In San Antonio, book the big spring clean for early March, as Ashe juniper pollen tapers off, and plan a lighter pass once the live-oak catkins stop falling. In the early-century houses of Olmos Park, Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills, method matters too: hard water scales old tile and glass, and original finishes need gentle chemistry.
That’s the scope, in one place. If you’d rather hand the whole list to a crew instead of working through it, tell us the size of the place and we’ll send a price for the deep clean.
Two pollen seasons, back to back
San Antonio’s pollen arrives in two waves, one in winter and one in spring, each leaving a different deposit in the house. The first is Ashe juniper, the tree Texans call mountain cedar. The Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS) calls cedar fever “an allergic reaction to the pollen released by mountain cedar trees” and gives the timing: only male junipers release pollen, typically starting in mid-December, often right after a cold front, peaking in mid-January and tapering off toward the beginning of March. That pollen can blow for miles, so a house in town gets its share even with no junipers on the block.
The second wave is oak: in TFS’s words, the juniper tapers off “just in time for oak pollen and other spring allergens to start up.” TFS’s Trees of Texas guide adds that the live oak bears its male flowers in spring, on catkins up to three inches long.
Indoors, the two behave differently. Juniper pollen is fine and settles on horizontal surfaces: sills, blind slats, fan blades, vent covers, the tops of baseboards. The catkins are coarse; they land on porches and walks, then ride in on shoes and paws, while the oak pollen leaves what a TFS biologist calls a “light dusting of green everywhere.”
When to book: after the juniper, not in the thick of it
Our San Antonio deep-clean page sets the rhythm at twice a year, “once before guests and once after the season that tracks the most into the house.” Here, both dates fall on the pollen calendar:
- Before guests: November into early December. The holidays and the juniper’s mid-December start arrive together; a deep clean ahead of both sends the house into the season clean.
- After the season: early March. Juniper pollen has spent the winter settling on every ledge, and production is tapering. This is the big reset.
- After the catkins: once they stop falling. A regular visit, not a second deep clean, picks up what the oaks tracked in.
A deep clean in mid-January makes little sense: pollen production peaks then, and the next cold front can coat the ledges all over again. Keep the regular visits going and save the full reset for March.
One judgment call: under big overhanging oaks, with the windows open all spring, a single deep clean after the catkins stop falling takes both seasons off at once, in exchange for a dustier March. Whether a spring clean and a deep clean are even the same purchase has its own post: spring cleaning vs. deep cleaning.
Early-century houses: gentle with what can’t be replaced
The enclaves north of downtown change the job more than the calendar does. The same deep-clean page describes them plainly: “Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Olmos Park and Monte Vista hold early-century brick, stucco and tile with original wood floors, deep baseboards and single-pane glass that shows every water spot.” Our Olmos Park page adds the bathroom detail: “Century-old estate houses mean a lot of original glass and bath tile holding the scale that very hard Edwards Aquifer water leaves.” And our Alamo Heights page asks for that inventory up front: “Tell us which rooms are included, identify surfaces requiring specific care and keep manufacturer instructions available where relevant.”
That shapes the method:
- Original tile and grout. The mild acid that dissolves scale is usually safe on glazed tile and glass and hard on cement grout used as a routine, and it etches a marble threshold or vanity top on contact. Start with a test spot, let dwell time do the work instead of pressure, and keep acid off the stone; the full list is in the surfaces you should never clean with vinegar.
- Original wood floors. An old floor may not wear the modern polyurethane most care advice assumes. The water-drop test in our hardwood floor guide shows whether the finish is intact; either way, damp, never wet.
- Deep baseboards and old paint. Painted trim gets wiped, never scrubbed raw. The EPA notes that a home built before 1978 is more likely to have lead-based paint, and advises cleaning chipping or peeling paint with a wet cloth and repairing small areas without sanding.
Hard water on old tile and glass
The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) puts the typical hardness of the water it provides at 15 to 20 grains per gallon, calcium carbonate from the Edwards and Trinity aquifers. Even the low end is well past the 180 milligrams per liter, about 10.5 grains, at which U.S. Geological Survey guidelines start calling water “very hard.” Your utility’s water-quality report has your own number.
On original glass and tile, the question is film or etch. Film is mineral sitting on the surface, and a mild acid with dwell time lifts it; etching is damage in the surface, and nothing lifts it. The method and the test that tells them apart are in how to remove hard-water stains from glass shower doors. And on single-pane windows, dry the glass rather than letting it air-dry.
North Side lots: caliche at the door
North of Loop 1604 the houses are newer and the dirt is different. Our Stone Oak page describes lots where “pale caliche dust drifts off every graded pad.” Treat caliche as the mineral grit it is: dry removal first, with a vacuum or dry dust mop, then the damp pass, so nothing gets dragged across stone counters, glass shelves or wood. A walk-off mat at each exterior door and a vacuumed slider track keep it at the threshold.
On heavy pollen days, keep it outside
TFS advises keeping windows and doors closed on heavy pollen days and suggests higher MERV-rated filters in home and car air systems. Three cleaning habits carry that indoors: coats and shoes stay at the door, a damp cloth replaces the feather duster (which just tosses dust back into the air), and the vacuum is a sealed machine that keeps the fine fraction inside; whether a HEPA vacuum makes a difference explains why. None of this is medical advice.
What a deep clean covers here
The San Antonio deep clean is defined on its page as “Everything a standard visit covers, plus the surfaces a standard visit does not reach: baseboards, door frames, blinds, sills, switch plates, vents and cobwebs.” Its checklist adds “Accessible light fixtures and ceiling fans,” “Air vent covers and cobweb removal” and “Tile and grout scrubbed in kitchen and baths.” Note the word accessible: mention a fan in a two-story great room when you ask for a price. The page also says “Appliance interiors and interior windows are priced separately so nobody pays for them by default,” and “Heavy or fragile pieces stay where they are — we would rather leave a spot than damage the piece,” which matters in a house full of antiques. On cost, the page is plain: “Price follows the work, not a guess,” and “A price in writing before we schedule.”
Where cleaning stops
- Symptoms are a doctor’s question. A deep clean removes settled pollen; it doesn’t treat cedar fever, and TFS itself tells readers to consult a physician before taking new medications.
- Air systems are HVAC work. The checklist’s vent line means the covers, not the ducts behind them or the filter at the return.
- Floors and fabrics get cleaned, not restored. We don’t refinish, screen, or strip and wax floors, and we don’t shampoo or extract carpet or deep-extract upholstery.
- Paint gets wiped, not repaired. Peeling paint is a repair, and the EPA has separate guidance for renovation work in homes built before 1978.
- Etching stays. No cleaning reverses etched glass or marble; that’s restoration or replacement.
FAQ
Should I book a deep clean during cedar season or after it?
After it. TFS says juniper pollen typically starts in mid-December, peaks in mid-January and tapers off toward the beginning of March, so an early-March deep clean takes the whole winter’s layer off at once. A mid-January one tends to be undone by the next cold front.
Will a deep clean help with cedar fever?
It removes the pollen settled on the surfaces it works: vent covers, fan blades, blinds, sills and baseboards. What that does for anyone’s symptoms is a question for a doctor; we make no health claim for a cleaning.
Is vinegar safe on my original bath tile?
On glazed tile and glass, diluted vinegar is usually the right tool for hard-water scale. It is the wrong one for cement grout as a routine, and it etches marble, travertine and limestone on contact. Test a hidden spot first, rinse and dry. When in doubt, use a pH-neutral cleaner.
How often should an older San Antonio home get a deep clean?
Twice a year is a sound rhythm: once before mid-December, ahead of the juniper and the holiday guests, and once in early March. Regular visits carry the months between, with a lighter pass once the oak catkins stop falling. Pets or heavy traffic may call for closer regular visits.