March-Out Cleaning done properly.
MoD-standard Service Family Accommodation cleans at Catterick Garrison. We know the inspection checklist by heart: every grout line, every cupboard, every blade of garden edge. First-time-pass focus, owner-operated by Nikki from Richmond.
SFA standard is not domestic standard.
An ordinary clean doesn't pass the inspection. We've stood in enough of these to know exactly what gets flagged, and exactly what doesn't.
Kitchen: Top to Bottom
Oven interior including the door seals, runners, racks and inside glass. Behind and under the fridge, cooker, washing machine. Every cupboard inside, top to bottom, including the kickboards. Extractor fan filter, always missed at first inspection.
Bathroom: Limescale & Sealant
Chrome de-scaled bright. Grout and silicone sealant lifted of mould and mildew. Behind the WC including the back of the cistern. Extractor fan vent dust-free. Window tracks, frames, sills.
Bedrooms: Behind Everything
Skirting boards on every wall. Behind every radiator (a torch shows exactly what eight inches behind a radiator looks like, and that is what gets noted). Wardrobe interiors including the back wall and top shelf. Light switches, sockets, door handles.
Garden & Exterior
Lawn cut and properly edged where it meets paths and patios. Borders weeded. Patios swept and de-mossed. Shed and garage emptied and swept. Bin areas washed. Boundary lines checked.
Carpets: Inspection Standard
Professional hot-water extraction (not a hire machine), receipt provided for your file. Stairs and high-traffic areas treated separately for an even finish across the quarter.
The Bits Most People Miss
Ceiling roses. High cobwebs at every corner. Runners behind sliding doors. Airing cupboard shelf trims. The inside of the loft hatch. The bits that pass at "ordinary clean" and fail at SFA.
Run personally by Nikki, from Richmond.
No agency. No rotating crew. No call centre. The person you speak to is the person who's in your quarter on inspection day.
If you've done a March-Out before, you know the feeling. The clipboard. The list that goes from the front gate to the loft hatch. The way the inspecting officer crouches down to check behind the radiator. The slow dread of "they're going to find something."
If you're doing your first March-Out, take this from someone who's stood in dozens: SFA standard is not the same as "tidy." It's a forensic audit. Anything missed gets flagged. Anything flagged gets re-charged. And a failed first inspection means re-booking, re-cleaning, and a removal van costing you by the hour while it sits outside the next quarter.
True Grit Cleaning Co is run by Nikki personally, working out of Richmond. She cleans, or directly supervises, every March-Out we take on at Catterick Garrison. No franchises. No rotating contractors. No "whoever's available this week." Just one person who knows the JSP 464 standard, has the patience to do it properly, and treats your inspection like her own deposit is on the line.
We work first-time-pass focused. If we cleaned something and it gets flagged at inspection, we come back and fix it at our cost. That's the standard.
Every room. Every detail.
The complete march-out checklist as we work it. Adjust to your quarter. We tailor on the day.
Kitchen
- Oven interior, door seals, racks, inside glass
- Behind & under fridge, cooker, washing machine
- Extractor fan filter and housing
- Every cupboard inside & out, top to bottom
- Kickboards and skirting
- Tile grout above worktops
- Taps de-scaled, sink polished
- Floor washed including under appliances
Bathroom & WC
- Chrome taps, shower head, towel rails de-scaled
- Tile grout and sealant cleaned of mould
- Behind WC including back of cistern
- Extractor fan dust-free
- Window tracks, sills, frames
- Mirror polished streak-free
- Floor washed including behind WC
Bedrooms & Living Areas
- Skirting boards on every wall
- Behind radiators (where the dust hides)
- Window tracks, frames, sills, inside & out
- Wardrobe interiors: back wall & top shelf
- Light switches, sockets, door handles
- Cobwebs at every ceiling corner
- Curtain rails and pelmets
Garden & Exterior
- Lawn cut and properly edged
- Borders weeded
- Patios & paths swept and de-mossed
- Shed and garage emptied, swept
- Boundary checked for litter
- Wheelie bins washed if needed
From booking to handing back the keys.
1. Book 2–4 weeks ahead
Posting season, July to September, fills up first. The week of your handover is almost always impossible to book. Don't leave it late.
2. Site visit or phone quote
For larger quarters we'll pop round to look at the place before quoting. For a standard 2-bed or 3-bed SFA, a phone chat usually does it. Quote is fixed once agreed. No per-hour surprises on the day.
3. Day before, or day of, inspection
Most families prefer the day before. It gives you a chance to walk through with us afterwards. Day-of works if the timing's tight. The quarter needs to be empty (or near enough) for the proper inspection-standard clean.
4. Photos for your file
We photograph the quarter on completion. Useful for the inspection itself. Useful if anything gets queried afterwards. You get a copy.
The cost of a clean. The cost of a fail.
The financial case for paying once and passing first time.
A first-time-pass clean is paid once. A failed inspection is paid three times: the original effort (your time, your equipment), the re-clean to fix what was missed, and the re-inspection fee charged by the housing contractor.
Re-inspection fees and rushed re-cleans can be expensive and stressful. The whole experience is designed to discourage families from underestimating the standard.
Our quote is specific to your quarter, but the difference is who is actually doing the work. You speak directly to Nikki, on her phone, no script, no escalations. If anything's wrong, you tell her and she fixes it.
The aim: one clean, one inspection, one pass, keys back at lunchtime. Next posting starts on the front foot, not the back.
Catterick Garrison and every SFA postcode around it.
Catterick Garrison
The full SFA estate, every quarter type, DL9
Hipswell & Colburn
Service families around the Garrison perimeter
Catterick Village
Off-base SFA and service-family rentals
Brompton-on-Swale
Off-base posting families and end-of-tenancy
Scorton
Service families in the surrounding villages
Other DL9 areas
Call to discuss out-of-area jobs
What we get asked most.
Every Catterick Garrison march-out clean is quoted specifically to the quarter, inspection date and scope. Nikki prices the job after seeing the SFA or talking through what is needed, including carpets, garden work, appliances, access and timescale.
Two to four weeks before your handover date. Posting season (July to September) fills up first. The week of your handover is often impossible to book, so don't leave it late.
Yes. Lawn cut, edges trimmed where they meet paths and patios, borders weeded, patios swept and de-mossed, shed and garage emptied and swept. Quoted as an add-on so you can decide based on the state of the garden.
Yes, professional carpet cleaning is available as an add-on. We use hot-water extraction (not a hire machine) and provide a receipt for your file. Most departing families bundle this in because MoD standards require professional-grade carpet cleaning.
If we cleaned it and it gets flagged on inspection, we come back and fix it at no extra cost. We photograph the quarter on completion so there's a record. Damage repairs (wall fillers, broken fittings, paint touch-ups) are beyond our scope as cleaners. We can recommend a local handyman if you don't already have one.
We prefer the day before or day of the inspection when the quarter is empty. A deep-clean can be done while you're partially packed, but the final inspection-standard clean works best in an empty house.
Yes. JSP 464 is what we clean to: oven internals including door seals and runners, behind appliances, extractor fans, grout and sealant, behind radiators, window tracks, wardrobe interiors, garden edges. The full forensic-level checklist.
We cover the full Catterick Garrison estate and surrounding villages: Hipswell, Colburn, Catterick village, Brompton-on-Swale, Scorton. For SFA at Topcliffe, Linton-on-Ouse or RAF Leeming, call to discuss. We sometimes travel for larger jobs.
Book your march-out clean.
Quotes are fixed. Bookings fill up fast in posting season. Give Nikki a call directly, or send a message and she'll come back to you within a few hours.
📞 Call 07591 175 752 💬 WhatsAppAlso offered across the area.
End of Tenancy Cleaning
Move-out cleans to landlord and letting-agent standard. Deposit-back focus.
Domestic Cleaning
Same time, same person, every week. The cleaner you don't have to think about.
Deep Cleaning
Inside the oven, behind the cooker, under the fridge. The clean that resets a place.
Holiday Let & Airbnb
Same-day Airbnb & cottage turnarounds across the Yorkshire Dales.
Commercial Cleaning
Office cleans before opening, after close, or while you're out at lunch.
Catterick Garrison Area
Domestic, deep cleans & more for service families and locals around the Garrison.