Moving out is the one clean where somebody else decides whether it was good enough. The check-in inventory sets the bar: the property has to go back in the same condition it was in when you arrived, allowing for normal wear. This is the list we work through on every end of tenancy clean in Lanarkshire. Use it yourself, or use it to see what you're paying for.
Before you start
- Empty the property first. Clean after the removal van, not before. You can't reach the floor under a sofa or the back of a cupboard that still has plates in it.
- Read the check-in inventory. It tells you what was clean, what was already marked and what the agent will compare against. Take your own photos of anything that was damaged before you moved in.
- Note what the landlord has asked for. Some agents want the fridge switched off with the door propped open, or the carpets professionally cleaned. Those are separate from a standard clean, so find out early.
- Keep the power and water on until the clean is done. An oven can't be cleaned without a working kitchen.
Kitchen
- Oven inside and out, including the racks, the door glass and the grill pan
- Hob, the extractor hood and its filter
- Inside the fridge and freezer, defrosted first
- Inside every cupboard and drawer, wiped out and dried
- Worktops, splashback, sink and taps, with the limescale taken off the taps
- Fronts of all appliances, the washing machine drawer and door seal
- Bins washed out
- Floor hoovered and mopped, including under anything that moves
The kitchen is where most check-out inspections fail, and the oven is the usual reason. It takes longer than every other job in this list put together, so start there while you still have the energy.
Bathrooms
- Toilet, including the base, the hinges and the wall behind it
- Bath, shower tray and the shower screen, descaled
- Tile grout scrubbed, sealant wiped
- Taps, shower head and chrome polished
- Mirror and any glass shelves
- Inside the bathroom cabinet
- Extractor fan cover dusted
- Floor mopped, skirting wiped
Bedrooms and living rooms
- Inside wardrobes, drawers and built-in cupboards
- Tops of wardrobes, doors and picture rails, where the dust collects unseen
- Skirting boards, door frames and the doors themselves, both sides
- Light switches, sockets and door handles
- Radiators, front and top
- Window sills, window frames and the inside of the glass
- Carpets hoovered edge to edge, under the radiators and into the corners
- Hard floors mopped
Marks on walls are a judgement call. Small scuffs often come off with a damp cloth; test a hidden spot first, because some paint finishes rub off with the mark.
Hall, stairs and everywhere else
- Light fittings and lampshades dusted, cobwebs taken down
- Banisters and spindles wiped
- Meter cupboard and any storage cupboard emptied and wiped
- Front door inside and out, doorstep swept
- Outside bins and any balcony or shared landing left tidy
What you'll need
A degreaser or oven cleaner for the kitchen, a limescale remover for the bathroom and the taps, a non-scratch scourer, a stack of cloths (more than you think), a hoover with a crevice tool for the edges and a mop with a bucket. Rubber gloves for the oven cleaner, and a window to open. Old towels are handy under the oven door and the fridge while you work.
When to book it
The clean should be the last thing that happens in the property before the check-out inspection. Book it for the day after the removal van, or the same afternoon if the move is in the morning, and leave a gap before the inspection in case anything needs going over again. If you're doing it yourself, allow a full day for a two-bedroom flat and don't plan to do it on the evening of the move.
What inspections usually pick up
If you only have time to double-check six things, make them these: the inside of the oven, limescale on the shower screen, the inside of the fridge, crumbs in the cutlery drawer, dust on the skirting boards and the dirt in the window tracks. They're the places a quick clean skips and an inspection looks at first.
Doing it yourself or booking it
You can do all of this yourself with a full day, good products and a bit of patience. The oven and the limescale are what take the time, so if those two are bad, it may be worth having someone in just for the end of the tenancy.
When we do it, we bring our own products and equipment and work through the whole list above in the empty property, kitchen first. Every visit is at least 2 hours, and if the inspection picks something up within 24 hours, tell me and I'll come back and sort it at no charge. Landlords and letting agents can book in the same way as tenants. The one thing we don't do is carpet shampooing: we hoover every carpet, but if your agreement asks for professionally cleaned carpets, book that separately.
Read more about our end of tenancy cleaning, or see how a deep clean differs from a regular clean if you're moving in rather than out.