A move-out clean is written against an inspection rather than against a household's expectations. The list below is organized the way a property manager walks a unit: kitchen, bathrooms, then everything else, opening things as they go.
Kitchen — where most deductions come from
- Inside every cabinet and drawer, including runner channels and shelf edges
- Cabinet fronts, sides and the underside of upper cabinets
- Inside the oven, including the door glass, racks and the broiler drawer
- Inside the refrigerator and freezer, including shelves, drawers and door seals
- Behind and beneath the refrigerator and range, where accessible
- Inside the microwave and the dishwasher, including the door gasket and filter area
- Countertops, backsplash and the wall behind the range
- Sink, faucet, drain and the garbage disposal opening
- Range hood exterior and filter housing
- Toe kicks, and the floor beneath the toe kick line
Bathrooms
- Toilet cleaned inside, outside, at the base, behind, and around the bolt caps
- Tub and shower scrubbed, including the wall tile and the soap dish
- Grout lines addressed
- Shower glass, track, hinges and frame descaled
- Vanity, sink, faucet, and inside the vanity cabinet
- Mirror and any medicine cabinet, inside and out
- Exhaust fan cover
- Towel bars, hooks and toilet roll holders
- Floor mopped edge to edge, including behind the door and around the toilet base
Bedrooms, living areas and throughout
- Closet interiors: shelving, hanging rails, corners and floors
- Baseboards wiped along their full length in every room
- Door frames, doors, and marks around every handle
- Light switch plates and outlet covers
- Ceiling fan blades and reachable light fixtures
- Air return grilles and supply vents
- Window interior glass, sills and tracks
- Wall scuffs spot-cleaned where they will come off without damaging paint
- Floors vacuumed and mopped throughout, including closet floors and room perimeters
- Patio, balcony or entry area swept
What is not part of a move-out clean
| Item | What it actually needs |
|---|---|
| Carpet shampooing or extraction | A carpet cleaning contractor |
| Set carpet stains | Professional treatment or replacement |
| Nail holes and wall repair | A handyman or painter |
| Paint touch-up | A painter |
| Bulk trash, furniture, mattresses | A hauling service |
| Exterior windows above ground | A window cleaning contractor |
| Pest treatment | A licensed pest control company |
| Odor in subflooring | Remediation, not cleaning |
| Appliance repair | A technician |
We identify anything on that list during the visit and tell you, so it can be dealt with before the walkthrough instead of appearing as a deduction afterwards.
Three conditions the clean depends on
- 1The property must be empty. Anything left behind blocks access to what has to be cleaned, and the unit will need a second visit.
- 2Utilities must be on. No water or power means the visit cannot happen. This catches people who scheduled a disconnect for moving day.
- 3Nothing goes back in afterwards. Once the clean is done, the property should stay closed until the inspection.
After we finish
Photograph each room, timestamped, before you hand over the keys. It costs nothing and it settles almost every dispute about condition immediately. If anything was missed, tell us within 24 hours and we return to address it at no additional cleaning charge.