Moving out of a Bay Area rental? Your security deposit often depends on how clean you leave the property. After decades of move-out cleanings for renters, landlords, and real estate agents across the Peninsula, we know exactly what gets inspected — and what gets deducted. Here's the checklist we work from.
Kitchen (the deal-breaker room): clean the oven and stovetop inside and out, degrease the range hood, wipe cabinets inside and out, clean the refrigerator in and out (and behind it, if possible), descale the sink, and scrub counters and backsplash. Kitchens carry the most deposit deductions of any room in the house.
Bathrooms: scrub and disinfect the toilet, tub, and shower; remove soap scum and hard-water deposits from glass and fixtures; wipe out cabinets and drawers; polish mirrors; and mop thoroughly, including behind the toilet.
Living areas and bedrooms: dust everything from ceiling fans and light fixtures down to baseboards, clean inside closets and shelving, wipe doors, door frames, and switch plates, clean window interiors and tracks, and vacuum or mop all flooring — including under where furniture used to sit.
Don't-forget items that inspections always catch: air vents and returns, laundry areas (including behind the machines), the pantry, garage floors, and scuff marks on walls. Homes and apartments can hold years of accumulated dust from previous occupants, which is why a move-out clean is deeper and takes longer than a regular cleaning.
Or skip the stress entirely. American House Cleaning's move-in/move-out service covers every item above — we even move appliances to clean behind them. It's why Peninsula real estate agents and property managers have relied on us since 1987. Call (650) 222-0058 for a free quote anywhere from San Francisco to Mountain View, and get 15% off your first service.