Apartment Cleaning on the Upper East Side | From $151

CleanWhale cleans Upper East Side apartments the way this neighborhood is actually built: pre-war co-ops on Fifth, Park and Madison, Carnegie Hill townhouses, Yorkville walk-ups, and the newer glass condos along Second Avenue. Cleanings start from $151 for a one-bedroom, and you can book online in a couple of minutes. Because so many UES homes are lived in year-round with a steady rhythm, this is the strongest Manhattan market for a standing weekly or twice-monthly crew rather than a single deep clean.

The housing stock and what it means for cleaning

The Upper East Side is almost entirely pre-war. Limestone-and-brick co-ops from 1910 to 1945 line Fifth, Park and Madison; five- and six-story tenements from the 1890s through the 1930s fill the Yorkville side streets; white-brick postwar towers went up in the 1960s and 70s. Only about 4,025 units were added between 2010 and 2025, so the stock is essentially static and the cleaning challenges are consistent from building to building.

The signature layout is the classic six or classic seven: a gallery, living room, a separate windowed dining room, a separate kitchen, two bedrooms, and a former maid's room with its own bath off a service entrance. That maid's bath is a second small bathroom most cleaning calculators forget, so we count it up front. Ceilings run 9.5 to 12 feet, 11 on a full-floor Park Avenue apartment, which puts cornices, ceiling roses and cabinet tops out of arm's reach and onto a stepladder. Floors are original herringbone and parquet that has been restored, not replaced, so the old shellac cannot take a wet mop or an alkaline cleaner. Steam radiators sit under covers, often coated in silver radiator bronze paint. Many buildings still ban in-unit washers, so laundry lives in the basement.

Getting into your building

Access here is the toughest in Manhattan, and we work it every day. A typical visit means a front-desk check-in, entry through the kitchen-door service entrance, and the service elevator up. The real gatekeeper is the certificate of insurance: class-A boards ask for the highest limits, and some boards require limits up to several million dollars naming the co-op, the managing agent, and sometimes individual board members as additional insured. Our cert is usually issued within 30 days, so tell us your building early. Exterior lockboxes are not allowed on the UES, which matters for the many owners who travel — we coordinate key handling and standing front-desk authorization so the concierge can let the crew in while you are away.

What we clean here

Every visit covers the shared checklist: kitchen, bathrooms, floors, dusting, surfaces and trash. On the Upper East Side we add the specifics this stock demands:

• Marble halls and baths — Carrara, Calacatta and Bardiglio. Polished marble etches and stains, so we use pH-neutral products, never acidic or generic bathroom sprays.
• Original herringbone — cleaned barely damp with a shellac-safe method, no soaking, no alkaline cleaner.
• Steam radiators — dusted behind and under the covers, including the radiator-bronze-painted units.
• The forgotten maid's bath — the extra small bathroom off the service entrance, counted and cleaned.
• High cornices, ceiling roses and cabinet tops reached by stepladder, plus wood-burning fireplace surrounds.

Pricing

Apartment cleaning starts from $151 for a one-bedroom, $179 for two bedrooms, and $207 for three bedrooms. Sales tax at this job address is 8.875%. Recurring plans — weekly, twice-monthly or monthly — carry a discount off the one-time rate, and given how well UES homes suit a standing schedule, weekly is where most owners land.

FAQ

Can you provide a COI for my co-op board?

Yes. Send us the building's insurance requirements and who must be named. We issue a certificate naming the co-op, managing agent and any required board members, usually within 30 days.

Do you use the service entrance?

We do. We check in at the front desk and come through the kitchen-door service entrance and service elevator, the standard on the UES.

Can the front desk let you in when I'm away?

Yes. With your written authorization on file at the desk, the concierge admits the crew while you travel. Exterior lockboxes are not permitted here, so we arrange desk access or key handling instead.

How do you clean herringbone without damaging the finish?

Old shellac cannot take standing water or alkaline cleaner. We clean it barely damp with a finish-safe product, so the restored floor keeps its patina.

Do you charge extra for the maid's bath?

We count it as the bathroom it is. Tell us if your classic six or seven has the extra bath off the service entrance and we price accordingly, no surprises.

We also clean neighboring areas including Carnegie Hill, Yorkville, Lenox Hill and the Upper West Side across the park. Book your Upper East Side cleaning online and set your recurring day.