The time has come to move out of your rental and move into your new home. You’re excited about your new place but dreading the end of lease cleaning and have your fingers crossed that you’ll get your bond back.
You might think you know how to keep your place clean enough, but there a few things that you’ll only do once a year and might forget. Have you thought about how you’re going to clean the outside of your house? Will you need to hire a pressure cleaner? Did you know you need to do driveway cleaning?
There’s so much to consider, kitchen, bathroom, carpets, walls, windows, light shades, garage, shed, lawn, driveway…the list seems endless and overwhelming. Which jobs do you need to hire professionals for? Which high-pressure cleaners in Perth have a good reputation?
Before you even start, sit down and plan out how you're going to do your end of lease clean. Here are a few helpful tips to ensure you get your bond back.
Know Your Benchmark
Unless you moved into a brand-new property, you’re not expected to leave the house/apartment like it was just built and no one’s ever lived there. There is an expected level of wear and tear that acceptable for each property, it usually depends on how long you’ve lived there.
If you remember back to when you just moved in, you were given the tedious task of going through every room in the house, and the outside, to record the condition of each space. Well, that was your property condition report, and you’re going to need it now.
The property condition report is an agreement between the tenants and the property owner as to the condition of every part of the property. From the carpet to the power points to the ceiling fan. Every inch of the property should be recorded, and more importantly any existing damage the house had.
The good news is that any damage or dirt that was in the property condition report is not your responsibility. The bad news is any damage that occurred during your tenancy could be your responsibility. You should immediately report any damage done to the house immediately to the property owner or rental agent. They will determine whether the damage falls under “wear and tear”, maintenance or is your responsibility to repair.
Now that you understand the level of cleaning required. Let’s get started with some tips to help you get your bond back.
Empty the House
This might not be achievable if you’re living in the house right up until the end of the lease but do your best to start packing up your house into boxes as early as possible. The more furniture and belongings you can pack down the easier it is to clean. By packing everything into boxes you’ll be able to completely empty the rooms you need to clean.
Dry Before Wet
Dust and moisture are a bad combination and can make your task harder than it needs to be. Try to remove all the dust and debris from the room or outside before you start using cleaning products. Wipe, sweep, vacuum and dust every inch of the room before spraying with chemicals or using a mop.
Top to Bottom
The last thing you want to be doing is adding dirt to an area you have already cleaned. Let gravity help you out by starting at the roof and working your way down the walls to the floor. This way you will keep pushing the dirt in one direction and avoid having to go back over an area.
One Room at a Time
It can be overwhelming to clean an entire house in one go, especially if it has a few bedrooms. Break your task into smaller more manageable chunks to help keep your momentum up and feel like you’re making progress. We recommend cleaning one room at a time, then moving on to the next room. Starting from the back of the house and moving forward.
Outside Last
Now that you’ve cleaned the entire house, it’s time to get started on the exterior of the house, which can be where a lot of people may lose their bond. Depending on where you live you may need some heavy-duty cleaning equipment or chemicals to restore the property to what it was like when you moved in.
Just like the inside of the property, the exterior and backyard need to be cleaned thoroughly as well. Follow the same steps you did with the inside of the house:
Remove all furniture – anything that can get in the way of your cleaning needs to be moved away.
Dry before wet – Dust for cobwebs, sweep for debris and rake up leaves before you think about using mopping, spraying or using a high-pressure cleaner.
Top to bottom – The easiest way to remove dirt is by bringing it all down to the floor and sweeping it up.
Back to front – start with your backyard or balcony, move around the side of the house to the driveway and front yard.
Risks of High-Pressure Cleaning
High-pressure cleaning is one of the fastest and most effective ways to ensure your exterior house clean is done to a standard that will get your bond back. You can use a high-pressure cleaning for driveway cleaning, brick and pavement cleaning, limestone cleaning and roof cleaning.
But before you go out and rent a high-pressure cleaner to tackle the work yourself, you need to be aware of the risks that could see you do damage to the property that could result in forfeiting your rental bond.
Each material can only sustain a certain level of pressure before it breaks. For example, wood will break and chip under the same pressure that would be fine for bricks.
Glass is one of the most brittle materials so if you’re cleaning anywhere near glass windows, doors or fences, be very careful to aim the high-pressure cleaner away from the glass.
Water doesn’t remove all dirt and stains. For example, high-pressure cleaning a driveway with water won’t remove any oil stains on the cement or pavers.
If all that sounds too high risk for you, contact DJL Services for a free quote on your end of lease clean. We are a highly experienced and professional Perth pressure cleaner that specialises in end of lease cleaning. We know how to remove stains and dirt without doing damage to the property to help you get your bond back.