Things to Clean Before Moving In

Whenever you, or someone you know, decide on a new home or apartment there are a few things to clean before moving in. If you aren't careful and don't at least take a little time to clean these areas you can find yourself faced with all kinds of problems that you really don't want to be faced with. While this project shouldn't take you all that much time to do, depending on the level of cleaning that the previous tenants or landlord did to you moving in you could potentially have a bunch of work ahead of you.

• Look for rodents. Before you do any cleaning you should do a brief walk through of your new place. Look in all the nooks and crannies, all the cabinets, and every out of the way place that you can think of. While you are looking at these places keep an eye out for any pests, rodents, or insects. If you do find signs, you should either look closer yourself, or hire a professional to do a thorough examination and inspection. It is always a good idea to handle these kinds of problems as soon as you find them, instead of waiting for them to get too big.
• Cabinets. Take the time to both dust and wipe out all of the cabinets in your home. Cabinets are the perfect places for dirt and grime to collect without anyone noticing. Usually all you will need to do is dust the cabinets, and then wipe them out with a baby wipe or something similar. That should remove any remaining dirt and grime, and allow you to see if there are any other problems that you should address.
• Bathroom. For some reason the bathroom is one of those places that many tenants and landlord tend to overlook. It never hurts to give your entire new bathroom a good cleaning to ensure that there is nothing nasty remaining. In addition, while it may sound a bit silly, it doesn't hurt to change out the toilet seats with something new.
• Appliances. Clean out any and all appliances that came with your new home, particularly the refrigerator. While the fridge is empty it is the perfect time to clean and disinfect it. In addition, this will allow you time to get a closer look, and see if there are any problems with the fridge that you should be aware of and have addressed.
• Hit those floors. Since you have nothing on the floors right now, it is the perfect time to clean them. If you have carpeting, then actually rent or borrow a steam cleaner and do a really thorough job. This way you can ensure that you have no stains that you have to deal with, and that there is nothing nasty or dirty waiting for you to step on.
• Wipe down the walls. Despite what the landlord may think, the previous owner may have been a smoker, or simply not paid attention to cleaning the walls regularly. You will be amazed at how simply wiping down the walls with a damp magic eraser can have a dramatic effect on the overall look of a home. Best of all, if you use a magic eraser, you don't really have to worry about accidentally damaging the walls.

If you think that this sounds like a lot of work, you would be right. Hopefully the previous tenant or landlord has already cleaned all of these areas so all you need to do is a light cleaning of them. However, if you don't want to do the cleaning yourself, there is another option that you can use—hire a professional. They will clean the entire home or apartment from top to bottom, and do it the right way. Granted, this method can be a bit expensive, but it will get the job done.