The New-Home Move-In Cleaning Checklist, Room by Room

The best time to clean a new home is before your first box comes through the door. Start with the kitchen and bathrooms, clean every cabinet and drawer inside, wash the refrigerator, then work through the bedrooms and living areas top to bottom, finishing with the floors. Add a short round of safety checks, from locks to smoke alarms, and the house is ready for your things.

This move-in cleaning checklist goes room by room. Use it whether you are doing the work yourself or checking a professional clean before you unpack.

Before you start

A little setup saves hours. Confirm that the water, power and gas are on, because you will need hot water and working lights. Then gather your kit:

• Microfiber cloths, a few for each room, plus a separate set for bathrooms
• All-purpose cleaner, a degreaser for the kitchen, a bathroom cleaner and an EPA-registered disinfectant
• A vacuum with a crevice tool and brush attachment, a mop and a bucket
• A step stool, a soft scrub brush, an old toothbrush for tracks and grout, and rubber gloves
• Trash bags, paper towels, and new HVAC filters in the right size

Two rules apply everywhere. First, work top to bottom: ceiling fans, light fixtures and high shelves before counters, and counters before floors, so dust falls onto surfaces you have not cleaned yet. Second, clean before you disinfect. The CDC advises cleaning first with soap and water, then disinfecting if needed, because dirt can block the disinfectant from reaching germs. Keep the surface wet for the full contact time on the label, never mix products, and open windows while you work.

The checklist at a glance

Area	Priority	Must-do tasks
Kitchen	First	Cabinets and drawers inside, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, sink and counters
Bathrooms	First	Toilet, shower and tub, vanity inside, exhaust fan, grout
Bedrooms and closets	Second	Closet shelves and rails, baseboards, windows and tracks
Living areas	Second	Fans and fixtures, vents and returns, switches, stairs and railings
Systems and safety	Day one	HVAC filter, dryer vent, locks, smoke and CO alarms
Floors	Last	Vacuum edges and corners, then mop or extract carpet

Kitchen

The kitchen is where the previous occupant's grease and crumbs collect, and it is where your food and dishes are about to go. Do it first and do it thoroughly.

• Vacuum out every cabinet and drawer, then wipe inside, including shelf edges, hinges and the underside of upper cabinets.
• Wipe the cabinet fronts and handles, which carry the most fingerprints.
• Clean the refrigerator and freezer inside: remove shelves and drawers, wash them in warm soapy water, wipe the interior and clean the door gaskets.
• Clean the oven inside, including racks and the door glass, and degrease the stovetop, knobs and range hood. Wash or replace the hood filter.
• Clean the dishwasher filter, spray arms and door edges, then run an empty hot cycle.
• Clean the microwave inside and out.
• Scrub the sink, faucet and drain, and wipe the backsplash and counters, then disinfect food-prep surfaces.
• Pull out the refrigerator and range if you safely can, and clean the floor and walls behind them.

Appliance cleaning takes longer than people expect. In 402 of the 614 move-in and move-out cleans we completed in 2026, the customer had appliances cleaned inside and out, more than any other add-on. Our guide to cleaning the oven, refrigerator and dishwasher in the right order shows how to do all three in one session.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms need the most disinfecting and the most patience. Spray the shower and tub first so the cleaner can work while you do the rest.

• Dust the exhaust fan cover and light fixtures, then wipe the mirror and medicine cabinet inside and out.
• Empty and wipe the vanity drawers and the cabinet under the sink. Check for leaks or water damage while it is empty.
• Scrub the shower, tub, glass and tile, removing soap scum and hard-water scale. Our guide to removing hard water stains covers stubborn build-up.
• Scrub grout lines and treat any mold spots. Replace a moldy shower curtain liner rather than washing it.
• Clean the toilet top to bottom, including the base, the hinges and the floor behind it, then disinfect.
• Clean the sink and faucet, and run water down every drain to check that it flows.
• Wipe baseboards and the door, then mop the floor.

Bedrooms and closets

Bedrooms are lighter work, but closets are where previous occupants leave dust, hangers and the occasional surprise.

• Dust ceiling fans, light fixtures and the tops of door and window frames.
• Wipe closet shelves, rails and the closet floor, and clean the inside of any built-in drawers.
• Clean windows inside, then vacuum and wipe the sills and tracks, where dead insects and grit collect.
• Dust or wipe the blinds, and check that they work.
• Wipe light switches, outlet covers, door handles and doors.
• Hand-wipe the baseboards.

Living areas, hallways and stairs

• Dust ceiling fans, light fixtures and any high ledges.
• Remove the covers on air vents and returns if they lift off easily, wash them, and vacuum inside the duct opening as far as you can reach.
• Spot-clean marks on washable walls, especially around switches and along hallways.
• Clean stair treads, railings and banisters.
• Wipe built-in shelving, window sills and the front door, inside and out.
• Clean the laundry room: wipe the washer drum and gasket, the dryer drum and the area behind both machines.

Systems and safety checks

These are not cleaning tasks in the strict sense, but they belong on day one, because they are easiest before the house fills up.

• Replace the HVAC filter. You have no way of knowing when it was last changed, and a fresh filter means you are not recirculating the previous occupant's dust. Note the size and the date so you know when to change it next.
• Clean the dryer lint screen and check the dryer vent duct for lint build-up, which is a fire risk.
• Change or rekey the locks on every exterior door, including the garage entry, and reset any garage door codes. Renters should ask the landlord before changing locks.
• Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, and replace batteries if they are weak.
• Find the main water shut-off and the electrical panel, so you are not looking for them in an emergency.
• Run every faucet, flush every toilet and check under the sinks for drips.

Floors last

Floors come last in every room, after everything above them is clean. Vacuum hard floors first, using the crevice tool along baseboards and in corners, then mop. For carpet, vacuum slowly in two directions. An empty home is the ideal time for a professional carpet cleaning with hot water extraction, because nothing has to be moved and the carpet can dry before furniture goes down. Customers added deep carpet cleaning to 189 of our 614 move cleans this year.

If you only have one evening before the movers arrive, our guide to first-night cleaning priorities covers the minimum: the bathroom you will use, the kitchen surfaces you will cook on and the bed area.

When to hand it to a pro

Done properly, this checklist takes a full day for an average apartment and longer for a family home, and it usually lands in the busiest week of the move. If the kitchen and bathrooms need real work, or you are moving in from out of town, a professional move-in cleaning covers the cleaning sections of this list in one visit, with cabinets and closets cleaned inside as standard and appliances and carpets available as add-ons.

Hello Cleaners confirms your price before you book, so you can get a quote with photos of the kitchen and bathrooms and know exactly what is included. Keep the systems and safety checks for yourself; they take an hour and give you a clear picture of your new home.