In communal areas every resident touches the same contact surfaces — handrails, lift buttons, door handles.
In a communal staircase transfer happens through a small number of surfaces that are touched very often:
| Surface | Note |
|---|---|
| Handrails and grab rails | The most frequently touched surface |
| Lift buttons and doors | Heavy use, small surface |
| Entrance handles and keypads | Every resident and visitor |
| Letterboxes | Often left out |
| Waste room | A frequent source of smells |
| Ventilation grilles | Smells spreading between flats |
On top of that, the stairwell is often where a smell from the basement, the waste room or the ventilation is noticeable — and from there it reaches the flats.
A stairwell has few surfaces, but every resident touches each of them daily.
In practice the ones most often left out are those not on the stairs themselves: the entrance keypad and intercom, letterbox flaps, lift call buttons on each floor, and the waste room handle. They are small surfaces, but with the heaviest use in the whole building.
If a stairwell has a persistent smell, the source is almost never the stairwell itself. It is simply where the smell collects, because air moves between the floors there.
The source is usually one of three. The basement — damp and mould below, with warm air carrying the smell up the stairs; that is the classic case in Soviet-era buildings. The waste room or the refuse chute, if it does not seal or is not treated regularly. And the shared ventilation riser, along which smells travel between flats and reach the landing at the grilles.
You can narrow it down yourself: walk down the stairs from the top and note where the smell gets stronger. If it intensifies as you approach the basement door, that is where the source is. If it is even on every floor and stronger at a ventilation grille, it is a system problem. More on the mechanism: odour removal and basement disinfection.
In new builds the stairwell is usually less used, because most residents take the lift and the underground car park. On the other hand there are more entry panels and access systems, and those are the critical surfaces.
A stairwell also has one practical difference from every other type of site: it cannot be closed. It is the only way into the flats, and it is never completely empty. So here we almost always work with surface treatment rather than room treatment, and plan wider work for the time of day when footfall is lowest — usually the middle of a weekday.
Treatment of communal areas is normally organised by the property manager or the residents' representative, because it affects the whole building and is paid for from the building's budget.
In practice: after an inspection we prepare a quote with the scope of work and the price, which can be submitted for consideration or discussed at a residents' meeting. If a decision is taken to treat regularly, we draw up a schedule.
An individual flat owner can propose treatment but cannot usually order it alone, because it concerns common property. If a smell from the stairwell or the basement is bothering you, the practical step is to go to the property manager with a specific description — which floor, when and how strong. If we have carried out an inspection, our notes can be attached.
We assess the number of floors, the area and the problem zones.
We prepare a document that can be submitted for consideration.
We recommend announcing the working time in advance.
We treat contact surfaces and, where needed, the space as a whole.
If the source is there, we treat it in the same visit — otherwise the smell returns.
We prepare a document covering the work carried out.
Telling residents is the one thing on this type of site that regularly causes trouble if it is skipped. The stairwell is the only route to the flats, and people walk through it all day. So we recommend a notice at the entrance a day or two beforehand with the working time and a note that warning signs must be observed during treatment.
Contact surface treatment does not require the space to be cleared, and residents can use the stairwell normally shortly after the work. If we carry out wider room treatment or treat the basement part, the window is longer, and we announce that in advance too.
Price in stairwells is normally based on the number of floors and the area, and that is exactly why a regular schedule is better value: preparation and the call-out take the same time however often it is done. If a property manager has several buildings, it is worth combining them into one quote and one visit day.
We do not clean or repair the stairwell — we are not a replacement for a cleaner and we do not paint walls. We do not clean the ventilation riser throughout the building; that is a separate, specialised job organised by the property manager. We do not repair refuse chutes. And we do not treat the inside of flats as part of communal work — that is a separate order placed by the flat owner. More: flat disinfection.
What most often goes wrong in stairwells: the stairwell is treated but not the basement and the waste room the smell comes from — and two weeks later it is back; residents are not told and the work happens at the busiest time; or a one-off is ordered when the subject is contact surfaces, where only a regular schedule makes sense.
We set the price by the number of floors and the area. For regular scheduled treatment we prepare a quote with a volume discount. Where several buildings are managed together — a combined quote. For property managers →
Usually the property manager or the residents' representative, because it is a communal area. An individual flat owner can propose it, but the decision is taken at building level.
No. Contact surface treatment does not require the space to be cleared. If we carry out wider treatment, we tell everyone in advance.
Regular scheduled treatment gives a far better result than occasional one-offs, because a contact surface stays a contact surface.
Describe the situation — we will tell you whether treatment is needed at all, and which one.
Fill in the form — we will call you on the number you provide, ask a few clarifying questions and propose a solution.
Thank you! We will contact you on the phone number you provided shortly.
