Cleaning house before move

[withacherryonthetop]

Do you get a professional in? Or a professional just for fridge/oven? Or do it all yourself? Massively panicking about when to do it especially when I won’t be able to do behind large furniture until they’re on the van.

I've always done as much as I can before moving day, including kitchen cupboards and a deep clean of the bathroom. Then on moving day just run the hoover round and wipe down skirting boards etc as the room is cleared. The final thing i do is mop myself out of the house so no one traipses across the floor when it's wet.

I have used a cleaning firm in the past when leaving a rental but I can do just a good a job, it's just a time/energy thing.

I got a man in to do the oven as it was embarrassingly awful and we knew the people moving in. Cleaned kitchen thoroughly, it makes us sound like slobs, we aren’t, but the kitchen did need a good clean once cupboards were empty. Everything else we gave a hoover and a wipe once the furniture was out.

he ripped out kitchen and bathrooms before moving in….

I clean it myself but get the oven done professionally a day or two before the move

I got the last house I sold professionally cleaned after moving everything out, I think it cost about £200. In the grand scheme of things, not much to spend to have one less thing to worry about on moving day!

We moved a few weeks ago, its actually very easy and fast to clean empty rooms. We did the oven, fridge and freezer the week before, then used disposable detergent wipes to go over the skirting boards, and inside cupboards once everything was out, then hoovered, and used the detergent wipes again on the floors.

Not good for the environment I realise, but we'd never use them normally and as a once off I figure its ok!

Our house was relatively small though, so I guess it depends on the size.

Yes I have moved only once but I cleaned the house from top to bottom. By the time I was done and handed the keys over I was literally ..done.

Then I had to start at the new house........ it was not as clean as it could have been - especially the kitchen - very grease laden. I think they did an awful lot of frying and the grease coated the tiles and the cooker hood so badly I had to get a degreaser from the DIY shop before I could even start with the flash.. Exhausting isn't it.. and now my daughter is moving out soon and I will have to start doing it all again

We left our last place spotless for the new owners. I didnt want them to feel like we did when we first moved in there. It was an absolute mess!

New house was cleanish but the oven looked like it hadnt been cleaned in years - the hob was ok but the oven cavity was absolutely disgusting.

Depends on how good and thorough at cleaning you are. If you cba then I'd get a professional in, our place was gross (I'm talking a maggot on the wall behind the bin, and gunk around the oven) when we moved in and it completely ruined the experience for us as i was expecting it to be relatively clean.

Totally off topic but the people we bought from recently left the house in a disgusting state. What kind of bastard does that?

Our house had been professionally cleaned on the day we moved out.

(Still get angry about the bastard we bought from.)

In defence of people who do not leave a house clean, I think the move itself can be so overwhelming and time runs away, suddenly contracts have been exchanged and the new folks want to get in........... although there is no excuse for abject filth

I hate the thought of leaving a house dirty for new owners. I am usually left at old house finishing cleaning while everybody else disappears to the new house.

The house we moved into 3 weeks ago was utterly disgusting. It took me 4 hours just to clean the hall. The only saving grace was that they cleaned the oven.

When we arrived the vendor’s mum said it had been cleaned. I’m not sure where it had been. Fortunately we didn’t have our furniture moving in until the next day so we could wipe down skirtings etc, Hoover and clean the bathrooms. I felt sick doing it. Some people are shameless.

We did ours like maniacs on the day despite being 6 months pregnant and enormous - could not fit in a professional clean with move day timings. So husband did oven a few days before (then we didn’t use it). We did windows ahead of time as well

Skirting boards etc as rooms were cleared and then a Hoover and mop. Skirting boards behind furniture were surprisingly dusty! We also used a few disposable wipes we would never normally use.

I did the kitchen deep clean and husband did bathroom.

the place we moved to was disgusting, despite the agent saying they cleaned. Must not know the, meaning of it. Bathrooms disgusting, kitchen cupboards clearly never wiped, windows grim, mould on blinds and curtains, cat wee on carpets (each room had a whole Hoover bag of dust full to the brim) and an infestation of carpet moths! Not what you want when pregnant with a toddler. Clearly they could not manage though. my husband doesn’t normally bother about leaning but he was so furious!

good luck OP!

Exactly why I’ve booked a cleaner to come in the day in between us leaving and new owners arriving. Far too much to do to add cleaning to the list and they’re lovely people who have paid a decent amount for our house so I feel like the least we can do is leave it in a good state for them

This should be covered in the sales ( or letting ) contract. We always put in a retention clause saying that the full amount will not be paid until the house has been inspected and found to be empty ( you wouldn’t believe what one vendor left behind) and clean.

most people are quite happy to sign this, because those were their intentions. The ones who make a fuss….well, forewarned is forearmed.

Pay a professional. Our house was dirty when we moved in and that's horrid.