For many families in Dubai, the weeks before Ramadan are when the home gets its biggest clean of the year. Guests come for iftar, the majlis is used every evening, the kitchen works harder than usual, and nobody wants to be moving sofas or waiting for rugs to dry once the month has begun. The difficulty is timing: start too early and the dust is back, start too late and the upholstery is still damp when the first guests sit down. This plan works backwards from the expected start date, week by week and room by room.
When does Ramadan 2027 start, and when should you book?
Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin on Monday 8 February in the UAE, according to the dates published by the UAE’s Astronomy Centre1. As every year, the final date depends on the official moon sighting. Eid Al Fitr is expected on Tuesday 9 or Wednesday 10 March 20272.
Book in the first half of January. The main work falls into the second half of the month, and the weekends just before Ramadan are the slots that tend to fill first. Booking early also gives you the choice of a weekday, when you may find it easier to be at home or to leave a key.
What does the timeline look like, week by week?
Work backwards from the expected start and finish a few days early, so a change of a day in the moon sighting does not matter.
| When (2027) | Weeks before | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 4 to Sun 10 January | 5 | Decide the scope, send photos, book the dates, ask the building about permits if needed |
| Mon 11 to Sun 17 January | 4 | AC cleaning: filters, coils, trays, drains and grilles in every room used by guests |
| Mon 18 to Sun 24 January | 3 | Main deep clean: kitchen, bathrooms, cupboards inside, windows and tracks, light fittings |
| Mon 25 to Sun 31 January | 2 | Sofas, majlis seating, rugs, curtains and guest mattresses, so they have time to dry |
| Mon 1 to Fri 5 February | 1 | Kitchen and pantry set up for iftar cooking, guest bathroom, terrace or balcony for gatherings |
| Sat 6 to Sun 7 February | Last weekend | Light work only: dusting, vacuuming, floors, final walk through |
| Around 1 to 3 March | During Ramadan | Optional refresh before Eid: majlis, entrance, guest bathroom, outdoor areas |
The AC comes before the main clean on purpose. Opening the units and taking down grilles releases dust that would otherwise land on freshly cleaned surfaces. Upholstery comes after the main clean, because a sofa extracted before the dusty work would collect it again.
Which rooms need what before Ramadan?
Each room has a job during the month, and the clean should follow that job rather than a generic checklist.
| Room | Focus before Ramadan | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Majlis and living room | Seating, back and floor cushions, rug, curtains, walls and ceiling near incense burners, light fittings | Upholstery and rug 2 weeks before, rest 3 weeks before |
| Kitchen | Hood and filters, oven, hob, fridge and freezer inside, cupboards and pantry inside, splashback, sink | 3 weeks before, then a pantry and fridge check in the last week |
| Dining area | Table, chairs, upholstered seats, sideboard and display cabinets, glassware shelves | 3 weeks before, chairs with the upholstery |
| Guest bathroom | Glass, tiles and grout, fittings, extractor grille, mirror | 3 weeks before, quick refresh the last weekend |
| Guest bedroom | Mattress, headboard, curtains, wardrobe inside | 2 weeks before |
| Entrance and corridors | Doors, frames, skirting, shoe cabinet, switches | 3 weeks before, floor the last weekend |
| Terrace or balcony | Floor, furniture, glass, door tracks | Last week before |
Two details make a visible difference. Smoke from incense and bakhoor burners settles as a film on nearby walls, ceilings, light fittings and AC grilles, so those surfaces belong on the list in a majlis. And display cabinets with glassware are easy to forget in a quote, so mention them when you describe the room.
How should a majlis and its sofas be cleaned, and how early?
In place, piece by piece, and at least a week before guests. A majlis is a room full of seating, back cushions and floor cushions, often all in the same fabric and usually with a large rug in the middle. Cleaning only the main sofa leaves the rest looking tired next to it.
The covers stay on. The furniture industry’s fabric standard advises against removing cushion covers to wash them separately, for every cleaning code, and warns against over wetting the fabric3. A cover washed on its own can shrink or change colour and then no longer matches the rest. Our guide to sofa cleaning codes explains what the labels on your seating really mean before anyone touches them.
Drying is the reason for the timing. The IICRC upholstery standard says drying time depends on the fibre, the fabric, the amount of moisture and the temperature and humidity of the room, and that slow drying risks browning, dye migration, shrinkage and stains that reappear4. January is a better month for this than summer: in ten years of hourly data for Dubai, the outdoor dew point never reached 24 °C between December and April5, so a room can be aired and the AC can do its work. Relative humidity on winter mornings is still high, though, which is why the plan counts in days rather than hours. Our sofa cleaning in Dubai page describes how we clean seating and rugs together in one visit.
What should be done in the kitchen before the first iftar?
Everything that will hold food or carry grease during the month. Iftar cooking for family and guests means more frying, more steam and a fuller fridge than usual, and a kitchen that starts the month clean stays manageable.
- Extractor hood and filters: degreased, so the hood works properly from the first evening.
- Oven and hob: cleaned inside and out, including racks and burner parts.
- Fridge and freezer: emptied by you, cleaned inside, seals wiped, ready for the first big shop.
- Pantry and cupboards inside: emptied, cleaned and dry before dates, spices and dry goods go back in.
- Splashback, worktops, sink and taps: grease and limescale removed.
Do the deep clean in the third week of January and only restock and check in the last week. Our guide to kitchen deep cleaning in Dubai explains which products suit which surfaces.
Does the AC need cleaning before Ramadan?
If guests will spend evenings in rooms you rarely use, yes, at least the units serving those rooms. In January the AC runs less, condensate stands longer in the tray, and the first cooling of a closed majlis can bring a musty smell with it.
Dubai Municipality’s indoor air guideline asks for coils and condensate pipes to be cleaned at least every six months and trays at least every month and based on condition6. If the last coil clean was before the summer, mid January is a sensible moment for the next one. Our AC cleaning in Dubai is done by our own technician and can be booked on the same day as the deep clean or a week ahead of it.
What about the weeks between Ramadan and Eid?
Keep it light during the month and plan one refresh before Eid. A home that was deep cleaned in January needs only everyday care in February: vacuuming, a damp wipe of floors, the guest bathroom and the kitchen after busy evenings.
Before Eid Al Fitr, a short refresh of the majlis, the entrance, the guest bathroom and the outdoor areas is worth planning about a week ahead. March is also when dust picks up again. In our own monthly averages of Copernicus data for Dubai, coarse particulate (PM10) rises from 54.3 µg/m³ in January to 83.6 µg/m³ in March7, and a long term study of four UAE stations found dust events most frequent in March and April8. If a dusty day hits just before Eid, our guide on what to clean after a sandstorm gives the order that avoids scratching glass and floors.
How do you prepare for the cleaning team?
A few minutes of preparation save an hour on the day. Send photos of the majlis, the kitchen and the bathrooms on WhatsApp, with the number of seats, cushions, rugs and AC units. Tell us about delicate items: hand knotted rugs, velvet or silk seating, display cabinets, natural stone. Empty the fridge and the pantry shelves you want cleaned inside, and put away anything fragile or private.
If you live in a tower, check whether the building needs a work permit or a service lift booking. If you live in a villa, register the team at the community gate and leave keys for the rooms you want included. And tell us which times of day suit your household, before Ramadan and during it, so the visit fits around your family rather than the other way round.
We agree one fixed price on WhatsApp before we start, with no extra charges on the day. Our home deep cleaning in Dubai page describes the full service the January clean is built on.
