Move-in cleaning: what to do before you unpack

An empty flat is a window that closes

When you take the keys, every surface stands clear. No wardrobe against the wall, no bed in the corner, the kitchen worktop bare. The flat will not be in that state again for years.

Once the furniture is in, half of the cleaning becomes impossible and the other half takes twice as long. That is why the clean is worth booking before the removal van, not after it.

What the previous tenant left that you cannot see

• Inside the cupboards: people leaving rarely wipe the shelves
• The folds of the fridge door seal and the bottom of the freezer drawers
• The oven and the extractor filter, where grease collects for years
• The washing machine door seal, which is where the musty smell comes from
• The shower drain and the basin trap
• The strip behind the radiators, and the skirting boards

If you are taking it furnished

Most Budapest rentals come furnished, which means somebody slept on that mattress and sat on that sofa before you. Washing the cover does not change it: what is there is in the foam, not on the surface.

This is the one item most people skip at move-in, and the hardest to catch up on later, because by then the bed is standing in the bedroom.

The order that works

• Kitchen and bathroom first: most of the time goes there, and the products need to sit
• While they sit, the insides of cupboards and the high surfaces
• Then the strip along the walls, the radiators and the skirting
• Windows from the inside, frames included
• Floors last, working towards the front door
• Upholstery and mattresses separately, if the furniture stays

What to photograph on the first day

This is financial advice, not cleaning advice. You do not lose the deposit when you move out. You lose it now, if you document nothing.

Walk the flat with your phone and record every existing fault: the worn parquet, the marked wall, the broken shutter slat, the meter readings. Two years later that is the only thing separating what you caused from what was already there.

The kitchen and bathroom take half the time

In an empty flat the rooms are quick: nothing to move, dust wipes off, floors mop. The kitchen and the bathroom take the same work empty as furnished, because there the slow part is not moving things, it is waiting.

Oven cleaner, descaler and grout cleaner each need ten to twenty minutes standing on the surface. That cannot be sped up, only run in parallel, which is why one cleaner and two cleaners are not the same job at half the speed.

When it is worth calling someone

• The flat stood empty for a while: dust settles, traps dry out, the smell stays
• The previous tenant had an animal
• After a renovation: fine dust settles everywhere and it takes two visits
• It is furnished and the mattress or the sofa is staying
• There is only one day between the keys and the removal van

What move-in cleaning does not fix

• Paint and filler: a marked wall is not a cleaning problem
• Grout where mould went deep: it disinfects, the stain stays
• Faded parquet and worn seat cushions: that is use, not dirt
• Condensation between the two panes of a sealed unit: the seal has failed
• A smelling drain, if the plumbing itself is at fault

How long and how much

An empty two-room flat is typically four to five hours, furnished six to eight. We work by the hour, per person: 7,500 Ft an hour, 9,500-10,500 Ft after a renovation, with a minimum of 37,500 Ft per callout.

With two people the waiting times run in parallel, so it is not twice as fast. It is better than twice.

Common questions