Your Ultimate Bond Cleaning Checklist

Bond Cleaning Checklist

You’ve packed up everything and are almost ready to move into your new life in your new home, but there’s one last thing you have to do before you go – clean. End of lease cleaning is some of the toughest house cleaning there is to do. You have to clean everywhere perfectly. It’s not an easy task, we admit. However, if you’ve decided that tackling your end of lease cleaning by yourself is the way to go, have a look at our guide and must-dos to make it a little easier for you. If you’re not up for doing it yourself, have a look at what we include in our end-of-lease cleaning deals. We’re expert end of lease cleaners and we can save you a lot of hassle.

1. Clear Everything Out

Clearing all your rubbish and rubble is an absolute must when you are moving out of your home in Australia. This applies to before and after you carry out your end of lease cleaning. Before you roll your sleeves up and get stuck in, get rid of as much furniture and things that will hinder the cleaning process. When we do our end of lease cleaning, we always require clients to get rid of unwanted items. Therefore we suggest you do the same. This will allow you to clean in every corner of your home and help you to impress your landlord when they come to inspect your property.

During your end of lease clean, you’ll create more rubbish. Be sure to clear this away too! You don’t want all your hard work to be wasted.

2. Give Yourself Time

Do not expect your cleaning to be done in thirty minutes. Even teams of professional end of lease cleaners take a few hours minimum. Make sure that you factor in the size of your home and the state it’s in. If you have a small home and you’ve kept it reasonably clean, it will take much less time than a huge house. We always recommend that you overestimate how long it will take, giving you extra time to play with.

3. Buy Great Cleaning Supplies

The saying that a workman never blames his tools just isn’t true. If you don’t have the proper cleaning supplies when doing your end of lease clean, you’ll never get the job done to the standard that is expected of an end of lease clean. Australian housing inspections are tough, so the products that you use should be too. We don’t mean go out there and buy potent cleaning products, as this can be dangerous. We just mean that buying good quality products and equipment will make your life a lot easier.

Please note that if you do have exceptionally stubborn areas that do require harsher products, you read the instructions carefully, or better still, hire a professional with the proper training to do it for you. For regular end of lease cleaning, we always have the following on hand:

• Mop
• Sweeping brush
• Sponges
• Clothes
• Dustpan and brush
• Scrapers
• Rubber gloves
• Surface sprays
• Disinfectants
• Floor cleaners
• Oven cleaners
• Window cleaning spray
• Vacuum cleaner
• Paper towels
• Dusters

This list is the basic one, but each household will vary.

4. Check Your Tenancy Agreement

Your tenancy agreement is a legally binding contract that could save you. Don’t think of it as something to be used against you, use it as a tool. Read it before you move out and see exactly what it requires you to do for your end of lease cleaning.

5. Clean Every Room Thoroughly

Kitchen

A clean you would normally do as part of your daily life will not be enough for an end of lease clean. Please trust us on this one. We are expert end of lease cleaners and we do not want to see you lose all or part of your rental bond when you move out. Leave no area uncleaned, not even a centimetre. Your landlord will notice. Below are areas to clean. This list is our recommendation and we suggest you adapt it to suit your household.

• Sweep and mop floors
• Clean inside and outside fridges and freezers
• Clean under large appliances that are part of the home
• Use an oven cleaner
• Clean hobs and reassemble
• Clean microwaves
• Empty and wipe clean all cupboards on the inside and out
• Check drains and clean sinks and plugholes
• Bathrooms

Bathrooms

If kitchens require the most amount of cleaning effort, bathrooms are without a doubt an easy second. Most people love ignoring their bathrooms leaving soap scum, toilet stains, and hard water marks to set in. You’ll most likely need to use some cleaning products, so be sure to pop open a window before starting.

• Descale toilets, showerheads and tiles
• Disinfect toilets
• Clean around taps
• Unblock drains and wash away dirt
• Mop floors
• Clean shower doors and mirrors

Bedrooms, Living Rooms, and Dining Rooms

Room layouts tend to be relatively similar in a home, so you can use this general cleaning checklist for most of them. Don’t forget to address any hallways and staircases if you live in a house with multiple floors.

• Vacuum carpets
• Steam clean carpets
• Dust surfaces and wipe down
• Dust and wipe blinds
• Wipe skirting boards
• Clean skirting boards
• Clean light switches/ doorknobs / powerpoints
• Vacuum carpets and steam clean
• Remove cobwebs and dust bunnies

Laundry

If you’re lucky, your apartment might include a laundry room. Here’s a quick tip: Don’t forget to check the lint filter.

• vacuum/sweep/mop floors
• wipe down washer and dryer surfaces
• remove dryer lint
• clean sink, handles, and spout

Balcony

It’s quite common for terrace houses and apartments in Sydney to have outdoor balconies. One of our favourite tricks is to use newspaper to wash balcony screens. It’s a great way to leave streak-free windows that will be sure to impress even your estate agent.

• vacuum/sweep/mop floors
• wash sliding patio doors and tracks (interior and exterior)
• wash window, sills and tracks (exterior)

Garage / Carport / Driveway

If you’re living in a house, chances are you might have a detached garage you’re worrying about. Relax, the garage usually takes the least amount of cleaning time. Also, you might want to pay attention to the stains on the driveway. 

• sweep floors
• remove cobwebs
• empty the garage
• pressure wash the carport and driveway to remove any oil stains
• empty Council bins

Garden / Lawn

If you have a small garden or lawn in your property, allocate some time to mow the law, remove weeds and remove and leaves, twig and dead fruit.

Swimming pool

If you happen to a swimming pool in your house, remember to return the pool to condition as per condition report at the start of the tenancy. If it’s an outdoor pool, it’s best if you clean it one or two days prior to your final inspection. The major places you need to clean are mainly pool surface, floor, clean the waterline and vacuum.

6. Real Estate Agent Approval

You’re done the cleaning but hold on for just one more second. Before you return your keys, there’s that one last step. You’ll need to get your real estate agent’s approval during the final inspection before he/she decides to return your bond in full. If you’ve followed this cleaning checklist, you should feel more than confident about your chances. Our recommendation is to have your real estate agent inspect the property immediately after the clean, so you can efficiently address any issues in person.