Moving Out Cleaning Checklist: Room by Room

Your deposit is on the line and the landlord's standard is how you found it, not looks fine. The difference between getting your money back and losing half of it is order and thoroughness. Here is the order the pros use.

Work top to bottom, back to front

In every room, start at the top and work down: ceiling fan and light fixtures first, then walls and switches, then baseboards, then floors last. Work from the back of the room toward the door so you are never walking across a floor you just cleaned.

The kitchen

This is where deposits go to die. Oven: racks out, degreaser, the whole interior including the door glass. Pull the fridge out and clean behind and under it. Inside the fridge, every shelf. Cabinet tops, inside cabinets, the range hood filter, the sink and disposal splash guard. Grout lines on tile floors.

The bathrooms

Grout and caulk get the most attention from inspectors. Toilet: base, behind, the whole thing. Tub and shower: soap scum off every surface. Mirrors, light fixtures, exhaust fan cover. Under the sink. If the caulk is moldy and will not clean, cut it out and recaulk. It is a thirty minute job that saves a deduction.

Everywhere else

Baseboards in every room. Blinds, slat by slat. Window tracks, which nobody ever cleans and every landlord checks. Closet shelves and floors. Light switch plates and outlet covers. Patch nail holes, sand, touch up paint. Carpet: vacuum edges with the crevice tool, and if the lease requires professional cleaning, get the receipt.

One store trip

All-purpose degreaser, bathroom cleaner, glass cleaner, grout brush, magic erasers, spackle and putty knife, touch-up paint, microfiber cloths, mop and bucket, vacuum with attachments. One trip, one cart, done.