Move-In Cleaning - Things To Do When You Move Into A New Home

Are you moving to a new home? Was it already occupied or did you get a completely new home with some major home renovations? With the latter, you have to spend a good amount of time like a day or two cleaning than the former. Move-in cleaning is a tedious job but the joys of settling into a new home double up your energy and enthusiasm. Do you know what you must do when you move into a new home or move into an apartment as a tenant? Both scenarios demand different types of move-in cleaning.

Move-in cleaning of a rented apartment or a new semi-furnished home earlier occupied

Let’s start with the move-in cleaning to an already occupied place as a tenant or buying an already occupied home. Which are the cleaning areas in your newly moved in an apartment? When a landlord handovers the house, he ensures that you love the environment and the clean surroundings of the apartment. So, the basic detailed move-out and move-in cleaning are already complete. But, to ensure that your new home is free from germs and bacteria, it is essential to complete a move-in cleaning of your apartment.

Though the last owners or the landlord kept the property in a great condition, deep cleaning your new-pad before unpacking is all about starting afresh with a clean state. Here are the move-in cleaning checklist of a rented or earlier occupied apartment-

• Add freshness by deep cleaning the kitchen

• Use a heavy-duty cleaner like a solution of water and baking soda to clean the fiber or metal trays of the refrigerator to get rid of the food odor

• Clean the front and top of the stove, temperature dials, and other elements to make your kitchen ready for cooking

• A mixture of chlorine free bleach and water can help in cleaning the sink and also remove the drain odor from the sink

• Clean the cabinets with wood cleaner or mild cleaner

• Clean the walls and the stubborn stains, if last owners have not painted the house recently

• Steam clean the carpets and thoroughly vacuum the floor

• Replace the toilet seat and cover

Move-in cleaning of a new or renovated home

Now, let’s turn to the newly bought or renovated home. This is where you need to do the major move-in cleaning. A new construction or major renovations at home involves piles of dust and debris on the floor. Cleaning such mess take a longer time as the dust chunks and particles take a good amount of time to clean completely. You need 2-3 rounds of clean up to complete your move-in cleaning in a new home. So, what are the inclusions for a new or renovated home move-in cleaning process? Here’s the checklist

• Use a broom to clean the dirt and rubble chunks on the floor

• Once all clean, vacuuming is needed to get rid of the minute dust particles

• Mop the floors using an all-purpose eco-friendly cleaner

• Firstly, dust and then use a damp microfiber or soft cloth to clean the dust collected on the lights, fixtures, and fittings

• Wipe the dust accrued vents and radiators

• Vacuum or wipe the windows with a damp soft cloth unless it is splashed with paint which will need deep cleaning

• Vacuum or dust the door frames and door knobs

• If your new house is freshly painted just dust it covering the broom with a clean cloth

• Check the toilet seat and cover for any accidental paint drip on it and clean it with a wet brush

• Vacuum and mop the floor again twice to get rid of the dust and grime completely

Conclusion

The move-in cleaning of the new house requires far more patience and time to complete than move-in cleaning of a rented or already occupied apartment. A clean new home brings in positive energy and good health. So, always ensure move-in cleaning is perfectly done. You may check our earlier renovation cleaning guide article for more info. Whether buying or renovating a new home or entering an apartment that was already occupied by someone, move-in cleaning is mandatory.

Moupriya Das

Acknowledgments:

• "Featured photo": for source click here.

• "Picture no. 1": for source click here.

• "Picture no. 2": for source click here.

This article was originally published in 2018 on SPIC AND SPAN. Home & Office Cleaning blog.