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Original poster

cleaning new house before moving in...

12 replies

ouchitreallyhurts · 30/04/2009 12:52

We are due to move end of June - our new home will have been empty for about a year and yesterday when we went back to measure up for curtains etc I took in just how dirty it is!
there are lots of dead flies/wasps etc and the carpets have lots of animal hair thickly coated on.
instead of trying to clean up on teh move day, would it be feasible to access the property before hand do you think? EA has said it 'shoudln't be a problem after exchange' but i wondered if anyone has ever done this?
just got visions of lots of rows and domestic turbulance if I am trying to clean while hubby (who really can't see the minging mess that i can!) tries to arrange furniture on the big day!

OP posts:
nancy75 · 30/04/2009 12:57

i havent done it, but when my parents moved the new owners installed a temp fishpond before they had completed (they had posh carp or something).
as long as you are not going to do any damage to the house i cant imagine that anyone would mind, afterall if you did decide to pull out of the sale the current owners have had their house cleaned for free, they wont mind!

Sorrento · 30/04/2009 15:25

I'd get Molly Maid around but it'll be a good £500 at least to clean the whole house.

CaptainKarvol · 30/04/2009 15:40

I can see where you are coming from (having cleaned the house we moved out of, only to find the house we were moving into was a pit, with the owners still frantically chucking stuff into boxes well after completion and their 'move out' time).

But how would the current owners feel about it? You'll need their permission, after all it is still their house.

Would it be feasible to move over 2 days, so pack and move out on day 1, stay somewhere else overnight, clean on the end of day 1/beginning of day 2 and have your stuff delivered to the new house on day 2?

cat64 · 30/04/2009 15:59

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Polgara2 · 30/04/2009 16:00

We did the move over 2 days thing. This house was absolutely dreadful (and it had been lived in all the time ). So removal firm stored stuff on the van in their secure yard or whatever and we stayed overnight in a travelodge. Spent first day and all morning second day ripping carpets up and frantically cleaning before the furniture was delivered at midday on the second day. Didn't cost us any more either.

Original poster
ouchitreallyhurts · 30/04/2009 16:20

travelodge idea appeals to me - will suggest that to dh. would have to get 4 dc's and 4 cats overnighted somewhere too perhaps - i think cattery was part of th eplan for a night anyway.
thanks for all the replies

OP posts:
cat64 · 30/04/2009 17:06

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lalalonglegs · 30/04/2009 17:13

If the property is empty, then it shouldn't be a problem to get in there after exchange. I've done this with several places I've bought and started gutting them ready for the builders. I'm with Sorrento that if you can get someone in to clean it for you (and you will probably need professional carpet cleaners anyway if there is lots of animal hair) then it is money well spent.

Evenstar · 30/04/2009 17:14

We were allowed access before completion to one house we bought, we cleaned it over a weekend. It had been rented out and then empty for several months so a similar situation. It was about 20 years ago, but we just collected the keys from the estate agents and returned them when we had finished. Good luck with the move.

feedthegoat · 30/04/2009 17:17

I would definately recomend trying to ensure it is taken care of before you move in. When we moved into our house (5 days before christmas with a 2 year old!) it was absolutely filthy. We'd last viewed in August and I don't think they has lifted a finger since.

I'll never forget discovering they hadn't bothered to cap off the dishwasher plumbing whilst trying to scrape grease off kitchen cupboards (my food was soaked as all in boxes on floor!). It took 12 solid hours and 3 bottles of Cillit Bang to clean one tiny kitchen.

The room ds was to sleep in was full of pins and every room was manky. I'd spent all morning scrubbing my old house floor to ceiling. I indulged in a good few minutes sobbing before I rolled my sleeves up! I put the tree up 2 days later at 2am when I finally had kitchen done.

Definately do it first if you can.

Original poster
ouchitreallyhurts · 02/05/2009 10:22

ooh I think after reading all of these replies I definately need to get in there with a load of bleach and my trusty dyson! Feedthegoat, I really feel for you! at xmas too, that must have been awful. I can't imagine how anyone can leave a house so filthy, it beggars belief - i know our new one has been empty but they could have run a hoover round surely?! they could have perhaps done that when they returned to remove all the blinkin light fittings a few weeks ago oh, and the 2 fitted carpets they took with them!

OP posts:
Swedes · 02/05/2009 10:31

Phone the estate agent who sold you the property and ask him whether either:

  1. The vendors are going to get MollyMaid or someone round to give the house a proper clean? or
  2. When you can have the keys so that you can give it a good clean prior to moving in>
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