We Cleaned a Band’s Tour Bus in Newtown. Here’s What We Found.
Rockstars leave behind more than just memories.
If you’ve ever walked past a tour bus parked on King Street and thought, “Man, that thing must smell like dreams and Red Bull,” — you’re not far off. But you’re also not ready for what we actually found inside. When Ultrix was asked to clean a long-haul tour bus for a local indie band wrapping their 4-month national tour, we didn’t expect to stumble into what can only be described as a mobile museum of chaos, glitter, and mild biohazards.
The bus had been lived in, partied in, slept in, and occasionally cleaned (badly) by whoever lost the coin toss that night. It had seen festivals, underground gigs, outback truck stops, and one very questionable camping ground near Wagga. When we arrived in Newtown, it was parked out front of a grungy café, and a man in a bathrobe handed us the keys without breaking eye contact. We knew we were in for a ride.
Here’s what we found:
A half-eaten hash brown under a guitar case
Seven loose guitar picks
Two bras
Four empty roll-on deodorants
One VHS tape of The Lion King 2
Seventeen glitter-covered party hats
And a copy of Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra with joints tucked inside the cover
And that was just the driver’s cabin.
The main living space was worse. The carpet had absorbed so many smells it could’ve been bottled and sold as “Eau de Festival.” The fridge contained two beers, one moldy lemon, and a jar labeled “Do Not Open (Ever).” We didn’t. The bunks were stacked with fast food wrappers, wet socks, and, for some reason, one Croc shoe filled with glitter. A window curtain had been used as a towel. Twice.
Cleaning it wasn’t just gross — it was psychological warfare. You had to disassociate a little. The glitter alone took hours. We brought in vacuums, steamers, ozone treatment, and gloves that looked like they belonged in a sci-fi movie. We used eco-friendly products, yes — but with the intensity of a crime scene cleanup crew.
Why does this matter? Because music venues, rehearsal studios, and tour vans in Sydney’s Inner West are part of the cultural fabric. But they’re often neglected when it comes to proper commercial cleaning. These aren’t just dirty spaces — they’re disease vectors. And if you’ve ever tried to deep-clean dried beer off a mixing board, you’ll know how fast “cool grunge vibes” turn into “someone’s getting conjunctivitis.”
We ended up filling three full garbage bags and running two industrial cycles of deep steam. After 8 hours, the bus finally smelled like citrus and survived dreams. The band tipped us in vinyl records and a voucher for free tofu bao. We accepted.
At Ultrix, we’re no strangers to the unexpected. From Newtown dive bars to Marrickville rehearsal rooms, we’ve cleaned the places most people are afraid to enter — with results that even band managers write home about.
So, what’s hiding in your tour van, recording studio, or venue bathroom?
✅ From Tour Vans to Venue Toilets, We’ve Seen (and Cleaned) It All.
Ultrix Cleaning offers commercial-grade deep cleaning for Sydney’s Inner West creative spaces — including studios, venues, rehearsal rooms, and yes, tour buses.
🎸 Trusted by bands. Loved by managers. Approved by your immune system.
📍 Newtown, Marrickville, Enmore, Petersham & beyond
💻 Book now: www.ultrixcleaning.com
Let us handle the funk. You handle the encore.