choremen

How often to clean everything

Move-out cleaning checklist

What to clean in an emptied flat before you hand it back, room by room: the 20 jobs every flat has, and apart from them the ones that only count if the place has the appliance or surface they are for.

Your tenancy comes first. If the tenancy agreement, the check-in inventory or the landlord or agent says how the flat should be left, do what it says; where it says nothing, this is a thorough clean. For an appliance or a surface, its manual and the product’s label come before anything here. This list cannot promise a deposit back, does not say whether a professional clean is required, and cannot tell you how an inspection will go.

Tick each job as it is done, and mark what the flat does not have. Ticks stay in this browser and nowhere else; the link you send has none of them in it.

Kitchen

Empty first, then top to bottom, so nothing you wipe drips on something already done.

Every flat

  • Empty every one, then wipe inside, the shelves, the doors and the handles. Crumbs collect in the corners and the drawer runners.

  • Clear them completely and wipe them down, including the back edge against the wall and around the sockets.

    The everyday version: kitchen bin and worktops.

    Safety: Use one product at a time and follow its label. Never mix cleaners, and above all never mix anything with bleach: with acids or ammonia it gives off toxic gas. Keep a window open. Source: Health Canada, “Never mix bleach with other cleaning products”

  • The bowl, the draining board, the plughole and the base of the taps, then dry the taps so they do not spot.

  • Empty it, wash it out, and leave it dry. If the bin is yours, it leaves with you.

    The everyday version: kitchen bin and worktops.

  • The fronts, tops and handles of everything that stays: fridge, oven, washing machine, the lot.

Only if the flat has it

  • Only if there is a fridge.

    Empty it, take out the shelves and drawers, wash and dry them, then wipe inside and along the door seal. Switch it off only if you have been told to, and then as its manual says.

    The everyday version: clean the fridge shelves.

  • Only if there is a freezer that has iced up.

    Empty it and defrost it the way its manual says, with a towel down for the water, then wipe it out and dry it.

    The everyday version: defrost the freezer.

  • Only if there is an oven.

    The inside, the shelves, the trays and both sides of the door glass, using only what the oven’s manual allows — some have coatings or a self-clean setting.

    The everyday version: clean the oven.

    Safety: Oven cleaners are strong. Read and follow the label, wear gloves, and keep the kitchen ventilated. Source: Health Canada, “Never mix bleach with other cleaning products”

  • Only if there is a hob.

    Burnt-on bits off the hob, the knobs and around the rings or burners. Check the manual before using anything abrasive on glass or ceramic.

    The everyday version: clean the hob and splashback.

  • Only if there is a cooker hood.

    Wipe the hood, and wash or replace the grease filter the way its manual says.

    The everyday version: wash the extractor filter.

  • Only if the microwave stays with the flat.

    Inside, the turntable, the door and the seal.

    The everyday version: wipe out the microwave.

  • Only if there is a dishwasher.

    Empty it, clean the filter as its manual says, and wipe the door edges and seal.

    The everyday version: clean the dishwasher filter.

  • Only if there is a washing machine.

    Nothing left in the drum, the detergent drawer out and rinsed, and the rubber seal wiped out, folds included. Leave the door ajar to dry.

    The everyday version: clean the washing machine seal.

  • Only if there is a tumble dryer.

    Empty the fluff filter and, if it has one, the water container.

    The everyday version: clean the tumble dryer filter.

  • Only if the kettle belongs to the flat.

    Descaled with a descaler made for kettles, following its label, and rinsed out properly afterwards.

    The everyday version: descale the kettle.

Bathroom

Gloves on, window open, and one cloth for the toilet that goes nowhere else.

Every flat

  • Inside the bowl and under the rim, both sides of the seat and lid, the cistern, the flush handle, and the base and the floor behind it.

    The everyday version: clean the bathroom.

    Safety: Use one product at a time and follow its label. Never mix cleaners, and above all never mix anything with bleach: with acids or ammonia it gives off toxic gas. Keep a window open. Source: Health Canada, “Never mix bleach with other cleaning products”

  • The bowl, the overflow, the plughole and around the base of the taps.

    The everyday version: clean the bathroom.

  • Everything of yours out, then the shelves wiped and the mirror cleaned without streaks.

  • Wiped down, with the corners and the line along the bottom where soap collects.

  • Emptied and wiped out.

  • Hair out of the corners and from behind the toilet, then the floor washed.

Only if the flat has it

  • Only if there is a shower screen.

    Both sides, the frame and the runners, then dried.

    The everyday version: wipe the shower screen.

  • Only if the shower head has limescale on it.

    Limescale off with a product made for it, used as its label says, and the holes left clear.

    The everyday version: clean the shower head.

  • Only if there is a bath.

    The tide mark, the taps, the plughole, and the side panel. Check the bath maker’s guidance before using anything abrasive.

    The everyday version: scrub the bath.

  • Only if there is a shower curtain.

    Washed as its label allows if it belongs to the flat. If it is yours, it goes with you.

  • Only if there is an extractor fan.

    Dust off the grille, and the fluff that collects on its edges.

  • Only if there is more than one bathroom.

    Everything above again, in the second bathroom or toilet.

    The everyday version: clean the other bathroom.

Living room and bedrooms

High to low in each room — dust falls, so the floor is always last.

Every flat

  • Every one opened, emptied and wiped out, including the tops of wardrobes.

  • Shelves, window sills, the tops of door frames, then the skirting boards.

  • Every one wiped. The marks around them are easier to see once the room is empty.

  • The glass, the frames and the handles, and the sills and runners where dead flies and grit end up.

  • Under the bed and the sofa, and behind anything against a wall — for anything left behind, and for the dust.

Only if the flat has it

  • Only if there are carpets or rugs that stay.

    Hoovered properly, along the edges and into the corners, with the furniture moved where it can be.

    The everyday version: hoover through.

  • Only if there are stairs.

    Every step, the edges and the corners, top to bottom.

    The everyday version: hoover the stairs.

  • Only if the flat came furnished.

    Inside and out, the sofa hoovered under the cushions, and the mattress hoovered if it belongs to the flat.

  • Only if there are blinds or curtains that stay.

    Blinds dusted slat by slat. Curtains that stay are cleaned only as their label allows.

  • Only if there are radiators.

    Dusted on top, along the fins and behind, while they are cold.

  • Only if there is a balcony.

    Cleared of everything of yours, then swept.

    The everyday version: sweep the balcony.

Final pass

Once every room is done and empty. Work towards the front door, so you are not walking over what is finished.

Every flat

  • Every cupboard, drawer, the oven, the fridge, the washing machine and behind every door. With the inventory in your hand, if you have one.

  • Both sides of the front door, the handle, the letterbox, and the light switches by it.

  • All the rubbish and recycling out, in the bins and the way the building or the council asks for it.

    The everyday version: bins out.

  • Room by room, last, from the far end of the flat back to the front door.

    The everyday version: hoover through.

Only if the flat has it

  • Only if there are hard floors.

    After the hoover, with a mop wrung out until it is damp rather than wet, finishing at the front door.

    The everyday version: mop the hard floors.

    Safety: On a wood floor, sweep or vacuum first, then use only a light mist of a cleaner made for wood, and avoid putting excess liquid on it. Source: Bona, “How to clean wood floors”

From choremen.fun/move-out-cleaning-checklist

Keep the next place under control

A clean flat on the way out is mostly a lot of small jobs that nobody did on the way through. choremen is a private list of the recurring ones — the bins, the bathroom, the fridge shelves — that says when each is next due.

Starting one does not save this checklist, and nothing goes on it until you add it yourself.

Start a list for the next place (free)

Or work out a cleaning schedule for the new placefirst, with no account.