Move Out Cleaning and Move In Cleaning: Fridge, Oven, Cabinets

One list for an empty home, before or after the truck

A move in and move out clean is a one time cleaning for a home with nothing in it, booked online across the Atlanta metro. It is the same cleaning service whether you’re moving out of the old home or into the new one; only the date changes. People search for moving cleaning services under several names, from end-of-lease work to a move-in cleaning service. Here it is one cleaning package with one checklist, and nothing on it is an add-on.

A house cleaner on a normal visit wipes the outside of things because the inside is full. Once the dishes, food and clothes are gone, the interiors become the job: every cabinet and drawer, the refrigerator and the oven, inside and out. On a standard visit those are separate extras. Here they are already in the list.

Ads promise to make your home sparkle, a stress-free move and rooms that look like new. None of that can be checked at the walk-through, and “spotless” is not a standard either. An open oven door is. So the list names places, not adjectives.

Who books it, and when

• Renters ending a lease: the day after the truck leaves, before the keys go back. Read the move-out clause of your lease; the list is the same whatever it says.
• Sellers: once the furniture is out, to have the home cleaned before the buyer sees it empty.
• Property owners and managers: between tenants, before showings.
• Buyers and new tenants: for a new home move-in, the day before their own truck arrives. You come home to a clean house on the first night.

That last case is the argument for moving into a new home this way. Once the boxes are open, each cabinet holds dishes for years. The empty day is the time to clean it.

How the visit runs

The team works from the top down, because dust falls. Fans, vents and blinds come first, then the cabinets, the microwave and the stove top. The refrigerator and the oven each get a thorough cleaning inside and out. After cleaning sinks, tile and toilets, the team polishes the glass and taps, and surfaces are sanitized with antibacterial spray. A move leaves dust and debris in corners that furniture covered for years. With nothing in the way, the team can vacuum or mop floors wall to wall, finishing with the wet and dry mop.

The deposit: what this visit can and cannot do

No visit can promise to get your security deposit back. In Georgia the landlord decides under your lease and O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34. The deposit is due back within 30 days after the owner gets the unit back, and it may not be kept for ordinary wear and tear. Your lease sets what a clean home means at move-out.

Georgia law does not require a professional cleaning service when you leave; some leases do, so read that clause. Take photos of each room after the visit, the open oven and refrigerator included. If you are cleaning your home yourself, our Georgia move-out checklist and deposit guide has a do-it-yourself version of the list and the state rules.

Timing, keys and notes

Moving day is the wrong day for it: the truck, the keys and the utilities all land on it, and an empty-home cleaning job can only start once the rooms are bare. Whichever day you make your move, the best cleaning date is the day after the truck leaves, or the day before it arrives. Book as soon as you know it.

You do not need to be there. Three things decide whether the visit runs as booked: the home is empty, the power and water are on, and the team can get in. Put the key arrangement in the notes field, which holds 2,000 characters: a lockbox code, the hours of a leasing office, a neighbor who holds the key.

How to compare cleaning services for a move

Whether you need the visit before or after the truck, ask any company the same questions, and get the answers in writing.

• Does the list name the interiors? Look for cleaning every cabinet and drawer inside, the inside of the oven and of the refrigerator. “Kitchen cleaned” can mean the fronts only.
• Are those included or extras? Here they are in the list; on our standard visit they are extras.
• Is the total shown before you commit? Here it shows online for your size before you confirm, and no payment is taken when you book.
• Who brings what? Ask whether the crew will bring their own cleaning supplies. Here, put any supply question or product preference in the notes before the visit.
• Is there a walk-through? You should be able to open the oven and the cabinets with the team before the keys go back.

Extras, larger homes and limits

Carpet cleaning can join the same booking by room, stairs or hallway, and bare rooms are the easiest case for it. Sizes for this list stop at four bedrooms and two and a half baths. For a larger empty home, book deep cleaning, which runs to six bedrooms, and add the oven, the fridge and the kitchen cabinets as extras, or call or email with the ZIP and the room count. Offices and commercial spaces are not booked here: they need a separate scope covering rooms, access, frequency and operating hours, so call or email first.

It is not a paint job, and it does not carry out furniture or bagged trash left behind. It is not a spring cleaning of a lived-in home either: if you still live there on the date, the cabinets stay full and the list cannot be run as written.

After you settle in

The visit before the truck is the first cleaning in the new home and the last one with the cabinets empty. Once you are settling into your new home, your cleaning needs change from interiors to upkeep. To stay on top of it, recurring cleaning is a regular cleaning with the same standard maid service weekly, biweekly or monthly, each date booked on its own; monthly cleaning leaves the longest gap between cleanings. For a single visit, house cleaning services are booked online as One Time Cleaning.