How to Clean an Apartment Before Moving In – 14 Tips Every Person Should Know

Rushing into a brand new place with everything you own and unpacking after the move may sound like a perfect plan. After all, you are already tired from organizing the move and taking care of everything while relocating to a big city. You had to create a thorough move-out cleaning checklist on your way out of the previous home. So why bother with some more cleaning? While your hand is on the mouse and your cursor on the checkout of an online furniture store, you realize that a chic and stylish coffee table you were about to buy would probably be better off placed on a sparkling floor. So, let’s see some tips on how to do it like a pro.

Why It’s Important to Know How to Clean an Apartment Before Moving In

You’ve made an effort to plan a move to another city like a pro. You’ve invested in cross country moving services by recommended cross country movers, and you even paid for the packing service to relieve yourself of too much backbreaking work. You already know everything about how tidy your previous place should be – either you need your deposit back, so the residence must sparkle, or you’re selling your current abode, and you want to impress future owners.

And you expect the same when you’re about to move in, but just how well scrubbed is your future place? Don’t make one of those relocating mistakes and believe the residence is tidy up to your standards. We suggest that there’s no better time to disinfect and wipe every inch of your future home than when it’s empty of any large items as well as boxes full of stuff.

But How Do You Deep Clean an Apartment?

Now you know that your relocating to another state checklist should contain the move in deep cleaning and scrubbing, too. When we say deep cleaning, we usually think about professionals – a company dedicated to all things needed for a house to shine. So how do you clean before moving in by yourself, then? It will take some dedication, but it won’t be that hard since your stuff will probably be in storage units for a while, and the residence won’t be cluttered.

What Do You Need to Clean an Apartment – Tips for Essential Cleaning Supplies

Just like you couldn’t get the packing part over without the essential packing materials, it’s exactly the same with tidying up – you’ll need to prepare proper supplies. Here’s what you’ll need to add to your shopping list, besides all the pretty furniture from Ikea (if you’ve decided not to move the furniture from your old place):

• Probably one of the most vital small appliances in every home, a good vacuum cleaner will also come in handy the moment you enter your future place. It’s a crucial piece of hardware for cleaning various surfaces – from hardwood floors to carpets.
• The vacuum cleaner will get most dirt and grime out of absolutely everything, but you won’t be able to get that polished look in any part of your residence without a mop and a bucket. It will become a part of your home, so ensure you get them before you arrive in the future place.
• Rubber gloves are a great way to protect your hands from dirt and all the chemicals that you’ll be using around the place. Get at least two pairs of them.
• Multi-surface spray in concentrated form or as a solvent will be the essential detergent you’ll be using in all parts of the abode, so obtain enough of it.
• Soap detergent, disinfectant, and a couple of sponges are also important. You’ll mostly use them in the kitchen, but get some for other parts of the residence, too.
• We could argue whether it’s good to use bleach or should you stay away from it, but at least initially there’s no better way to spruce up the bathroom area than with bleach and some scrubbing. We’re not exactly sure what the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) would have to say about it, though.
• Microfiber cloths are the best choice for tidying. They are easily washed and can be used on all surfaces.
• The kitchen will also need an oven cleaner and stain remover, as well as limescale spray.
• A good brush for scrubbing has never been out of trend for persistent grime, as well as the dustpan is your best tool for high or tight spots.
• A glass surface polisher will give your windows that squeaky neat look.
• Talking about polish, you should also get some for wooden surfaces so that the inner doors can be treated the right way.

Some of these items were probably already on your moving-out list and placed in a box with other relocating essentials. If you don’t have any of these things, ensure you obtain them so that you can start the tidying journey without a fuss.

The Best Strategy for Cleaning New Apartment Is to Go One Room at a Time

You’re probably wondering – “Gosh, what do I need a strategy for?” But simply picture yourself with a vacuum in one hand and a bucket in the other and not knowing where to start. Sure, you probably have some creative storage ideas on your mind, but are there any good relocating tips that can help someone that’s moved to tidy up with less effort?

Yes, picking the “one room at a time” strategy will help you quickly go through the whole place and not skip a single thing. It means you should move on to the next part of the place only after you’ve finished with the current.

Get Everything Neat From Top to Bottom

As much as relocating labels will help you unpack and sort everything up, tidying the future residence from top to bottom is one of those moving hacks you never knew you needed. If you start with the highest, usually unreachable places and finish with the lowest, you won’t need to do everything twice. Or more than two times. First, you should get all the dust from spots like ceiling fans and the top of the cabinets and closets, leaving the mopping at the floor level for last.

How Do You Disinfect an Apartment Before Moving In? You Start With the Bathroom

Starting with your bathroom is a smart move. Since this is the place that can get dirtiest of all and have stuff like mold and bacteria in it. That’s why one of the first things to do after relocating is to enter the restroom with rubber gloves on hands and armed with different chemicals. What you should pay attention to first is whether there’s any mold between each tile. The faucets should be sprayed with limescale remover, the shower curtain thrown away, and the bathtub scrubbed vigorously.

And the Toilet Some Special Attention

“It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it.” Bonnie Tyler isn’t wrong on this one when it comes to washing the toilet. But look at it this way – scrubbing it may help you relieve some of the relocating stress you’re probably under. The outer and inner surfaces of the toilet should be washed with bleach to get all those nasty bacteria out of the way. And the tiles around it can be tidied with a brush and some detergent.

The Final Touch Will Create a Magazine-Chic Look

After you’ve washed each and every corner of the bathroom, there are a few tricks to make it look really stylish. If you are moving out for the first time, you probably haven’t remembered to pack the toilet brush and similar toiletries. It most likely didn’t end up on your list of things you need to rent a place.

Hop to the store and buy a brush, a fashionable floor mat, a chic shower curtain so your restroom could look quite expensive with little money and effort. You can add some scented candles as well as pretty trays for perfumes and baskets for various items.

The Kitchen Is Not Your Enemy, Although It Requires a Bit of Work

Although you’ve already spruced up the bathroom, there’s one more place in the residence that needs a bit more attention, and it’s the kitchen. You shouldn’t dread it, it’s less scary than relocating to another state, and you’ve already gone through that.

Some things should be cleaned the same way as in the restroom, like the faucet and the sink. Make sure you don’t have any mold and grime left and remove all the limescale thoroughly. The cabinets and drawers could be hiding some crumbs and leftover spices, and other things that should find their way to the garbage bin.

Scrub the Stove Until It Shines

One of the crucial things to do when moving into a new home is to wash and scrub the stove. This is where the rubber gloves come in handy again, as it needs some more aggressive chemicals to be cleaned properly, such as an oven cleaner and grease remover. Spray everything and leave it for at least fifteen minutes, then wash away and wipe with a clean cloth.

All Appliances Should Be Thoroughly Cleaned and Disinfected

One of the things you forget to do when you move can be taking proper care of all the appliances in your home. Although you won’t require such strong chemicals to do it, you should grab multi-surface sprays and disinfectants to take care of each appliance. Before you plug them in, make sure they are thoroughly washed, disinfected, and then dried.

Clean the Racks Before You Place the Pans

Kitchen racks are a great solution for a smaller space as well as a large kitchen. But they tend to have some excess dust on them, especially when apartments are vacant for some time. Before you start hanging your carefully packed pots and pans on them, make sure they are washed and wiped.

The Living Room and the Bedroom Are Somewhat Easier to Take Care Of

Bringing all your belongings into a residence that shines with cleanliness is one of the best ways to have a stress-free relocation. And the rooms that are left are a lot easier to tackle. There’s no great philosophy behind tidying up your living space and the corner where you sleep. And without large furniture pieces, all will be done in a jiffy. If you need some additional motivation, the following video offers you a few ideas on how to make your place smell amazing.

Let’s Get Down to the Floors

Once you’ve gone through the whole abode, what’s left is to take proper care of the floors. One of the wisest tips for relocation when tidying up is to leave the floors for last. Vacuum them first, treat every spot properly, and don’t leave even a tiny piece of dirt behind. Even the most thorough people easily oversee the floorboards, so take care of them. As soon as you’re sure there’s nothing left for the vacuum cleaner to pick up, it’s where the mop and the bucket step in.

It May Sound Silly, but You Should Wash the Walls, Too

There’s an additional tip for an ultimately cleaned residence – washing the walls. If now isn’t the perfect time to do it, we don’t think there ever will be. Especially if you’ve moved to another state alone and have no one to help you move all the bulky furniture around. While the abode is empty, use it to your advantage, and gently wash the walls with a cloth, some warm water, and a mild detergent. You’ll be proud of just how neat and sparkly everything looks afterward.

In the End, if Cleaning Apartment Before Moving in Is Too Much to Handle, Consider Hiring Professionals

Relocating to a new city takes time, commitment, and good organizing skills. Although you’ve probably already invested in different relocating solutions by a cross-country movers group, such as an auto transport service, it may seem excessive to pay for professional cleaners. But if you are too tired to do it, or you’re simply not sure you can pull it off properly, professionals will get that load off your back. You’ll feel less overburdened, and you’ll have more time to meet new neighbors.