As your lease ends, cleaning and restoring the property to its former glory should be your top priority. This is the only way you can get your full deposit back from your landlord. It’s also your legal responsibility.
But it’s easier said than done. Tenants go through a lot of issues when performing end of lease cleaning. Time management, lease agreements, knowing which spots to clean, and which equipment to use are some of the common challenges.
In this guide, we’ll tackle all the end of tenancy cleaning challenges and how you can deal with them before inspection day.
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Top Challenges of End of Lease Cleaning
With the clock ticking and the landlord demanding your leave, it can get really frustrating to do end of lease cleaning perfectly. It’s even worse when you have to do all the rental property cleaning yourself.
Whether you’re in this all alone or have some helping hands, here are the challenges you might face during final inspection cleaning.
Lack of Time
Time management for end-of-lease cleaning is the very first challenge you’ll face. Just like memorising everything the night before the exam isn’t a good idea, making the move-out cleaning checklist within a short time isn’t wise either.
As we’ve said initially, the outcome of this directly affects your deposit return. You’re cleaning to get bond back. You shouldn’t procrastinate. Making a list within a short time can potentially lead you to miss spots or forget about equipment completely.
Landlord Inspection Criteria
We should always read all the terms and conditions before moving in. Many landlords have high demand for end of lease cleaning. Meeting all these demands can be a big challenge for people who are unfamiliar with cleaning.
If you’re unable to meet all these specific demands, the landlord can easily deduct the balance from your deposit. A Forum user named Spenzeit has reported that their landlord compensated 390$ from their bond for not meeting the specified cleaning demands.
Tools and Equipment
It’s only natural to assume that you’ve never done end of lease cleaning before. Deep cleaning before moving out can be a huge challenge if you’re not sure what tools or equipment you should use.
Using the wrong tools and equipment can worsen the issue. For example, using the wrong cleaner for carpet cleaning can damage the fibres. Furniture, floor, windows, doors, carpets, and home appliances all of these can be affected if you use the wrong cleaning supplies for lease end.
The Cleaning Process
Let’s just assume that you’ve got all the right cleaning supplies, but how do you properly utilise them? Yes, there might be instructions written on the label, but relying solely on those labels isn’t wise.
You need experience in the field. You should know which spot requires what type of cleaning solution. You also need to know when you should stop applying the cleaning solution. More isn’t always better!
Also, generally speaking, it’s really difficult to deep clean an entire house. Wall cleaning, mould and mildew removal, and cleaning hidden spots can really put your patience and skills to the test.
Eco-Friendly Cleaners
As the whole world is moving towards a greener future, it’s only natural to think that you’d want eco-friendly cleaning supplies. Not only that, but many landlords now demand eco-friendly cleaning.
But how do you know whether the cleaning supplies you bought are eco-friendly or not? With the rise of false claims in Australia, it’s getting harder and harder to figure out the truth. It even has a name, called “greenwashing”.
Qualification
Being unfamiliar with cleaning isn’t something to be ashamed of. In this case, hiring professional cleaners to do the job for you is a good move. However, the challenge arises when picking a company.
How do you know which one is the best? How do you know you won’t receive poor-quality service? Spending such a big amount of money only to fail the inspection will hurt a lot. Fear not. We will discuss how you can overcome this challenge.
How to Overcome the End of Lease Cleaning Challenges
The challenges might feel exhausting, but don’t lose hope! They’re easy to overcome if you’re determined enough. So, here are some bond cleaning tips to overcome the end of lease cleaning vacate cleaning difficulties.
Time Management
Time management will only be a major issue if you start late. Don’t procrastinate and start early. Make a detailed cleaning checklist to ensure you don’t miss spots.
If you’re not sure about which spots you’re supposed to clean, check the entry condition report of your property. This will include photos, videos, or documents describing the original condition of the property.
Just to make your job easier, you’re not responsible for fair wear and tear. This includes deterioration of property due to environmental exposure. However, dirt, debris and grime aren’t a part of fair wear and tear.
Making the Checklist
Before you start making the checklist, we would recommend inspecting the entire property yourself. Find the spots that need cleaning. Apart from the landlord’s specific requirements, here’s a general idea of the things you should put on your cleaning checklist –
- If you have damaged the walls, repaint them.
- You need to clean all the windows and tracks.
- Remove all hooks, screws or possessions from the walls.
- Clean the outdoor patio.
- Clean all the home appliances like the oven, fridge, and stove.
- Clean bathroom and kitchen.
- Restore furniture.
Here is a detailed list of things you need to clean in order to get your full bond back. The list can get longer or shorter if your landlord specifies.
We would also suggest inspecting the spots yourself. This way, you can cross-check whether the area actually needs cleaning. Putting a spot on your checklist only to find out it doesn’t need cleaning can waste time.
Eco-Friendly Solutions
If you’re not a fan of commercial products or you’re just afraid of scams, there are homemade solutions for eco-friendly cleaning. These alternative solutions include baking soda, lemon juice, white vinegar and general-purpose soap.
All of these are natural and biodegradable alternatives that act as cleaners, deodorisers, and mild bleach agents. Since they are biodegradable, you don’t have to worry about harming nature. You can also get certified eco-friendly cleaners from your local shop if you don’t want the hassle of mixing all these yourself.
Hiring Professionals
Generally speaking, carpet, window oven and appliance cleaning requires precision and experience. You might also face pet-related cleaning issues when doing it yourself. It’s not worth the hassle.
Just hire professional cleaning services for tenants and sit back. You just hand them the checklist or your landlord’s requirements, and they’ll do the rest.
As for how you can choose the best company, check their qualifications. Certificate III in cleaning operations is one of the best measures for judging quality. You can also compare prices. If they don’t want to disclose the price, consider that a red flag. ACCC legally requires them to display their full price.
And, of course, don’t forget to check the company’s online reviews. Google them and check what the users have to say about them. You can also ask them to refer to some previous clients so that you can talk to them directly, asking them about their experience.
End of Lease Cleaning – Hiring Professionals Vs Doing It Yourself
Seeing all the difficulties and challenges, it’s not surprising to hire professional cleaning services instead of doing it all by yourself. And you’d be right to do so. For starters, likely, you don’t have the manpower to pull it off in time.
Even if you do have the manpower, there’s no guarantee that everyone knows how to deep clean the house. Not meeting the property manager cleaning expectations can impact your bond return.
DIY move-out cleaning also poses the risk of damaging possessions such as carpets, walls, patio, furniture, doors, and windows. Saving money by doing it yourself is not worth it if you ask us.
Professionals can certainly fulfil the lease agreement cleaning requirements. With the requirements fulfilled, you’ll get your bond returned. Professionals also provide insurance so that if anything goes wrong, you’ll get a refund.
So, unless you’re 100% sure that you can pull it off in time without making matters worse, we suggest calling the professionals. Hand the task to them, and rest assured!
Final Words
End of lease cleaning has many challenges, but with the right preparation and plans, you can get your full deposit back without any issues.
If you’re not sure how to tackle the challenges, we are here for you. Eco Cleaning Brisbane has over 20 years of experience serving Brisbane. From specialised checklists to 100% guaranteed satisfaction to fully licensed cleaners, we have it all.
We use green products to ensure nature is unharmed. We also have a bond guarantee. If the property manager finds issues, we’ll re-clean it without any charge!
