The Ultimate Checklist For Deep Cleaning Your House Before Moving

 

If you’ve just found your dream home and you’ve got your moving day ironed out, arranged your movers, and started packing – you’ll also need to consider how to deep clean your home before moving day. Especially in a property that has been let, you’ll need to leave the property as you found it when you moved in to ensure you can get your deposit back in full! Think of all the exciting things you can spend your reclaimed dosh on when decorating your new place.

We understand that not everyone is a natural Mrs. Hinch and finds cleaning fun… but we’ve got some easy steps you can follow to get your place looking spick and span! Cleaning is a time-consuming but important part of your move so it’s best to get started early if you can!

 

Cleaning Checklist For Moving House

If you don’t know where to start, here’s a quick check-list to help you kick off your house clean!

• Assess how much cleaning you need to do!
  If you’re a regular cleaner, it might not be a huge job. But if you’ve been letting things build up a little ahead of your move, we’d recommend you start the process by writing a list of everything you need to do before you start tackling it. This will help keep you on track and ensure you don’t miss anything. Plus, it’s super satisfying ticking things off the list!

 

• Make sure you have all the equipment you need!
  Invest in some household gloves, microfibre dusters, a bucket and mop, absorbent sponges, glass cleaning spray, and some disinfecting cleaning liquid before you start to tackle your clean. It’s also worth emptying out your hoover if you haven’t emptied the bag/container recently – this will improve its suction power greatly and mean you get much more of the dirt up! Who doesn’t love those beautiful hoover lines in the carpet? 

 

• Tidy your space and pack everything you can first
  It’s tricky to do a deep clean of your apartment with your stuff everywhere so your deep-clean will either need to be left right to the end – or try and pack up what you can room by room, piling it up in one area so more of your space is free to clean. If there’s a few days overlap between moving into your new place and handing back your keys then we’d recommend moving your things out first to make the clean easier. 

 

• Dust and hoover absolutely everywhere!
  There’s nothing worse than trying to wipe surfaces with a wet cloth when they’re covered with dust; you’ll end up with a soggy mess on your hands! Dust all of your surfaces, cupboard shelves, and even on top of your cupboards. You should also dust down your doors and cupboard doors to make the place look like new! Use a hoover to get the dust off the skirting boards as well as hoovering the floor; most hoovers usually come with an attachment to make this even easier. 

 

• Give everything a wipe down! 
  After dusting, make sure that you wipe down all your surfaces, drawers and shelves with a disinfectant to leave everything gleaming. If there’s residue build-up in some areas, you might need to put some elbow-grease into it! Polishing your surfaces off with an absorbent dry cloth afterwards can give them that extra sparkle and stop you from leaving any water marks. 

 

• Do you need professional help? 
  If you don’t think you’ve got time to clean your house from top to bottom or your moving window is small, get a couple of quotes from some local cleaning companies. This can help take the stress out of your moving day – there are so many things to keep track of on the day from packing up the last or your possessions to closing your utility accounts, so using a professional cleaning firm can save you time and effort (and means you don’t have to get your hands dirty)! 

 

In fact, some rental contracts specify that you have to get a professional clean to bring your property up to the standard it was in when you moved in. However, doing some of your own cleaning beforehand could reduce your quote from your cleaning company when they come to assess the clean – they’ll let you know if there’s anything you need to prep.

 

Top Tips To Help You Deep Clean Each Room

If you’ve decided to do the clean yourself, here’s what you should consider for each room. The kitchen and bathroom are the two rooms where you’ll probably need to spend the most time scrubbing.

 

Kitchen Checklist

• Defrost the fridge and freezer and then use hot soapy water to clean the shelves and drawers – unplug or switch off appliances if they’re going to be unused for a while before the next person moves in.
• You can also use a damp soapy cloth to wipe down the outside of all your white goods, surfaces and cupboard doors.
• Wipe down the stove including any grills or utensils that belong with the house.
• Disinfect the sink with hot soapy water and shine with an absorbent cloth to leave it streak free.

 

Bathroom Checklist

• Make sure you’ve packed up or thrown away any bathroom mats, bins and shower curtains – unless these came with the house. If the shower curtain came with your home then make sure you wash it before hanging it back up.
• Wipe down the shower or bath with hot water and detergent. You may also need to use mildew remover if you have stain build-up.
• You’ll need to scrub the toilet inside and out – use specialist toilet cleaner inside the toilet bowl and leave for at least half an hour before scrubbing with the toilet brush.
• Mop the floor and allow it to try naturally.
• Top tip: keep the window open in the bathroom to allow any steam and chemical fumes to escape!

 

Bedroom & Living Room Checklist

• For any built-in wardrobes or cupboards, you should hoover and dust all the shelves before wiping everything down.
• If there’s any glass in your cupboard doors, use a special glass cloth and cleaner to avoid leaving any smears.
• It’s best to hoover your bedroom after you’ve moved the bed so that you can hoover properly – dust tends to build up under the bed! The same goes for the sofa; you’ll be surprised what you can find under there if you don’t move it regularly.
• Don’t forget to dust and wipe your window sills and around the windows.
• If you have blinds you’ll need to make sure you’ve dusted these too (a microfibre cloth or extendable duster will come in handy to help you reach the top)

 

Hopefully these tips can help you spritz the place up before you leave and get your deposit back! If you’re not satisfied with the cleanliness of your new pad then they may come in handy before you unpack too.