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Original poster

moving house etiquette - to clean or not to clean?

48 replies

Spink · 06/07/2009 22:03

we're moving house on Friday, and I'll mainly be dealing with it on my own as dh is working in the afternoon and evening. We've got a 6 month old and a 28 month old (who will be at nursery for part of the day). so it might be a little hectic
Last time I moved house, I cleaned from top to bottom before we left. The place we moved into was pretty filthy so it left me wondering what most people do.
This time, it'll be a struggle to find time to clean, though it won't be hideously dirty as we'll have cleaned the floors/bathroom/kitchen as part of the normal housework. I'm trying to decide whether to get a cleaner for a couple of hours to clean the insides of cupboards and that sort of thing. Is this madness?? particularly as we aren't exactly flush?

OP posts:

llareggub · 06/07/2009 22:06

I always clean through on moving day. Last time we even painted our bedroom in the week before, but that was pre-children. I believe that you should "make good" the walls but the woman we bought this house clearly didn't believe in cleaning at all.

LovingTheSunshine · 06/07/2009 22:07

I will be cleaning when we move b/c I just could not leave it a mess for someone. I'd cringe if I bumped into them in town

CMOTdibbler · 06/07/2009 22:08

I always hoover and have a wipe round. This last time I cleaned as the removal men packed. Really just to stop the embarrasing dust bunny appearance you get when furniture is moved

thehairybabysmum · 06/07/2009 22:08

Agree, clean if you can. The people who owned our current house were minging.

If they'd cleaned i might not thinik that of them!!

MrsBadger · 06/07/2009 22:10

madness

hoover and wipe bathrooms and kitchens but do not go mad inside cupboards

Doozle · 06/07/2009 22:10

We cleaned ours from top to bottom.

And when we got to our new house, they hadn't bothered at all. In fact, can't think when they must have last cleaned it.

I probably would still clean again to be honest but can understand what you're saying.

MrsSpringsteen · 06/07/2009 22:12

i would leave it immaculate

i have yet to move to a clean house

HumphreyCobbler · 06/07/2009 22:25

it is amazing how filthy your house is when you move all the furniture out

or is that just my houses?

I would clean the visible bits but not the insides of cupboards

LupusinaLlamasuit · 06/07/2009 22:31

Clean. And leave flowers and a bottle of wine.

What goes around comes around.

clutteredup · 06/07/2009 22:35

Its all down to pride i think its up to you - if you are very proud it will have to be spotless but as you are on your own and have DC i think you will have to take a practical approach - like everyone else i have always left my house cleaner than the one i have taken over but thena gain maybe my housekeeping standards were lower than the one taking over my house- usually you aren't likely to meet the person so its up to you and what you can tolerate. it would be nice to leave clean loos though - I had a house once where i don't think they'd ever heard of bleach - eeew!!

Notalone · 06/07/2009 22:41

Clean clean clean! I always think you should leave a house the way you would wish to find a house. We have moved a few times - once was bliss because they had paid professional cleaners (they moved across the road and told us) and once was filthy and they had hidden broken ovens with strategically placed tea towels and ripped wallpaper with Winnie the Pooh posters. Oh and they took most of the carpets too

If you are like me you will dwell on it for ages if it is a mess so for your own sanity do as much as you can

jellycat · 06/07/2009 22:44

I cleaned very thoroughly when we moved - that was pre-children though. I was glad I had though because we had to go back several times to pick up our cat who kept returning to the old house, so we saw quite a lot of the new owners . They did thank us for leaving it so clean. The house we moved into wasn't spotless but wasn't bad. They had a cleaner come in on moving day (they had 3 dcs).

trixymalixy · 06/07/2009 22:53

Clean definitely! We left our last flat absolutely spotless and the new owners thanked us for leaving it so clean, always makes me feel proud that we left it so clean.

When we moved in it was absolutely filthy, there was solid weetabix encrusted on the ceilings and the toilet was vile so never wanted to leave anyone in such a position as it put a major dampner on the excitement of moving leaving such a clean flat and moving into somewhere so bogging.

LynetteScavo · 06/07/2009 23:05

Defiately get a cleaner in. It will look minging when all your stuff is taken out.

Rindercella · 06/07/2009 23:10

Clean. Please, please clean up your dirt before someone else moves in.

I will never forget the hairs I had to clear from a bath plughole when we moved into one house. The previous yeti owner was a right dirty git & there is nothing worse than having to clean someone's dirt up.

With such small children I do understand why you would be wondering how on earth you can get it all done, but I would advise you to get a cleaner in to do it if you are not able to.

Good luck with the move.

EdwardBitMe · 06/07/2009 23:14

I have always done a clean before moving out but, like most people on here, every house I've moved into has been filthy!

We clean and also leave a small box in the kitchen with loo roll, any spare light bulbs for particular fittings, spare keys, pizza/chinese/indian takeaway menus and a New Home card with our forwarding address. If they haven't mucked us around in the sale then I have left a bottle of wine too!

HolyGuacamole · 06/07/2009 23:22

Defo clean.

My ex's sister moved into a new flat, we were there checking the place out when the woman from upstairs came down with a welcome bottle of wine and a card which was such a nice thought.

So my ex's sister says to the woman "you don't know the dirty so and so who used to live here do you? They left the place like s shithole, I've been cleaning all day!"

The woman said "actually, yes, it was me, I just moved upstairs last week"

Cringe, blush, shock, horror. I could have died on her behalf. Not only that, then woman took a step back and walked backwards into a newly painted doorframe and had a skunk-like stripe down the back of her hair.

Clean, clean, clean......just incase.

cat64 · 06/07/2009 23:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

luckylady74 · 06/07/2009 23:29

I cleaned and the house I am in now was blissfully clean - we still see the people who lived here as they are friends with our neighbour. Tbh I think we bought the house partly because it was so clean - the stinky smoke stained houses put me right off.

Original poster

Spink · 07/07/2009 08:08

looks like we're all cleaners, to a greater or lesser extent! I'll make sure the dustbunnies are gone and OF COURSE that the bathroom is sparkly, at the very least.
cat I know it sounds bad but dh is an actor and has a matinee and evening performance, which are totally non negotiable.. as for getting people to help with the dc's, well, my family don't live in the UK. SIL is on hols and FIL is coming to help as soon as he can - he should get to us by Friday mid afternoon..ds can only be in nursery for part of the day as I wouldn't be able to pick him up if he was to stay any longer.
But it WILL BE FINE. eek.

OP posts:

FabBakerGirlIsBack · 07/07/2009 08:11

Definitely clean.

Rude not to imo.

When we moved in the people were hoovering and eating sandwiches but left a load of rubbish, messy cupboards, a drawer full of crap and a garden full of nettles. They also took things they said they would leave.

JetLi · 07/07/2009 08:20

Left our old house spotless - even shampooed the downstairs carpets before we left. The place we moved into was sodding filthy - 6 months worth of alsation dogshit on the back garden too. Could've wept when we arrived. God some people are mucky. The couple were divorcing - she had moved some weeks earlier and so it had just been him wanker for the last few weeks.

TheFool · 07/07/2009 08:26

I clean everything (cupboards the lot).

Only once have a moved into a properly clean house

inscotland · 07/07/2009 08:57

I'd say it depends on how much time you have before the new people move in. I'd always make sure bathrooms and floors were clean and any really grubby skirtings that were behing furniture were cleaned but sometimes you just don't have anytime between the removal men leaving and the new people taking over.

That said, we're emigrating this week so I have asked cleaners to come in on Thursday to do everything!

Weegle · 07/07/2009 09:02

My view on this is slightly different. Normally I am a very clean and house proud person, and on previous moves I have left things spotless with welcome card etc. However, when we moved in January I intentionally DIDN'T clean for the last month - I left the place a tip. The damage to the sitting room floor I didn't fix and lots of little things like that. The reason: our buyers were more than gits. They gazundered us and at one point the man pushed his way past me when I was on MY doorstep with a UTI having turned up unannounced and accused me of lying about something he wanted to check - with me stood there, scared in my dressing gown, he realised I wasn't lying. Lots of things like that that made them thoroughly vile people and frankly leaving the place dirty was a very minor revenge for what they put us through! Normally I'm quite nice though

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