Did you clean your old house before you moved out?

We moved to our present home in May this year and like most people who have written here, left our old house spotless. I even employed the cleaners the removal company offered to vacuum and wash the floors as the removal men moved from each room-every other surface, skirting board, window and cupboard were already done. Sadly the house we’ve moved into was filthy. The lounge stunk of wet dog, every corner in the house had black cobwebs hanging, every radiator was clogged with animal hair and dirt, every cupboards was dirty. We had to have everywhere professionally cleaned before we could put anything away.
I could say so much more but when you’ve made the humongous decision to move, the thrill of being somewhere new is totally killed when you walk in to your new home and find yourself in a “dirty” nightmare! How some people can actually have the nerve to leave a house like it is beyond me.

Our sellers even took the loo seat!! I can't recall that it was anything special, just a standard wooden one. But when we got here there was a pink plastic seat and the wrapping and leaflet with fitting instructions was on the floor! It meant it only needed a quick wipe over (And given that there was a carpet in the loo which we removed pretty quickly due to the smell I am glad they did take the old seat with them.)

eazybee Thu 16-Sep-21 09:19:51

Every wife I’ve ever known has left her (military quarters)house “absolutely spotless” to march-in to a house “absolutely filthy
I agree. No experience of military living, and I have only moved into new houses. but so many women like to complain in martyred tones that their new home, even holiday let, is filthy and they have had to clean it from top to bottom.

Mine was one of these 'absolutely filthy' ones.
It had been snowing heavily in Germany before the march-out
All the carpets had been cleaned but with so many people moving about to check on me, I had laid down newspaper where anyone might tread to inspect my cleanliness ( Sin # 1)
The sofa supplied had been atrocious.... hard and covered in tacky orange nylon so I had requested that the formerly-used, overstuffed, squidgy Sanderson fabric sofa be left in its place. This was comfortable..... we could even use it.
I did not realise until too late and I had moved it out of the room to clean the floor that it had sprung a leak underneath. It was not too big a thing but too late to do anything with. My husband was charged £200 for the assault on the delicate senses of our replacement when she had a tiny trail of stuffing to clear up. Interestingly she would rather be uncomfortable so the nylon effort came back
Cyprus.... Everyone quaked at the thought of march-out. The officer carrying out the inspection was so ill-tempered and assessed everything ....usually
I had , however, signed up to take Greek classes and he taught the small group
March- out came.... he leant against the door -frame and peered into the depths of the house. 'I can't see anything wrong here at all'( There wasn't either') and it was passed immediately as fit.
HK..... plates sealed together with curry and henna hand marks on towels. The inspectors found nothing so I demurred ' Madame, the occupant was a Colonel.... you can't stop him taking his flight'
One of the doctors dis-assembled the gas stove , could not re-assemble it again so left all the spotlessly clean pieces in a polythene bag

Meanwhile in the UK....0ur own tenanted house had been painted chocolate brown.... one of the windows nailed open with a 6' nail, the 2 y.o twins had been allowed to run riot with a pair of scissors on bathroom tiling and woodwork, ink spilled on pale carpets......
Their replacement ran orgies I think. In fact saw our house in a travel programme on Forces tv. We found cupboards containing leather skirts and whips... others full of bottles... a wavy brown line just below ceiling level which the ''agent'' aassured me was from cannabis fumes..... traces of large dog activity and decent crockery and cutlery used for digging the garden
We moved 31 times in 34 years but we never received satisfactory recompense for all the damage caused in our own home. It was always a nightmare

Always left houses sparkling and received thanks from new owners.
Other than when moving into a new house we have never been lucky enough to get anything similar! Old broken furniture, carpets - once their furniture was gone - filthy. Heartbreaking to have to scrub and clean before even unpacking the kettle to make a drink!
It reminded me of when I offered to help my neighbour - local Dr's wife - when they were moving. I was asked to let the removal firm in and hand over the keys as they were off for a few days holiday. They had left trash cans overflowing, the remains of breakfast on the table, and when the furniture was moved, you could see nothing had been moved in years and no cleaning had been done! The new buyers called their Solicitors in - who thinking I was the seller - promptly took me to task over the mess !!

When we moved into our current house, we were leaving a new-build flat where we were only three years.
Of course it was always very clean and we left it in the same condition.
Our previous owner in this property was an elderly lady who had passed away and the house had been empty for about a year. We heard from our neighbour that she was a hundred and one years old with hearing and visual problems so we did not mind that the house needed plenty of TLC.
We have now refurbished and got it to a reasonable standard.

Always tried to leave a property as clean as I would like to find a new property. Last time I move my neighbour was told new owners felt they could eat their dinner off the floors.

My fil and his new wife lived in my first house for 3 months prior to our getting back from honeymoon. They had moved out just before we got home and left the place filthy. I remember sitting on the loo crying at the state of the new bathroom. And she’d used the new kitchen work surface as a chopping board. Never liked either of them but there again they soon went off each other. When I divorced I was happy to have nothing more to do with them.

I am in the leave it spotless group as we always do if we rent a holiday cottage. However, I cannot imagine anyone responding and saying that they would leave a house dirty.

I left that to H as myself and our pets were already living in our new property which was three hundred mile away.

my brother recently moved out and 3 people independantly made sure everything was out and the place was left clean and tidy.
However it was not good enough for the new owner who is taking him to court claiming over £300 for a skip to remove 'rubbish' such things as a fitted bedroom to even include a bar of soap and a spray bottle of window cleaner.

So make sure you take photos of how you left you old house as people can be very mean!

I personally would never leave my house uncleaned.

Yes Katyj, also ex military and I got a thank you card from the couple who moved into my old house. There is no way I would leave a mess for someone else, the last thing you want to do on moving day is start cleaning before you can put your stuff in.

I got in one of those teams that do end of tenancy cleans and they came in with steamers and everything. The new owners sent me a card to express their appreciation.

I am 'hoping' to move by the end of September to avoid the Stamp Duty, but it's not looking likely now as it is exactly 2 weeks today!!

I have had to sign something to say that my house will be left clean and tidy when I leave, but as I unable to do it myself, I will need to find someone to actually do it! I do know the house I am moving into will be spotless as apparently she is there daily doing things to the house and garden, and I would be mortified if I left mine in a state for the new owners, although they have said not to worry, but I do!!

I thought everyone cleaned their house as they moved out! If you don't have time yourself, there are companies that will happily do the job for you!
The sellers obviously had the idea that you would be instantly replacing everything that was in the house as soon as you moved in or was it sold as "needing improvement" in the estate agent blurb ?
Whatever, it's really rude to leave things in such a state so that your first days are spent cleaning everything!
Makes you wonder what other things you will find!
Could be worse - my cousin moved into a house that when she viewed it was absolutely beautiful.
When they arrived , fairly late in the day after a long journey, including the removals van having a flat tyre, she realised that although it might have been left fairly clean , all the door handles from the kitchen cupboards had been removed, the shower head had also disappeared, several curtains (that had agreed would be left) were not there and most of the lights bulbs had gone! They spent their first night by torchlight (the previous owner had very kindly left one in one of the handless cupboards) and unable to pack away kitchen equipment because they couldn't open the rest of the cupboards!

Ha ha! That's so funny! You'd think someone would have the guts to admit " I left my house like a sewer...." ! The thing is those who live like scum in abject filth think it's perfectly normal, well it is -for them! I've been in plenty where you wipe your feet on the way out.....and they're as happy as a pig in muck! Offering a brew in a jam jar......and tea/coffee(guess?) Is always a milky grey colour....bless em

A few days before we left our house of 29 years my cleaner came in and did a good clean (I'm disabled, and had needed a cleaner for a while) and on the day we moved out a friend vacuumed every room as it was emptied. I don't suppose it was immaculate but it was as clean as we could make it.
We already knew the doors were hanging off the kitchen cupboards of the house we were moving into so we weren't really surprised to find a layer of grease over the counter tops in the kitchen and the whole place a mess. But then that's how it was when we saw it and decided to buy so I can't really complain.

It's not always possible to leave an immaculate house, sadly. When we moved from our first house, I had been ill for a week with the flu (the real flu not the "bad cold" type of flu) and my husband had been doing all the packing, as well as working full time, so he was exhausted. The most we could do was leave the kitchen and bathroom as clean as we could, and we hoovered as each room was emptied. I would hate to think that the couple who moved in would have judged us as harshly as some of the people on here.

By law in Denmark, a property has to be emptied completely of furnishing and private property, including lamp and light fittings when you leave it. A ceiling light has to be left in working order in the kitchen and in the bathroom, but everywhere else they are the property of the person moving out.

Attics, cellars, garages and garden sheds have likewise to be cleared.

If this is not possible, in the case of an elderly person with no help moving out, or a property bought as the estate of a deceased person with no heirs, it has to be clearly statedsin the sales contract and lowers the price of the property.

Anything left in the house when you move in, except kitchen fittings such as the sink and cooker is yours to dispose of.

We moved into a scrupulously clean house, with more than the regulation light fittings, but found there was furniture left in it. Not much, but we made the mistake of asking the daughter of the previous owner whether she wanted any of the things and it took her months to come and collect them.

I have always made sure that all fitted cupboards were clean, the attic emptied and swept, the bathroom fit to be used and the kitchen clean.

By law there is nothing you can do in a private property if it resembles a pig-sty when you move in, except contact the estate agent, who might well help you recover the cost of professional cleaning from the seller.

Building society houses and flats have completely different rules and moving in to them, you can demand the former occupant or the society clears and cleans a property left full of things and filthy at their expense.

Gardens too are expected to be moderately well-kept and an estate agent will point out that a neglected property will be harder to sell and that the buyer will demand a substantial lowering of the price.

You can have a clause put in tenancy agreement that must be in clean state with no belongings or rubbish left, the security deposit would cover and breaches

Can't you have one fitted yourself? I wouldn't bother asking twice! If they don't like it keep the old one and plonk it back when ya move on!

I've never had to...still live in my childhood home. Four generations of our family have lived here.

I haven't moved for ages, but helped my daughter and son in law move onto theirs about 8 yrs ago. It was filthy!! Like a midden! Hair all over stairs, blood spatter on radiators, shower cubicle had been used as a tanning booth, dried eggs on outside of 1 big picture window (wondered why blind was pulled down!) Took a full bottle of cillit bang and a scraper to remove it!! Even left a freezer in the garage unplugged with food in!!! Minging!!! How can people live like that??! I complained to estate agents about it

I cleaned out my home before leaving,left loo paper and all bulbs in place,when I moved into my home many years ago the previous owner had left it in a good condition and it really helped.
I take on board the leaving numbers of reputable tradesmen etc-very good idea.

Me and my DS#1 cleaned our old home inside out! It was spotless a very different story to how I found it, filthy, disgusting and all the detritus of 2 "professionals"(yeah right!) And a huge spaniel! It also took me weeks to 'bottom it out' . I always think it's very telling how people live in private. I'm always gobsmacked at what a friend thinks acceptable for her bathroom to look like whenever they have a BBQ etc. Knowing that people will be using facilities and not bothering to even give a cursory clean is disrespectful to guests and more pertinently- herself too!

I have moved several times and always tried to leave each house 'As I would wish to find it'. I remember moving out of our first home when my late Mother hoovered herself backwards out of the door, ensuring that there wasn't a speck on the hall carpet. Our last move was from a house that I had found in a spotless state, and we left it just the same. I put clean guest towels, soap and a loo roll in the bathrooms, and a bottle of wine and a card for the new owners, a delightful couple. We then drove to our current home, which had a filthy oven that didn't work, carpet that made me feel itchy to look at it, broken garage door, broken cistern handles and windows too dirty to see through. I don't think the owners had made any gesture towards cleaning anywhere since we agreed to buy it.