Table of Contents
The short answer
A majlis is cleaned from the ceiling down and dry before wet: lights, AC grilles and curtain tops first, then the walls, the seating and the tables, and the carpet last. Most of what makes a majlis look tired is dust held in fabric and a thin film left by bukhoor smoke. Neither comes out with a quick wipe on the day the guests arrive.
Plan it in two parts. The fabric work, meaning the seating, the carpet and the curtains, is done several days before the gathering, because washed fabric needs hours to dry and a room that smells of damp is worse than a room that smells of nothing. The dusting, the vacuuming and the floors are done the day before, with a last look on the day itself.
Some of it is yours to do with a vacuum cleaner and a cloth. Some of it needs a machine and a trained hand: embedded dust, old stains, smoke odour in thick cushions, a fitted carpet, heavy lined curtains. Our published prices for that work are AED 30 per seat, AED 10 per square metre of carpet and AED 30 per standard curtain panel.
The room-by-room clean itself is part of our villa cleaning, where the majlis is its own item on the checklist once you have told us about it.
Why a majlis does not get dirty like a living room
A majlis is not a living room under another name, and it should not be cleaned like one. Six things set it apart.
- It is used hard and then closed. Every seat is filled for an evening, and then the door may stay shut for days or weeks. A closed room gathers settled dust on every surface, and the first hour of AC lifts it again.
- Almost everything in it is fabric. Seating runs along three or four walls, the floor is carpet or large rugs, and the curtains are full height. Fabric holds dust and smell, and it cannot simply be wiped.
- People sit low, and eat and drink there. Coffee, tea, dates and sweets are passed round, and sometimes a meal is served on the floor. Spills land on the carpet and on the front edge of the seats.
- Bukhoor is burned in it. The scent is the point, but the smoke leaves a film, described in the next section.
- The fittings are high. A chandelier, a decorated ceiling and tall curtains with pelmets sit beyond the reach of a weekly clean.
- It often stands apart. Many have their own entrance, a hand basin and a guest bathroom, and some are a separate building. All of that belongs on the same list.
Where we are asked for it most
In our work the majlis comes up most in the villa districts: Khalifa City, where many family villas have one; Al Mushrif, where a number of older villas have a separate majlis building; and the large family homes of Al Shawamekh and Al Shahama. The requests there are much the same: bigger teams for many rooms, the majlis and guest areas made ready before gatherings, and sofa, carpet and curtain cleaning for the reception rooms.
Bukhoor residue: what it is and where it settles
Bukhoor is scented wood, or a pressed blend of wood, resins and oils, warmed on charcoal or an electric burner until it smokes. The smoke is what carries the scent. Like any smoke it is made of very fine particles with oils and resins in them. They drift, cool and settle, and over months they build a film that is slightly sticky, so ordinary dust clings to it.
The film settles in a pattern. The ceiling above the place where the burner usually stands yellows first. AC grilles and the ceiling around them turn grey, because the airflow draws smoke past them. Chandelier crystals lose their sparkle. The top of the curtains and the pelmets hold more than the hems. Glass and mirrors take on a haze that smears when wiped dry. And the fabric of the seats, the cushions and the carpet takes in the smell, which is pleasant for a day and stale after a month.
What can be done depends on the surface.
| Surface | What usually works | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| Glass, mirrors, glazed tables | Washing-up liquid in water, then a dry cloth | Nowhere: the film comes off |
| Chandelier crystals | Careful wiping, crystal by crystal | High or fragile fittings need a technician |
| AC grilles | Dry dusting, then a damp cloth | Dust back within days points to the ducts |
| Painted ceiling and walls | Dry dusting, then a test wipe in a corner | Yellowed matt paint often needs repainting |
| Curtains | Vacuuming, then steam cleaning | Odour is reduced, not always removed |
| Seating and carpet | Vacuuming, airing, professional cleaning | Burn marks are permanent |
The smell in the fabric
How much of the smell leaves a fabric depends on the fabric itself, on how long the residue has been building and on how thick the padding is. A thin curtain gives it up more easily than a deep foam cushion. Professional cleaning reduces smoke odour noticeably, and heavy smoke odour is one of the things that adds time to a fabric job. Nobody can honestly promise that a cushion which has taken in bukhoor for years will come out with no scent at all.
Covering the smell does not work either. Perfume or air freshener sprayed onto fabric adds its own residue on top of the old one, and an oily spray can leave a mark that shows once it has gathered dust. Odour is taken out by cleaning and by fresh air, not by a stronger scent.
Ceilings and walls: test before you wash
Most ceilings are painted in a matt finish that marks easily. Washing one patch of a smoke-filmed ceiling leaves a clean patch, and the clean patch shows more than the film did. So start dry: a soft brush, or a dry microfibre pad on a long handle, over the ceiling, the cornice and the top of the walls. Then test a hidden corner with a barely damp cloth and a drop of mild detergent.
If the test spot comes up clearly lighter, the whole ceiling would have to be washed evenly to match, and on matt paint that rarely succeeds. The usual answer is to repaint, with a stain-blocking primer first so that the yellow does not come back through the new coat. That is a job for our wall painting service, which is quoted after the room has been seen. Decorative gypsum mouldings should only ever be dusted dry.
Burn marks and oil spots
A spark from charcoal melts the tips of a synthetic carpet and scorches wool. That is damage to the fibre, and no cleaning removes it. A very small scorch in a cut-pile carpet can sometimes be made less visible by trimming the charred tips with small scissors. Anything larger is a repair, or a reason to move a table.
A drop of scented oil is a different problem. Blot it with a dry white cloth, do not rub, and do not pour water on it, since water spreads oil further into the weave. Then leave it for the technician and say what the oil was.
Burning bukhoor so that less of it stays
A few habits cut the residue down without giving up the scent.
- Stand the burner on a stable, heatproof tray on a table, well away from curtains, cushions and the edge of the seating. Never leave lit charcoal unattended, and let the ash go completely cold before it is thrown away.
- Keep it out from under the AC grille and the chandelier, which is where the film builds fastest.
- An electric burner has no charcoal, so there are no sparks and no ash. The bukhoor still smokes, so the film still forms, only without the burns.
- Air the room for a short while after the guests leave, before it is closed up. Stale smoke left in a sealed room is what sinks into the fabric.
- Wipe the glass and the tables the next day, not weeks later, while the film is still thin.
The order of work, from the ceiling down
A majlis has more height and more fabric than any other room in the house, so the order matters more here than anywhere. Dust falls. Dusting the curtains after the carpet has been vacuumed means vacuuming twice. This is the sequence a careful team follows, and you can follow it yourself.
- Clear the room. Take out cups, trays, tissue boxes and small ornaments. Lift the loose cushions off the seats and stand them on edge.
- Ceiling and lights, dry. Go over the cornice, the ceiling corners and the AC grilles with an extendable duster. Switch the chandelier off and let the bulbs cool before dusting what you can reach from the floor.
- Curtains. Vacuum the pelmet, the heading and the folds from the top down with a soft brush attachment.
- Walls, doors and switches. Dust panelling and picture frames, and wipe the door handles and switch plates.
- Seating. Vacuum the backs, the arms and the seat platforms, then both faces of every cushion, and the gap where the seat meets the back.
- Tables and glass. Wash and dry the glass, wipe the tables and return the ornaments once they are dusted.
- Carpet. Vacuum slowly, in two directions, with the nozzle along the edges and under the front of the seating.
- Hard floor. Vacuum, then mop with a neutral cleaner and a well-wrung mop.
- Entrance, hand basin and guest bathroom.
- Reset. Put the cushions back, run the AC and let the room air. Bukhoor comes last, just before the guests, once everything is dry.
Where fabric cleaning fits in the order
If the seating, the carpet or the curtains are being professionally cleaned, that work goes after the dusting and before the hard floors, and ideally on an earlier day than the final clean. Curtains are steamed before the seating is washed, and the carpet is done last because everyone has to walk across it to reach everything else. Tell us what is booked, so the order is agreed before the team starts.
Floor seating and sofas
Arabic floor seating
Floor seating is a run of low bases or mattresses along the wall, with back cushions and armrests. It is comfortable because the foam is thick, and thick foam is the difficulty. Foam that gets properly wet holds the water for days and turns musty from the inside. So the rule at home is to keep it dry.
Lift every cushion and vacuum both faces, then the base and the carpet underneath, which is where crumbs, date stones and lost coins collect. Stand the cushions on edge with a gap between them and leave the AC running for an hour. Swap the cushions round now and then, so the seats nearest the door do not take all the wear.
Zipped covers can be washed only if their care label says so. If it does, wash the whole set together or not at all, because one freshly washed cover among nine unwashed ones never matches again. Where there is no label, do not guess. Wet cleaning of thick cushions belongs to a machine that puts in very little water and takes it straight back out.
Sofa-style majlis seating
The other kind of majlis has deep sofas and armchairs around the walls, often in velvet or a woven pattern, with carved or gilded frames, tassels and fringes. Vacuum with the upholstery tool at low suction, and brush a pile fabric gently in one direction afterwards. Dust carved wood with a dry, soft brush. Keep wet cloths and polish off gilded or painted frames, where the finish can lift. Tassels and fringes are combed by hand, never drawn into a vacuum.
| Fabric | Safe at home | Leave to a professional |
|---|---|---|
| Polyester and other synthetic weaves | Vacuum; blot spills with water | Embedded dirt and odour |
| Cotton and linen blends | Vacuum; blot; wash covers if the label allows | All-over cleaning |
| Velvet and other pile fabrics | Vacuum gently; brush the pile one way | Any wet cleaning |
| Woven patterns with metallic thread | Vacuum through a soft brush | Any wet cleaning, after a colour test |
| Viscose and silk-look fabrics | Vacuum only | Everything else: water can mark them |
| Leather | Dust; wipe with a barely damp cloth | Cleaning with leather products |
What professional cleaning of the seating involves
Our sofa cleaning is priced at AED 30 per seat, so a run of 10 seats is AED 300. After you book, you send photos with the number of seats, the fabric if you know it and any stains, and the method and the price are confirmed from those. Floor seating is not a line of its own on the price list, so for a floor majlis send the length of each run and the number of back cushions as well.
On the day the technician checks the fabric and tests for colour run in a place that does not show. The seating is vacuumed first, into the seams and under the cushions. Stains are treated one by one. Then, where the fabric allows it, a low-moisture shampoo or extraction lifts what is embedded. Velvet and delicate weaves get a method with less moisture, because heavy extraction can flatten a pile for good. Which method suits which fabric is explained in shampoo, steam or dry cleaning.
Most fabrics need two to six hours of moving air before the cushions are sat on again, and the technician tells you the time for yours before leaving.
The carpet
The carpet takes more than anything else in the room. Everyone crosses it, some guests sit on it, and trays are set down on it. Most of what dulls it is dry: sand and dust that work down to the base of the pile, where grit rubs against the fibres every time someone walks over them. That is why slow vacuuming does more for a carpet than any product. Pass slowly, overlap each stroke and go over the room a second time at a right angle to the first.
Coffee, tea, saffron and dates
The spills of a majlis are particular. Coffee and tea leave a brown tannin mark. Arabic coffee often carries saffron, which is a strong yellow dye. Dates, sweets and sweet drinks leave sugar, which dries clear and sticky and turns into a dark patch weeks later as it collects dust.
- Blot at once with a clean white cloth or plain paper towel. Press, do not rub.
- Work from the outside of the spill towards the middle, so it does not spread.
- Dampen a clean cloth with cool water and blot again. Repeat with fresh parts of the cloth until nothing more comes up.
- Press a dry cloth on the spot, weight it with something heavy and leave it for an hour.
- Stop there. No hot water, no bleach, no coloured cloths, no scrubbing brush and no soaking, which carries the stain down to the backing and brings it back up as the carpet dries.
Cleaning a large carpet in place
A fitted carpet or a large machine-made rug is cleaned where it lies. Our carpet cleaning is priced at AED 10 per square metre, so a carpet of four metres by six is AED 240. Tell us the approximate size when you book, so the right time is allowed.
The technician checks the fibre and the stains, removes the dry soil first, treats the marks one at a time and then cleans the whole carpet by shampoo or hot-water extraction, whichever suits the fibre. Drying takes from several hours to a day depending on the method and the airflow. Keep feet and furniture off it until it is fully dry, with the AC running.
Handmade, silk and antique rugs
Many a majlis has a handmade rug laid over the fitted carpet or the marble. It is a different object from the carpet beneath it. A hand-knotted wool or silk rug is traditionally washed flat, with a lot of water, in a place set up for it, and its dyes can run if it is shampooed where it lies. We have not published a washing service for handmade or silk rugs, so do not assume one is included. Describe the rug and send photos when you book, and the scope is confirmed before anyone touches it. What to ask of whoever does wash it is set out in Persian and handmade rugs.
Two cautions if the floor underneath is marble. Use only a neutral cleaner on the stone, never vinegar or a descaler, because acid etches marble. And make sure both the floor and the rug are completely dry before the rug goes back, since a damp rug can leave its colour on pale stone.
Curtains, the chandelier and the AC grilles
Curtains
Majlis curtains are usually full height, lined and heavy, often with pelmets, swags and tassels. They are hard to take down and far too big for a household machine, and a machine wash risks the lining and the face fabric shrinking by different amounts. At home, the useful job is to vacuum the heading and the folds with a soft brush every few weeks.
Our curtain cleaning is done on the rail with steam. The fabric is checked and tested, the folds and the heading are vacuumed, marks are treated and each panel is steamed from top to bottom, then left open to dry, usually within a few hours with the AC on. The price is AED 30 per standard panel up to about 2.5 metres. Majlis panels are often taller than that and are then priced by size, so give us the drop when you book. Windows beyond the reach of a step ladder are not included. Sun fading is damage to the dye and does not clean out.
The chandelier
Dust and smoke film dull a chandelier slowly enough that nobody notices until it is cleaned. A routine clean dusts what can be reached. Cleaning it crystal by crystal is a separate job: our chandelier cleaning is quoted by the size of the fitting, its height and the number of crystals, and it covers only fittings that can be reached safely. Send a photo with the ceiling height.
If you dust it yourself, switch it off, let the bulbs cool, never spray cleaner up into the fitting and never turn the chandelier to reach the far side, which strains the fixing and the wiring. The safe method, and the point at which to stop, are in how to clean a crystal chandelier safely.
AC grilles
Wipe the grilles before the fabric is cleaned, never after, because the first rush of air from a dusty grille lands on whatever is below it. If the grilles are grey again within days, the dust is coming from inside the ducts, and that is a separate job with its own equipment: AC duct cleaning for a villa starts from AED 750 and is confirmed after the system has been looked at.
When to do what before guests arrive
The commonest mistake is to do everything on the last day. Fabric that was washed in the morning is still damp in the evening, and a closed, damp room smells. Work back from the date.
| When | What | Why then |
|---|---|---|
| A week or more before | Book the fabric work and send photos | Method and price are confirmed from photos |
| Three to five days before | Curtains, seating and carpet cleaned | A carpet can take a day to dry |
| The day before | Full dusting, vacuuming, floors, guest bathroom | Dust settles again in a closed room |
| On the day | Quick vacuum, glass and tables wiped, room aired | Scent a room only when it is dry and fresh |
Before Ramadan and Eid
The weeks before Ramadan and Eid are when many households want the same work done at the same time, so book early. Hourly visits can be booked up to 30 days ahead. The majlis is one room on a longer list at that time of year, and the rest of it is in our pre-Ramadan and Eid cleaning checklist.
What it costs
Two kinds of price apply. Cleaning the room is hourly work, charged from the visit price list per cleaner. Fabric work is charged by the item. Every price includes VAT.
| Job | How it is priced | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Seating | AED 30 per seat | 10 seats: AED 300 |
| Carpet | AED 10 per square metre | 4 m by 6 m: AED 240 |
| Curtains | AED 30 per standard panel | 8 panels: AED 240 |
| Chandelier | Quoted by size, height and crystals | Confirmed from a photo |
| Cleaning the room | Visit price list, per cleaner | 2 cleaners for 3 hours each: AED 180 |
A worked example
Take a majlis with 10 seats, a carpet of four metres by six and 8 standard curtain panels. The fabric work adds up to AED 780. Booked together with a deep clean, fabric items are 10% off, which brings them to AED 702. The smallest deep clean is 2 cleaners for 3 hours each, AED 180 with your own products, so the whole job comes to AED 882.
That example is a majlis on its own. In a large villa it is normally one part of a bigger booking, and the hours are set for the whole house. As a guide from our own service page, a villa of five or six bedrooms with a majlis is usually given two or three cleaners for six to ten hours.
Priced items carry a minimum order of AED 100 per visit. Fabric jobs are paid online from My bookings on this website once the price has been confirmed from your photos, and a job of AED 1,000 or more takes a 30% advance by that link.
What to do yourself, and what to tell us
The split is simple. Dust, loose dirt and fresh spills are household work, and doing them regularly is what makes the professional clean last. Anything that means putting water into fabric, working above head height or treating a mark you cannot identify is better handed over.
When you book, a few details decide the team, the hours and the equipment.
- Whether the majlis is inside the house or a separate building.
- How it is furnished: floor seating or sofas, the number of seats and the fabric if you know it.
- The carpet: fitted or loose, its rough size, and whether any rug is handmade or silk.
- The curtains: the number of panels and their drop.
- The chandelier: a photo, and the height of the ceiling.
- Marks you want treated, what caused them and how old they are.
- The date of the gathering, so the fabric work can be placed far enough ahead of it.
Common questions
How often should a majlis be cleaned?
Dust and vacuum it weekly while it is in use, and before each gathering if it has been closed. For the fabric, six to twelve months between professional cleans suits most homes, and a household with frequent guests is nearer the short end. Curtains are usually done once or twice a year and a chandelier about once a year, or before Eid, a wedding or another large gathering. The reasoning for each is in how often sofas, carpets, mattresses and curtains should be cleaned.
Can the smell of old bukhoor be removed completely?
From glass, tables and other hard surfaces, yes. From thin fabric, largely. From thick cushions and carpet that have taken it in for years, it can be reduced a great deal but not always to nothing. The honest way to find out is to clean one piece and judge the result before deciding about the rest.
How long after cleaning before guests can use the room?
Curtains steamed on the rail usually dry within a few hours with the AC on. Seating needs two to six hours of moving air. A carpet can take from several hours to a full day. So allow a day for the room as a whole, and do not close the door on it while anything is still damp.
Do you clean a majlis that is in a separate building?
Yes, when it is included in the booking. Tell us about it in advance, with how it is furnished, so the hours and the team cover it. The same goes for an annexe or other outbuildings. The majlis is not assumed to be part of a villa clean unless it is mentioned.
Can the majlis be cleaned on its own, without the rest of the villa?
Yes. Hourly cleaning goes where you direct it, so a visit can be given to the majlis, its entrance and the guest bathroom and nothing else. Fabric work can also be booked by itself, subject to the minimum order for priced items.
We have house staff. What is left for a cleaning team?
The periodic and heavier work. In villas that have a housekeeper, a visiting team usually takes the jobs that need more hands or machines: a deep clean of the reception rooms, the high dusting, the fabric and the bathrooms, in the rooms you agree. Tell us who will meet the team and which areas are included.
Getting the majlis ready
Start with the date of the gathering and count back: fabric first, dust and floors the day before, scent last. Keep the weekly vacuuming going in between and the next gathering will need far less.
The room clean is booked as part of villa cleaning, with the majlis named when you book, and the seating, carpet and curtains are added as priced items. Send the photos, give us the date, and book online. Our hours are 8 AM – 8 PM, every day of the week.
