Moving is expensive enough without losing a deposit over an oven you ran out of time to scrub. And if you’re selling, the first showing happens whether or not you got to the baseboards. Either way, the last clean is the one that costs you money if you skip it.
Here’s what actually gets checked, room by room, based on the move-outs we do around Carrollton.
Start with the truth about timing
Clean after the house is empty. Not during the packing, not around the furniture. Every surface you clean while boxes are still in the room gets dirty again when those boxes move. If your lease ends on the 31st, plan the clean for the 30th with the keys still in your hand.
Give yourself more time than you think. A three-bedroom done properly is a full day for one person who knows what they’re doing — longer if the oven and fridge haven’t been touched in a while.
Kitchen
The kitchen decides most deposit disputes.
- Inside the refrigerator, including drawers, shelves, and the seal around the door.
- Inside the oven, plus the racks and the drawer underneath.
- Inside the microwave, top and turntable.
- Appliance fronts and the sides you can only see once the fridge and stove are pulled out.
- Cabinet fronts, and the inside of every cabinet and drawer.
- Sink, faucet, and the caulk line behind it.
- Under-sink cabinet — check for leaks while you’re in there and report them.
- Countertops, backsplash, and the light fixture over the sink.
Bathrooms
- Toilet, including the base and behind it.
- Tub and shower, with attention to the grout line and the door track.
- Mirror, vanity, and inside the medicine cabinet.
- Exhaust fan cover, which is almost always gray with dust.
- Baseboards behind the door.
Bedrooms and living areas
- Baseboards in every room. This is the single most common thing renters skip and landlords check.
- Inside windows, window sills, and blinds. Window sills collect dead bugs and Georgia pollen in equal measure.
- Cobwebs in ceiling corners and above door frames.
- Closet shelves, rods, and floors.
- Light switch plates and door handles.
- Ceiling fan blades.
- All floors swept, vacuumed, and mopped, including under where furniture stood.
Garage, laundry, and the parts people forget
- Sweep the garage, corner to corner.
- Washer and dryer, inside and out, including the lint trap and the seal on a front-loader.
- Patio or porch swept.
- Trash fully removed — not left at the curb on a non-pickup day.
- Filters replaced if your lease requires it. Many West Georgia leases do.
What sellers should add
Buyers judge with their nose before their eyes. A house that smells like a previous life reads as neglected, no matter how clean the counters are. Prioritize:
- Inside windows, so listing photos and showings get real light.
- Baseboards and trim, which show up plainly in wide-angle photos.
- Any pet odor at the source — carpet, bedding, and the room your animals used most.
- Exterior first impressions. A pressure-washed driveway and porch changes the front photo more than anything you can do inside.
When to hire it out
Do it yourself if you have a clear day, an empty house, and no landlord known for finding problems. Hire it out if you’re closing and moving in the same week, if the property is a rental with a strict inspection, if you’re managing the move from another state, or if the numbers just work — a deposit is often larger than the cleaning.
Our Move-In/Move-Out cleaning is built for exactly this list. It covers everything in our Deep level and adds baseboards in all rooms, inside windows, window sills and blinds, cobwebs, inside the refrigerator, and a swept garage. Pricing runs by bedroom count — $225 for a 1BR, $285 for a 3BR, and up from there, with the full table on the pricing page. Homes over 4,000 sq ft, give the office a call.
If you’re turning a property for short-term rental use instead, our Airbnb cleaning level adds washer and dryer inside and out, beds made with sheets washed and dried on site when a washer is available, and dishes washed and put away.
Book the last clean early
Move-out dates cluster at the end of the month, so the calendar fills. Call (774) 488-4704 or request a quote as soon as you know your date. Everything we use is non-toxic and safe for whoever moves in next — including their pets and kids.
We handle move-outs throughout Coweta County, Douglas County, Douglasville, and Newnan. Request a Quote online or call Pure Heart Cleaning Solutions at (774) 488-4704.
