Whether you own property, rent property, or are responsible for cleaning apartments and homes between tenancy contracts, knowing which key spring cleaning tasks to complete is salient! After all, who doesn’t want to leave a clean, beautiful space for the next lucky tenant?
Image by Jaesung An from Pixabay
CLEANING “MUSTS” FOR END-OF-TENANCY CLEANING…
INSIDE OF EVERYTHING
When it comes to the end of tenancy cleaning, even if your floors and waxed and countertops are shiny, cleaning the insides of often overlooked items such as drawers, ovens, and refrigerators is important. This shows your next tenant that you value cleanliness and are thorough in all that you do. Nobody wants to live in an apartment or home that is left with evidence of the last person who inhabited it.
Using a vacuum with a small attachment can make this task easy when trying to reach in tiny drawer crevices or cabinet corners.
Cleaning inside ovens can be a tricky thing. Investing in ovens/stoves with built-in cleaning options is always a worthwhile investment. For homeowners without that option, every manufacturer will have effective suggestions for cleaning their oven. If you own a simple, stainless steel oven, an inexpensive oven and grill cleaner will suffice.
CLEANING WINDOWS
Often overlooked, clean windows are the perfect finishing touch on a beautifully clean apartment. Most people forget about the importance of cleaning blinds and curtains, but having fresh blinds and curtains is not only important aesthetically, but for the respiratory health of your tenant(s).
If you are welcoming new tenants soon, consider cleaning the inside and an outside glass of your home’s windows, replacing the blinds, and having the curtains professionally cleaned. This prevents any buildup of dander from previous owners’ pets, dust, mites, and other harmful, unwanted mess.
A common complaint of first-time renters is that the home they were renting initially smelled of the last owner. Odors from cooking, pets, and life, in general, are trapped in soft fabrics such as curtains, carpets, and linens. Replacing or washing the curtains for your new tenant is a sure-fire way to welcome them into a clean smelling home.
CLEANING CARPETS
While on the topic of fabrics, cleaning carpets is a MUST between tenants! Much like curtains, carpets hold all of the evidence that people lived in the space prior. Life gets messy – especially if a previous renter had pets, young children, or entertained in their living area.
You have many choices when it comes to carpet cleaning. You can leave it in the hand of a professionals carpet cleaning service and save yourself time and effort, or you can take on the task yourself with a rented steam cleaner. Either way, your new tenant will appreciate the effort you put into making their new home pleasant.
WASHING WALLS
When it comes to the end of tenancy cleaning, a surprisingly simple way to put some “sparkle” on your home for a future tenant is to wash your walls from top to bottom, including trim and baseboards.
The human body is a greasy entity – even our fingertips leave oil behind when we touch or smudge walls. Washing walls is a relatively easy way to leave your home looking, smelling, and feeling cleaner than ever.
There are several options for glimmering clean walls. The easiest way involves a bucket of warm water, an old rag or washcloth, dish soap, and lemon juice.
Start by adding a teaspoon of your favorite grease-cutting dish detergent to a large bucket, and follow by filling it with warm water until suds are created. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to this concoction, and use a small rag or washcloth to wash your walls, being careful not to soak the wall.
The dish soap does a great job at eliminating oils from our skin, pet saliva, odors from dinners past, and other smudges and messes that life creates. The lemon juice helps remove soap residue, as well as leaving a wonderful, citrus smell behind.
A few other commonly missed must-cleans for a future tenant:
* Toilets, including BEHIND the toilet, all around the base of the toilet, and the floor around the toilet.
* Drains, including kitchen sink drains, bathroom sink drains, shower drains, and garbage disposals
* Any furniture that is staying behind for the future tenant. This includes steam cleaning soft-sided items and wiping down hard-surface items with a disinfectant
* Under appliances. Appliances like ovens, refrigerators, and any other electronics remaining between residents. If you can move the appliance, you should be cleaning under it.
Creating a good, professional relationship with your tenant is a MUST! Welcome them to their new home by greeting them with a sanitary, comfortable home!
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