How To Deep Clean a House Before Moving In (Toronto)

Moving into a new home is an exciting experience. However, some people want to ensure their residence is nice and clean before moving, settling down and starting their new life. But how do you deep clean a house before moving in?

Luckily, Brilho Luxury Home Services is here to help.

The Brilho Luxury Home Services team consists of some of the best cleaning service professionals in Toronto today. Our team of cleaners can handle all your before moving into cleaning needs while teaching you the best practices to deep clean a house or apartment before moving in. Here are a few tips from our experience in cleaning other places to help you deep clean your new home properly.

How To Deep Clean a Home

The thought of deep cleaning the entire home can overwhelm many homeowners. With so many surfaces like windows, floor, fixtures, sinks, and light switches, it’s an intimidating project that often takes hours, if not days, to accomplish. That’s why it’s best to focus on specific areas of the home or specific things or space and tackle them individually instead of doing the whole residence at once. Create a simple cleaning schedule to help you prioritize tasks, time for rest, and estimate the total time needed. Simplify the job by using a checklist or you can download our cleaning checklist pdf.

Before you start, remove any personal belongings left behind by the previous owner and anything else that you feel won’t fit with your style, especially bigger items like furniture. There is nothing more annoying or frustrating than having something there stopping you from cleaning before the move in date.

Deep Cleaning a Kitchen

If you don’t know how to deep clean a house before moving in, it’s best to start in the kitchen. Kitchens are prone to all sorts of messes, smudges, and stains. The high foot traffic combined with food preparation and cooking makes kitchens more susceptible to filth than most other rooms.

When cleaning a kitchen, make sure you are paying special attention to the appliances like the oven, stove, light fixtures, and refrigerator. They usually contain more grime and require a bit more elbow grease to clean entirely.

Ovens

Start by removing the oven racks and placing them in warm soapy water mixture. Let the racks soak and spray the interior with an oven cleaner. Once you thoroughly spray the oven’s interior, allow the cleaning solution to take hold while you wash the exterior with soap and water.

You can also use white vinegar to eliminate stubborn stains on the oven’s surface.

After giving the oven cleaner some time to work its magic, scrub the interior to remove the remaining remnants. Also, wash the oven racks and place them back in the oven.

Stoves

Much like cleaning the oven, remove the racks and drip pans from the stove and place them in hot soapy water. Use a heavy-duty rag and stove cleaner to wipe down the surface and remove any unsightly stains. You may need to scrub the stovetop multiple times to eliminate all the excess splatter spots.

Once the stovetop becomes nice and clean, go back to the racks and drip pans and give them a thorough scrubbing. Since you soaked them in hot water, it shouldn’t take long to remove the stains and debris. After that, dry the racks and drip pans and return them to their original location.

One other area to consider to cleaning is the area under the stove. More often than not, there are plenty of food ingredients cooked and uncooked under the stove. Once you cleaned this area, disinfecting this area will minimize the growth of bacteria that may be harmful to your health.

Refrigerators

Pull the refrigerator away from the walls and counters so you can access all four sides. Vacuum the dust around the area (especially behind the fridge) and remove the shelves and drawers from the refrigerator’s interior.

Use viable cleaning supplies to wash every inch of the refrigerator. This includes the top, sides, back, and interior. After giving it a thorough scrub, clean the removable shelves and drawers and return them to their original location.

Sinks

A sink is usually fairly easy thing to clean. Sometimes, sinks do get stained by food or something else. Using stainless steel sponge or scrubbing pad along with a powder cleaner to remove those difficult stains works most of the time. If the stains persist, using a stronger cleaner with a light acid usually does the trick.

Light Switches

Often neglected, light switches are often covered with dust, grease or food stains from unwashed hands. Removing the face plate and clean around the switch with a moist cloth or use a toothbrush to get to the bottom of the of the switch. It is advisable to turn off the electricity to avoid getting shocked.

Cabinets and Countertops

Kitchen cabinets and countertops are much easier to clean than the oven and refrigerator. Just wipe down the cabinets with a soft cloth and the cleaning solution of your choice. Sometimes there may be food caked on the cabinets. Soften up the dried food with warm water to make it easier remove.

You can also combine water and white vinegar mixture in a small spray bottle and use it to scrub the blemished countertops. The homemade cleaning solution works great on everything including stains that simple soap and water can’t remove.

Bathrooms

Bathtubs and Sinks

Bathtubs and sinks typically require heavy-duty cleaning supplies to clean correctly. However, if you’re looking for a more natural solution, combine baking soda with white vinegar to create a cleaning paste. The paste aids in removing soap scum and makes the cleaning process less strenuous.

Spread the cleaning solution of your choice around the bathtub and sink and scrub them until they become spotless.

You may want to use bleach as an alternative to vinegar. Make sure that plenty of ventilation to avoid being overwhelmed with the smell.

Shower Glass

If you have glass shower doors, use the homemade countertop cleaner (one-part water and one-part white vinegar) to cover the interior and exterior. Glide a sponge over the glass and thoroughly wash the door.

Toilet

Pour undiluted vinegar around the brim and scrub the area with a robust toilet brush. The vinegar removes any remaining substances leftover from the previous owner. You can also replace the toilet seat if you desire.

Floors

People track in all sorts of dirt, dust, and debris when they enter their homes, making floors a haven for filth. Although a thorough mopping and sweeping eliminate most pollutants from hardwood floors, floor tiles and steps, removing contaminants from carpets isn’t as easy.

Start off on hard surfaces by using a vacuum with a good filter to remove the bigger pieces of dirt an debris and to keep the dust from escaping the vacuum cleaner and going airborne.

Running a steam cleaner over carpets is one of the best ways to rid excess dust and grime. You can rent a carpet shampooer or steam cleaner, alternatively hire a professional cleaning service to do it for you. A professional service can also provide further advice on how to deep clean a house before moving in, equipping you with even more valuable knowledge.

For bathrooms, after vacuuming, use a mixture of warm water and a splash of bleach as a disinfectant to clean the floor tile with a mop.

Walls and Ceilings

Most people neglect their walls and ceilings once they move into their new home. However, it’s a good idea to wash them every now and again to ensure they remain nice and clean.

For ceilings, you can use sponge mop lightly saturated with warm water to clean off any stain or remove any dust. If you have a popcorn ceiling, any any applying any moisture on the ceiling and simply use a broom at the corners to remove any spider webs.

Use water and white vinegar to wipe down the walls and remove or fix any imperfections with some filler and paint. You can also use elongated cleaning equipment to cleanse hard-to-reach inside areas like ceiling fans and secluded corners. Just make sure to swap out or clean the utensils before they become too unsanitary.

Now that you understand how to deep clean a house before moving in, you shouldn’t have a problem adjusting to your new home. However, if you want more deep cleaning advice or need help cleaning a specific area of your home, contact Brilho Luxury Home Services. Our team can handle even the toughest deep cleaning projects at a price that fits your budget.

We’ve helped countless Toronto residents deep clean their homes and hope to exceed your expectations for house cleaning services.