For a good number of the participants we clean for in Merriwa, the reason cleaning support is in the plan at all is continence, and it is the part of the conversation people find hardest to start. So we will start it. It is a common, ordinary reason for needing help at home, we deal with it regularly, and nobody here finds it remarkable.
You only have to raise it at the quote. After that it is part of the written scope and the cleaner arrives knowing what the visit involves. There is no need to explain again, no awkward conversation at the door each fortnight, and nothing gets mentioned in front of anyone else in the house.
What we need to know is practical, not personal: which rooms are affected, how often, whether there is extra laundry, and whether any equipment needs cleaning. That is genuinely all.
In most households where continence is a factor, the washing is the workload rather than the cleaning. Bedding, towels, clothing and protectors turn over far faster than a normal house, and it can be relentless.
Laundry can be a substantial part of a visit: getting loads on, hung or dried, folded, put away, and beds stripped and remade. It needs to be counted into the hours properly rather than treated as an extra, because in a household like this it can easily be the single largest item.
A practical note that saves a lot of grief: waterproof mattress and pillow protectors do more than any cleaning method available afterwards. A protector can be washed. A mattress that has been soaked repeatedly cannot be brought back, and we would rather tell you that early than take money for scrubbing something that is past saving.
Fragrance sprays cover a smell for an hour and change nothing. Odour is organic residue that is still present, usually in grout, in the gap behind or beside the toilet, at the base of the pan, in a floor seam, or in fabric.
What actually works is removing the source. That means proper attention to the floor around and behind the toilet rather than just the visible front, grout cleaned rather than wiped, and enzyme-based products where ordinary detergent will not break down organic residue. Airing the room out helps once the source is gone and does very little before that.
If a smell persists after all of that, it is usually a seal, a floor covering or something under it, and that is a repair rather than a cleaning problem.
Commodes, over-toilet frames, shower chairs and bathroom rails can all be cleaned as part of a visit if you ask for it. They get cleaned properly and rinsed, not polished.
Where the line sits is worth being direct about. Our cleaners do not provide personal care. They do not assist with continence aids, they do not help anyone to the bathroom, and they do not handle anything clinical. That is a support worker or nursing role with training behind it, and it is not what a cleaner is there for.
On waste: used continence products normally go into the household waste, and we will empty a bathroom bin as part of the visit without comment. Sharps and clinical waste are different, need their own disposal arrangement, and we do not handle them at all.
Nothing about this gets discussed with anyone. Not with other people in the household unless you have said it is fine, not with other clients, not anywhere. Bins get emptied, laundry gets done, and the visit looks exactly like every other visit from the outside.
Weekly is more common in these households than it is generally, because a fortnight is a long time for laundry that cannot wait and a bathroom that needs staying on top of. Fortnightly still works where the day-to-day is being managed and the visit is there for the heavier work. Twice weekly is possible where the need genuinely justifies it and the plan supports it.
Start with what seems realistic and adjust. Under-booking and then rushing is worse than booking properly.
A deep clean covers grout, seals, floor edges, behind fixtures, inside the oven and the parts of the house a routine visit does not reach. In a bathroom that has needed more attention than it has been getting, it is the right starting point before regular visits take over.
We also do one-off cleans after illness or a hospital stay, and vacate cleans at the end of a tenancy. Whether a plan can pay for any of them depends on that participant’s approved supports and is never automatic.
Cleaning is not part of every NDIS plan. Where it is funded, assistance with household tasks has been approved as a support connected to that participant’s disability, decided from their goals, their assessed needs and the supports already in the plan. Where continence is part of why the help is needed, that is worth describing clearly to whoever is writing or reviewing the plan, because a support that is not described cannot be considered.
We are a Registered NDIS Provider, registration number 4053371406. We do not decide funding and we will not tell you your plan covers something. Your plan manager, support coordinator or NDIA contact is the right person to confirm it with.
Where others live in the home, funded cleaning relates to the participant’s own disability-related support needs rather than the household’s general housework. We set the rooms and tasks out in the quote.
Self-managed participants arrange it with us directly and we invoice you. Plan-managed participants give us their plan manager’s details and the invoice goes there. NDIA-managed participants need a registered provider, which we are, so the claim runs through the agency.
We go through it with you at the house or over the phone, briefly and without fuss: the rooms, the laundry, any equipment, how we get in and anything that should not be touched. You get a written quote before any work starts, and availability for your address is confirmed at that point rather than promised in advance.
We also clean in Clarkson, Ridgewood, Quinns Rocks, Mindarie, Butler, Jindalee, Alkimos, Eglinton, Two Rocks, Yanchep, Tamala Park, Carramar, Banksia Grove, Neerabup, Nowergup, Currambine, Kinross and Burns Beach.
See also our Perth NDIS cleaning page and the full Western Australia suburb list.
No. We need to know which rooms, how often and whether there is extra laundry. Nothing beyond that.
Yes, and in these households it is often the main part of the booking. It just needs the hours to match.
Yes, if it is in the agreed scope. Personal care and continence aids are not something a cleaner does.
Usually, by removing the residue causing it rather than covering it. If it persists after that, it is likely a seal or a floor covering and needs a repair.
Call 1300 525 336 or email info@smurfettescleaningservice.net, tell us what the house actually needs, and we will scope a Merriwa visit around it without making a production of it.
Phone: 1300 525 336
Email: info@smurfettescleaningservice.net
