Inside Sydney’s Abandoned Co-Working Spaces: The Post-Hype Cleanup Nobody Talks About

They came. They Wi-Fi’d. They left mold in the fridge.

Once upon a time — say, back in 2021 — Sydney’s co-working spaces were the hottest thing since oat milk. Hot desks! Free kombucha! Beanbags that looked like furniture but felt like regret! Entrepreneurs, creatives, crypto bros, and UX freelancers filled glass rooms with buzzwords and body spray. It was a golden era of Slack notifications and standing desks.

But it’s 2025 now. And let’s be honest: the vibe has shifted.

Ultrix has been quietly handling the aftermath of this cultural moment — deep-cleaning the abandoned, paused, or “pivoted” co-working spaces across the Inner West. From Camperdown to Newtown, we’ve seen the rise and fall of startup dream hubs. And what’s left behind? A strange blend of mold, sorrow, and forgotten AirPods.

Ghost Offices Are a Thing

We’ve cleaned coworking spaces where every desk still has a mug and a notebook, like the staff just… disappeared mid-Zoom. One Marrickville hub still had a “launch strategy” written on a whiteboard — next to a dried-up marker and a half-eaten muesli bar.

The Smell of Abandonment

It’s hard to describe, but we know it instantly. It’s the scent of carpet that hasn’t seen vacuum suction in six months, plus expired almond milk, plus damp drywall. Sometimes there’s a rogue kombucha bottle. Always there’s one weird banana peel fossilised under a couch.

High-Tech, Low-Hygiene

These places had QR code doors and biometric scanners — but their air vents hadn’t been cleaned since pre-pandemic. We’ve found routers caked in dust, ergonomic chairs with mystery stains, and ventilation systems growing life forms that may qualify for ethical rights.

Meeting Rooms of Doom

Do you know what happens to a glass-walled meeting room after months of humidity and silence? Condensation. Mold. Faded Post-it notes stuck to glass like ancient hieroglyphs. One had a jar of protein powder on the table. Another had three cups of unfinished coffee still circling the drain of time.

Startup Kitchens: A Horror Story

Fridges filled with green smoothies that became greener. Sinks stacked with unwashed mason jars. Microwave smells that have no earthly origin. We once opened a drawer and found seven forks, a USB cable, and someone’s old resume.

The Clean-Up? Intense.

We don’t just wipe surfaces — we do post-hype detoxifying. We clean like the building is getting a second chance at life. Ozone treatment, industrial vacuums, full microbial sanitation, air scrubbing. We’ve brought more spaces back from the dead than a Netflix reboot.

Who Owns These Empty Spaces?

Sometimes it’s landlords hoping for new tenants. Sometimes it’s the original founder who swears they’ll “relaunch soon.” Either way, they all say the same thing when we walk in: “It’s… uh… worse than we thought.”

Our Take?

Sydney’s startup culture isn’t dead — but it’s evolving. And as it changes, so must the way we care for the spaces that supported it. Because mold doesn't wait for your Series A. Dust doesn’t care about your coworking rebrand.

✅ Taking Over an Empty Office or Co-Working Hub? Start With a Proper Clean.

Ultrix Cleaning offers high-grade commercial cleaning and sanitisation for Sydney’s Inner West office spaces, creative hubs, and co-working setups.
✔ Deep post-tenant cleaning
✔ Mold, dust, and air quality treatments
✔ Flexible timelines for new tenants or landlords
📍 Book now at www.ultrixcleaning.com — let’s turn your ghost office back into a fresh start.