Before you move out of your property you will need to clean the entire premises to the standard that you would expect to find if you were moving in. We carry out inventory inspections at the end of your Tenancy and if we or the Landlord feels that extra cleaning is required we will have to present charges for this work to you to be deducted from your Deposit. The minimum cleaning charge is £30.00 but the actual charge could be considerably higher depending on the cost passed to us by the cleaners.
Remember: even if you make some effort to clean a particular item/area but the result is not to the high standard we expect you will still be charged the full cost of cleaning it after you move out.
We would much prefer not to have to charge you and to be able to return your entire Deposit to you! Please find our advice below along with reminders about some of the areas Tenants often miss:
GENERAL
Remember to change cloths/sponges regularly while you are doing the Big Clean – wiping a surface with a dirty cloth will just move the dirt around and leave dirty smeary marks! A lot of Tenants forget this and it is an easy thing to sort out.
You should make sure you have removed all of your belongings from the property, so please make sure you check all the cupboards and drawers. Any belongings or rubbish (even small bits at the bottom of drawers, see below) left within the flat will need to be removed by us and we would have to charge you for this.
You should leave all operating and instruction manuals for the appliances, boiler, heaters, etc. in the property – please do not throw these away!
We cannot keep furniture (such as shelves) or electrical appliances (such as microwaves or TVs) that were not supplied to you by the Landlord at the start of your Tenancy for the next Tenants so it is better for you to dispose of these items before you move out to avoid removal charges. Manchester City Council can remove unwanted bulky items free of charge!
Make sure you have hoovered throughout the property including corridors and stairs and mopped any laminate, lino or tiled floors – even behind and under furniture, so make sure you move the sofa, bed, etc. to ensure the whole floor is cleaned properly! The photo below shows how a Tenant has missed cleaning behind the bed:
Skirting boards and door frames need to be hoovered/dusted and wiped with a damp cloth to remove any marks.
All windows throughout the property need to be cleaned using non-smear glass-cleaning fluid/spray and any window frames and windowsills need to be wiped clear of any marks.
KITCHEN
Remember to thoroughly clean inside and under (if possible) cupboards and work units as well as the surfaces and cupboard doors. Tenants regularly miss or do not clean cupboard doors thoroughly enough and leave them greasy – often these areas require the use of kitchen surface cleaner and some hard scrubbing to completely remove the accumulated grease. We recommend using some sort of de-greasing spray and please check to make sure you have not left smeary marks behind once it dries.
Remember to clean around, behind and under (if possible) all appliances as well as cleaning inside them. The oven will need to be cleaned properly with oven-cleaning fluid (and some elbow grease!) including the oven itself, the hob, any trays and metal grills and the oven door are clean of food residue and grease. Crumbs and food waste should be removed from areas around the oven door where it may have fallen throughout the oven’s use.
Tenants often do not clean the oven thoroughly enough. Ovens should be cleaned regularly after use throughout your Tenancy and if you did this the final Big Clean would be more manageable. If you have not kept up with your regular cleaning, you will find that the oven can be a time-consuming job. It is worth persevering with though as cleaners often charge an extra premium for cleaning dirty ovens which we would have to pass on to you.
The fridge and freezer will need to be completely de-frosted and then cleaned. We often find that fridges and freezers are defrosted but not cleaned afterwards, leaving puddles of dirty water inside them.
Once the fridge and freezer are defrosted and cleaned, please switch them both off at the mains and leave the doors open (if you leave the doors closed with the power off they tend to become mouldy and very smelly – please help us avoid this!).
You will need to clean out the washing machine’s filter (please consult the instruction manual for your appliance for details on how to do this, it’s usually quite easy!) and clean the door/window, the seal around the door and the powder tray.
BATHROOM
All the surfaces will need to be cleaned using bathroom/surface cleaning fluid or spray. We would also suggest using bleach or a product containing bleach to clean the sink, bath/shower stall and tiles.
Generally, if there are black mildew marks on bathroom sealant or between tiles these can be removed using a cleaning spray that contains bleach and a little bit of scrubbing!
If you have a glass shower screen, please make sure you clean it thoroughly using non-smear glass-cleaning spray. A lot of Tenants miss this, as you can see below:
We hope this has been helpful, but if you are unsure about any of the above please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to help avoid the need to charge our Tenants as we would much prefer to end all of our Tenancies on a friendly note.