Text size100%
BREAKINGInflation hits 4% as strike and Dublin closures loom4 Nov 2026Read

CLEANING · 4 MIN READ

Storm clean-up and mould: cleaning after Austen and Boelo

Storm clean-up and mould after Austen and Boelo, end-of-tenancy cleaning under RTB deposit rules, and the Christmas deep-clean rush across Ireland.

Locufy News
4 Nov 2026 · 4 min read
ShareSave
A hand in a yellow rubber glove wiping a white wall with a sponge
Photo: iStock.

Around 5,000 premises in Ireland were still without power on the evening of Sunday 25 October after Storm Boelo followed Storm Austen within 48 hours, according to Insurance Business, and the wet, blocked and mould-prone homes those two storms left behind are now the busiest end of the cleaning trade as the Christmas deep-clean season begins.

Two storms in one weekend

Storm Austen arrived overnight on 22–23 October. The Irish Times live blog recorded as much as 60 mm of rain in parts of Co Cork, more than 20 mm at Dublin Airport according to Met Éireann, flooding on a series of roads in Waterford and over 30 fallen trees blocking roads and footpaths there, with Cork County Council logging more than 40 fallen trees and branches.

ESB Networks said around 3,000 homes, farms and businesses were without electricity on the Friday morning, the Irish Examiner reported, with Ballydehob in west Cork the worst hit.

Storm Boelo followed on Saturday 24 October. Met Éireann issued an orange rain warning for Kerry from 7am to 2pm, saying flooding and damage to homes and businesses were expected, plus an orange wind warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo from 2pm Saturday to 9am Sunday.

What the insurers are saying about the clean-up

Insurance Business, reporting on 26 October, set out the claims advice brokers are giving after back-to-back storms. Photograph damage before you clean, keep receipts for emergency work, and record which storm caused what, because home policies usually apply an excess per claim and damage from two storms could face two excesses unless treated as one loss.

Food spoiled in freezers during the outages is often covered under home contents policies, it added. Households still without power may also be entitled to compensation from the network operator, separate from any insurance claim.

Damp and mould season

Wet carpets, underlay, plasterboard and skirting that are not dried out properly are where black mould takes hold, and since the clocks went back on 25 October windows stay shut and heating runs longer, which traps moisture.

Specialist cleaners offer carpet extraction and drying, mould treatment and dehumidifier hire. Painting over a mould patch without treating the cause is the mistake most often repeated.

As of 4 November, Met Éireann has no weather warnings in operation, so there is a clear window to get drying and treatment done before the next Atlantic system.

A cleaner in a protective suit and mask treating black mould on a wall

End-of-tenancy cleans and the deposit

Tenant turnover is high because rents keep resetting. Daft.ie's Q2 2026 rental report, published 24 August, put the typical open-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment at €2,204 a month nationally, with rents up 13% year on year in Galway city, 12% in Cork and 11% in Limerick. That followed the record 4.4% quarterly rise in the first three months of 2026, the largest since Daft's series began in 2002, which the Irish Examiner reported on 20 May.

The RTB/ESRI rent index for Q1 2026, reported by Dublin People on 9 September, put the average rent for a new tenancy at €1,839 a month, 9.1% higher than a year earlier, against €1,513 for existing tenancies. That €326 monthly gap means a move costs almost €4,000 a year more in rent, which is why tenants want every cent of their deposit back.

The Residential Tenancies Board's guidance on wear and tear is the rulebook for that. The RTB says the dwelling "should be left clean and tidy when the tenant leaves", that a landlord "cannot expect the dwelling to be returned in the same condition it was presented in", and that where a deposit is withheld "the onus of proof will be on the landlord to justify". It suggests landlords inspect three to four weeks before the tenancy ends so that any damage beyond normal wear and tear can be outlined and remedied by the tenant.

With just under 2,400 homes to rent nationally on 1 August, Daft said, and Dublin down 18% to fewer than 1,150, a documented hand-back and a receipted clean are cheap insurance.

A carpet cleaning machine extracting dirt from a grey carpet

Christmas deep cleans and cold callers

Oven, carpet, upholstery and gutter cleaning bookings traditionally fill from the second week of November through to the week before Christmas, and this year the storm work is already competing for the same slots.

Gardaí in Sligo warned on 28 October about cold-callers at the start of winter offering power washing, painting or goods for sale, saying they "often refuse to take no for an answer" and target "the more vulnerable and people who live alone". The advice is to use a chain lock, not to engage, and to ring 999 or 112 with a description, the vehicle registration and direction of travel.

What it means for you

  • If the storms got water into your home, photograph everything first, keep receipts, and then book drying and mould treatment rather than painting over it.
  • Moving out? Book a receipted end-of-tenancy clean, take dated photos of every room, and ask your landlord for the pre-exit inspection the RTB recommends.
  • For Christmas, book oven, carpet and gutter cleaning before mid-November; later slots are the first to go.
  • Never book a cleaner or power-washer who calls to the door unannounced; compare quotes from traceable local providers on Locufy instead.

For providers: quote storm work with a separate line for drying and mould treatment so customers can pass it to their insurer, offer a written checklist with end-of-tenancy cleans that mirrors the RTB wear-and-tear guidance, and open your December diary now.

Key dates

  • 22–25 October 2026: Storms Austen and Boelo hit Ireland
  • 25 October 2026: clocks went back; longer heating hours and closed windows raise condensation risk
  • 4 November 2026: no Met Éireann weather warnings in operation
  • Mid-November to 23 December: peak booking period for Christmas deep cleans

FOLLOW CLEANING

One email a month — the cleaning piece, the day it goes out. One tap to stop.

Comments 0

0 / 600 · Links are rejected automatically. Be specific, be fair. The rules

    Signed-in Locufy customers and providers only. Comments close 30 days after publication. Report anything that names a person unfairly — we act on every report.

    FOLLOW A SECTION

    Pick your sections. The month's piece arrives the day it goes out.

    Nothing is pre-ticked. Choose one section or all 20; you get at most one email per section per month.

    One email per section per month, the day the piece goes out. Stop in one tap. Privacy.

    BREAKINGInflation hits 4% as strike and Dublin closures loom4 Nov 2026Read

    CLEANING · 4 MIN READ

    Storm clean-up and mould: cleaning after Austen and Boelo

    Storm clean-up and mould after Austen and Boelo, end-of-tenancy cleaning under RTB deposit rules, and the Christmas deep-clean rush across Ireland.

    Locufy News
    4 Nov 2026 · 4 min read
    A hand in a yellow rubber glove wiping a white wall with a sponge
    Photo: iStock.

    Around 5,000 premises in Ireland were still without power on the evening of Sunday 25 October after Storm Boelo followed Storm Austen within 48 hours, according to Insurance Business, and the wet, blocked and mould-prone homes those two storms left behind are now the busiest end of the cleaning trade as the Christmas deep-clean season begins.

    Two storms in one weekend

    Storm Austen arrived overnight on 22–23 October. The Irish Times live blog recorded as much as 60 mm of rain in parts of Co Cork, more than 20 mm at Dublin Airport according to Met Éireann, flooding on a series of roads in Waterford and over 30 fallen trees blocking roads and footpaths there, with Cork County Council logging more than 40 fallen trees and branches.

    ESB Networks said around 3,000 homes, farms and businesses were without electricity on the Friday morning, the Irish Examiner reported, with Ballydehob in west Cork the worst hit.

    Storm Boelo followed on Saturday 24 October. Met Éireann issued an orange rain warning for Kerry from 7am to 2pm, saying flooding and damage to homes and businesses were expected, plus an orange wind warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo from 2pm Saturday to 9am Sunday.

    What the insurers are saying about the clean-up

    Insurance Business, reporting on 26 October, set out the claims advice brokers are giving after back-to-back storms. Photograph damage before you clean, keep receipts for emergency work, and record which storm caused what, because home policies usually apply an excess per claim and damage from two storms could face two excesses unless treated as one loss.

    Food spoiled in freezers during the outages is often covered under home contents policies, it added. Households still without power may also be entitled to compensation from the network operator, separate from any insurance claim.

    Damp and mould season

    Wet carpets, underlay, plasterboard and skirting that are not dried out properly are where black mould takes hold, and since the clocks went back on 25 October windows stay shut and heating runs longer, which traps moisture.

    Specialist cleaners offer carpet extraction and drying, mould treatment and dehumidifier hire. Painting over a mould patch without treating the cause is the mistake most often repeated.

    As of 4 November, Met Éireann has no weather warnings in operation, so there is a clear window to get drying and treatment done before the next Atlantic system.

    A cleaner in a protective suit and mask treating black mould on a wall

    End-of-tenancy cleans and the deposit

    Tenant turnover is high because rents keep resetting. Daft.ie's Q2 2026 rental report, published 24 August, put the typical open-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment at €2,204 a month nationally, with rents up 13% year on year in Galway city, 12% in Cork and 11% in Limerick. That followed the record 4.4% quarterly rise in the first three months of 2026, the largest since Daft's series began in 2002, which the Irish Examiner reported on 20 May.

    The RTB/ESRI rent index for Q1 2026, reported by Dublin People on 9 September, put the average rent for a new tenancy at €1,839 a month, 9.1% higher than a year earlier, against €1,513 for existing tenancies. That €326 monthly gap means a move costs almost €4,000 a year more in rent, which is why tenants want every cent of their deposit back.

    The Residential Tenancies Board's guidance on wear and tear is the rulebook for that. The RTB says the dwelling "should be left clean and tidy when the tenant leaves", that a landlord "cannot expect the dwelling to be returned in the same condition it was presented in", and that where a deposit is withheld "the onus of proof will be on the landlord to justify". It suggests landlords inspect three to four weeks before the tenancy ends so that any damage beyond normal wear and tear can be outlined and remedied by the tenant.

    With just under 2,400 homes to rent nationally on 1 August, Daft said, and Dublin down 18% to fewer than 1,150, a documented hand-back and a receipted clean are cheap insurance.

    A carpet cleaning machine extracting dirt from a grey carpet

    Christmas deep cleans and cold callers

    Oven, carpet, upholstery and gutter cleaning bookings traditionally fill from the second week of November through to the week before Christmas, and this year the storm work is already competing for the same slots.

    Gardaí in Sligo warned on 28 October about cold-callers at the start of winter offering power washing, painting or goods for sale, saying they "often refuse to take no for an answer" and target "the more vulnerable and people who live alone". The advice is to use a chain lock, not to engage, and to ring 999 or 112 with a description, the vehicle registration and direction of travel.

    What it means for you

    • If the storms got water into your home, photograph everything first, keep receipts, and then book drying and mould treatment rather than painting over it.
    • Moving out? Book a receipted end-of-tenancy clean, take dated photos of every room, and ask your landlord for the pre-exit inspection the RTB recommends.
    • For Christmas, book oven, carpet and gutter cleaning before mid-November; later slots are the first to go.
    • Never book a cleaner or power-washer who calls to the door unannounced; compare quotes from traceable local providers on Locufy instead.

    For providers: quote storm work with a separate line for drying and mould treatment so customers can pass it to their insurer, offer a written checklist with end-of-tenancy cleans that mirrors the RTB wear-and-tear guidance, and open your December diary now.

    Key dates

    • 22–25 October 2026: Storms Austen and Boelo hit Ireland
    • 25 October 2026: clocks went back; longer heating hours and closed windows raise condensation risk
    • 4 November 2026: no Met Éireann weather warnings in operation
    • Mid-November to 23 December: peak booking period for Christmas deep cleans

    FOLLOW CLEANING

    One email a month — the cleaning piece, the day it goes out. One tap to stop.

    Comments 0

    0 / 600 · Links are rejected automatically. Be specific, be fair. The rules

      Signed-in Locufy customers and providers only. Comments close 30 days after publication. Report anything that names a person unfairly — we act on every report.

      FOLLOW A SECTION

      Pick your sections. The month's piece arrives the day it goes out.

      Nothing is pre-ticked. Choose one section or all 20; you get at most one email per section per month.

      Show all 20

      One email per section per month, the day the piece goes out. Stop in one tap. Privacy.