We come to Belle Meade homes

Large Belle Meade homes take more time

Belle Meade is a small city surrounded by Nashville, and most of it is houses on big wooded lots. Many were built of brick or stone generations ago, with formal rooms and wide staircases. Others are newer homes put up where an older house once stood. Either way, there is a lot of house to get through, and a quick once-over misses most of it.

Big houses have rooms nobody uses every week. A formal dining room or a guest suite can sit closed for a month, and dust settles on every flat surface in the meantime. Ceilings run high here, so the tops of door frames and crown molding collect a gray line you only notice from a ladder. Ceiling fans and light fixtures hold dust too, and it drops onto the floor the first time they turn on.

So we plan a Belle Meade visit around the whole house. The formal rooms you rarely use get the same attention as the kitchen and the main bath. We work from the ceiling down, and the floors always come last. That order matters most in a tall room with a chandelier, because anything dusted after the floor is done lands right back on it.

• Fans and light fixtures dusted before the floors
• Rarely used formal rooms cleaned along with the rest
• Windows washed inside and out
• Upholstered chairs and sofas cleaned on request
• Closets and pantries organized when you ask

Belle Meade's shade trees bring pollen inside

Belle Meade sits under heavy tree cover, with old oaks and maples shading most yards and streets. That shade is a big reason people want to live here. In spring, the same trees drop a fine yellow pollen that coats porches and window sills within days. It comes inside on shoes and pets, and it settles on dark furniture where you can see it.

Summers are hot and humid in Middle Tennessee, and Richland Creek winds right through town. Older brick houses hold onto that moisture. You notice it first in basements and in bathrooms with weak exhaust fans, as dark speckling on grout and caulk. Caught early, mildew comes off with regular cleaning. Left for a season, it works into the caulk and gets much harder to lift.

Then fall brings the leaves, and wet leaves get tracked across entry floors for weeks. Many houses here have a lot of windows, and older ones often have glass split into small panes. Pollen and rain leave a film on the outside, and the inside picks up its own haze. We clean the glass on both sides, then wipe the sills and tracks where the pollen piles up.

Old floors and plaster need gentle cleaning

A lot of older Belle Meade homes still have their original hardwood floors. Standing water is hard on old wood. It works into the seams between boards, and over time the edges can cup or darken. On floors like these we use a damp mop instead of a wet one, and we dry as we go. Grit gets vacuumed up first, because grit dragged under a mop scratches the finish.

Plaster walls and painted trim scuff easily, and a harsh cleaner can take the paint off along with the mark. We spot clean them with a mild cleaner and a soft cloth. Built-in bookcases and stair rails pick up hand oils and dust in the corners, so they get the same careful wipe. Many of these houses also have fireplaces, and a winter of fires leaves fine ash on the mantel and nearby furniture.

Upholstered chairs in a formal room can look fine and still hold a lot of dust, and we clean upholstery when you ask. When a house is going on the market, or a new owner is moving in, we clean the empty rooms top to bottom. We detail cars at the house as well. A customer put it this way: "they can come to you and you can avoid the hassle of traffic after work."

Getting a price in Belle Meade

Every house in Belle Meade is different, so we price the work once we know what it involves. Call (629) 243-4023, or send your address and a short note from this page. Tell us roughly how big the house is and which rooms you want covered. Mention anything that needs extra work, like mildew in a basement bath or pollen caked on the windows. We put a free quote together before any work starts. We are open Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday.