Why You Should Clean Your Dallas House Before Moving

Posted on July 27, 2022

person using gloves and sponge to scrub sink

Time to move = time to clean. Not only do you have to clean your existing home, you have to clean the new house you’re moving into. You can’t rely on other people’s versions of a “good cleaning.” That’s why you need to take matters into your own hands and make sure your new house is sparkling clean and up to your standards before you settle in.

Your first step is to call a Dallas mover. Your next step is to read this blog and see why you should clean your home before moving in Dallas, home to 1.3 million and the fourth largest metro area in the country.

What You Should Clean Before Moving Out

Moving out of an apartment? You’ll need to make sure it’s clean before you move out, at the very least to get your security deposit back. Moving from a house? It’s common courtesy to clean the home before the new owners move in. Here are the cleaning tasks to concentrate on:

Remove screws and nails from the walls; putty the holes
Dust everything, ceiling fixtures, baseboards and ledges
Clean windows
Clean doors and sanitize door knobs
Clean outlets and light switches
Bathrooms, including toilet, sink and shower
Kitchen including appliances such as the stove and refrigerator (if staying)
Dust, sweep, vacuum and mop all rooms
Mow the grass
Sweep out the garage

What You Should Clean Before Moving In

If you have access to your new home or apartment before you actually move in, it’s best to give it a deep clean so you can move your family into a sparkling clean and sanitized house. If you don’t have the time or live too far away to do it yourself, hire a professional cleaning company.

Here’s a checklist of what to do:

Clean the kitchen, including refrigerator, stove, cabinets, and counters
Clean all bathrooms, including sinks, showers and tubs
Vacuum and dust all rooms
Mop or sweep the floors
Sweep the garage

This is a general overview of what to do. Now let’s take a deep dive into specific cleaning chores. Some people prefer to do a much deeper cleaning for the house they’re moving into, sort of on the level of a spring or fall cleaning. This is actually a great time to do this, before the furniture and belongings clutter everything up.

Kitchen

Oven: Remove oven racks and wash them in the sink with soapy water. Spray and scrub the oven, or use a paste of baking soda and vinegar, says My Move.
Sink: Apply steel wool on stubborn stains if you have a stainless steel sink, or like above, you can utilize a paste of vinegar and baking soda. Once the stains are gone, use a mixture of water and lemon juice to make it shine.
Cabinets: Dust and wipe cabinets inside and out, as well as the tops where all the dust accumulates.
Countertops: Using a solution of one part water and one part vinegar, clean all countertops.
Refrigerator: Pull out the refrigerator and vacuum behind it. Then, clean the inside and outside of the refrigerator itself. Soak racks and drawers in soapy water in the sink, then scrub and dry thoroughly. Put them back in at the heights and adjustments you want.

Bathroom

Using a simple paste of baking soda and vinegar is a good alternative to expensive or harsh chemicals. Scrub the tub and sink with this paste. Then, clean glass shower doors with glass cleaner or one part vinegar and one part water in a spray bottle. Using undiluted vinegar, pour this in the toilet and scrub. It’s not a bad idea to replace the toilet seat.

Floors

Rent or buy a steam cleaner and clean the carpets, or hire a company to do it for you. Mop and polish any hardwood floors.

Walls

Wipe down the walls with a soft cloth and some water and vinegar. Don’t forget the corners, which is where dirt and cobwebs tend to congregate.

Now that you know what to clean before moving out and then in, you can get peace of mind knowing both houses will be at their best!

Contact Around the Block Moving Company

Before you pick up even one dust mop to clean your existing home, call our movers for a free quote on moving in Dallas at (214) 433-6734.