Austin move-out cleaning checklist

Kitchen

• Oven interior, racks, door glass and the drawer underneath
• Range top, drip pans, knobs and the hood filter
• Fridge and freezer interior, shelves, drawers and the door gasket
• Fridge exterior, top and handles
• Microwave inside and out
• Dishwasher door edges, gasket and filter
• Every cabinet and drawer, inside and out
• Counters, backsplash and the edge where they meet
• Sink, faucet and disposal flange
• Light switches, outlets and the floor under the toe kick

Bathrooms

• Tub and shower walls, floor, glass and track
• Faucets, showerhead and drain covers
• Toilet bowl, seat, hinges, base and the floor behind it
• Vanity top, sink, and inside drawers and cabinet
• Mirror and medicine cabinet
• Exhaust-fan cover
• Towel bars, toilet-paper holder and door hardware
• Floor and baseboards

Bedrooms, living areas and closets

• Closet shelves, rods and floor
• Baseboards in every room
• Doors, frames and handles
• Light switches and outlet covers
• Window sills and blinds
• Ceiling fans and light fixtures
• Nail holes noted — patching is a repair, not cleaning
• Floors vacuumed and mopped, corners included

Laundry, garage and outside

• Washer and dryer exteriors, lint trap, behind if accessible
• Laundry shelf and floor
• Garage swept and cleared of everything that is not staying
• Trash and recycling carts emptied
• Patio or balcony swept
• Nothing left in the attic, shed or yard

The ten spots most often missed

These are the places where an otherwise clean home most often gets flagged at a walk-through:

• The oven floor and door glass
• The fridge door gasket and the drawers
• The range-hood filter
• Inside the top kitchen cabinets
• Baseboards behind doors
• Blinds, slat by slat
• Ceiling-fan blades
• The floor behind the toilet
• Window tracks
• Light-switch plates and door handles

Texas deposits: what the law says, briefly

This is general information, not legal advice. Under Texas Property Code Chapter 92, a landlord must refund a security deposit on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the premises, may deduct for damages and charges the tenant is legally liable for under the lease, and may not deduct for normal wear and tear. The landlord is not obliged to refund until the tenant provides a written forwarding address. The Texas State Law Library has a plain-language guide.

Normal wear and tear is not the same as dirt. Faded paint and worn carpet from ordinary use are wear and tear; a greasy oven and a scaled shower are usually treated as cleaning. Check your lease for any cleaning clause.

Renters: take dated photos of every room after cleaning, including inside the oven and fridge, and send your forwarding address in writing. Landlords: photograph before anyone cleans, so the condition the tenant left is on record.

Do it yourself or hire it out?

A small apartment in good condition is a reasonable weekend of work for one person with the right supplies. It stops being reasonable when the oven and fridge need serious work, the bathrooms have heavy scale, there is trash or furniture left behind, or the deadline is tomorrow. That is when a professional move-out cleaning, a heavy-duty clean or a cleanout is worth pricing. For a firm deadline, see emergency and last-minute cleaning.

Related vacant-home services

About Bailey & Bear Cleaning

Owner-operated in Austin, Texas. The owner oversees the written cleaning scope, access plan, schedule and final quality check for every vacant-home job. The price is agreed in writing before work starts, and anything found on site that falls outside the scope is raised before it is touched. Certificates of insurance available on request. Call or text 512-689-8346; the line is open 24/7, and crew availability is confirmed before booking.