Post-Renovation Cleaning Cost in Toronto: Typical Prices and What Changes Them
In Toronto, a post-renovation clean typically runs from about $300 for a single small room up to $3,500 or more for a full house after major work. Most quotes land somewhere between $500 and $1,500, and the number depends far more on how much fine dust the project produced and where it travelled than on square footage alone.
The ranges below are typical market ranges, not fixed prices. Use them to sanity-check a quote, then read the section on what moves the number, because that is where two quotes for the "same" job end up hundreds of dollars apart.
Typical price ranges by project type
These are labelled ranges for the Greater Toronto Area in 2026, assuming a normally furnished home and dust that has been left to settle for a day or two after the last sanding.
| Project | Typical range (CAD) | Usual time on site |
|---|---|---|
| Small bathroom or powder room update | $300 to $550 | 3 to 5 hours |
| Kitchen renovation (kitchen plus adjacent rooms) | $450 to $1,000 | 5 to 9 hours |
| Basement finishing or remodel | $500 to $1,200 | 5 to 10 hours |
| Main floor or multi-room renovation | $900 to $2,000 | 8 to 16 hours |
| Whole-home renovation, detached house | $1,800 to $3,500+ | 14 to 30+ hours |
When a company quotes hourly instead, GTA rates for post-construction cleaning usually fall between $50 and $80 per cleaner hour. That is higher than a regular house cleaning rate because of the equipment (HEPA vacuums, extra microfibre, ladders) and because the work is slower: each surface gets touched more than once.
Why Toronto quotes vary so much
The age of the house
A lot of Toronto renovations happen in older semi-detached and detached houses in neighbourhoods like Leslieville, the Annex, Roncesvalles or East York. Plaster and lath walls produce a gritty, heavier dust than drywall, and old houses have more trim, more ledges and more gaps where dust collects. Expect an older house to take longer per room than a newer build of the same size.
How far the dust travelled
Dust doesn't stay in the renovated room. If the contractor didn't use zip walls or seal the return vents, a kitchen renovation can leave a film on the second floor. A good quote asks which rooms were sealed off and which weren't. If nobody asks, the estimate is probably based on the renovated room only, and you'll pay for the rest later as an extra.
Whether the furnace ran during the work
This one matters a lot in October and November. If the forced-air system was running while drywall was being sanded, fine dust is now inside the returns, on the registers in every room and loaded into the filter. Cleaning the accessible vent covers and registers adds time. A full duct cleaning is a separate service and is usually priced separately.
Number of passes
A single wipe-down is cheap and fast, and it is also the reason people find dust on their counters again three days later. A proper post-renovation clean works top to bottom (high dusting first, then a HEPA vacuum of every horizontal surface, then a damp wipe), and fine dust keeps settling between those steps. A quote that seems low often just means fewer passes.
Hidden and high surfaces
Tops of door frames and kitchen cabinets, ceiling fan blades, light fixtures, window tracks, baseboards, outlet covers, inside closets and drawers. These are where renovation dust hides and where a cheap clean usually stops. Ask whether they are in the scope.
Access and logistics
Condo jobs downtown can involve booking the service elevator, loading dock time and parking, which adds time and sometimes cost. Houses with narrow stairs, no parking on the street or a third-floor addition also take longer to work in.
Timing
Weekend work and very short notice usually cost more. So does coming back for a second visit because the clean happened while trades were still sanding. Booking for a day or two after the last dusty work is done is cheaper and gives better results.
What should be included at each price point
A reasonable quote in the middle of the ranges above should include:
- High dusting of ceiling corners, fixtures, fan blades and the tops of doors and cabinets
- HEPA vacuuming of floors, baseboards, sills, window tracks and vent registers
- Damp wiping of walls where needed, trim, doors, switch plates and outlet covers
- Inside and outside of cabinets and drawers in renovated rooms
- Removal of sticker residue, light paint drips on hard surfaces and grout haze on tile
- Washing hard floors, with a final pass once the dust from overhead work has settled
Things that are often priced as extras: interior window washing beyond sills and tracks, carpet extraction, cleaning inside appliances, removing heavy construction debris and full duct cleaning.
If the quote is a single line ("post-reno clean, $700"), ask for the room list and the surfaces. A written scope protects you from both under-cleaning and surprise add-ons.
A note on older homes and hazardous materials
Some Toronto renovations involve houses built before 1990, which may contain asbestos in plaster, drywall joint compound, vinyl flooring or vermiculite insulation. In Ontario, asbestos work on construction projects falls under O. Reg. 278/05, and removal of asbestos-containing material is a job for a qualified abatement contractor, not a cleaning crew. If your contractor found or suspected asbestos, make sure abatement and clearance were completed before any cleaning is booked, and mention it when you request a quote. The same goes for lead paint in older homes: Health Canada advises against dry sanding or dry sweeping lead paint dust.
How to get an accurate quote quickly
You'll get a tighter number, and fewer surprises, if you send these details up front:
- The neighbourhood or city (Toronto, North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, Mississauga and so on).
- House or condo, approximate square footage and number of floors.
- Which rooms were renovated and what kind of work it was (drywall, tile, flooring, demolition).
- Whether the work areas were sealed and whether the furnace ran during the project.
- The date the contractor finishes the last dusty work.
- A few photos of the worst rooms.
With that, a specialist can usually quote from photos and only needs a visit for large or unusual jobs. You can see what Dustline covers in the city on the Toronto post-renovation cleaning page.
Frequently asked questions
How much does post-construction cleaning cost per square foot in Toronto?
Per square foot pricing for homes in the GTA typically falls somewhere around $0.30 to $0.90, depending on how dusty the project was and how much of the house is included. It is a rough guide only. A 1,500 square foot house with one renovated bathroom costs much less to clean than the same house after a full gut, so most companies price by the scope of rooms and surfaces instead.
Is post-renovation cleaning included in my contractor's price?
Usually not in any detail. Most renovation contracts include a "broom clean" at the end, which means debris removed and floors swept. Fine dust on walls, trim, inside cabinets and in vents is normally left for the homeowner. Check your contract wording before assuming it is covered.
How long after the renovation should I book the cleaning?
Wait until the last sanding, cutting or demolition is done, then give the dust a day or two to settle. Cleaning while trades are still working means paying twice. If the furnace will run in the meantime, change the filter right after the dusty work ends.
Can I clean renovation dust myself to save money?
You can, for a small job, if you use a vacuum with a sealed HEPA filter and damp microfibre cloths and work from the top of the room down. A regular household vacuum without HEPA filtration tends to blow fine drywall dust back into the air. For a kitchen, basement or larger project, the time and the number of passes needed usually make a professional clean worth the cost.
Get a written quote
Renovation finished, or close to it? Send the details through the quote form: your city, the size of the home, the rooms renovated and when the contractor finishes. A specialist who serves your area follows up with a written scope and price. Requesting a quote is free.