Move-In Cleaning: What to Do Before You Unpack a Single Box

Clean an empty property before you move in, not after. You will never again have unobstructed access to the backs of cupboards, the space behind the washing machine or the inside of the wardrobes, and the whole job takes about a third of the time with nothing in the way.

There is a second reason, and for renters it is worth considerably more than the cleaning. The hour you spend photographing the property before you unpack is the evidence that decides your deposit at the other end of the tenancy.

Do this first, before any cleaning

Walk the property with your phone and photograph it empty. Not a video walkthrough, which is hard to use as evidence later, but individual dated photographs of specific things:

• Inside the oven, including the door glass, the racks and the base
• Inside the fridge and freezer, including the seals
• Inside every kitchen cupboard and drawer
• The shower screen, tiles, grout and taps, close enough to see limescale
• The bath, including the sealant line
• Every carpet, including traffic areas and any existing marks
• Walls with existing scuffs, nail holes or picture hooks
• Window frames, sills and tracks
• The washing machine seal and detergent drawer
• Skirting boards in each room
• Any existing damage at all, however small
• Meter readings, which is not cleaning but you will want them

Then compare what you see against the check-in inventory the agent gave you. If the inventory says "oven: clean" and the oven is not clean, put it in writing within the window your agreement allows, usually seven or fourteen days, and attach the photographs.

This matters because cleaning is the single largest cause of deposit deductions in the UK. Deposit Protection Service figures reported in 2026 put it at 29.38% of all claims, the top cause for five years running. The check-in inventory is the document those claims are judged against. If you never challenge an inaccurate inventory, you inherit its version of events, and two years later you will be asked to return an oven to a condition it was never in.

Store the photographs somewhere you will still have them in two or three years. Not just on a phone you will replace. Email them to yourself, or put them in cloud storage in a folder named after the address.

The move-in cleaning checklist

Assume the previous occupant's clean was adequate rather than thorough, and focus on the things you will be touching, eating off and sleeping in.

Kitchen, first priority

• Inside all cupboards and drawers, including the runners and back corners
• On top of the cupboards
• Fridge and freezer washed with warm soapy water and a little bicarbonate of soda, then dried. Do the seals with an old toothbrush
• Oven interior if it was not done properly, plus the grill pan and racks
• Extractor filter, degreased in hot water with biological washing powder, or replaced
• Hob, including under the burner caps
• Splashback and tiles
• Sink, plughole, overflow and taps, descaled
• Washing machine drawer and rubber door seal, pulling the fold back
• Washing machine filter, behind the panel at the bottom front, emptied over a towel
• Dishwasher filter and spray arms
• Microwave inside, including the roof and turntable
• Bin, inside and out
• Worktops and the join at the wall
• Kickboards, if they lift out

Bathrooms, second priority

• Toilet seat, hinges, rim, base and behind the pan
• Shower head, ideally unscrewed and soaked in descaler overnight
• Shower screen, seals and the tracks they run in
• Bath sealant line
• Plugholes
• Extractor vent
• Cabinet interiors
• Tiles and grout
• Floor, including behind the toilet

Bedrooms and living areas

• Wardrobe and drawer interiors before clothes go in, including the top shelf and rails
• On top of wardrobes
• Window sills, frames and tracks, using a vacuum crevice tool first
• Light switches and door handles
• Skirting boards
• Radiators and behind them
• Light fittings and lampshades
• Curtain poles and blind slats
• Carpets vacuumed thoroughly, edges included
• Floors mopped last

The jobs that are much easier now

Some of these are genuinely difficult once furniture is in place, so take the opportunity while the property is empty.

• Behind and under the washing machine and fridge. Pull them out while the kitchen is clear. There is usually a surprising amount back there, and the fridge condenser coils benefit from a vacuum, which makes the appliance run more efficiently.
• The tops of kitchen cupboards. A stepladder and a degreaser, ten minutes. Line them with baking parchment afterwards and next time you simply replace the paper.
• Wardrobe tops and interiors.
• Carpet edges and under where furniture will sit.
• Window tracks, with a brush and a vacuum crevice tool, then a damp cloth.
• Light fittings and lampshades.
• Behind radiators, using a radiator brush or a cloth on a ruler.

Timings

These are shorter than the equivalent end of tenancy figures, because the standard is your own rather than an inventory clerk's, and because an empty property is faster to work in.

If you have just bought rather than rented

Buyers have no inventory to worry about but a different problem: you have no idea how the property was maintained, and no recourse if it was neglected.

Prioritise differently.

Change the locks first. You do not know how many keys exist.

Deep clean the kitchen and bathrooms properly. These are the rooms where someone else's habits matter most to you.

Have the carpets professionally cleaned before your furniture arrives. Hot water extraction on an empty house takes a fraction of the time, dries far faster with nothing on the floor, and costs roughly £35 to £60 per room. It is the single best-value thing you can do in the gap between completion and moving in.

Have the oven done professionally once at the start, for £45 to £80, so you have a clean baseline to maintain rather than a backlog to inherit.

Consider having the property deep cleaned entirely before you move in, at roughly £165 to £350 for a two to three bedroom house. Empty, it is quicker and cheaper than it will ever be again.

Check the loft, the airing cupboard and any outbuilding. Previous owners leave things.

Practical points for renters

Test everything in the first week. Heating, hot water, every hob ring, the oven, the extractor, every window catch, the smoke alarms, the shower pressure. Report faults in writing immediately. Faults reported in week one are the landlord's responsibility; the same fault raised in month eighteen invites an argument about how it happened.

Check your gas safety certificate and EICR. Landlords must provide a valid gas safety record and, in England, an electrical installation condition report.

Note the meter readings and take a photograph of the meters.

Find the stopcock, the fuse box and the water shut-off before you need them.

Keep the check-in inventory somewhere safe alongside your photographs.

What to do about problems you find

If the property was not cleaned properly before you moved in, you have a choice, and the right one depends on how bad it is.

Minor issues: clean them yourself, photograph them first, and note them on the inventory response. This protects you at check-out without souring the relationship in week one.

Significant issues, such as an oven with heavy carbon, mould in a bathroom, or genuinely dirty carpets: raise it in writing with photographs and ask the landlord to remedy it. A landlord who declines has weakened their own position at check-out, because they have accepted a lower baseline in writing.

Health issues, such as damp, mould or pest infestation: these are repair matters rather than cleaning ones, and landlords have obligations. Report them promptly and in writing.

Frequently asked questions

Should I clean before or after the movers arrive? Before, without question. An empty property is faster and you can reach everything.

Is it worth paying for a professional move-in clean? For a rental, usually not, since the landlord should have provided it clean and you should be challenging it rather than paying to fix it. For a purchase, often yes, particularly the carpets and the oven.

What if the inventory is wrong and the agent ignores me? Send your response in writing anyway, with photographs, and keep proof it was sent. An unanswered written objection is still evidence, and it carries weight at adjudication.

How long do I have to dispute the inventory? Check your agreement. Seven or fourteen days is typical. If no period is specified, do it as soon as possible.

Do I need to clean if the property looks clean? Do the food-contact and personal areas regardless: inside the fridge, inside cupboards, the shower head, the toilet, wardrobe interiors. Someone else lived there, and a surface clean rarely covers those.