To not do a deep clean when moving house?

[MarianneVos]

Moving house tomorrow and packers are here now. Trying to clean when things are cleared and will also have tonight, but a really proper clean is taking longer than I thought as I'm having to do it around a newborn and will have to sort out older DCs when they come back from nursery.

I'm hoovering everywhere, wiping doors and skirting, and inside kitchen cupboards, and doing bathroom. There's still going to be a few marks here and there if anything is stubborn, and I'm not going to have time to properly clean behind the toilet and sink etc. Visually it will look ok but it won't be perfect.

Is it ok to leave it like this? What kind of standard do other people clean to when moving?

I've only moved into places that have been left filthy so don't want to do that but not sure what level of clean is reasonable?

I agree with this, everything else as long as it looks clean they'll get to their standards in their own time. But a smelly bathroom will be a bit of a miserable start.

It's definitely not smelly! There's just dirt on the pipe work behind the toilet and sink as they're really tricky to get to and my cleaner doesn't seem to ever do it. The actual toilet bowl, seat etc is always pretty clean and will be left sparkling like the top/inside of the sink, the bath etc.

I'm leaving the windows because of lack of time, just dusting the sills.

We are definitely leaving lightbulbs etc - in fact I'm leaving some spares. And will do a note and prosecco.

Thanks for all the good thoughts! I've got two toddlers and the newborn so it's been hard to find time for anything much, I'm only really fully recovered from my section in the last few days so couldn't do much before that and our cleaner only really keeps up with the surface stuff.

I would suggest it's a mid level clean rather than deep clean. I would concentrate on the bathroom, kitchen (including oven and appliances being left) then go around with the vacuum once the furniture is moved. If you can't clean the skirting boards or feather dust the ceiling don't worry.

'Swept clean' I think is the phrase used. Vacuuming and wiping down, the kitchen and bathroom clean (no food spills in the cupboards etc). That would do it!

Ha! My vendors left the house so disgustingly I cried when I walked in.

I basic clean is all I’d expect.

Unless I really didn't have the money I'd get the house professionally deep cleaned when I moved in anyway. It would make the house feel more like my home knowing that the only dirt in it was mine! So if I was your buyer you'd be wasting your time 😄

Are you selling or is it a rental?

If rental or needs to be professionally cleaned or you risk your deposit.

If selling, it's the decent thing to do to clean but not to professional standard

Removing all rubbish, cleaning kitchen and bathrooms plus a general vacuum is sufficient. The buyers will make a mess moving in anyway.

I'm not even sure I know what a deep clean is tbh.

When we moved, we ensured the kitchen cabinets were all mucked out when we emptied them. Counters and cooker all clean, the oven was new so didn't need cleaning. Then every room got a a quick swiffer round the ceiling and skirting boards, hoover or mop. We left a new toilet seat as we took ours with us (had one of those baby bum insert things).

House we moved into was covered in cat hair (and fleas, as it happened ) and the kitchen we thought was yellow was actually white with a layer of grease. Really nasty. Took me 20 minutes to scrub the layers of piss off the toilet.

So yeah, so long as it's relatively clean to put things down if not away, then it's fine.

I moved into my last house and it was spotless, she even left me new oven trays. But I still did my own deep clean, which I'm sure most people do. The house we just bought was also left spotless but we have listed every floor and painted every wall so even if it had been grotty it wouldn't have made much difference! Don't stress too much about it, as long as you're not leaving piles of junk for them to have to clear, you're good!

*lifted every floor

If you are selling, I would not worry too much as long as you have done a standard clean and removed any rubbish and so on. As a buyer I would always give the home a thorough clean anyway before I move in.

If you are renting, you need to make sure you have cleaned as much as possible (and take pictures as proof) to avoid any estate agent/landlord trying to keep some of your deposit to pay for a ''deep clean'' and claiming that you left the property in a mess.

I always made sure the kitchen and bathrooms were as sparkling as possible, everywhere else got a vacuum once the room was empty - paintwork got vacuumed with the brush head but not wiped unless I had a whole day.

Wouldn't you usually do a professional clean? It's in our contract. We moved, and got a cleaning company to do it.

I think you're doing a good enough job already by the sounds of it. My vendors left the house a bit cobwebby and dusty, kitchen was a little greasy - but to give them the benefit of the doubt, they had two young children and may have also had other caring duties that I had no idea about. Knowing you have two toddlers and a newborn, I'd cut you a HUGE amount of slack and spare the judgemental stuff.

Leaving light bulbs, new loo rolls on the holders, a card (and maybe a bottle of something sparkly or flowers) together with a list of bin days and any other local info would be appreciated by most. Also not filling the wheelie bins with loads of crap or leaving rubbish in the garden type actions (although I'm sure you wouldn't, you sound nice and considerate).

You don't have a 'contract' with anyone if you own. And it's my understanding a landlord can't actually force you to hire a company to do a deep clean.

Agree with the others, definitely prioritise the bathroom/ sink areas. Also apologies if not but do you not have someone else to lend a hand with kids (partner, relative, neighbour?). My kids went to my neighbour for the last afternoon of packing?

I think one should clean as much as possible. The house we moved in to was IMMACULATE, but they'd moved out weeks before exchange and hired a company to do it for them.

On the other hand, we were in the middle of the chain and the moving van loaded up on the morning we moved. We thoroughly cleaned the bathroom and as much as we could in the days before, but no time on the day for deep cleaning everything that couldn't be done before all the furniture was out etc.

After you'd moved? That wouldn't have worked for us, the new owners were in as soon as we left!

Well they can't but if you are renting and found the place in an immaculate condition you would want to leave it in the same condition. My previous place, they left it in an ok condition. I had it professionally cleaned before I moved in. In my current place, they left it in an immaculate condition, alot of new things added, and a huge welcome basket. I will definitely be leaving it in the same condition. They can't force you to do so though. With a newborn and toddler, I would just hire a cleaner for the day if you can op.

I was going to say YABU but with a newborn I think YA definitely NBU. Good luck with your house move!

I just make sure it's "clean enough" but maybe I'm just a dirty bugger!

Clean the kitchen and bathrooms and hoover as each room is emptied but otherwise I don't go mad. If something looks grubby I would give it a wipe, but nothing more than that. I also like to clean a new place when I move in anyway.

You don't know what the next person plans to do. It'd be an absolute waste of your time to do a deep clean of a carpet, for example, for them to replace them a few weeks later.

When I last moved, I did the above. I kept in touch with my old neighbour and the new owners certainly hadn't moaned to them about the "state" my house was in.

The house we bought was a different story. Total mess. I didn't mind some of the cleaning but to have left dog shit all over the garden was very, very unnecessary.

I think what you'll manage within the time sounds fine. Wiping skirting boards, inside cupboards etc. Honestly, I'd have loved it if that's what we had moved into with our new house. It was beyond disgusting and I could have cried.

Someone else’s ‘behind the toilet’ dirt is so gross. It takes about three minutes. What did I miss?

We sold my dad's bungalow last year and I hoovered, cleaned and polished to within an inch of my life. I also cleaned the carpets twice.

I didn't do as much as that when I left my own property, although it was spotless when I moved out.

. I moved in to a house where it was grubby in every room and I couldn't put the kitchen stuff away as every cupboard, surface and the floor had to be cleaned thoroughly. I think they just packed up everything and moved out. No cleaning, no hoovering, dusting at all.

Don't get me started on the state of the oven ... 😱