It can be both exciting and exhausting to get ready to move into a new apartment. However, before you get started with decorating your new home, you need to first clean out your old apartment first.

Unless you really like housekeeping, it really isn’t fun to clean an apartment. However, it is a very necessary thing to do. Your security deposit, after all, depends on it. The following are six apartment moving-out tips to help you get the job done right the first time.

1. Develop A Move-Out Cleaning Plan   

For apartment move-out cleaning, time is a very important factor. You only have a certain number of days to get your old house clean before you move into your new house. You will need to allow enough time for a walkthrough to be done by your landlord to get your deposit returned back to you. Set deadlines for yourself that are manageable, so that everything gets done by the deadline. Write down your deadlines to give yourself a visual reminder of your progress as you work on it.

2. Check Your Lease

There are certain apartments, particularly in historic districts or buildings, that forbid certain cleaning products from being used. Assume your landlord is more familiar with the structure’s details than you are, and don’t even consider using prohibited products. You want to avoid damaging pipes and floors since that could end up costing you more money than the amount of your security deposit.

3. Don’t Forget About Spots That Are Easy To Forget

Your landlord will conduct a white-glove test before you leave and will be very well of all of the nooks and crannies that you may forget about. Therefore when you are getting an apartment cleaning checklist drawn up, don’t forget to do the following tasks:

Apartment Cleaning Checklist

Don’t forget to clean upper shelves in cabinets and closets

Polish the bathroom and kitchen faucets

Scour the wall next to your stove and the backsplash

Dust the tops of your baseboards, windowsills, and ceiling fans

Wipe the magnetic strips down on the freezer and refrigerator doors

Clear out the dust bunnies from your window or free-standing air conditioning units

Wipe down the washer and dryer and empty out the lint trap

Sweep outdoor areas, such as steps and porches

4. Deep Clean The Carpets

If the carpeted surfaces in your apartment have taken a real beating since you lived there, you might need to deep clean the carpet. Remove any pet stains that you can before deep cleaning, and thoroughly vacuum your carpeted rooms. You can rent a carpet-cleaning machine to do the job yourself. However, if you are worried about potentially damaging the carpet or are short on time, you can have a professional carpet cleaning service do the job for you.

5. Do A Final Thorough Sweep (With Both A Broom And Your Eyes)

Thoroughly examine the rooms to ensure you have not left any of your personal items inside of the rooms, cabinets, and closets. As the final step in your move-out cleaning process, go through each of the rooms and sweep up any dirt or dust with a broom that was stirred up when you were moving around your boxes.

6. Be Aware Of When You Need Help

It is a lot of hard work to clean an apartment, especially when you are really busy with moving into a new place. You sometimes won’t have enough time to thoroughly clean your apartment. If you end up in this situation, it can be a good idea to hire a cleaning service to do the job. Over the long run, it is probably less expensive to hire a housekeeping service rather than losing your whole security deposit.

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