupboards, bathrooms, all floors, all surfaces, window tracks, light fittings, switches, wardrobes, walls spot-cleaned.
Carpet steam, full wall washing, interior + exterior windows, garage, blinds and outdoor areas are almost always quoted as add-ons. Get them itemised.
The "spray and wave" 20-minute job is the most common failure: a quick wipe with no attention to the things property managers actually check (oven, grout, wardrobe edges, ceiling fans, cornices, window tracks).
Use the interactive bond clean checklist before the inspection to confirm nothing has been missed.

What "full bond clean" actually covers

There is no single legally-defined bond clean checklist in South Australia. The legal cleaning standard sits in section 69(3) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA) - "reasonably clean", with fair wear and tear allowed for - and that standard is room-agnostic. So the scope of a "bond clean" comes from convention, not from law.

In practice, a thorough Adelaide bond clean covers what property managers actually check at the vacate inspection. That is what we walk through below. For the interactive, room-by-room version (with a downloadable PDF), see the bond clean checklist tool.

Kitchen - the most-disputed room

The kitchen is where most bonds get partially withheld, usually because of the oven, the rangehood, or the back/top of cupboards. A full bond clean covers:

Oven: inside walls, top, base, racks, trays, glass door (both sides), seals, hinges. Carbon and baked-on grease removed where practical.
Rangehood: filter (degreased - dishwasher works for metal mesh), exterior, light cover, fan housing where accessible.
Stovetop: cooking surface, knobs, around the rim/seal, behind if accessible.
Splashback: tiles or panel cleaned; grout cleaned where reasonably possible (grout discolouration that is age-related is fair wear and tear).
Cupboards: inside surfaces, exterior doors, handles, top of cupboards (a common dust collector), under the kickboard if accessible.
Sink and taps: scale removed, drain cleaned, taps polished.
Benchtops: top, front edge, behind appliances where accessible.
Floor: vacuumed, mopped, edges and corners done, under the fridge if it has been moved out.

The kitchen alone takes 1.5 to 3 hours of a bond clean.

Bathrooms - the second most-disputed room

Soap scum, grout, the toilet base, the exhaust fan and the shower screen are the big bathroom losses. A full bond clean covers:

Toilet: inside the bowl, under the rim, outside, the base, behind, the cistern top and sides.
Shower: screen both sides (descale required), tiles, grout (where practical - age-related discolouration is fair wear and tear), base, drain, taps, shower head.
Bath: tub, taps, around the base, shower curtain track if present.
Vanity: top, mirror, basin, taps, cabinet inside.
Exhaust fan: cover unclipped and wiped, vent dusted (a commonly-missed spot).
Floor: vacuumed, mopped, around the toilet base, into corners.

Each bathroom adds about an hour. A home with 2 bathrooms means about 2 hours just for the bathroom work.

Living areas, bedrooms and hallways

All floors: vacuumed including edges and corners, hard floors mopped.
Skirting boards and architraves wiped (top and front).
Window tracks: vacuumed (a common dust trap), sills wiped, glass cleaned inside.
Light fittings, switches, power points: wiped.
Wardrobes: vacuumed inside, shelves wiped, tracks vacuumed, mirror wiped if present.
Doors and door frames: wiped, marks spot-cleaned.
Cornices and high ledges: dusted (high-up dust is one of the most-missed things in a bad bond clean).
Ceiling fans: blades wiped if reasonably accessible.
Curtains/blinds: blinds dusted (full clean is often an add-on if extensive).
Air conditioner/heater: filter checked, faceplate dusted.

Laundry

Trough, taps, around the washing machine.
Dryer filter cleaned (if accessible).
Cupboards inside and out.
Floor vacuumed and mopped.

Outside, balcony, garage - sometimes included, often add-ons

Whether these are included depends on the cleaner. Standard inclusions:

Balcony or courtyard: swept, surfaces wiped.
Front and back entry mats lifted and underneath swept.
Letterbox emptied of catalogue debris.

Usually add-ons:

Full garage clean-out and sweep.
Driveway oil stain treatment.
Bins washed inside and out.
Lawn debris (it should not be a bond clean job, but it shows up in some scopes).
Window exterior clean (interior is usually included; exterior is often an add-on, especially for 2-storey homes).

Add-ons (the things that bump the price)

These are almost never bundled into the "bond clean" price.

| Add-on | Adelaide range (2026) | Whether to add | |---|---|---| | Carpet steam clean (whole 3BR house) | $130 - $250 | Add if there is carpet. Steam clean is its own job. | | Full wall washing (not just spot-clean) | $60 - $150 | Add if walls are heavily marked (kids, pets, smoke). | | Interior + exterior window clean | $60 - $150 | Add if 2-storey or if windows have not been cleaned all tenancy. | | Garage clean-out | $50 - $120 | Add if you have used the garage as storage. | | Blinds (per blind) | $5 - $15 | Add if blinds are heavily dusty or marked. | | Outdoor lawns and paths | $40 - $80 | Often the gardener's job, not the cleaner's. | | Bins washed | $20 - $40 | Optional. Some agents care, some do not. |

Ask the cleaner to itemise these on the quote so you can see exactly what is included and what is not.

The "spray and wave" failure pattern

The most common failure in Adelaide bond cleans is the 20-minute job: cleaner arrives, gives surfaces a quick wipe, vacuums the visible floor, mops, packs up. The property looks fine to the eye, but the things property managers actually check have not been touched:

Top of wardrobes still dusty.
Tops of cupboards (kitchen) still dusty.
Window tracks still grubby.
Cornices and high ledges still dusty.
Oven racks not done, oven door interior streaky.
Rangehood filter still greasy.
Exhaust fan cover still dusty.
Grout still discoloured where it could be cleaned.
Skirting boards untouched.
Ceiling fan blades still grey.

A genuine bond clean takes 3-12 hours depending on the property. If a cleaner is in and out in under 2 hours for a 3-bedroom house, the job has not been done. Use the bond clean checklist tool to confirm nothing has been missed before the inspection - it walks through every room and ticks off the exact things agents look at.

How to verify the cleaner did the job

Walk-through after the clean. Take 15 minutes to walk every room with the cleaner. Open wardrobes, check oven, look at the top of cupboards.
Take photos. Dated photos of every room after the clean and before the inspection. If the agent flags something, your photos are evidence.
Trigger the re-clean if needed. If you spot something missed, ask for it to be redone before the cleaner leaves. Most reputable Adelaide cleaners will redo it on the spot.
Read the re-clean policy. Most cleaners offer a free return within 48-72 hours if the agent flags an issue. Confirm the policy in writing.

A note on bond-back promise inclusions language

Some cleaners advertise "everything included for a 100% bond promise". Read that twice: the inclusions are theirs, the "promise" is a re-clean policy (not money back), and bond return is decided between you, the agent and SACAT. We cover this in detail in the bond-back cleaning post. The inclusions are what you are buying. The "promise" is a marketing line.

FAQs

Q: Are carpets always included in a bond clean?

No. Carpet steam clean is almost always an add-on ($130-$250 for a whole 3-bedroom house). Vacuuming is included; steam cleaning is separate. If the cleaner says carpets are included, ask whether they mean vacuuming or steam cleaning, in writing.

Q: Is exterior window cleaning included?

Interior is usually included. Exterior is often an add-on, especially for 2-storey homes (working at heights). Confirm in writing.

Q: Does a bond clean cover the garage?

Sometimes a sweep is included. A full garage clean-out (removing stored items, treating oil stains) is almost always an add-on.

Q: What if the agent says the clean did not meet their standard?

Stay calm. Stay in writing. Get the issues specified room-by-room. Trigger your cleaner's re-clean policy in writing. If the agent still pursues a bond claim, the CBS dispute process kicks in. See the "agent rejected the clean" guide.

Q: Where do I get the full Adelaide checklist?

The interactive bond clean checklist - room by room, tick as you go, download as a PDF. Built around the section 69(3) "reasonably clean" standard rather than a marketing list.