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Property/DIY

Should you clean the house you're moving out of?

84 replies

WantToMoveNorth · 20/01/2013 19:56

We are due to move house in a couple of weeks and I was planning to do a thorough clean of our house before we hand it over to the new buyers (clean oven etc). However as I will be 30 wks pregnant with twins I've asked my Dh & ILs for a hand but they've all said I don't need to clean, just a vac will do! Surely it's polite to leave the house as clean as possible or have I got it wrong?!

Thanks!

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RandomMess · 20/01/2013 20:01

It's a nice thing to do but not usual IME

NewFerry · 20/01/2013 20:03

I always have, but tbh it feels like a one way street because no other person does.

bigbadbarry · 20/01/2013 20:05

Yes! Everybody does (don't they?!)

Littlefish · 20/01/2013 20:06

I did.

FidgetPie · 20/01/2013 20:07

Yes - within reason (not sure I would clean the oven though)

notnowImreading · 20/01/2013 20:09

Of course. Imagine the shame otherwise...there's always unexpected filth behind things, no matter how clean you think you are normally.

I moved into a house where the previous owners didn't clean and I was disgusted for weeks and made a lot of fuss to everyone who would listen, including the neighbours who remained friends with the filth-monsters.

LittleChimneyDroppings · 20/01/2013 20:10

Yes.

MirandaWest · 20/01/2013 20:10

We did (actually we paid cleaners to do it)

CMOTDibbler · 20/01/2013 20:10

A basic clean is fine - I vac and clean the bathroom, but thats it. However your dh etc should be packing you off to somewhere to be looked after for the day and not letting you worry about cleaning at all.

bigbadbarry · 20/01/2013 20:10

(Also, if you can't do it, given the grand expense of moving, you might add 30 quid to the pot and get a pro in! My previous house before this had been professionally cleaned and it was very lovely to move into)

happynappies · 20/01/2013 20:10

I moved house three weeks after I had my baby, last October, so I feel your pain! I tried as best I could - cleaned the oven beforehand, emptied out kitchen cupboards in advance and cleaned them one by one and on the day MIL helped to clean the bathroom. The stair carpet got quite dirty with the removal men tramping in and out (they did put dustsheets down, but even so they still made a mess). We did the best we could under the circumstances - but I did feel it wasn't great :( The house we moved into, thankfully, was spotless :) If I were you I'd do what I could in advance, if the budget won't stretch to a local cleaning company who would come and in and do it for you. Good luck!

PixieHot · 20/01/2013 20:16

I always clean the house that I'm moving out of, then move into an unclean house and clean that too . I guess other people don't clean the house that they're moving out of, then move into a clean house, grr.

wheredidiputit · 20/01/2013 20:17

I would and did when we moved.

And then spent 2 weeks cleaning this house. I don't think she cleaned the house in the time she lived here. Finished in Sept 1999 and we moved in here in Feb 2002.

aJumpedUpPantryBoy · 20/01/2013 20:17

Yes, imagine arriving at your new home to find it was grubby.

I'm eternally greatful to the lady we bought this house from - it was immaculate when we arrived. I don't know if she did it herself or paid a cleaner but it was lovely to be able to just get the furniture in without having to clean first (unlike the previous house we bought)

In fact, I remember saying to DH 'Take a good look, it's unikely to be this clean ever again'

GuffSmuggler · 20/01/2013 20:20

We paid a cleaner £40 to make it lovely, it is a disgrace to leave a dirty house for the new owners. When you look at the cost of moving, it really is small change!

Clayhead · 20/01/2013 20:25

I always leave it as clean as possible - we moved into a dirty house last time though. Have also used cleaners too and it was well worth the money IMHO.

mum23girlys · 20/01/2013 20:26

I would clean it too. I spent ages cleaning our last house then got to our new one and it was an absolute filth pit. We knew it was grotty before we bought it but nothing could've prepared me for the level of grime I walked in to find. Bathroom was so disgusting I wouldn't even let the removal men use it till I'd cleaned it. I spent the entire first weekend cleaning the kitchen and then a full day to clean the oven before I'd use it. The first day I sat and cried. The poor removal men just pretended they didn't notice and kept telling me I'd have it as nice as the old place in no time. Been here 4 months now and LOVE IT.

Got a good laugh the following week when the old owner turned up to collect a parcel and I asked if they'd managed to buy somewhere and he replied that they were renting as his wife was so houseproud she was struggling to see past other peoples clutter and wanted the 'perfect' house

PandaNot · 20/01/2013 20:28

I didn't clean mine because I was due to give birth four days later. However my DM and DMIL did it for me because they wouldn't even consider leaving it dirty. I stood and watched while looking after the toddler.

SanityClause · 20/01/2013 20:29

We once sold a house with a longish chain. The lady who bought it didn't get to move in until nearly 5:00pm.

I was so pleased we had cleaned it well. I would've felt terrible about her moving in tha evening and then having to clean as well.

AnnoyingOrange · 20/01/2013 20:31

I would be embarrassed not to leave the house clean when I moved out

stargirl1701 · 20/01/2013 20:36

Yes.

WantToMoveNorth · 20/01/2013 20:48

Thanks everyone. I'm going to ask my sister to help. There is no way DH would pay for a cleaner, even if it does make sense! As for packing me off for the day- I wish!

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DeepRedBetty · 20/01/2013 20:48

When we last moved we paid a cleaner to do each room as we left, and I'd done a bit of a purge in kitchen cupboards as we'd packed.

The house we moved into wasn't spotless but she'd done the kitchen, bathroom and vacuumed round.

The people we sold to complained bitterly though as 'there were a lot of cobwebs in the garage'! ffs

CocoNutter · 20/01/2013 21:17

We haven't sold our house yet but I do intend to leave it as clean as possible unless the buyers mess us around lots in which case I won't care as much. Our house was filthy when we moved in - inch-thick dog hair along the skirting boards, carpets had to be cleaned professional using industrial-strength cleaner, grime needed to be scraped off the kitchen cupboards with a wallpaper scraper. I'd never want anyone else to have to deal with that, regardless of whether or not they're houseproud!

CocoNutter · 20/01/2013 21:18

Whoops. I do sound a little petty, don't I?!

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