The move-out cleaning checklist landlords actually use

Most move-out inspections follow the same pattern: the property manager walks in with the original move-in checklist, a flashlight and a camera. They aren’t looking at whether the place looks tidy. They’re looking at whether it looks the way it did on day one.

Here is the list we work from at Incasumac when we clean apartments and rental houses in Dickinson. Use it whether you hire someone or tackle it yourself.

Before you start

• Get everything out first — furniture, boxes, the last bag of recycling. Cleaning around belongings never works.
• Find your move-in inspection report. If the oven was already stained when you moved in, you’re not responsible for making it new.
• Patch nail holes only if your lease asks you to. Some landlords prefer to do it themselves.
• Take “before” photos for your own records.

Kitchen

The kitchen is where most deposit deductions happen. Pull the oven racks and soak them in the tub with hot water and dish soap while you work on everything else. Inside the oven, a baking-soda paste left for a few hours removes most baked-on residue without harsh fumes.

• Inside and outside of every cabinet and drawer, including the top edges
• Refrigerator and freezer — shelves out, washed and dried; leave the doors propped if the power will be off
• Range hood and its filter (a degreasing soak works well)
• Dishwasher filter and door seal
• Sink, faucet and the caulk line behind it
• Floor edges and, if you can safely slide them out, under the stove and fridge

Bathrooms

Hard water is common in western North Dakota, and mineral film on glass doors and faucets is one of the first things an inspector notices. See our guide to hard water spots for what works without scratching.

• Tub, shower walls and glass descaled
• Toilet, including the base, the hinges and behind the tank
• Inside the vanity and medicine cabinet
• Exhaust fan cover — usually covered in dust
• Mirror, light fixture and towel bars

Bedrooms and living areas

• Baseboards, door frames and doors — top edges too
• Light switches and outlet covers
• Closet shelves, rods and floor
• Window sills, tracks and blinds
• Walls spot-cleaned with a damp melamine sponge (test first on flat paint)
• Carpets vacuumed slowly in two directions

The things people forget

• Ceiling fan blades
• The top of the refrigerator
• Inside the light fixtures (dead bugs)
• The furnace return grille
• Garage or storage unit floors
• Replacing burned-out bulbs and the furnace filter if your lease requires it

Doing it yourself vs. hiring help

A thorough move-out clean of a two-bedroom apartment takes one experienced person five to seven hours, longer if you’re doing it at the end of a long moving day. If your security deposit is several hundred dollars, a professional move-out clean is often the cheaper option.

If you’d like help, our move-in / move-out cleaning follows this checklist, and if your landlord flags something we cleaned within 72 hours, we’ll come back and fix it.