Removal etiquette - cleaning ?

[oncemoreuntothebeachdearfriends]

This is about owners, not renters who presumably have rules to obey.

In my experience, the incomers always clean.

Pointless vacuuming or washing floors when the removal men are tramping in & out.
Can't clean inside cupboards as they are not emptied until the actual day.
Bathrooms should be left clean of course.
All cleaning materials are also packed away.
Never been a problem for me. In a new place, I clean cupboards etc before unpacking boxes, vacuum after the men have gone.

However, a good friend received a very rude e-mail from her buyers about the state of the place when they arrived. They demanded she pay for a deep clean.
She denied it was dirty, & told the CFs to pay for it out of the £10,000 she'd knocked off the selling price.

I hope to move soon, & was wondering if the etiquette has changed since I last moved.

It’s obvious, surely? You clean your place thoroughly before you leave it. You wait till the removal people have finished so that you can access cupboards and vacuum carpets.

It’s horrible to leave your place dirty before someone else moves in.

When I bought my first flat, the people we bought from hadn’t cleaned. The carpet in the living room was so dirty we had to hire an industrial carpet cleaner, and the resultant water was so disgusting that it had to be flushed down the toilet.

Don’t be that person!

I would leave the house clean and tidy.

Don’t you empty cupboards before removal day? Surely everything is boxed up before then, apart a small stash of cleaning stuff, tea and coffee.

As I empty cupboards and wardrobes, I would give them a once over, so everything is clean before removal day. After everything is packed in the can, I would do the bathroom, toiletplus kitchen sink, inside fridge etc. Then everything would get a hoover, from top to bottom.

We moved into a house once with grease stains on carpets, beds, cupboards full of stuff etc (and I still have a glass bowl from then!).

When MIL moved we cleaned the house once it was empty. I wouldn't say it was a deep clean but we hoovered and dusted everywhere, wiped down cupboards inside and doors. Made sure oven and bathrooms were clean.

We left it clean enough for someone to move in and start living straight away.

As each room is cleared you clean the empty room.
You leave cleaning equipment out to do this.
Maybe not professional clean, but hoovered, skirting boards, insides of cupboards in kitchen.

Surely you empty the cupboards at the latest the night before?

I don't think the etiquette's changed - you were always supposed to leave it clean for people to come in to.

You clean as the rooms are emptied, having the vacuum and cleaning bits out with the kettle and tea / coffee etc and as the last bits thrown in the car on locking up.

The removals team are often already on the road, or having their lunch break while you finish up.

They get there for the time you can pick up the keys and want to be unloaded straight in. Yeah, that will generate a bit of cleaning in the new, but much less than otherwise if it were left!

They're not obliged to clean it so they needn't pay. But normally, people do, so it's understandable the new residents are shocked.

Is this real?! Absolutely you clean it. Anytime I’ve moved we have cleaned from top to bottom, with a final run through after movers have taken the boxes. I’ve genuinely never heard of anyone having the same opinion as you. Whilst people may also clean when they arrive for their own benefit, it’s far nicer to go over an already clean room than something needing a deep clean.

It doesn't need a deep clean but its absolutely down to the sellers to clean. The last thing you need when you have a lorry of furniture in your drive is to havd to start cleaning

Yes you clean - just leave the hoover and cleaning products out and they can be packed in the car last minute.

Clean as you pack and then run the vac round once its empty.

There’s generally no legal requirement for a deep clean, unless drafted into the contract, in England, but it is definitely usual practice to hoover, mop, dust, clean bathrooms, kitchens, including inside cupboards, fridges and ovens to a decent level. Hoover and cleaning products are always the last things to leave the house (along with the kettle and mugs). I think last time we moved, the estate agents and removal company’s guidelines even had a reminder not to pack this stuff as you’d need it to clean as you left on moving day!

What? You clean before you leave. By the time the removal men come, all that’s left out is some mugs etc for tea and coffee and the house/bathrooms/inside cupboards etc have been properly cleaned. Once the house is empty, run round with the hoover, wipe down the surfaces and mop any hard floors.
I put the last of the cleaning stuff in my car, leave a nice bottle of wine, some flowers and a “welcome to your new home card’ and leave. I would never, ever leave a dirty house.

I've never moved into a house that's been cleaned! And I would never move furniture or unpack before deep cleaning again anyway. But I've always bought houses that were already empty and usually needing a bit of work so perhaps that makes a difference.

"I've never moved into a house that's been cleaned".
Exactly, but my moves have always been to an inhabited property.

I'm talking about everyday dust etc, not years of ingrained filth.

This is why I asked the question about the change.

The packers arrive just before the removal men, & pack everything.

Keep your cleaning products out so that you can clean it as well as you can on the day you move out. I'd definitely clean inside cupboards, wardrobes, nooks & crannies.

Packers? I've never had / heard of anyone who had those.

Two days before I move I make sure every cupboard is empty. I have a box in the kitchen for essentials such as kettle mugs tea coffee etc. Every surface is cleaned. Carpets are hoover as I leave.
I want the new buyers to walk In and think how lovely it looks.
Just as I want to walk into my new home and feel it’s been cared for.

I think it’s horrible to not clean up.
I’d be embarrassed on their behalf if they didn’t.

Both! The answer is both. Clean on your way out and clean when you arrive. It’s basic decency to leave clean cupboards and bathrooms and to hoover.

You are wrong. You clean the house before you leave.
It hasn't changed, it has always been that way.

I mean, I've never had packers - but from what I've read on here, don't they tend to pack most stuff the day (or two days) before?

You keep the vacuum and any cleaning materials out, along with the kettle and drinks and mugs.

I don't think your friend's buyers would have any legal redress, but that is pretty poor behaviour on her part.

You clean as you go, literally. Empty cupboard, wipe it out. If you have movers/packers, you can surely run a hoover round as a room empties. I moved with a baby into a house that was so filthy I had to ask a friend to take DD as there was not a surface I could let her touch, it was minging. Bit of dust, fine, 15 years of shit under the washing machine, scummy.

I think you generally expect to do both. Clean when you leave to the best of your ability in the time you have, then clean the new place when you arrive.
It is hard if you have a packing service because the cupboards etc aren’t empty until just before you vacate, but I’ve always gone round with a cloth and spray and the hoover at the last minute. I've never moved in to anywhere completely clean.

Ours have always packed the day of the move.

Fair enough @SomeOfTheTrouble - as I said, I've never had that luxury, just going off what I've read on here, but the point remains, that you leave any property you are leaving, as clean as you can.

Out of consideration, yes, you should clean, timing your removal of actual items so that you can get the house cleaned before turning over the keys. They will clean again, but no house is clean after just one go around. Obviously, emergencies happen and it’s not always possible. When we got to our house after collecting the keys, the floors were still drying from being mopped, which I appreciated. We made our own mess moving in and had cleaners come, but at least we started with it not being in a complete state.