Money Saving Tip—Do a Move-Out cleaning and get your deposit back.
State laws mostly say that it is the responsibility of the renter to return a home in the same condition that it was given to them in, minus any normal wear a tear. If you are considering entering into a rental agreement, you might want to learn more about your rights and responsibilities in Washington, which you can find here: https://tenantsunion.org/rights/before-vacating
Once you are in a rental agreement keep a few tips in mind to make the experience as smooth as possible.
Communication with your landlord is priceless. Discuss matters before they become a problem.
Take pictures when you move in. Take pictures when you move out.
Keep a copy of your rental agreement to refer to when you have questions about repairs, neighbors, ending the agreement, or maybe getting a pet.
Ask for repairs to be done immediately when you see a problem. You probably agreed to do this in your rental agreement plus it really helps the landlord fix a small problem before it becomes a big one.
If you are experiencing any financial problems, discuss them with your landlord immediately so you can work together to sort the issues out and find a solution.
When it’s time to move out, you will need to return the home in the same condition you received it in. Below I’ll detail exactly what that means.
Schedule a pre-move-out walk through with your landlord to discuss expectations.
Ask for a rental reference from your landlord. These are excellent character references to show your next landlord or employer.
Provide your landlord your new mailing address so they can send you back your security deposit timely.
Don’t turn off your utilities until the Move Out cleaning is done.
Return your keys and get a receipt for them.
Too often a very large amount of money is left behind when you don’t follow the terms of the rental agreement by doing a thorough Move Out cleaning of the home. The law allows for a property owner to have the home cleaned and then bill you for any expenses. However, experience has shown me that when a property owner is adding up the expenses to do a Move Out Cleaning those amount seem astronomical compared to the typical costs a renter would incur to do the same work. I don’t know the magical math and how this happens, but I do know the best way to get your deposit back is to take responsibility for the Move Out cleaning yourself.
Refer to your rental agreement and see if you agreed to have the home, inside windows and carpet cleaned by a professional or can you do it yourself. You will also want to make sure you took good care of the outside of the property. If you let things go in the yard by not doing agreed upon maintenance, get a lawn care professional out there too so you don’t get charged for those services by your landlord. Schedule a pre-move-out walk through to discuss expectations with your landlord.
The good news is that if you can do the cleaning yourself you can save some money. The bad news is that doing a Move Out cleaning by yourself is a lot of work! And it just so happens that it needs to be done right after you just experienced the exhausting task of moving into your new home. In any event, I’ll teach you everything that needs to be cleaned so you’ll know what to expect from a professional house cleaning service and what to clean if you are doing the Move Out cleaning yourself.
Below is my check off sheet that I use for a Move Out cleaning service. Feel free to contact me at Cindy@happyhouse509.com if you have any questions about how to complete any of these items or what solutions to use.
The general rule of any house cleaning project is to start from the top and work down. This is because dirt will fall on surfaces below while you are cleaning them. You don’t want to clean the carpeting and then clean the ceiling fans causing a bunch of dirt to land on your snowy white clean carpeting.
Another general rule is to ask as many friends as you can to help. This is so it doesn’t turn into a three day project where you spiral into hating yourself and questioning every life decision you have every made . Order some pizzas, put on some music and have fun!
Start the project by detrashing. Make sure every cupboard, drawers, closet, and the garage are totally empty of trash. Then vacuum those drawers, corners and floors before you clean them.
Put whatever you can in the dishwasher to wash. This includes the knobs on stoves, the glass in the microwave, any shelves or drawers from the refrigerator, or even glass light fixtures. Let machines do some work for you.
Speaking of machines, don’t forget to clean the inside of the washer, dry and dishwasher also.
If you feel confident that you can pull out the oven and refrigerator without damaging the flooring, pull those out so you can clean behind them.
Now it’s time to put on your gloves. Turn the oven to about 200 degrees, after it’s hot, turn it off and spray it with oven cleaner and shut the door. For the top of the oven use a special formula oven cleaner made especially for the tops of stoves. Follow the instructions to wipe off when it’s ready to do so.
Spray a hard water or soap scum remover, like Kaboom, in the showers and on faucets so those solutions have time to do their magic while you do other things.
Move from task to task so you are not fatiguing one area of your body for too long. Do this in a way that is still working from top to bottom and staying organized. Maybe cleaning one room at a time might work for you.
Use telescope cleaning wands to reach high places. Use your sense of humor and be on your best behavior too so your friends won’t resent ever agreeing to help you. In fact, this might be a good job to do with a potential life mate, just to see how they handle this crap job. You can learn a lot about someone’s personality doing difficult tasks like this or putting together an IKEA bookshelf.
Click here for 5 easy tips to professionally clean your outside windows.
Clean your carpeting last. Allow at least 24 hours for it to dry completely. If you do this yourself, vacuum the carpeting very well. You would have already vacuumed and mopped your hard floors first. Then use a store rented machine to shampoo your carpeting. This is a tedious task. Add the cleaning solution exactly as directed. Remove the solution from the carpeting diligently.
