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Original poster

Dreaded March Out

57 replies

fairydusty · 25/02/2011 14:27

Hi ladies i'm looking for some advice. This is my first time in married quarters and we are due to move in May - i am already thinking about the march out as i keep getting told they are ultra strict on cleanliness of property when you leave. Looking for tips - grout between tiles not as white as it was, oven supposed to sparkle etc. Just really looking for tips and what the de will look for when we leave. Hope someone can help me out x

OP posts:
Chulita · 25/02/2011 14:39

We've always paid a cleaner to come and do the house for us - we just reckon that's part of what disturbance allowance is for. Some will do a guaranteed march-out and turn up on the march-out day to clean anything that's picked up on. If you want to clean it yourself I'm sure someone will be on with some good tips!

MrsSnaplegs · 25/02/2011 14:39

They used to do a DVD as part of the march in pack have you got that? Which colour service and which HIC - different standards I have found on different estates.
Basics
fill all holes and check paintwork
Clean everything so it is spotless Grin
get a carpet cleaner
Oven should look as new
Open windows and clean inside the frames
Get windows cleaned
Mow grass and weed garden
Ensure bins are empty and cleaned inside
De-scale taps
Clean grouting and all paintwork

loubielou31 · 25/02/2011 20:10

PAY THE CLEANER! There's enough to do! The cleaners only do inside, you'll still have to mow the lawn, weed the paths, cut the hedges, clean the windows and so many other jobs. Everyone we know who's cleaned themselves always gets fined for something. I hope some people will tell me this isn't the case because I'm not sure the cleaners do a better job than I could but it does seem that at the pre march out when you say you're having such and such cleaners they ask no more questions.

vintageteacups · 25/02/2011 20:45

Make sure you clean inside the window casements, get someone to clean the oven (about £80), clean everything as you would normally (skirtings/decobweb/neat garden/no limescale (use viakal)) and then take light shades down and wash in soapy water, put back, sweep out garage. clean dustbins before you go, then vacuum once everything has been shifted out.

You can (as we have done) remove the loo seats when you go in, buy your own cheapish ones, then replace their ones when you leave. Do the same for sealent if it's a bit manky. Remove and reseal before moving.

Also, we always take off their shower head and add our own new one. Once we move, we take ours with us or chuck if it's not great and put the clean one back. Saves a load of hassle.

Oh - clean out and fronts of cupboards in kitchen too and degrease cooker hood/extractor and replace paper.

vintageteacups · 25/02/2011 20:47

And when you march in, make sure you list ALL problems, no matter how small, send them a copy and keep a copy yourself. Note any marks on carpets/floors so they don't then charge you on march out.

Don't do anything to the garden you cannot change back to it's original way.

MrsSnaplegs · 25/02/2011 21:04

Vintage agree on garden thing - we always improve garden as it's my hobby. Left one 1/4 - stood there with housing officer who said " this is the tidiest garden I've ever seen" next sentence " did you put those raised vegetable beds in well we'll have to charge you £200 to remove them"
Foxtrot Oscar you will we will take them out now!!!

vintageteacups · 26/02/2011 16:02

Although, if you get permission to do something (like put in a new border for example), before you do it, then as long as it's written down for evidence, it's possible that you may be able to do some things.

Original poster
fairydusty · 27/02/2011 15:46

Thanks a lot for the advice - i was going to get the cleaners but kind of feel that its a waste of money - we plan to stay in contact house the night our furniture is moved and then that will give me a full day and night in an empty house to get it cleaned. My husband is going to be in charge of everything outside. I have been really careful with the oven and scrub it out at least once a week but at somepoint something must have spilt on it and now i can get it out ( any advice on cleaning products for the oven)

OP posts:
vintageteacups · 27/02/2011 15:54

Oven Pride. Most people swear by it. You just paste it on and put shelves in a bag with product overnight. Then you just hose it all off in the morning and wipe the cooker oven and hob with cloth.

It's fab but works best if you use a little knife to get off any bunrt on carbon deposits first (ie, on glass door etc).

Oh also, take off the hob knobs and put them through dishwasher. Then you can really clean under where they go with ease. They come out of dishwasher shiney and grease free. Let them dry off completely though before replacing.

gr8kids · 27/02/2011 16:02

Bligh me didn't know things were that strict living in married quarters. Sorry I don't have any advice. Just read this post and freaked out completely. How ever will I cope. I have for years refused to move around with dh but now have decided it's time to and will be moving end of July. We have 3 children and how on earth is it actually possible to keep it all in one piece. How strict it all is....oh dear!!! Good luck fairydusty sure you'll be just fine sounds like you have things under control Smile

madwomanintheattic · 27/02/2011 16:03

lol vintage, you are the march-out queen Grin

but seriously, cleaner. every time. when the removals truck was two days late in germany and we were driving back to the uk to fly to canada, we literally walked out, leaving the lovely lovely lovely estate manager holding the keys and the broom. Grin

vintageteacups · 27/02/2011 16:16

Also worth remembering that you are allowed to leave 5 picture hooks in each room so we always try never to have more than that to save polyfilling before we leave Grin

vintageteacups · 27/02/2011 16:18

well gererally madwoman, if the house is clean and in good repair, I begrudge giving 3 or 4 hundred quid to the cleaners.

madwomanintheattic · 27/02/2011 16:37

i am in awe of people who are organised enough to do it themselves, i really am. always have been.

it's not like i couldn't think of anything else to do with the money (our disturbance allowance desn't even cover shipping the dogs lol) or that i've even got £300 to spare... but at that point i'm usually still driving to the tip with a car full of stuff that wouldn't fit in the boxes...

hope your move goes well, fairy!

MrsSnaplegs · 27/02/2011 17:04

another hint for oven cleaning - you know the betterware catalogue that is delivered on most patches by some optomisitc devoted self employed indivdual Grin it has a useful product in it called carbon remover -comes in a small pot and is about £5-10 . This is the stuff our cleaner used and it gets all the baked on stuff of the floor of the oven and grill. Definately recommend ovenpride as a product - longer you leave it in the bag the cleaner it gets stuff Wink
Something a fairly senior officer also did on a patch we were on - about 2 months before they were due to move his oven "broke" and could not be fixed so they were given a brand new oven - he said it is much easier to clean a new oven for 2 months and he had never been caught out!
A hint for a good march out is to make sure you list all damage when you march in, everything no matter how small. Check when the property was last decorated and recarpeted as well as sometimes if it is due that after you move out you can get a slight relaxation of the rules. Get it documented though!!

Vanish carpet mousse is good to put on stubborn carpet stains again if you can leave it on for a couple of days before you get the carpet cleaned.

Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda onto carpets for 24 hours before vacuuming to get rid of odours.

Soak cotton wool in white wine vinegar and wrap around taps for 24 hours to soak off limescale.

Use kilrock on shower heads and plug holes

Mow grass day before they come otherwise they can charge for that if you leave it to long

If I think of anything else I will add more

I have the no of a good march out cleaner in SE if anyone wants it.

MrsSnaplegs · 27/02/2011 17:08

madwoman - we also no longer do our own, too much hard work!

be careful where you are and which cleaning company you employ, I know of one estate where the housing officer and one of the cleaning co. have a fiddle on Shock

hf128219 · 27/02/2011 17:13

Tippex works wonders on all sorts of things!

No need for polyfilla, just fill any holes with blutack, top off with sellotape and paint over - voila!

vintageteacups · 27/02/2011 17:49

agree with mrssnaplegs - we were part of a diddle - where they tried to charge us for carpets that were being chucked once we'd moved out! Luckily we demanded our cheque was returned!

Huffymuffy · 27/02/2011 17:51

I bought my own cooker a few years ago cheaper than paying to clean theirs every 18-24 months. I wrap up the existing one as soon as we move in.

Original poster
fairydusty · 27/02/2011 19:10

this is a all really useful tips - what i am planning on doing is getting right on tip of the cleaning and things for example the oven so that when it comes to moving day its not so bad. We are also starting to clear out for the move so we dont end up moving our junk. i have bought a steam cleaner too thought this would help with windows and bathroom. Going to do a list of products we need - bet it works out cheaper just getting the cleaners in lol!

OP posts:
MrsSnaplegs · 27/02/2011 19:50

Stardrops are a good all round cleaner instead of polish and jif etc etc normally found in tesco

MrsSnaplegs · 27/02/2011 19:51

Oh and spray polish on your radiators and whack heating on for half an hour before march out - makes place smell just cleaned

Saltire · 27/02/2011 20:29

Talking about gardens - our CO gave permission for people to get money from teh staiton funds to "improve their gardens". Where we live the gardens tend to be waterlogged pretty much the whole time Oct- March. So a lot of us asked for money to buy paving stones to enable us to get to our garden sheds without being ankle deep in water, and to paint the fences.
Next door neighbours moved otu and got charged
£200 to life 4 paving stones and then DE complained that the fence ahd been painted a "different" colour (it was brown stuff, that does what it says on the tin stuff) and charged them £250 to paint it,and guess what, its exactly the same colour as neighbours had itHmm. Angry

vintageteacups · 27/02/2011 22:01

Oooh polish on rads - love it - am going to do it tomorrow. Not moving out yet - just fed up with my house smelling of the naughty cat who keeps coming in through the cat flap and spraying!!!

HomeintheSun · 27/02/2011 23:05

You will have a pre-march out with the housing person a few weeks before you move and they will look around the house and point out things that will need doing and what they expect.
Make a list of things that need doing to the house like any lights not working or anything that needs a workman, call them up and get that booked in and make a note of the reference numbers just incase the things are not done by the time you move out you can tell housing person that the jobs are logged and here are the reference numbers so you don't get and stick from them.
My MIL puts news paper on top of her kitchen cupboards so when it comes to moving you have less cleaning to do, I did this last summer about 6 months before we found out we were moving and it really works.

There is a thing on facebook called Cleaning hints for married quaters and they give helpful tip about getting stains out and what to use on what, I found that useful.
I love cillit bang I use the one with the white top for bathrooms and the orange one for the kitchen and it's fab. If you can get any blue roll that's really good for doing the windows inside.
We used Mr Muscule on the oven and it came up really well, although DH did nearly kill me when he sprayed it inside the grill as I was stood cleaning the vent the fumes came out of.
DH and I did our garden in 1 day, on the monday (probably would have taken less time but it was -3) packers started Tues pm and finished wed am so we started cleaning the 3 bedroom with utility and garage wed pm did 2 hours the finished about 3.30 on the thursday, and that was doing the carpets as well. The only things I "bodged" was the stained shower sealent which I painted with satin wood paint, oh and we put something over where the dog slightly damaged the carpet in the hall.
Good luck

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