House move - to clean or not to clean?

[Youngatheart00]

Hypothetical at the moment as not looking to move until the Spring. But thinking of our home, when we bought it 5 years ago we were very pleasantly surprised to find the place pretty clean, despite the fact that completion wasn’t occurring on their home until the same day. We left our rented place professionally cleaned as required under our contract.

What are people’s views on cleaning when selling a home? Do it yourself (if so - how do you manage alongside packing and removals?) or get a professional in (timing?). What have been your experiences when buying? The thought of moving in to somewhere dirty is horrible, has anyone experienced?

Sure COVID might change this, maybe we’ll see professional cleans as part of the contract now.

[Russell19]

We packed everything in boxes the weeks before, on the day got everything into the vans then had an army of relatives who went around cleaning once each room had been emptied. Although, it was pretty clean before. You can clean bathrooms and kitchen etc before surely?

[FlamingoAndJohn]

Do it around the packing really. An empty room is easier to clean.
So once you’ve packed up the bookcase then shuffle the bookcase forwards and clean behind it.
On moving day clean each room as the removal people take stuff out.

[Youngatheart00]

Just to say, I’m not trying to shirk cleaning duties, just interested in opinions and how others have managed the logistics

[Dyrne]

I think it’s nice to leave a place clean. The’s nothing worse than moving in to your lovely new home only to find sticky cupboards and mucky floors. So you’re exhausted from moving but can’t even put plates etc away until you’ve cleaned!

At the very least I think people should give a basic clean of their house - get rid of obvious dust, cobwebs, quick swizz of bleach round the loo etc.

[VivienScott]

Think you are obliged to leave your house clean, free of rubbish etc. It’s also just basic good manners if someone’s handing over hundreds of thousands of pounds to you for something! I cleaned my old house before I left but didn’t get it done professionally. I think most people want to deep clean any house they move into anyway, regardless of who cleaned it before they move in.

[dudsville]

Personally i think you should clean it upon leaving, either yourself or employ a company.

[Dyrne]

And I agree with others that in terms of logistics you should clean as much as you can in the run-up; then it should be a case of hoovering/wiping as the removal company moves stuff out.

[BabyStarling]

We got a professional in who came on moving day. She worked behind the removal guys, cleaning each room as they emptied it. Then she returned the keys to the estate agent. She was brilliant!

[Ragwort]

I cleaned the house myself when we last moved, not to pristine standards but as the furniture was removed from each room I would vacuum, wipe down surfaces, give bathrooms a good clean etc. It doesn't actually take that long if the room is empty (I didn't wash windows). The house we moved into was cleaned to a similar standard.
But we only had one 10 year old child ... it would be harder if you had young children/pets etc then you might need to try and get someone to help.

I've personally never experienced it but you do hear some horror stories about people moving into filthy houses.

[Di11y]

definitely leave it sparkling! i was still mopping floors after we technically didn't own it and the EA was chasing for keys as wanted it to be in good nick

[Rainbowqueeen]

Kitchen and bathroom can be cleaned prior to moving day ( other than floors). Parts of other rooms can be cleaned in advance too eg windows. Then one person can stay behind after the furniture has been taken away and give the floors etc a clean
It’s a nice thing to do and its more likely that the new owners will be happy to forward mail etc ( even if you redirect there might be a mistake or parcels if you forget to change your delivery address on a website) if the house is clean and tidy when they arrive.

[SD1978]

A wipe down, nothing more is needed. When I moved in to my house I had it cleaned- whether someone else had or not would be inconsequential to me, I'm not going to rely on that being done by someone else:

[bez91]

We cleaned ours as we went so it might not have got a clean the day we moved out but everywhere was thoroughly cleaned in the days before. I think it's just courteous tbh.

We moved into our new house which was a deceased estate and the family hasn't bothered to whip a vac around and left loads of their possessions like shoes etc which was just weird and a bar of soap still in the bath 🤢

When we sold a deceased family members house we paid a cleaner as we didn't have time but it just rude otherwise I think.

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Yes you should leave the place clean. We started packing weeks earlier, and used half of a bedroom to stack all the boxes in. As we packed we dismantled bookcases etc and added them to the bedroom. As we unearthed space, we cleaned it.

A few days before moving we deep cleaned the bathroom and kitchen so they only needed a wipe over on the last day.

I kept the vacuum and mop and some cleaning materials to hand on the last day and as the truck left, I went through the house vacuuming and mopping my way out then dumped it all in my car and followed the van down. Dh went ahead in the van.

[Ofalltheginjoints]

We bought in January and the house was spotless when we moved in, we did buy from family however the house would’ve been spotless whoever would’ve bought the place.

When we moved previously out of two rental properties I packed and cleaned as I went and then did a final wipe down just before inspection, both flats left in a much better condition then we we moved in, both had been empty for around 4 months prior to us moving in and it was gutting to arrive and then have to start cleaning everything despite an apparent professional clean

[Freetodowhatiwant]

I am hoping to move soon and will clean (actually will get a cleaner in) before we leave. However I have always previously left a bottle of wine or something in the fridge for them but won't be doing this time. IF the sale goes through with our buyers I won't be leaving anything, I am half tempted to leave them a letter saying how difficult they have been. I won't of course, but they have been absolutely hideous and still are being. They've asked for so many additional tests it's ridiculous. It's a very nice, bog standard, four bedroom Victorian house but apparently where they come from they wouldn't buy a house over 30 years old so they think it's falling down when there's nothing wrong with it. They refuse to speak to anyone except through their solicitor too so communication is very very slow.

[Wither]

We cleaned our house when we moved.

[WorrisomeHeart]

Definitely clean it. We got our new house keys and discovered it was filthy, right down to someone not flushing the toilet. It had been a ‘naive’ family who owned it but the sale process had been difficult (wholly their fault) so I assume it was their parting blow. Fortunately we were in a rental property and weren’t planning to move in for a couple of days so had the time to clean it but I was so cross. It really spoiled that first walking into the house experience.

[nicknamehelp]

We've always cleaned but moved into dirty houses. As I empty a cupboard I clean it then as a room is emptied give it a quick once over.

[Mostpeculiar]

We had little ones so paid for professionals while I dealt with kids and rang utility/insurance companies

[Puffthemagicdragongoestobed]

We got our house professionally cleaned on move day. I had spoken to the movers beforehand to check which time we should have the cleaner come in. They came in an armada of 7! The house was spotless when we handed the keys to the agent. We had the oven professionally cleaned the week before.
Unfortunately the vendors of our new house weren't so conscientious. They did a lot of the move themselves, were way later than completion time and when we moved in they had only done a very basic cleaning job. We ended up having to clean the insides of the kitchen cupboards, the stove and had to get the professional oven cleaners come in.o

I think it should be written into the contract to have the house professionally cleaned. Maybe with Covid this is already happening.
We were pretty annoyed about the state of our new house..

[Pepperama]

I've moved loads and usually into lovely clean houses. Only the most recent house we moved into a nightmare with dog turds in garden and rotten chicken meat in fridge and rubbish in bins. They'd clearly just walked out and left everything. Completely disgusting. This was our most expensive house in a lovely area, so clearly not that they couldn't afford a professional

It's made me feel different about this house to start with, so I'd always always leave it nice. The best experience was when we found a bottle of bubbly with two glasses, and a lovely card with a list of local tips for take away, pubs, restaurants, quirky shops etc!

[Zeusthemoose]

Kitchen, bathroom and cleared rooms we cleaned prior to moving day and gave the house a once over once boxes were out of the way. The last house we bought was filthy when we moved in including dog excrement. They had been awkward throughout the sale and knew this would be their parting gift so expected it.

[Glendaruel]

Treat others as you would want to be treated. There is certain amount you can do before hand but I would reserve a spot in car for hoover, moo and cleaning supplies.

Also box with kettle, tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits and cups. Both you and removers will appreciate at other end that you can access this straight away.

[Wannabegreenfingers]

Absolutely clean it. Grim to leave a dirty house.