How many cleaning hours does your HDB flat need?

A flat with up to 2 bedrooms, a 3-room HDB flat or smaller, needs about 3 hours a visit, and that holds for the first visit too. From 3 bedrooms, a 4-room, 5-room or executive flat, start with 4 hours, because the first visit clears build-up that later visits only maintain. After that, 3 hours is usually enough on a regular slot.

Those are starting points, not rules. The real answer depends on how many bathrooms you have, how the kitchen is used, and what else you want done. The rest of this guide shows how to size your own home.

A starting point for each home type

These are the durations we suggest on our booking page and when someone asks Helen, our AI assistant on WhatsApp, how long to book. Upkeep means a home that is cleaned weekly or every two weeks.

A 2-hour visit is not in the table because it covers part of a home, such as the bathrooms and kitchen, rather than all of it.

If you are between two rows, pick the longer option for the first visit. It is easier to shorten a regular slot once you know how long the home takes than to discover halfway through that the bathrooms will not get done.

Why bathrooms matter more than floor area

A bedroom takes a similar amount of time in a 3-room or a 5-room flat: dust the surfaces, make the bed, vacuum and mop. Bathrooms are different. Toilets, basins, shower glass, tiles, grout and drains all need close work, and Singapore's humidity means soap scum and grime come back quickly.

So count bathrooms before rooms. On a regular slot, a 4-room flat with two well-kept bathrooms fits comfortably in 3 hours. The same flat with a shower screen that has not been descaled in months may need the full 4.

The kitchen is the other big variable. A kitchen used for light meals takes a short wipe down. A kitchen where someone fries or stir-fries every day needs time on the hob, the backsplash and the cabinet fronts, where grease settles.

What adds time, and what saves it

These add time to a visit:

• More bathrooms, or bathrooms with glass screens and a lot of grout
• A kitchen with daily cooking grease
• Pets, especially long-haired ones, because fur gets into corners and fabric
• Clutter on surfaces that has to be moved before anything can be wiped
• Laundry or ironing, which can be included on request but comes out of the same session time
• A first visit, or a home that has not been cleaned for a while

These save time:

• A regular slot, so each visit maintains rather than restores
• Clear surfaces and floors before the cleaner arrives
• A working vacuum cleaner and mop ready in one place (with us you provide those two, and your cleaner brings the cloths and cleaning products)
• A short, clear list of priorities

How long a thorough clean really takes

Our cleaners work to a written 75-point housekeeping standard covering six areas of a home. It takes about 140 minutes to work through properly from start to finish, which is why a 2-hour visit suits a focused list rather than a whole home.

It also explains why a bigger home should start with a longer visit. On the first visit your cleaner is learning your home: where things go, which surfaces need care, what you care about most. By the second or third visit the same work goes faster.

You can read the room-by-room version in our home cleaning checklist.

What to do when 4 hours is not enough

Cleaning sessions with us are 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 or 4 hours, and each visit is one cleaner. That is deliberate: a single person working for longer does steadier, more careful work than a crew racing through.

For a large landed home, a move-out, or a flat that needs a serious reset, the better plan is two visits close together. Use the first for the heavy work (bathrooms, kitchen, build-up) and the second for everything else. Tell Helen what state the home is in and she will suggest how to split it.

Weekly, fortnightly, or a one-off?

How often you book changes how long each visit needs. A weekly slot keeps a home in a steady state, so 3 hours often goes further than you expect. Every two weeks gives more time for dust and bathroom grime to build up, so the same flat may need a little longer per visit. A one-off clean before guests or after a busy month is usually a 3 to 4 hour job.

If you are unsure, our guide to weekly or fortnightly cleaning walks through the trade-off.

What it costs

With HomeMaster, a one-off 2-hour clean is $27/hour, and a one-off 3 to 4 hour clean is $25/hour. A weekly or fortnightly 3 to 4 hour slot is $20/hour, and a pack of five eligible 3 to 4 hour sessions brings it to $18/hour.

All of these include GST, and weekends and public holidays cost the same as a weekday. The full breakdown is in our cleaning price guide, and the exact price for your booking is shown before you confirm.

Getting the length right with HomeMaster

Message Helen with your flat type, the number of bathrooms, how often you would like a clean and anything extra, such as ironing. She replies with a suggested duration, real open times and the exact price. You can also book on the home cleaning page if you already know what you want.

After the first visit, it is normal to adjust. If your cleaner finished comfortably early, a shorter regular slot may do. If the bathrooms were rushed, book longer next time.