If you are moving out, your landlord is probably asking you to clean the home. Of course, you could hire an affordable cleaning service to do it for you. However, if you are in the mood to do it yourself, we have prepared a few tips for end-of-tenancy cleaning that you will find more than helpful. Here is how to leave a spotless home after you move out.

Get your items out before you start cleaning

Many people make a mistake when doing end-of-tenancy cleaning by cleaning the home while their items are still inside. This makes the cleaning process much harder. Moreover, you cannot do a proper cleaning if your home is filled with furniture. And you are risking damaging your items if you try to clan your home this way. Instead, organise the cleaning process after you get your items out. This is the only way you will do a good job.

Clean from the top down

The second thing you need to pay attention to is the cleaning order. If you want to be efficient and finish the job quickly, you need to be smart and work from the top down. So start by dusting the ceilings, chandeliers, and ceiling fans, then move on to dusting window draperies and curtains and leave the floor for the very end. If your draperies and curtains require more than just dusting, consider hiring a professional service for the job. Of course, don’t forget to consult with your landlord about it.

Cleaning the kitchen requires a good strategy

The next room you should deal with is the kitchen. Still, remember that degreasing kitchen appliances might need specialized products that need some time to work, particularly if you haven’t done any cleaning in the past year. So our advice is to apply the cleaning products in the kitchen even before you begin to prepare it for transport. The degreasing will be much easier and quicker if you let the products do their magic while you pack. Also, don’t forget to wipe all the surfaces like kitchen countertops, backsplashes, cupboard doors, etc. Open your kitchen cabinets and wipe them from the inside with a sponge. Also, if you spot any grease splatters or food stains on walls, check with your landlord because they might need a fresh coat of paint.

Next, clean the bedroom, living room, and dining room

Once you finish your kitchen, move on to the bedroom. Open all the cabinets, drawers, and closets and ensure they are empty. Clean all the debris and wipe all the surfaces. And follow the same process in your living room, dining room, home office, etc. If there are carpets on the floor, vacuum them thoroughly. If the carpets appear dirty, you might need to hire a carpet cleaning service to help you. Or, you can rent a steam cleaner and try to deal with it yourself. But, remember that steam cleaners will not do the same job as professional cleaners.

The bathroom will take most of your time if you do not approach it properly

Now, you can start cleaning the bathroom. And this is where you will need to devote a lot of your time as you will probably need to do a lot of scrubbing, especially if you haven’t done any deep cleaning in the past year. Do the same as you did with your kitchen to speed up the process. Apply the cleaning products before you start cleaning the bathroom. This will help a lot with removing hardcore stains and limescale, which can be very hard to get rid of if you do not approach it correctly. If you let the products work while cleaning other parts of the home, limescale will be pretty easy to eliminate.

Once you start cleaning your bathroom, you need to do everything, tubs, showers, sinks, toilets, and tiles. Also, don’t forget to wipe down bathroom countertops and cupboards from the inside and outside. And make sure that you use a good disinfectant when cleaning your bathroom.

Cleaning windows, glass surfaces and mirrors

You have cleaned the kitchen, living room, bedroom, dining room, and bathroom. You can start cleaning your windows, mirrors, and other shiny surfaces. However, this can be tricky if you don’t have proper cleaning products and microfibre cloths. So make sure that you get them before you start your cleaning. Or you can easily make your own homemade window cleaning solution. Just add a few drops of dishwashing soap into the water with a little bit of vinegar. If you do not have a proper polishing cloth, you will have trouble making your shiny surfaces spotless. In that case, you can use old newspapers. They are perfect for cleaning windows and mirrors.

Wipe the doors, doorframes, and doorknobs as well

When doing your end-of-tenancy cleaning, your home needs to be perfectly clean. This means that you should clean your doors, doorframes, doorknobs, drawers, pulls, closet handles, skirting boards and similar. Of course, be careful when cleaning wooden surfaces as you do not want to get them wet too much.

Leave the floors for the end

And that is it, now all you need to do is wipe down the floors. Again, be careful not to wet the wooden floor too much as it can easily be damaged that way. Do one room at a time and start from the inner part of the property and finish at the bathroom. While you are cleaning your mops and buckets, hopefully, the floors will dry out so you can safely get out without spoiling your hard work. Don’t forget to flush the toilet several times to leave it clean.

Do a final inspection

That is how you do a proper end-of-tenancy cleaning. All you need to do now is have a final walkthrough to make sure that you haven’t missed something and call your landlord to give you a confirmation that everything is ok. If you are looking to get your deposit back and leave your property spotless we recommend booking professional end of tenancy cleaners. This way you will receive a guaranteed cleaning service and it will save you lots of time and hassle.