If you’re trying to hire a company for cleaning out your home before you move out, you may be wondering what all the different levels of service mean. Specifically, you may be wondering what the difference is between a deep clean and a move-out clean. Are move-out cleans suppose to be deep cleans? Yes, move-out cleans are deep cleanings…but deep cleanings aren’t move-out cleans. Confused? We’ll explain.
In this article, we will go over the main differences between the two types of service, and why you shouldn’t get just a deep clean when you want a move-out clean.
During a move-out clean, the goal is to return the house to its original condition, right before you moved in.
Things That Are Not Included in Deep Cleans, But Are In Move-Out Cleans
With a move-out clean, the cleaners are cleaning a mostly empty house. So they are able to clean 100% of the home. This is an important point—-you only want a move-out cleaning after you have moved all your personal possessions out. It is very hard to do a good move-out clean if personal belongings (especially big items) are still in the house.
While every cleaning company includes and excludes specific things on their cleaning checklists, these are typically things that are not addressed during a deep clean, but are addressed in a move-out (or move-in) clean:
- Baseboards washing
- Wiping the insides of cabinets and drawers
- Detailed tile and grout cleaning/brushing
- Cleaning behind/under kitchen appliances
- Wiping down walls/doors
- Interior window washing
- Cleaning the inside of appliances
This is why move-out cleans cost more than regular deep cleaning. There is much more attention to detail and extra work needed to return your place into its original condition. The point of a move-out clean is to get your place clean enough so you will be able to get your security deposit back.
Difference In Time It Takes
A move-out clean will take much more time than a regular deep clean. A regular deep clean will usually take around 2-3 hours with a team of two people. But a moving clean may take a whole day if the house wasn’t well-kept, even with a team of three-to-four people. We’ve had instances of a 2,000-square-foot house taking over 10 hours to clean with a team of four people.
Because it is a big job that takes a lot of time, cleaning companies prefer to know at least a couple of days in advance that you need a move-out cleaning done. So try not to book last minute :).
Anyway, after reading this article, we hope you now have a better understanding of the difference between a regular deep cleaning and a move-out cleaning. Ordering the wrong service can mean the difference between you getting your full security deposit back and the landlord keeping some of it.
