Move-In Cleaning: What It Includes, Costs and a Checklist
Move-in cleaning is a top-to-bottom clean of an empty home before your furniture and boxes arrive. It covers the places you can’t easily reach later: inside cabinets, closets, appliances, and behind where the couch will go. The best time to do it is after you get the keys and before the movers unload. In San Diego, our flat-rate move-in/move-out cleaning is listed at $79 one-off on our site, and the final quote depends on your home. Below you’ll find what a service covers, typical U.S. costs, a room-by-room checklist, and how to choose a crew you can trust.
TL;DR
- Book your move-in clean for the window after you have access to the home and before the movers unload. An empty home is the easiest to clean thoroughly.
- Clean high to low and dry to wet: ceilings, vents and shelves first, floors last.
- Focus on what you touch, cook on, store food in and sleep near: kitchen, bathrooms, closets and bedrooms.
- U.S. planning ranges run from about $120 for a studio up to $800 or more for four or more bedrooms. Our flat-rate quotes tell you the number before we start.
- With kids, pets or allergies, ask for fragrance-free or low-scent products and keep everyone out until floors are dry and rooms have aired out.
Table of Contents
- What move-in cleaning actually is
- When to schedule it
- What a move-in cleaning service typically includes
- Room-by-room move-in cleaning checklist
- What move-in cleaning costs
- Should you do it yourself or hire a crew?
- How to choose a move-in cleaning service you can trust
- Cleaning products for homes with kids, pets or allergies
- Move-in cleaning with Mexi Maids
- After the clean: keeping the home fresh while you unpack
- FAQ
- Sources
What move-in cleaning actually is
A move-in clean resets a home that other people have lived in, or that sat empty or went through construction. Even a unit that looks tidy can have dust on top of cabinets, grease inside the oven, residue in the fridge drawers and grime in shower tracks. Nobody wants to find that after the boxes are stacked against the walls.
It is different from a regular maid visit. A regular clean maintains a home you already live in. A move-in clean assumes nothing has been done recently and works through every surface, inside and out. If you are curious how it differs from the clean the previous tenant should have done, we explain it in our guide to move-in vs. move-out cleaning.
People search for this under many names: new house cleaning, new home cleaning, pre-move-in cleaning, before-move-in house cleaning, apartment move-in cleaning. They all mean the same job: getting the place clean while it is still empty.
When to schedule it
Timing matters more than most people expect. One moving guide recommends booking the clean for an ideal window after you have legal access and have done an initial condition walkthrough, but before movers unload, because an empty home lets you reach every wall edge, closet shelf and floor.
A practical order of events looks like this:
- Get the keys and do a walkthrough. Photograph each room before anything is touched, so you have a record of the condition you received.
- Finish any repairs or painting first. Dust and drips from trades will undo a clean. If a repaint is planned, this checklist for prepping before painters helps you sequence the work so the cleaners come in last.
- Book the clean for the empty-home window. Ideally one day, and ideally the day before the truck arrives.
- Move in, then unpack. Once the deep work is done, you only need light upkeep.
If your move-in date is tight, tell us up front. We can work to a fixed date, and a trained crew with a set task list is faster than a rushed first-timer.
Before you start: the walkthrough
Whether you clean yourself or hire help, walk through each room first to assess its condition, look for urgent issues such as mold, pests or water damage, and note which areas need pre-cleaning, like floors to sweep or surfaces to wipe. Anything that looks like mold or pest activity is a conversation for your landlord, seller or a specialist before cleaning, not something to wipe over.
What a move-in cleaning service typically includes
Scopes vary by company, so always ask for the list in writing. In general, a move-in clean covers the same core areas, and one checklist describes the priority as surfaces you touch, store food on, sleep near, or can’t reach once furniture is placed.
Kitchen
- Inside and outside of cabinets and drawers
- Oven, stovetop and range hood
- Inside the refrigerator and freezer, including shelves and drawers
- Microwave, dishwasher exterior and sink
- Countertops and backsplash
Bathrooms
- Toilets, tubs, showers and tile, including grout lines
- Sinks, faucets and mirrors
- Inside vanities and medicine cabinets
- Hard-water buildup on glass and fixtures
Bedrooms, living areas and closets
- Dusting ceiling fans, light fixtures, vents and window sills
- Wiping baseboards, doors and door frames
- Closet shelves and rods
- Windows and tracks, inside where reachable
Floors
- Vacuuming carpets and rugs
- Sweeping and mopping hard floors, last
Oven, refrigerator, carpet and upholstery cleaning are services we offer separately, so you can add them to the visit if the home needs more than surface work. Our crews can tailor the scope to your home at quote time.
Room-by-room move-in cleaning checklist
Use this if you are doing it yourself, or hand it to your cleaner to compare with their list.
Method first
Two habits save time. First, work by task, not by zone: dust the whole house, then vacuum the whole house, instead of finishing one room at a time. Second, start at the ceiling and work downward so dust doesn’t settle back onto surfaces you just cleaned. For thick or stuck-on dust, a wet microfiber cloth does better than a dry one.
The checklist
| Area | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Whole home, first | Dust ceilings, fans, light fixtures, vents and top shelves | Dust falls, so do this before floors |
| Air and vents | Replace the HVAC filter, wipe return grates | Clean vents help reduce circulating dust and allergens |
| Kitchen | Wipe inside cabinets and drawers, then clean oven, fridge and microwave | Everything you cook with and store food in |
| Bathrooms | Disinfect toilet, scrub tub and tile, wipe inside vanity | Shared hygiene area, used from day one |
| Bedrooms | Wipe closet shelves, baseboards, windowsills, and vacuum carpets | You sleep here, and it is hard to reach once beds are in |
| Windows and doors | Wipe tracks, frames, handles and light switches | High-touch surfaces |
| Floors, last | Vacuum, then mop | Vacuuming before mopping avoids pushing grit around |
On vents and air quality, the same home-improvement guide notes that replacing HVAC filters and cleaning return grates helps you breathe easier by cutting circulating dust.
San Diego details worth checking
- Sliding door tracks and window tracks. Coastal grit collects there, especially near Pacific Beach, Mission Beach and Coronado.
- Bathroom glass and fixtures. Hard-water buildup is common and needs a dedicated pass, not a quick wipe.
- Garage and patio. Many rentals and condos include them. Sweep and wipe before you store anything.
- Balcony or patio door frames. Wipe the frames and the inside of the screens.
What move-in cleaning costs
There are two ways to price it: by the hour or by a flat quote for the whole job. We prefer the flat rate, because you know the total before the crew arrives.
For context on the national market, one moving resource estimates U.S. planning ranges of about $120 to $250 for a studio or one bedroom, $200 to $450 for two to three bedrooms, and $350 to $800 or more for four or more bedrooms. It puts common add-ons at $25 to $150 each. Those are broad national estimates, not quotes.
Here is what we publish for San Diego on our site:
| Service | Price as published |
|---|---|
| Move-in/move-out cleaning | $79 one-off |
| Deep cleaning | $185 to $225 one-off |
| House cleaning | from $52.50 per hour |
You can see the full list on our pricing page. Your final flat-rate quote depends on the size of your home, its condition and the add-ons you choose, such as oven, refrigerator or carpet cleaning. If you are also moving out of a place, our move-out cleaning cost guide for San Diego County walks through what drives that price.
What changes the price
- Square footage and number of bathrooms. Bathrooms and kitchens take the longest.
- Condition. A vacant unit with a year of dust needs more time than a freshly turned one.
- Add-ons. Inside oven, inside fridge, carpets, upholstery and windows.
- Timing. Short-notice and weekend requests can limit availability, so book as soon as you know your key date.
Should you do it yourself or hire a crew?
Some people enjoy it, and a weekend with a good checklist works for a small apartment. A crew makes sense when the move already eats your calendar, when the home is large, when the oven and bathrooms need real attention, or when you want the work finished by a fixed date. A trained team also brings the equipment and a set routine, so you don’t spend your first night in a new home scrubbing grout.
Whichever you choose, do it before furniture goes in. Moving a bed or a bookshelf twice to clean behind it is the most common regret.
How to choose a move-in cleaning service you can trust
You are handing over the keys to an empty home, so trust matters as much as price. Ask these questions of any company:
- Who will be in my home? Are cleaners employees, and are they background-checked? Will it be the same crew if I book again?
- Is the scope written down? You should receive a clear list of what is included, not a vague promise of a deep clean.
- Is the price flat or hourly? A flat-rate quote removes surprises. An hourly rate needs an estimated time.
- What if something is missed? Look for a reclean guarantee and ask how to report an issue, and how fast they respond.
- Which products will you use? This matters if you have kids, pets or allergies.
- Can I reach someone easily? Bilingual English and Spanish support helps many San Diego households.
- What do recent reviews say? Look for specifics about detail, punctuality and communication.
Here is how we answer them. Mexi Maids is a family-run San Diego company. Our team is trained and background-checked, we send the same crew each visit, we quote flat rates, and we back our work with a reclean guarantee. We have a 4.8-star rating from more than 190 Google reviews. We offer bilingual English and Spanish support.
Cleaning products for homes with kids, pets or allergies
A new home is often the first place a baby crawls or a dog explores, so product choice is worth a moment.
- Follow the label. Cleveland Clinic advises following label directions, never mixing products, wearing gloves, ventilating, and keeping children out during cleaning and for several minutes afterward. Store products closed and up high or locked away.
- Choose low-scent options. If someone in the home has asthma or allergies, an asthma guide suggests products with little to no chemical smell and no VOCs.
- Trap dust, don’t spread it. The same guide recommends slightly moist cloths for dusting and vacuums with HEPA filtration and tight seals so particles don’t leak back into the air.
- Air it out. Keep children and pets away from wet floors, cords and products until the work is done and the rooms have aired.
We use eco-friendly products and offer pet-safe options. Tell us about sensitivities when you request your quote and we will plan the visit around them.
Our perspective: a fresh start deserves a team you know
We started Mexi Maids because our owner found San Diego cleaning services expensive but impersonal. We wanted to bring professional methods together with the warm, attentive hospitality we grew up with in Mexico.
For a move-in, that means we treat your new home the way we would treat our own. We work through it in a set order, high to low, so the dust doesn’t come back. We pay attention to the places that make a home feel fresh: inside the cabinets, around the baseboards, in the shower corners.
It also means you know who is coming. Our crews are trained and background-checked, and you get the same people each visit. If you later move to recurring housekeeping, you already know your team.
We quote flat rates so you can plan your move budget, and we stand behind the work with a reclean guarantee.
Mexi Maids Cleaning Team
Move-in cleaning with Mexi Maids
If you want the clean handled before the boxes arrive, we can do it. We offer move-in/move-out cleaning across San Diego County, from Pacific Beach and North Park to Chula Vista, with flat-rate quotes and a reclean guarantee. Our move-in/move-out cleaning is listed at $79 one-off, and you can add oven, refrigerator or carpet cleaning if the home needs it.
Tell us your address, home size and key date, and we will send a flat-rate quote without a long phone call. Start on our house cleaning page or read about our move-in cleaning in San Diego. Prefer a bilingual conversation? We are happy to help in English or Spanish.
After the clean: keeping the home fresh while you unpack
Once the empty-home work is done, protect it.
- Unpack the kitchen and bathrooms first, so the places you use every day are settled.
- Break down boxes as you empty them so they don’t become a dust and clutter pile.
- Keep a small bin or drawer system for small items. Ideas like these small-space organization moves keep clutter from returning.
- Put a doormat inside and outside the main entrance, and wash floors weekly for the first month.
- Consider setting up a recurring plan. A crew that already knows your home is quicker each visit. See our housekeeping services for how that works.
If the home needs more than a surface refresh, for example after a long vacancy, a deep cleaning may suit it better, and our deep cleaning checklist shows what that includes.
FAQ
How do you clean a house before moving in?
Work while it’s empty, top to bottom. Start with ceilings, fans and vents, then cabinets, appliances and bathrooms, and finish with vacuuming and mopping. Go by task across the whole home instead of room by room, and replace the HVAC filter. Take photos of each room before you begin.
What is the difference between move-in and move-out cleaning?
Move-out cleaning leaves a home ready for the next occupant or the landlord’s final walkthrough. Move-in cleaning prepares it for you, with extra attention to cabinets, appliances, bathrooms and closets you will use right away. Our move-in vs. move-out guide compares them in detail.
How much does move-in cleaning cost?
It depends on home size, condition and add-ons. National planning ranges run from about $120 to $250 for a studio or one bedroom, up to $350 to $800 or more for four or more bedrooms. Our move-in/move-out cleaning is listed at $79 one-off, and we give you a flat-rate quote for your specific home.
When should I book move-in cleaning?
Book it as soon as you know your key date, and schedule the clean for after you have access and before the movers unload. If painting or repairs are planned, finish those first. Tell us your fixed date and we will work to it.
Is it safe for kids and pets?
Keep children and pets out of the home during cleaning and until floors are dry and rooms have aired. We use eco-friendly products and offer pet-safe options, so tell us about any allergies or sensitivities when you book.
Sources
- Your New Home Cleaning Checklist: 16 Easy Tasks (Realtor.com)
- New Home Cleaning Checklist (Lowe’s Move-In Guide)
- Move-In Cleaning Checklist & Costs (BookMyMove)
- Ultimate Move-In Cleaning Checklist For Your New Home (Extra Space Storage)
- How Safe Are the Cleaning Products in Your Household? (Cleveland Clinic)
- Guide for Reducing Allergens and Irritants in the Home (Asthma Canada)
- Checklist to prepare your home for painters
- Small space organization: 10 moves to keep clutter from returning