Move-In Cleaning near you

HSE's guidance for landlords sets out the principle clearly, and it applies to anyone taking on a property that has been standing. Water must not be allowed to stagnate within the water system, and where a property is vacant, outlets on hot and cold water systems should be used at least once a week to maintain a degree of water flow and minimise the chances of stagnation. Where a property is to remain vacant for long periods, HSE points to a suitable flushing regime or other measures such as draining the system.

Most homes are low risk, and HSE says so: the risks from hot and cold water systems in most residential settings are generally considered to be low because of regular use and water turnover. The point of a move-in clean is that regular use is exactly what has not been happening. Its summary of control is the one to remember on the day — keep the hot water hot, cold water cold and keep it moving.

Showers get the specific mention because they make droplets. HSE advises that showerheads be regularly cleaned and disinfected, which on a move-in day is a natural job: take the head off, descale and disinfect it, and run the shower to drain, ideally with the head removed or submerged so the spray is not thrown around the room. Run every tap, flush every toilet, and cycle the hot water through before anyone uses the bathroom properly.

Government guidance on damp and mould, updated 1 April 2026, is direct about the stakes: the respiratory effects of damp and mould can cause serious illness and, in the most severe cases, death. It explains that mould is a fungus which grows in moist environments, that excessive moisture promotes the growth of mould and other fungi, and that moisture from normal occupant activities such as showering, drying laundry and cooking builds up in the air around a home if it cannot be removed.

A property that has been empty arrives with an unfamiliar version of this problem. Unheated rooms have been cold, windows have not been opened, extractors have not run, and any existing moisture problem has had time to show. Before the furniture goes in is the only moment you can see the backs of the walls and the bottoms of wardrobes, so look at the external corners, behind where a wardrobe stood, under windows and around any flat-roofed extension while the rooms are bare.

For the first fortnight the useful habits are the ones the guidance names. Make sure the rooms that produce moisture, the kitchen and the bathrooms, have adequate ventilation, open windows periodically, and run extractor fans while and after showering and cooking. Moving in usually coincides with a lot of washing and a lot of drying indoors, which is the worst possible combination in a house that has not been heated for a month.

The common discoveries are not disasters, but they are all easier now than later. Grease behind and under a cooker that came out for the first time in years. A washing machine filter that has never been opened. Carpet that looks acceptable until the furniture is gone and the traffic lanes appear. A silicone seal round a bath that is black rather than dirty, which is mould growing in the sealant and needs the seal replaced rather than scrubbed.

Then there are the things that are not cleaning problems at all: a damp patch in a corner, a musty smell from a cupboard on an external wall, a window that has failed and misted internally, or an extractor fan that runs but moves no air. It is worth separating these from the clean rather than asking a cleaner to make them go away, because the fix is a different trade and the evidence is best gathered while the room is empty.

If you are renting, everything in both paragraphs belongs on the check-in record. A condition noted and photographed on day one cannot be charged to you on the last day, and that is the whole reason the record exists.

Because the property is empty, the quote is about condition and count rather than about access. What moves it is how the last occupants left the kitchen, the state of the oven and whether it is a double, the number of bathrooms and how much limescale they carry, how many cupboards and drawers there are to do individually, whether appliances are staying and need to be cleaned inside, the floor finishes, and whether the work has to fit into a fixed window between the keys and the removal van. A tight time slot can cost more than a large house.

LokalMatch handles introductions and stops there. Describe the property once with your postcode and the date you get the keys, and cleaning businesses covering that area get in touch with you. There is no charge to homeowners; pros pay for the leads they receive. LokalMatch does not do the cleaning, does not set or approve prices, and does not vet, rank or recommend anyone, so comparing what each quote actually includes is your job rather than ours.