Move-in cleaning checklist: what to clean before you unpack
A move-in cleaning checklist works best done once, in the empty home, before a single box comes through the door. Start with the kitchen and bathrooms, work top to bottom in every room, clean the insides of the fridge, oven and cabinets while they're bare, and do the floors and carpets last so nothing gets tracked over them.
Why clean a new home before you move in?
Because you'll never see it this empty again. Once the couch is against the wall and the pantry is full, the baseboards behind it and the shelf liners under the cereal stay as the last owners left them. A home can pass a walkthrough and still have a sticky fridge drawer, a dusty top of the cabinets and a toilet base nobody's touched in a while.
It also matters for what you can't see. The previous family's pet dander, cooking grease and dust sit in the places you're about to put your own things.
What should you have on hand?
- An all-purpose cleaner and a bathroom cleaner
- Dish soap, baking soda and white vinegar
- A degreaser for the stove and range hood
- Glass cleaner
- A stack of microfiber cloths, a non-scratch scrub pad and an old toothbrush
- A vacuum with a crevice tool and a hard-floor setting
- A flat mop and a bucket
- Rubber gloves, trash bags and paper towels
- A two-step stool, for the tops of cabinets and the fan blades
Check that the water and electricity are on before cleaning day. Cleaning by phone flashlight goes badly.
What order should you clean in?
- Kitchen first, because it takes longest.
- Bathrooms next.
- Bedrooms and living areas.
- Laundry area and entry.
- Floors last, all the way out the front door.
Inside each room, go top to bottom: ceiling fans and light fixtures, then the tops of cabinets and door frames, then counters and surfaces, then baseboards, then floor. Dust falls, so going the other way means cleaning things twice.
How do you clean the kitchen before moving in?
- Refrigerator: take out the shelves and drawers and wash them in warm soapy water. Wipe the inside with a cloth dipped in a tablespoon of baking soda in a quart of warm water, which cleans and deodorizes without leaving a chemical smell where food will go. Pull the fridge out if you can and vacuum the floor and the coils behind it. See our full guide to cleaning a refrigerator.
- Oven: if it has a self-clean cycle, run it before move-in day with the windows open, then wipe out the ash. Otherwise a baking soda paste left overnight on the floor of the oven does a lot of the work.
- Cabinets and drawers: vacuum the crumbs out of the corners first, then wipe inside and out. This is the one chance to do the insides while they're empty.
- Counters and backsplash: wipe with a cleaner that's safe for the surface. Natural stone gets a pH-neutral cleaner, not vinegar.
- Stove and hood: degrease the stovetop, knobs and hood. Pull the hood filter and soak it in hot water with dish soap.
- Sink: scrub the basin and faucet, and run the disposal with ice and a little dish soap to knock grime off the blades.
- Microwave and dishwasher: heat a bowl of water with lemon in the microwave for three minutes, then wipe. Pull the dishwasher filter and rinse it.
How do you clean the bathrooms before moving in?
- Toilet: inside, outside, the hinges of the seat and the base, where the grime gathers. Take the seat off if you want it really done.
- Shower and tub: spray the walls, let the cleaner sit five to ten minutes, then scrub the grout and tile. Clean the shower door glass and the track.
- Sink, vanity and cabinet: wipe inside the vanity cabinet before your things go in it.
- Mirrors, fixtures and the exhaust fan cover.
- Floor: the base of the toilet and behind it, then the rest.
If you're going to replace the toilet seat or the shower head, do that first.
How do you clean bedrooms, closets and living areas?
- Dust the ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
- Wipe the tops of door frames, the doors, knobs and light switches.
- Wipe window sills and the window tracks, and dust the blinds.
- Wipe closet shelves and rods, and vacuum the closet floor.
- Wipe the baseboards by hand.
- Vacuum the vent covers.
How do you clean carpets and floors before moving in?
This is where empty rooms pay off.
Carpet: vacuum every room slowly, in two directions, with a beater bar. Get the edges with the crevice tool. If the carpet smells, has stains, or the last owners had pets, book a carpet cleaning company while the rooms are empty, and give it a full day to dry before furniture goes on it. Wet carpet under a dresser can leave rust marks and a musty smell.
Hardwood: dust mop or vacuum on the hard-floor setting, then mop with a pH-neutral wood cleaner on a barely damp mop. If you're refinishing, do it before anything else moves in.
Laminate and vinyl: vacuum, then damp mop with a cleaner made for the floor or a little dish soap in warm water. Keep the mop wrung out on laminate. Water in the seams swells the boards.
Tile: vacuum the grout lines first, then mop with warm water and a mild cleaner. Scrub dark grout with a baking soda paste and a stiff brush.
Our guide to different types of flooring has the details for each one.
What do people forget on move-in day?
- The top of the fridge and the tops of kitchen cabinets
- Inside the dryer drum and the lint trap housing
- The washer gasket on front loaders
- Light switches and outlet covers
- The garage door opener buttons and the inside of the entry doors
What does a move-in cleaning service do?
Move-In / Move-Out Cleaning, CleanStart, is for moving in or out. Every item on its checklist is included every time: throughout the home, the kitchen, the bathrooms and the laundry area.
That covers floors vacuumed and mopped, reachable surfaces dusted, baseboards, doors and door frames, light switches and handles, reachable ceiling fans and light fixture exteriors, window sills, cobwebs, and blinds dusted if present. In the kitchen, the counters, backsplash, sink, stovetop, range and hood exterior, the outside of every appliance present, the inside of the microwave and all the cabinet fronts. In the bathrooms, the toilet, tub, shower and tiled walls, shower door glass and tracks, fixtures, sink, vanity, mirrors and floors.
The inside of the refrigerator, oven and cabinets are add-ons. The fridge has to be emptied and defrosted, and the freezer isn't included. The oven's self-clean cycle is run first. The cabinets and drawers have to be empty. Interior window glass is an add-on too.
Not offered on a move-in clean: exterior windows, paint stains, mold and other biohazards, and moving furniture over 50 lbs. Working water, electricity and lighting are required.
Submitting the form sends a booking request. The appointment is confirmed after the details are reviewed and an available cleaning professional is matched, so book as soon as you know the date you'll have the keys.
See the full checklist at Move-In and Move-Out Cleaning.
FAQ
Should you clean a house before moving in if it looks clean? Yes. A home that looks clean at the walkthrough still has the inside of the fridge, the cabinet shelves, the toilet base and the floors under where furniture stood, and those are hardest to reach once you've moved in. It's the one time every surface is empty.
How long does a move-in clean take to do yourself? For one person working alone, plan on a full day for an average three-bedroom home, longer if the inside of the oven and fridge need real work.
Should you clean carpets before moving in? Vacuum them slowly before any furniture goes down. If they smell, have visible stains or the last owners had pets, have them professionally cleaned while the rooms are empty and give them a full day to dry.
What does a move-in cleaning service include? On Move-In and Move-Out Cleaning, every item on the throughout, kitchen, bathroom and laundry checklist is included, from baseboards and light switches to the inside of the microwave and every cabinet front.
Book a move-in cleaning
Book online at tinascleanteam.com/book-now, or call or text (609) 831-4455, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM.
