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AIBU?

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Original poster

To leave money for cleaner for buyers?

148 replies

Shahlalala · 06/04/2019 10:29

I’m not going to leave a mess! I will vacuum and do all sides and cupboards, but i’m Going to struggle to get it to an amazing standard with a 4 year old and I’m 22 weeks pregnant too (not that big I know but the whole move is exhausting me).
Would it be a CF thing to say I know it’s not immaculate, but here’s £50 towards a cleaner coming in?
They are re-doing the kitchen and redecorating other bits so it will need a clean after that anyway....

OP posts:
Heyha · 06/04/2019 11:51

Give the bathroom a very good clean, get the oven done and get hold of a rug doctor if you've got someone willing and able to operate it (heavy, but cheap and very effective!) and I'd be a happy buyer assuming you have kept it a normal level of clean while you've lived in it. I wouldn't expect sparkly windows or anything like that as the process of moving in is likely to create a bit of mess in itself. As long as I don't have to clean the bathroom or kitchen before I can use it on moving day I think that's fair enough.

alittlesnow · 06/04/2019 11:52

I think the general consensus from the majority of posters is that there is no need for a deep clean when you SELL your house. (In fact, it's a bit unusual - and slightly odd - to do it!)

So don't bother @Shalalala You will have better/more important things to do than fanny around 'deep cleaning!'

Good luck with your move, and hope you'll be happy in your new home! Smile

alittlesnow · 06/04/2019 11:53

As a few posters have said, just give it a normal/quick clean. It will be fine. You will have plenty to do in your new home!

gamerwidow · 06/04/2019 11:54

We cleaned our house when we moved but it wasn't 'deep cleaned'. As long as you empty the bins and clean the floors and give the surfaces a wipe so that people aren't putting furniture over filthy floors then that's enough.
People will clean the house to their own standard anyway once they move in.
I have never had a house deep cleaned before I moved in but the owners have always done the minimum at least as above.

IwantedtobeEmmaPeel · 06/04/2019 11:55

If the new owners are ripping out the kitchen and re-decorating then I certainly wouldn't leave them £50 for a cleaner. If you you are doing the packing yourself, as you empty cupboards you can clean them and keep on top of your usual cleaning that will help. If leaving your cooker and fridge, give them a good clean a few days before you move. On moving day run the hoover round when the furniture is out and wipe down surfaces in kitchen and make sure bathroom is clean. Unless your home is usually a midden that will be fine. Once that kitchen is ripped out it will make a terrific mess, but the cleaning up afterwards is their problem, not yours.

EstrellaDamn · 06/04/2019 11:58

There might be stuff all over the place right now stressing you out, but by moving day there won't be!

blamethecat · 06/04/2019 11:58

As long as this isn't your house I think a general clean will be acceptable, particularly if they are renovating/decorating. Good luck with the move.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/51017290?search_identifier=bc550235752d467dc38eb90cd9856f04

Original poster
Shahlalala · 06/04/2019 11:58

Thanks everyone, I feel much calmer about it now.

OP posts:
MoonStarsSun · 06/04/2019 11:59

When all your furniture is out, the rooms will be left a lot easier to clean than you thing. I would hoover and mop floors and wipe windowsills, do cleaning of fridge, oven and bathrooms in advance and then it's just a wipe over on day of leaving.

Things I wouldn't do: wash windows inside and out, wash down skirting boards, wash down all kitchen cupboards. I'd wipe up a sticky mark of course but I wouldn't do more than that.

Original poster
Shahlalala · 06/04/2019 11:59

That’s horrific blame

OP posts:
MoonStarsSun · 06/04/2019 12:01

Also OP you might well find they don't actually spend your £50 on a cleaner as they are happy with your standard and/or would hoover and wipe themselves anyway, so in a way that £50 might as well be spent on an extra sparkle clean for your new house just before you have the baby!!! Smile

formerbabe · 06/04/2019 12:04

Also OP you might well find they don't actually spend your £50 on a cleaner

This.

I'd probably think, what a mug, clean the house myself and go shopping with the £50

GreatDuckCookery · 06/04/2019 12:05

Vaccum carpets
Remove all rubbish
Give bathroom a quick clean
Wipe down kitchen surfaces and mop.

That’s it OP. Good luck with your move!

PhillipeFellope · 06/04/2019 12:14

No, people don’t deep clean houses on moving out

I did. And would do again. You could have eaten your dinner off every surface and floor. The oven looked brand new despite being over 15 years old. I would have hated that the new family moved in and thought it was dirty. I moved into my new home and even though they'd cleaned, the lad who lived there before was a scruffy sod so it needed blitzing before I started.

cantkeepawayforever · 06/04/2019 12:17

We have moved house a lot.

Assuming that your house is normally reasonably clean:

Removal van leaves. Run a hoover round the house, do a final wipe over the kitchen and run a wet cloth over all skirting boards and window sills (because lots of dust will have been stirred up during the moving). Put toilet cleaner into each (already clean) toilet and wipe down any shower screens. Take final bag of rubbish out to the bin, or if already full, take it with you. Leave a 'welcome to your new home' card for your buyers, and a list of useful numbers e.g. doctor and useful local places e.g. nearest supermarket and recommended pub / restaurant.

Drive to new house.

GreatDuckCookery · 06/04/2019 12:19

You don’t have to hire a cleaner for it not to be dirty, unless you usually live like a pig.

It’s a kind gesture but definitely not expected.

Gwenhwyfar · 06/04/2019 12:21

I've never bought, but there's nothing worse than going into a new let and it's not clean. I expect the place to be completely clean BEFORE I move in because once my stuff is in there I can't do a proper clean.
With one move I was able to get the keys a few days before moving in and went over to clean and dust in advance, but I presume that's not usually possible for buyers.
I'm quite disgusted that people wouldn't leave their house in an immaculate condition.

GreatDuckCookery · 06/04/2019 12:26

I have bought 4 houses and none of them were left in an immaculate condition. Clean, free from rubbish, gardens tidy etc and that was fine. We’ve done the same.

Where’s this notion that it has to be immaculate come from!

BrokenWing · 06/04/2019 12:28

If you were selling a car, clothes, toys etc you would give them a good clean first, why not your house. Only reason I can think is because you don't see your buyer face to face to feel embarrassed at the dirt you leave so you think it doesn't matter.

No one wants to move into a house with grime so why would you do that to someone else and leave it in yours?

Any moves I've made or family/friends helped out at there has always been a deep clean before moving. Whoever is moving ropes in as many people as they can to help clean down skirting boards, deep clean bathrooms/kitchen, do final vacuums etc the day before as rooms as cleared and during the day of moving.

BrokenWing · 06/04/2019 12:29

Where’s this notion that it has to be immaculate come from!

For us it came from our parents.

BrokenWing · 06/04/2019 12:32

Oh and every house I've helped people move into has been very clean. No issues with ovens, bathrooms, kitchens, skirting, blinds etc.

Maybe its a regional thing.

GPatz · 06/04/2019 12:35

All my moves I have left the house immaculate and moved into grotty, messy houses. We purchased a fridge from the previous owners and they left mouldy food and dripping liquid in it. There was soap scum around all the sinks and the shower and bath was disgusting. It's so disheartening to move into an absolute tip.

Friedspamfritters · 06/04/2019 12:36

I've only bought one house and it was clean when we moved in, I didn't have to clean at all. I would never leave a house unclean. (Although I probably wouldn't pay for a deep clean like I've had to in rentals).

avocadochocolate · 06/04/2019 12:42

You absolutely do not need to leave it immaculate. Please relax. I moved when I was about the same number of weeks pregnant as you. I was exhausted.

BrokenWing · 06/04/2019 12:45

It's so disheartening to move into an absolute tip.

GPatz, it is, that is why I don't understand why anyone would not deep clean their home for a new owner/tenant. IME It is the norm here, or maybe my family/friends have just been lucky. When you move into a clean home it makes you think to clean it when you leave too.

It is everyone on this thread who would leave dirt and grime that is perpetuating the culture it is okay to move out of a home uncleaned. I would be ashamed to leave a home uncleaned.