When should I book a move-out clean?

Book it for as close to your walkthrough date as you can manage, and ideally once the property is empty. Tell us the date you hand over keys when you send the request — the owner schedules the visit against that date so the property is inspected clean rather than several days lived-in.

Does the property need to be completely empty?

As close to empty as you can manage. Anything still in the property has to be cleaned around, and “cleaned around” is exactly what a landlord walkthrough is looking for. If some items genuinely cannot be moved, tell us in the request so it is priced and planned for rather than discovered on the day.

Do you clean the oven as part of a move-out clean?

It should nearly always be included for a move-out, because the oven is the single most common source of a cleaning deduction. Confirm it when you request the clean so it is quoted in — an oven is a job with its own timeline and it should not be squeezed into the end of the day.

How much does a move-out clean cost in Columbus?

We do not publish a price, because the size of the property, its condition, and whether the oven and any carpets are included change the job substantially. Describe the property in the request form and you will get a straight number quoted to that actual space — no menu pricing and no surprise charges on the day.

June 30, 20265 min read

Getting your deposit back: the move-out clean

Landlords look at the same five places every time. We clean all of them, and everything else too.

Illustration of an emptied rental kitchen ready for a move-out walkthrough: cabinets and drawers open to show clean interiors, the oven door down, moving boxes by the door and a key on the counter

A move-out clean is one of the few cleaning jobs with a pass/fail result attached to it. Either the walkthrough goes well and your deposit comes back, or it does not and the deduction is usually larger than the clean would have cost.

The good news is that landlord walkthroughs are predictable. They check the same places, in roughly the same order, every time.

The five places every landlord checks

The oven. The fridge, inside and underneath the drawers. Bathroom grout and the shower. Window sills and tracks. And the inside of every kitchen drawer and cabinet.

Those five account for the overwhelming majority of cleaning deductions. They share a common feature: they are all places you can live with for years without ever properly cleaning, because you stop seeing them.

Miss one and the deduction is usually bigger than the cost of the clean. That is the whole economic argument for booking one.

Why an empty property is a different job

A move-out clean is not a house clean performed on an empty house. The absence of furniture changes what the job actually is.

Every cabinet gets opened and wiped inside, because for the first time there is nothing in them. Every closet shelf gets dusted. The marks where furniture stood get cleaned rather than worked around. Skirting that has been behind a sofa for three years finally gets reached.

Floors get done last, walking backwards out of the door, so nothing gets walked back across a finished floor. It sounds obvious and it is the step most commonly skipped.

Timing it against your walkthrough

We schedule move-out cleans against your walkthrough date, not loosely in the same week. The property needs to sit clean rather than lived-in when it is inspected.

When you send the request, tell us the date you hand over keys. The owner schedules the visit around that date personally, which is the point of an owner-run company for a job with a deadline attached — there is no dispatcher to renegotiate with if the date moves.

If your move date shifts, tell us as soon as you know. Rescheduling is normal; discovering on the day that the property is still full of boxes is not.

What we need from you

An empty property, or as close to it as you can manage. Anything still in the house has to be cleaned around, and cleaned around is exactly the standard a walkthrough is looking for evidence of.

Access arrangements, and the handover date. If there is anything you already know the landlord is particular about — a specific mark, a fixture they mentioned at the inventory — say so. It goes on the job rather than relying on us guessing what a stranger will look at.

And tell us whether the oven is included. It nearly always should be for a move-out, and it is the single most common source of a deduction.

Common questions

When should I book a move-out clean?: Book it for as close to your walkthrough date as you can manage, and ideally once the property is empty. Tell us the date you hand over keys when you send the request — the owner schedules the visit against that date so the property is inspected clean rather than several days lived-in.
Does the property need to be completely empty?: As close to empty as you can manage. Anything still in the property has to be cleaned around, and “cleaned around” is exactly what a landlord walkthrough is looking for. If some items genuinely cannot be moved, tell us in the request so it is priced and planned for rather than discovered on the day.
Do you clean the oven as part of a move-out clean?: It should nearly always be included for a move-out, because the oven is the single most common source of a cleaning deduction. Confirm it when you request the clean so it is quoted in — an oven is a job with its own timeline and it should not be squeezed into the end of the day.
How much does a move-out clean cost in Columbus?: We do not publish a price, because the size of the property, its condition, and whether the oven and any carpets are included change the job substantially. Describe the property in the request form and you will get a straight number quoted to that actual space — no menu pricing and no surprise charges on the day.