MOVE-IN/MOVE-OUT CLEANING
Moving into or out of a home is the mark of an exciting transition in life, but it can be a very stressful time. There’s so much to take care of, with everything from packing to decorating your new home and everything in between. One of the biggest pains of moving is cleaning your former or new house to prepare it for sale or the big move-in day.
Whether you’re moving into or out of a new home, Radiant Home Cleaning Services will take care of the mess for you! Radiant Home Cleaning offers move-in and move-out residential cleaning services for empty homes in the Northern VA region. We believe that a cleaning company should not just simply “clean” a home or apartment, but offer a well-defined, trustworthy service that pays attention to the little details. We will thoroughly clean your new or previous home with this approach to make your moving experience as smooth and worry-free as possible.
When scheduling a Move-In or Move-Out Cleaning on our booking form, select “One-Time” as the frequency, and fill out the details of the house on the booking form. Select “Upgrade to Premium” as an add-on if you would like to upgrade to our Premium Package.
Classic Cleaning fits you if:
The home was maintained, so there’s only mild to moderate build up in the kitchen, bathrooms, and floors
The new home is newly constructed or freshly remodeled and just needs a spruce-up cleaning before moving in or out
The house was cleaned by previous owners/tenants, but after all the tours and inspections, you just need to clean it up one more time
You have a tighter budget but need to satisfy the conditions of your sale or lease (NOTE: If you just need to satisfy the conditions of a sale or lease, we can provide a Classic Cleaning to fit your budget. However, if we recommend a Premium Cleaning based on the state of the home, we cannot guarantee the results of the cleaning if you opt for the Classic Cleaning)
Premium Cleaning fits you if:
The home was not cleaned regularly, and there is build up in the kitchen (grease, crumbs, fingerprints), bathrooms (soap scum, mildew, fingerprints, etc.), and floors (bugs, shoe prints, splatters, hair/fur) NOTE: For homes that have been improperly maintained, cleaning results will not bring the condition of the home to “like-new” status and we can’t guarantee that all stains will come out of surfaces. Our teams will inform you on what they can realistically achieve.
The house is newly constructed or renovated and it has NOT been cleaned (AKA it is a Post-Construction Cleaning). NOTE: we require a walkthrough visit prior to providing Post-Construction cleaning. Please read more here (add link to Post Construction page)
The previous owner or tenant did not get the house professionally cleaned.
Printable Move-in Cleaning Checklist For Your “New” Old House
Are you a new owner of an old house? Itching to grab those house keys at closing, unlock the door to the house of your dreams and start unloading that moving truck? While I appreciate (and share) your enthusiasm, you might want to first consider deep cleaning your old house before moving in. Get rid of all that old dirt first. Then make sure it’s shiny and new to you! And I’ll help you get it squeaky clean with a Move-In Cleaning Checklist.
I was chomping at the bit to unload, unpack and start my new life. But the house needed to be cleaned. The last owners were good people, but they were focused on their new house and not on cleaning out the house they were passing on to us.
Moving Into an Old House Cleaning Checklist
Not sure where to start? Feeling overwhelmed? That’s exactly how I felt. But if you know me, then you know that I’m a list girl. Always making lists. Grocery lists. Christmas presents list. To-do list. Bucket list. Having checklists gives me the feeling of being in control.
General Old House Cleaning Tips
Before we dive into the checklist section by section, here’s a few general tips to help ease your cleaning tasks.
Apply Tile & Grout Cleaner to Shower
I hate grout. It’s so hard to keep white! And there’s a good chance your new “old” shower and tub doesn’t have the squeakiest clean tile and grout.
Moving in cleaning checklist: How to clean a new home before you move in
When you’re moving into a new home, one of the very first things you need to do is give the entire house or apartment a thorough clean – for your comfort and for your peace of mind. Of course, it’s best to complete this moving in cleaning task before your household items arrive so that the endless piles of cardboard boxes won’t get in your way.
To clean your new house or apartment before you move in, you’re going to need to follow a good moving in cleaning checklist. As an added bonus, such a move in cleaning checklist will enable you to finish that not-so-exciting chore much faster and easier than you ever expected.
The bathroom
The bathroom will be the room you will need most urgently while you’re moving in, right after your movers depart. You’ll desperately want to take a refreshing shower or a relaxing bath when Moving day is almost over, so roll up your sleeves and get down to work.
Clean the exhaust fans first because they can be rather dusty.
Replace the toilet seat and cover. It’s not worth the time and efforts to clean thoroughly the seat and cover of your toilet when you can replace them with brand new ones that are perfectly clean and fairly inexpensive as well.
Use a specialized cleaner to scrub the bathroom shower or tub.
Remove the old shower curtains, if still there, and hang yours in their place. This way, you won’t have to worry about how clean (understand how dirty) the old shower curtains may be.
Don’t forget to clean up the areas that are often neglected during the house cleaning process – the inside and outside of the medicine cabinet, the tiny area behind the toilet bowl, and the zone in the shower recess.
Take a closer look at the sink faucets, and if they happen to be too dirty or too worn out, then do consider replacing them with new ones.
Scrub all surfaces and bathroom fixtures – walls, doors, towel racks and light fixtures using an all-purpose cleaner to ensure a cleaner and fresher look of the entire bathroom.
Wipe the bathroom mirror clean using a glass cleaning product.
Finally, vacuum the bathroom floor to remove any accumulated filth and dust, then mop it until it shines.
The bedroom
The new house cleaning checklist takes you to the bedroom – the very room you will desperately need to use right after you’ve taken a bath or a shower in the bathroom. The thing is, after surviving the most stressful and exhausting day of your house move, you’ll want to set up your bed and have a rest or simply go to sleep if it’s already late in the evening.
Moving House? Cleaning Tips for Before You Move In
So, you have just gone through all the admin of buying a house or finding a new rental. You’ve packed up, got the movers ready, all the paperwork sorted, the last thing you will have on your mind is whether your new place is clean or not.
With any luck the previous owners or tenants would have given the place a good clean before you move in, but unfortunately, this is never really the case. Cleaning a house when you move in is often not thought of during the excitement, and can get forgotten. Moving house can be a fresh start, and what better way to start than by sorting the place and making it your own.
Taking the time to give your new place a thorough clean before you move in will save time, effort and be much less stressful than when everything is moved in. Before you get stuck in, here are a couple of tips that will make a world of difference when tackling a full house clean.
Make sure you have all your cleaning supplies ready to go. The last thing you want is to have to stop cleaning to run to the shops.
Open spaces with no furniture in the way make cleaning easier, and more comfortable – so get onto cleaning before the movers get there, especially carpet cleaning.
Playing music while you clean will keep your mood upbeat, and podcasts or audiobooks take you mind off the task completely.
One of the most efficient ways to make sure your new place is clean from roof to floors is to work through it methodically. Breaking the cleaning down by rooms can make the task feel manageable and easy to delegate to family or friends.
Renting? Here’s What You Have to Clean Before You Unpack!
Whenever you are moving into a new apartment or a house, there is a high chance that someone lived there before you. Unless you know for yourself that space is brand new, then you can’t trust your landlord 100%. With that in mind, as a new tenant, you will be extra cautious the first week or so, until you adjust to the new living space. One of the best ways to accept your new house as a home is to take care of it before you even move in. Things like cleaning, changing some sanitary appliances and reordering the way the furniture is, in order to suit your personal taste are all great examples of first to-do things.
Why Deep Cleaning is Important Before Moving in
Not only deep cleaning your new home is good for getting to know the place, it’s also a pretty good way to sanitize the place that you’re going to live in.
Making a List
We mentioned above that it’s very important to have a plan before you start to deep clean the house. That’s why we created the Fantastic Deep Clean To-Do List!
Scout the house
Before you start doing any cleaning scout the place. Try to find the hidden dirty spots and mark them on paper. Look under beds, behind couches, and most importantly behind any kitchen appliances. You’d be surprised how dirty behind the oven can be.
Make a plan
It’s easy to start, but often times you’ll find yourself trying to keep away from areas that you’ve already cleaned, but you need to use. That’s why it’s important to know when to start from. This varies from house to house, because of the layout, so it’s on you to figure it out.
Do the dirtiest things first
Before you vacuum and dust the place, you should do the dirtiest things first. Clean behind furniture and any other places that you’ve found in Step 2!
Things That You Have to Throw Away When Moving In
A new home may be a new start for you, or not. However, it should always be a second life for the house or apartment.