A move-in cleaning checklist should cover everything you will touch, store food in or fill with clothes before a single box is opened: inside kitchen cupboards and drawers, the fridge, oven and hob, the bathroom, wardrobes, skirting boards and floors. Do it while the rooms are empty and the job is quicker, more thorough and far less disruptive.
Even when the previous occupants have had the property cleaned, their standard may not be yours. An outgoing tenant cleans to pass an inventory check, and a seller may only tidy up for the final viewing. This is the checklist our team works through when we prepare homes across Hull and East Yorkshire, from bay-fronted terraces on the Avenues to newer estates in Kingswood.
Work room by room, top to bottom, and finish each room with the floor.
Key takeaways
- Clean before you unpack: empty rooms are faster to clean and you can reach every corner.
- Prioritise food areas, the bathroom and anywhere clothes or bedding will be stored.
- Work top to bottom and finish with floors, so dust falls onto surfaces you haven’t cleaned yet.
- If you are renting, photograph the condition before you clean so your check-in record stays accurate.
Why do a move-in clean before you unpack?
An empty home is the easiest home you will ever clean. There are no sofas to pull out, no boxes blocking the skirting boards and nothing stored in the cupboards you need to wipe. Once the furniture is in, the back of the wardrobe and the floor under the bed tend to stay as they were for years.
It is also about hygiene. Fridge seals, cooker hoods, plugholes and the base of the toilet collect grime that is easy to miss on a quick viewing.
Outgoing tenants usually work to an end of tenancy cleaning checklist designed to satisfy a letting agent. That is a decent baseline, but it isn’t always the hygiene-focused clean you want before putting plates away. If you would rather hand the whole job over, our move-in cleaning service fits into the gap between getting the keys and the removal van arriving.
What you need before you start
Pack a cleaning box and keep it out of the removal van so you can find it on day one.
- Several microfibre cloths, ideally colour-coded for kitchen, bathroom and general use
- A multi-surface cleaner, a degreaser for the kitchen and a limescale remover for taps and showers
- Toilet cleaner and a new toilet brush
- A hoover with a crevice tool, plus a mop and bucket
- Rubber gloves, bin bags and a step stool for high cupboards and light fittings
- Glass cleaner or a squeegee for windows and mirrors
Check the hot water works before you start, because every job is easier with it. If your move is still a few weeks away, our week-by-week moving house cleaning timeline shows where the move-in clean fits alongside packing and the final clean of the home you are leaving.
Kitchen move-in cleaning checklist
Start in the kitchen, because it is where you will want to put things first. Work from the wall cupboards downwards.
- Cupboards and drawers: hoover out crumbs, then wipe shelves, the insides of doors, hinges and handles.
- Tops of wall units and the cooker hood: these gather sticky, greasy dust that a damp cloth won’t shift, so use a degreaser. Soak or replace the hood filter.
- Fridge and freezer: take out shelves and drawers, wash them in warm soapy water, wipe the inside and clean the door seals. If the freezer has iced up, defrost it before switching it back on.
- Oven, hob and grill: look inside the oven before you cook anything. Burnt-on grease from the previous occupant is a common find.
- Sink and taps: descale the taps and clean the plughole, overflow and drainer.
- Worktops, splashback and tiles: including the grout behind the hob.
- Appliances: wipe the fronts, clean the washing machine door seal and detergent drawer, and run the dishwasher and washing machine empty on a hot cycle.
- Last of all: the bin area, kickboards and the floor.
Much of Hull and East Yorkshire has hard water, so limescale on taps, kettles and shower screens is normal. Our guide to removing limescale in hard water areas covers what works. If the oven is beyond a quick wipe, our fume-free oven cleaning uses non-caustic products, so there are no harsh smells in your new kitchen. For a more detailed list, see the kitchen deep clean checklist.
Bathroom cleaning checklist for a new home
- Toilet: clean the bowl and under the rim, the seat and hinges, the cistern, and the base and pipework behind it. Plenty of people simply fit a new toilet seat when they move in.
- Bath and shower tray: remove soap scum and limescale, and check the silicone sealant for black mould.
- Shower screen, tiles and grout: descale the glass first, then scrub the grout lines.
- Showerhead: soak it in descaler to clear blocked jets.
- Basin and taps: including plugholes and overflows.
- Mirrors, cabinets, the extractor fan cover and the towel rail.
- Floor: especially behind the toilet and around the basin pedestal.
Older terraced houses are prone to condensation, so check window reveals and ceiling corners for mould spots. If you find them, our guide to condensation and black mould in older homes explains how to treat them and stop them coming back.
Bedrooms, living rooms and hallways
- Wardrobes and built-in storage: hoover out, then wipe rails, shelves and the insides of doors before you hang anything.
- Light fittings, lampshades and the tops of door frames.
- Skirting boards, window sills and radiators, including between radiator panels.
- Windows on the inside, plus the tracks and frames, which collect dust and dead insects.
- Light switches, sockets, door handles and banister rails, the places everyone touches.
- Carpets: hoover thoroughly, edges included.
- Hard floors: hoover first, then mop.
Carpets are the one job worth deciding on before you unpack. If they look tired or smell of pets or smoke, hot water extraction lifts the dirt that hoovering leaves behind, and with empty rooms there is nothing to move. Our carpet and upholstery cleaning can be booked for the same visit.
Easily missed spots on a move-in clean
- Inside the extractor fan and behind the cooker hood filter
- The tops of kitchen units and the fridge
- The floor behind and under where appliances stand
- Door edges, frames and hinges
- The letterbox, front door and outside door handles
- The loft hatch, meter cupboard and under-stairs cupboard
- Blinds, curtain rails and poles
- Wheelie bins left behind, which are worth washing out before your first bin day
Tip: Finish one room completely and move boxes into it, rather than half-cleaning every room. That way you always have a clean space to retreat to on moving day.
Moving into a rental? Record the condition first
If you are renting, the check-in inventory sets the standard you will be expected to match when you leave. Before you clean, read it carefully and take date-stamped photos of anything that doesn’t agree with it, such as a greasy oven described as clean or marks on a carpet.
Send any differences to your landlord or letting agent in writing, within whatever time the inventory allows for comments. Our guide to how cleanliness is recorded at check-in explains what the usual descriptions mean, and the government guidance on private renting sets out your rights and responsibilities as a tenant.
Booking a professional move-in clean
Moving is tiring enough without scrubbing someone else’s oven at midnight. Our move-in cleans cover everything on this checklist, and our cleaners bring their own equipment and products, with eco-friendly options if you prefer. We agree a fixed quote before work starts, and if anything isn’t right we come back and re-clean it.
We cover Hull, Beverley, Cottingham and towns across East Yorkshire, seven days a week, so weekend key handovers are not a problem. Tell us your moving date and the size of the property through our contact page and we will arrange a clean before the van arrives.
