The big day to move out of your apartment is coming up, and you are making your checklist. You have the moving van, boxes, and helpers, but did you forget to schedule time to clean? There are some common mistakes that people make when they move out of an apartment, and many of them have to do with cleaning. We are going to walk you through some of those errors and show you how to correct them.
Cleaning Too Soon
We understand that you want to get everything done as quickly as possible and knock out some tasks early on. That way, you can focus on the essentials of the move. However, if you try to clean too early in the process, you will make extra work for yourself.
First of all, it can be tough to clean an apartment properly when there is still a bunch of stuff everywhere. Your furniture and other belongings will take up space and get in the way, and they will cover up spots in the apartment that need extra cleaning. Your dresser, bed, and couches are probably covering areas that will take additional effort to clean well.
Make sure that you get as much of your packing and moving out done before you start on the cleaning. That way, you have plenty of space to work, and you also get to see those spots that may not be easy to clean and that could be easily missed otherwise. When is the best time to clean? We suggest cleaning as soon as you can easily do the work and not be hindered by furniture, packing boxes, and other items.
Waiting Until the Last Minute
Here is the other side of this coin- If you wait too long to clean your room, then you can end up not having enough time. Waiting until the last day or two before you move to start on the cleaning can result in your apartment being cleaned poorly. You may rush through the cleaning process and not get it clean enough to justify the landlord returning your security deposit. In fact, if the apartment is really dirty, you may have to pay the landlord in addition to losing your deposit.
You should assess how long the cleaning will take you to complete based on what you see after you inspect the apartment. Keep in mind that you may find additional work to do as you remove furniture and other items. Be sure to give yourself enough time to handle the cleaning as well as some extra time in case something unexpected pops up.
Trying to Handle It on Your Own
The best solution to cleaning an apartment before you move out when you don’t have time is to hire a professional cleaning crew. You can find Philly apartment cleaning services and get quality work done while giving yourself time to work on the other moving out tasks. This is a great option for people who simply don’t have a lot of time or who don’t feel up to the task of cleaning the apartment themselves.
Sometimes the job is simply too big to do it yourself, and other times you may not feel certain that you can clean well enough to get the security deposit back. In either case, it just makes sense to hire cleaning experts and let them handle this part of the move. This is their area of expertise, and you will be able to mark that big task off the list. You may even save money this way by paying less for the cleaners than you do for the loss of the security deposit.
Missing High or Invisible Spots
When you look at your apartment, you may only notice the same things you have always noticed. And if the apartment looks okay to you, you may not do much cleaning. Your landlord, on the other hand, will be seeing the apartment with fresh eyes, in most instances. The landlord doesn’t spend every day in the apartment, so he or she will be looking at things differently. He will see the things you don’t notice and will be looking for things that are not as clean and tidy as he would like.
As you clean your apartment for the move, be sure to get in those areas of the apartment that you don’t often clean. Reach high up to clean cobwebs away and dust the spaces that are tough to reach. These may be areas that your landlord will look at, and when it comes to getting a security deposit back as you move out, every inch of the apartment matters. Pay close attention to every part of the apartment and look for those spots that you often don’t even think about.
Not Cleaning Inside Appliances
In many apartments, there will be appliances that belong to the landlord that the tenant will be leaving behind. These need to be cleaned as well, and exiting tenants often forget them.
We would like to bring those spaces to your attention, reminding you that you need to be cleaning everywhere, even inside the fridge, freezer, microwave, and other appliances. Look inside doors, open up appliances fully, and shine a light in dark corners. You will want to clean it all if you want to leave a good impression behind.
Remember that what does not bother you may still bother your landlord, so clean as though you are cleaning for someone else and not just yourself. Make sure you clean on top of, behind, and even under appliances. This may require some heavy lifting, but everything matters when you are trying to leave your apartment spotless and get your security deposit returned to you.
Closing Thoughts
We hope these points have been helpful to you and shone a light on some of the more common mistakes that people make during the move-out process. We know that your schedule can get hectic at this time, so take the time to ensure you clean everything.
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