We are attempting to clean our own apartment before we leave. Granted, it is small (only 3.5 pieces) so we think we can attempt this task ourselves.

Our landlord was kind enough to give us a list of what he is looking for in terms of a clean apartment when we move out and I thought I'd share.

In addition to being immaculately clean, these things also need to be considered:

1. Unroll umbrella on balcony and clean
2. Clean the rollers on the window shades (front and back)
3. All taps on sinks must be opened and cleaned and de-calcified
4. Oven vent must be cleaned and replace filter
5. Dishwasher must be cleaned inside and salt and liquid containers must be filled
6. Remove name tags from post box, entrance to building and anywhere else
7. Post box and cave must be cleaned
8. Close all light fixture holes
9. All drains must be clear

Can anyone add to this list something I may be forgetting?

Windows: including glass, frames, seals and sills.
Bathroom tiles cleaned and limescale stains removed.

Oven and internal fittings, seal need to be spotless.

Kitchen wall units not only inside but underneath and on top.

Otherwise I think you have it covered.

Any bathroom or kitchen accessories if need to be replaced buy them yourself as they can charge double.

For your own benefit, make sure the electricity meter is checked and the amount noted.

In bathrooms and kitchen room ventilators, remove the plastic front and clean the filters behind.

Make sure the oven is spotless: I once had to dismantle a door, as there was fat behind the front glass, and impossible to reach.

To save scrupulously cleaning the WC seat, I buy another one and take the old one with me: this always leaves a good impression.

Do not try and repair wooden floors, it needs an expert.

Your 3rd party insurance will pay for any accidental damage.

It is always advisable to have some KY on hand and practice bending over and touching your toes........

It's pretty much nailed on that you are going to get f..ked!

If you can actually clean it to their standards, then that's great. But I think you have to keep in mind, if they are unhappy, they will bring in their own cleaning company and charge you for it. So in the end, you might not be better off than hiring a company with a hand-over guarantee. And you might have wasted a whole day trying to do it yourself.

Watch out for calcium deposit stains on sinks and plugs too. These will need to be removed. You can often buy replacement silver plugs in larger Migros.
We also had complained because of a couple of full stop sized dots on our windows.
As someone who has previously done a self clean when moving (I will never do it again) I would reccommend getting the landlord in a couple of days before official checking out day. Then he can point out things he is not happy with. Good Luck

Or save yourself a lot of hassle and pay someone with a guarantee to do it.

If someone were to... oh, I don't know... "forget" to take their lights with them... would that cost them extra in the end cleaning?

Because I don't have a ladder and I don't really need them and, well... I think they should just stay in the ceiling.

I would imagine it would depend on the new tenants preference.

I was lucky at both of apartments I have occupied here to have the lights up and that was great for me.

But then others might want to go get their own.......................FREAKS!

You would need to take the lights unless the new tennant wants them and you would have to pay to have them taken down. I am sure you can borrow a ladder or I can do them for you And

Does anyone know how to deal with the holes on a wooden ceiling? As I'm living on the top floor of the building, so the ceilings are made of wood. Once I remove the lights, there would be holes left over. I don't know whether I can just leave them like that.

You can get various different wood fillers from somewhere like OBI. Check with your landlord first as he may ask you to just leave them.

I see. Thanks.

I think I'm going to pay myself to do the cleaning. Wish me luck! I'll let you know what the landlord nitpicks me for.

If you don't have a ladder, either someone installed them for you or they were there when you moved in. If the latter is the case, and they are on the inspection report, they can stay. If not, you have to take them down and cap the wires (because they will be live). As for filling the holes, check your rental contract, sometimes you leave the holes, and pay per hole, other times you fill them.

What you should not do is leave a bulb hanging connected to wires.

If the holes were not there before, fill them. The good news is that wood is much easier to fill than other surfaces. The trick is finding wood filler that is the right colour. The best material to work with in my experience comes in tubes. If your ceiling is not real wood, you can still use wood filler.

When we moved out of our old flat, we also did the cleaning ourselves. My husband was shocked on the 3rd day (from morning till ten at night) we were still cleaning. We really did everything and even things you saw from laying on the floor and looking up. Was loads of work but it payed off. Our tenant came in for a check, was very impressed and I had then the feeling she was looking for something. What she did find, was with an acrobatic headstand a bit of kalkstein waaaaaaay back in the loo tube. Seriously, who checks there when moving in?? Anyway, got some mean clean stuff from the pharmacy and the problem was gone in a few minutes. We got the ok and could had no extra charges.

What really annoyed me was that a day later our freshly cleaned carpet was replaced with wood flooring and my nicely cleaned bathroom was used my the craftsmen as their break room - cigarettes in the basin plus toilet and the kitchen was a mess. I really wonder then why they wanted from us a spotless flat when they anyway after the big mess had to get a firm in to clean?

The rules here are stricter than anything I've ever seen!