Student Accommodation Cleaning Services Across Ireland

PBSA Cleaning Specialists in Ireland

Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) is one of the fastest-growing property sectors in Ireland. With over 40,000 PBSA bed spaces now operational across Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford — and thousands more in the pipeline — the demand for specialist student accommodation cleaning has never been higher.

Yet despite this demand, there is almost no specialist PBSA cleaning provision in the Irish market. Most student accommodation operators rely on general cleaning companies that lack the experience, scale, and speed required for high-volume summer turnarounds and the unique demands of student living environments.

Optus Glean fills that gap. We provide dedicated student accommodation cleaning services across all 26 counties of Ireland, covering both term-time communal area maintenance and summer turnaround deep cleaning. Every operative is Garda vetted (essential for accommodation with young adults), Safe Pass certified, and trained in our PBSA-specific cleaning protocols.

Summer Turnaround Cleaning: The Critical Window

The summer turnaround is the single most important cleaning event in the student accommodation calendar. Between late May and early September, every unit must be deep cleaned, inspected, repaired, and prepared for the next cohort of students. The window is tight — often just 4 to 8 weeks — and the volume is enormous: hundreds of units per site, each requiring a full deep clean.

This is where Optus Glean excels. Our summer turnaround process is built for scale and speed:

Step-by-Step Summer Turnaround Process

1. Pre-turnaround planning (4 weeks before) — We meet with your facilities team, agree the cleaning specification, schedule the cleaning programme block by block, and confirm team sizes and access arrangements.
2. Departure inspection — As students check out, we conduct a room-by-room departure inspection, documenting condition and noting any damage or items requiring maintenance attention.
3. Full deep clean — Every unit receives a comprehensive deep clean covering bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and living areas (see full checklist below).
4. Mould treatment and prevention — Ireland's damp climate makes mould a persistent issue in student accommodation. We treat existing mould, clean and apply anti-fungal products to bathroom silicone, window reveals, and other vulnerable areas.
5. Inventory check and maintenance reporting — We check all fixtures, fittings, and furniture against the inventory list and report any damage, missing items, or maintenance requirements directly to your facilities team.
6. Linen turnaround — If your accommodation provides bed linen, we strip, launder, and remake beds through our integrated laundry service.
7. Final inspection and handover — Each unit is inspected against the cleaning specification before being signed off as ready for the new academic year. Photographic completion reports available.

What Is Included in a Unit Deep Clean?

Every student accommodation unit receives the following during a summer turnaround deep clean:

Kitchen

• Full oven clean (inside, racks, glass door, exterior)
• Hob and extractor fan degreasing
• Fridge and freezer defrost and clean (inside and out)
• Microwave interior and exterior clean
• All cupboard interiors wiped and shelf paper replaced
• Worktops, splashbacks, and sink deep cleaned and sanitised
• Bin area cleaned and deodorised
• Floor deep cleaned (including under appliances)

Bathroom

• Shower/bath deep clean including grouting and silicone
• Toilet deep clean and sanitisation (including behind and under)
• Basin and mirror polishing
• Extractor fan and vent cleaning
• Mould treatment on silicone, tile grout, and window reveals
• Floor deep clean including edges and corners
• Shower head and tap descaling

Bedroom and Living Area

• Mattress vacuuming, stain treatment, and sanitisation
• Wardrobe interior wiping and shelf cleaning
• Desk, chair, and shelving dusting
• Carpet vacuuming and spot stain treatment
• Hard floor mopping
• Window cleaning (internal) and window reveal wiping
• Curtain or blind dusting/vacuuming
• Skirting boards and door frame wiping
• All light switches and sockets wiped

Student Accommodation Cleaning Pricing (2026)

Student accommodation cleaning is priced per unit for turnaround deep cleans, and per block for ongoing term-time communal cleaning. Below are indicative pricing ranges for 2026:

All pricing is exclusive of VAT. Volume discounts apply for developments with 100+ units. Every contract is quoted after a free site survey.

Term-Time Communal Area Cleaning

While summer turnarounds get the most attention, term-time communal cleaning is equally important for student satisfaction and property maintenance. During the academic year, Optus Glean provides scheduled cleaning of all communal areas:

• Corridors and stairwells — Vacuuming, mopping, handrail wiping, and spot cleaning 3–5 times per week.
• Entrance lobbies and foyers — Floor cleaning, glass door cleaning, mat maintenance, reception area tidying.
• Communal kitchens and common rooms — Counter wiping, appliance exterior cleaning, floor mopping, bin emptying, general tidying.
• Communal laundry rooms — Machine exterior wiping, lint trap cleaning, floor mopping, surface sanitisation.
• Bin stores — Cleaning, deodorising, and bin presentation for collection days.
• Gym and recreation facilities — Equipment wipe-down, floor cleaning, changing room maintenance.
• Study rooms and computer labs — Desk wiping, floor cleaning, keyboard and mouse sanitisation.

Mould Prevention: An Irish Climate Challenge

Mould is one of the biggest maintenance challenges in Irish student accommodation. The combination of Ireland's damp climate, poor ventilation in some older buildings, and student habits (drying clothes indoors, not using extractor fans) creates ideal conditions for mould growth, particularly in bathrooms, window reveals, and behind furniture.

Left untreated, mould causes health issues (respiratory problems, allergies), damages fixtures and finishes, and generates complaints that damage the operator's reputation. Optus Glean addresses mould proactively:

• Mould treatment during turnaround — All existing mould is treated with professional-grade anti-fungal products during the summer deep clean.
• Silicone and grout treatment — Bathroom silicone and tile grout are cleaned and treated with mould-resistant products.
• Window reveal cleaning — Window reveals and frames are cleaned and treated to prevent condensation-related mould.
• Ventilation checks — Extractor fans and air vents are cleaned to ensure proper airflow. Any faults are reported to maintenance.
• Mid-term mould checks — Optional mid-term inspection service where we identify and treat mould before it becomes a major issue.

Integrated Laundry for Linen Turnaround

If your student accommodation provides bed linen and towels, Optus Glean can handle the entire linen turnaround through our integrated laundry service. At checkout, we strip all beds, collect linen and towels, launder and press them, and remake beds ready for the incoming cohort. This eliminates the need for a separate laundry provider and reduces coordination overhead during the busy turnaround period.

Scale and Speed: How We Handle Large Developments

A 500-unit PBSA development cannot be cleaned by a team of three. Summer turnarounds require military-grade logistics. Here is how Optus Glean manages large-scale projects:

• Dedicated project manager — Every turnaround of 50+ units gets a named project manager who coordinates with your facilities team daily.
• Scaled teams — We deploy teams of 10 to 30+ operatives per site, scaled to the number of units and the available timeframe.
• Floor-by-floor or block-by-block sequencing — We work in a structured sequence that allows maintenance teams to follow behind us, repairing any issues we report.
• Standardised checklists — Every unit is cleaned to the same specification using a room-by-room checklist. Consistency across hundreds of units.
• Quality spot-checks — Our project manager conducts random quality inspections throughout the turnaround, catching issues before handover.
• Photographic completion reports — Every unit photographed on completion. A full digital report is provided to your facilities team documenting the condition of every room.

Who We Serve

Our student accommodation cleaning service is designed for:

• PBSA operators and developers (Aparto, Yugo, Uninest, Blackhall Place, Binary Hub)
• University and college accommodation offices (TCD, UCD, DCU, UCC, NUIG, UL, TUS)
• Student housing management companies
• Private landlords with multi-unit student lettings
• Summer conference accommodation (university residences used for events during vacation)

Visit our education sector page for more information on how we serve the education sector across Ireland.