West Sussex runs from a long shingle coastline up over the South Downs to the Weald, and that geography does most of the work in deciding how quickly a home gets dirty. A seafront flat in Worthing, a Victorian house in Chichester, a bungalow in Bognor Regis and a new-build in Crawley near the airport all have different problems — but four of them recur across the county.
1. Salt film on glass and metal
Onshore wind carries a fine salt aerosol well inland. It leaves a haze on windows that ordinary glass cleaner smears rather than removes, and it accelerates corrosion on external metalwork, door furniture, rails and garden hinges. Exterior glass on the coastal strip realistically needs attention every four to six weeks to stay clear, against two to three months further inland. Rinse with plain water first to lift the salt, then clean — going straight in with a detergent just spreads it.
2. Shingle grit and sand
Shingle beaches produce fine grit that travels in on shoes and dog paws and then acts like sandpaper underfoot. On hard floors it scratches; in carpets it sits at the base of the pile and cuts the fibres every time someone walks across. A decent barrier mat at every external door and a vacuum with a beater bar does more for the life of your floors than anything else. In a holiday let, the difference between a five-year carpet and a two-year carpet is almost entirely doormats.
3. Chalk-hard water
Most of the county is supplied from chalk aquifers under the Downs, so mains water is hard. That shows up as scale on shower screens, kettles, taps and toilets, and as a dulling film on tiles. Two practical habits: squeegee the shower screen after use, and descale little and often rather than attacking a year of build-up. Be careful which descaler you use — acidic products will etch limestone, marble and travertine, which are common in the newer bathrooms around Crawley, Horsham and Burgess Hill.
4. Pollen and downland dust
From April to July the Downs and the Weald generate a heavy pollen load, and it settles on sills, cars and anything left out. For anyone in the house with hay fever, the difference-makers are washing bedding weekly at a warm temperature, damp-dusting rather than dry-dusting so the pollen is removed rather than redistributed, and vacuuming with a filter that holds fine particles.
A seasonal routine that fits the county
- Spring: full window clean inside and out once the pollen peak eases, gutters cleared after winter, and a deep clean of soft furnishings.
- Summer: if you let a property out, changeover cleaning is the whole game — and on the coast the window between guests is short, so book regular help rather than improvising.
- Autumn: gutters again after leaf fall, and check external metalwork and timber before the salt-laden winter storms.
- Winter: watch for condensation on the older solid-wall stock in Chichester, Arundel and the village housing. Ventilate, wipe frames, and treat surface mould early rather than painting over it.
Crawley is its own case: proximity to Gatwick, a large amount of post-war and new-build housing, and a lot of shift-working households mean early and late cleaning slots are in more demand there than anywhere else in the county.
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