Move-In Cleaning Checklist: What to Clean Before You Unpack

The best day to clean a house is the one day it is empty. There is no furniture to work around and nothing in the cabinets or on the closet shelves. Once the truck is unloaded, most of those surfaces stay covered until you move again.

If you are moving into a new home, this is the order U Have It Maid suggests for cleaning it before you unpack. It also covers what is worth disinfecting, what a professional move-in cleaning includes, and when you can skip hiring anyone.

Do You Need to Disinfect a House Before You Move In?

Less than you might expect. The CDC’s guidance on home cleaning says that cleaning alone removes most harmful viruses or bacteria from surfaces, and that disinfecting at home is likely not needed unless someone in the home is sick. Soap or detergent, water and scrubbing do most of the work in a new house.

Disinfect where it gives you comfort (toilets, sinks, the inside of the refrigerator), and clean those surfaces first. The CDC notes that dirt makes it harder for disinfectants to reach germs. Two safety rules from the same agency apply when you do: never mix bleach with other cleaners or disinfectants, and keep the room ventilated while you use them.

A Move-In Cleaning Checklist, in Order

Work from the top of each room to the bottom, and from the back of the house toward the door you will leave by. Floors are always last.

1. Start high

Dust ceiling fans, light fixtures and air vents. Wipe the closet shelves and rods in every room. Dust falls, so anything you do below this first will need doing again.

2. Kitchen

Do the kitchen before a single dish comes out of a box.

• Wipe the inside of every cabinet and drawer, and the pantry shelves.
• Take the shelves and drawers out of the refrigerator and wash them. Wipe the inside walls and the door seals.
• Clean the inside of the oven and the microwave.
• Scrub the sink, then the countertops and backsplash.
• Wipe the cabinet fronts and handles.

3. Bathrooms

• Wipe inside the vanity cabinets, the drawers and the medicine cabinet.
• Scrub the tub, shower, toilet and sinks. Clean around the base of the toilet and behind it.
• Clean the mirrors and polish the fixtures.
• Look under each sink for drips while the cabinet is empty.

4. Bedrooms and living areas

Wipe windowsills, blinds and baseboards. In an empty room this takes minutes. With a bed and a dresser against the wall, it rarely gets done.

5. The places hands go

Doors, door frames, handles, light switches and stair rails. The CDC lists light switches, doorknobs and countertops among the high-touch surfaces to clean regularly.

6. Floors

Vacuum the edges of every room and the inside of every closet, then mop the hard floors on your way out. If you plan to have the carpets professionally cleaned, schedule that for the empty days too.

7. Garage

Sweep it before the boxes go in. It will not be empty again for a long time.

Three Jobs That Are Not Cleaning but Belong on the Same Day

• Check the smoke alarms. The U.S. Fire Administration says smoke alarms need to be replaced 10 years from the manufacture date and tested every month. The date is printed on the back of each alarm. In a house you just bought, you have no other way to know how old they are.
• Change the air filter. ENERGY STAR advises that you inspect, clean or change the filter once a month. Start with a new one, and write the size down while you are there.
• Find the water shutoff. You want to know where it is before you need it.

What a Professional Move-In Cleaning Covers

Our move-in and move-out cleaning is a deep cleaning with the empty-house work added. On top of the dusting, bathrooms, kitchen, baseboards, doors and floors, the team will:

• Wipe and disinfect the inside of all cabinets.
• Clean the closet shelves.
• Wipe and disinfect the pantry shelves.
• Clean the inside of the refrigerator and the oven.
• Sweep the garage.

We send a team, usually of three, with all of the supplies and equipment. Move cleanings are billed by the hour, because an empty house can be in any condition. The team takes before and after photos on every moving job.

We need a few things from you:

• Utilities on. Water and electricity must be working, and so must the air conditioning. We remind every moving client of this.
• An empty house. The property should be vacant and free of trash and debris. If some of your things are already there, call us first. Cabinets, closets and appliances have to be empty for us to clean inside them.
• A way in. Our teams do not carry keys. A door code, garage code or lockbox works well for a house nobody is living in yet.

What It Does Not Cover

• Hauling. We do not remove moving debris, construction scraps or anything the previous owner left behind.
• High and heavy work. Our cleaners work from a 2-step ladder and do not lift anything over 25 pounds.
• Tracks and machines. Window tracks, sliding door tracks, and the inside of the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer are not included.
• Mold and pests. Those need a specialist before a cleaning team comes in.
• Fresh remodels. A house that was just renovated needs post-construction cleaning, which is a different visit.

If You Are Also Leaving a House

Most moves involve two cleanings. The home you are leaving is easiest to clean after the truck pulls away, for the same reason the new one is easiest to clean before it arrives. If you are selling, our guide to cleaning before you list your home covers what buyers look at. For a summer move north of Houston, see our Conroe move-in and move-out guide. We also have a page on move cleaning in The Woodlands.

When You Don’t Need a Professional Move-In Cleaning

• The home is new construction and the builder had it cleaned. Wipe out the cabinets and drawers, and move in.
• It is a small place and you have the keys a day early. Two people can get through the checklist above in an afternoon.
• The seller or landlord already had it professionally cleaned. Open the oven and look at the top shelf of the refrigerator. If both are clean, the rest probably is too.

Move-In Cleaning in North Houston

U Have It Maid is a family-owned company that has been cleaning homes across North Houston since 2000. If you would like the house done before the truck arrives, request a free quote or call us at (713) 480-1571 as soon as you know your closing or lease date. Once you are settled, a recurring cleaning plan keeps it that way.