The Move-Out Cleaning Checklist Landlords in Raleigh Actually Use

Hey, Joseph here. I'm one of the cleaners with Triangle Home Cleaners, and a chunk of my weekly route is move-out work for some of the bigger property managers in Raleigh and Durham. I've stood next to inspectors more times than I can count, and I'll save you the suspense: they aren't looking at the parts of your apartment that look clean. They're looking for the same five things tenants always miss. This is the list I'd hand my own kid before they moved out.

Move-out cleaning is a different animal from regular cleaning. The standard isn't "looks nice" — it's "passes an inspection from someone who is actively looking for reasons to withhold money." Here's the checklist we use, broken down room by room.

Kitchen (the highest-stakes room)

• Inside the oven — including the door glass and racks.
• Inside, outside and on top of the refrigerator. Pull it out and clean the floor.
• Inside the microwave and dishwasher (run an empty cycle with vinegar).
• All cabinet interiors and drawers vacuumed and wiped.
• Range hood and filter degreased.
• Backsplash, especially behind the stove.

Bathrooms

• Hard-water and soap scum removed from all glass and chrome.
• Grout scrubbed in showers and around tubs.
• Toilet base, bolts and the wall behind it.
• Exhaust fan covers removed and washed.
• Medicine cabinet and vanity drawers cleaned out.

Whole home

• Every baseboard hand-wiped, not just dusted.
• Doors, door frames and light switches wiped — these are the inspector's favorite.
• Walls spot-cleaned for scuffs, handprints and any sticker residue.
• Every window interior, sill and track.
• Blinds dusted slat by slat.
• Ceiling fans and vent covers.
• Carpet vacuumed in straight lines; hard floors mopped twice.

The things tenants always forget

• The dryer lint trap and the wall vent.
• The top of the front door.
• The garage floor.
• Patio and balcony — especially if you grilled.

Hire it out or do it yourself?

A 1,500 sq ft apartment, done to passing standard, is a full Saturday for two people who know what they're doing. If your deposit is more than the cost of a professional move-out clean — and in the Triangle it almost always is — outsource it. Triangle Home Cleaners backs every move-out against the property manager's inspection: if they flag something, we come back and fix it, free.