Did you clean your old house before you moved out?

I expect we would all say that we clean and leave things in a good state. But many house sales occur when older people die, maybe there is nobody to clean the house.

It is fairly obvious when viewing a potential home to purchase whether the occupiers were "clean" or "dirty". Muck doesn't accumulate in the few months between viewing and purchase. If it was mucky when viewing - then odds are that it will be mucky when they leave.

eazybee

*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.
More about 'not meeting my exacting standards' I think.

Even in military quarters I've heard women complaining about the filth, not meeting their standards. It used to be an almost Olympic sport, who could claim the highest standards.
For anyone who hasn't lived in quarters and gone through this we're taalking about passing a piece of string through a lock and being told it was greasy, having someone go down on her hands and knees, running her fingernails along the underside of the cooker and claiming it hadn't been cleaned! There's a book of horror stories out there if someone wants to write one.

Yes, once the removal men had left the old house and GH at new house I cleaned it top to bottom and easy to do as empty. Left flowers and welcome to your new home card for new owner.

Yes always leave clean etc, got my oven professionally cleaned at my last property and a friend helped me do the rest, pity the same couldn't be said for where I moved into! Bathroom was awlful and because the person renting here had already moved out the gas had been cut off which I didn't know about until I went to switch the hot water on!! Trying to clean a bathroom with hot water from a kettle mixed with some cold wasn't easy and we couldn't have a shower until the next day when the gas company sent someone out!!!

Yes, of course. Shampooed the carpets too and left a card snd a bottle of wine.

Amberone

Living in military accommodation meant everything was inspected before we left after each posting, so everything had to be spick and span. That's stayed with me always, so yes, the house is spotless when we move out.

Oh God, the dreaded March Out, making a frying pan you've used for 6 years look brand new, though I think they've stopped providing as much stuff.

We moved several times, always left the house clean Plus made sure the light bulbs were working and there was toilet rolls in place as well. Though it wasn't always the same for us. One house was so bad we had to stay else where before we could move in.

I am an absolute slatten re housework, but I used to move every 18-24 months because of my husband's job, always left place spotless with soap/loo roll/new toilet brush in each loo, booze in the fridge and of course light bulbs (although I look the expensive ones and left plain ones) Always seemed the place I move into hadn't been cleaned in years eg net curtains that stood up unaided, it was particularly gross when previous tenants had been smokers. Settled in a council house now, it was spotless but completely empty when we moved in only had carpets, no curtians/white goods

Ex military had to be done moved 14 times only upside next house had passed same inspection

Yes. Top to bottom. Every time I’ve moved out of anywhere. Least I can do for next occupants. Moving house is very stressful!

When I moved from my old home it was cleaned thoroughly, my new house was absolutely filthy, including rabbit droppings, I took weeks to get clean and had to be decorated I did know it would need decorating it was also full of rubbish which I had to get removed, appalling

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.
More about 'not meeting my exacting standards' I think.

Well, when I moved, I made sure the house was clean -but did not go overboard about this - as I knew the new owners were getting in builders for all sorts of changes. And, they did for the first four months they did not live there.

TBH, I think it is more important to leave useful information for new occupiers - such as window cleaners, lists of local buses, GP surgeries, and dentists etc. along with any original information on any items being left - multi-boiler, built-in oven. etc. etc.

Flowers, wine etc. may make the leaver feel good, but not everyone likes alcohol and some people cannot have real flowers, etc. A GOOD LUCK IN YOUR NEW HOME card with all the information, and keys left neatly and labelled is much more useful.

Surely, most people moving in clean everywhere as their first job.

I left our house in Holland on my knees going backwards cleaning the floor as I went. The new owners complimented me on how spotless it was!

I have always thoroughly cleaned every house before I left with one exception. That was because I knew the builders were moving in to start work the next day. The new owner demanded money for removing stuff that I didn't want stacked outside in the front garden. However, before he took me to court, as he threatened, the removal that I had already booked – two days after moving – had been completed.

My neighbour has just moved out and he's taking his plants. Front garden is full of buckets and washing baskets full of them ready for the next collection.

I have always left houses very clean for the next owners, and fortunately have always moved into clean houses too.Like others though, we have found that many people take lightbulbs with them, and sometimes leave bare wires, so wrong to do that.Also, a few times, the garden plants seem to have vanished as well.

I didn't clean our old house when we moved out and it was pretty grotty. However, this is because I knew it was going to be ripped to pieces as it was all being remodelled. The new owners made a fantastic job and the house was almost unrecognisable when we were invited back to see it.
Obviously, the price we asked reflected the work that needed to be done. We were happy to be able to walk away and the new owners were glad of a bargain.

Yes I clean before I move out. I do a deep clean to get ready for sale and then clean as we pack and final vacuum and wipe down as removal men empty a room.

Given the number of times we've moved I think I've been lucky

I have moved into a couple of houses we've bought, this one included, that needed scourers to clean the windows and cupboards. I replaced the cookers in both rather than clean them. This one we bought from a Paediatrician and a Psychiatrist the other one had been empty and took a long time to sell so I knew what I was getting with the first one, this one was a surprise.

I do have some horror stories of cleaning houses after tenants have moved out but I put that down to it's part of being a Landlord.

I'm another ex-military wife so I've done some march out cleaning :-) Only charged once for a lost spoon, don't know what happened but it was in the days when they provided lots of things, I put their stuff away and when I unpacked one spoon missing.

I moved into two questionable quarters with-in a week, not down to the out going tenants though.

1st one was a marched in by Families Officer as we were on route from Germany and to be fair it had been clean but the workmen had a party in it between march-in and us getting there. I reported it and was happy to do some bits of cleaning and the Families Officer arranged to have the vomit covered bedding replaced (until mine arrived) and the vomit covered carpet cleaned.

However, on our first night the water tank in the loft sprang a leak. There was an interesting waterfall down the stairs so they offered us a choice of two other quarters.

One was ready to go and one needed new flooring throughout and the garden doing but I took it as I liked the house and it's location better :-) All was sorted before our things arrived so it worked out well.

Yes thoroughly. Cleaned cupboards and inside of wardrobes as we took things out, hoovered, dusted and washed paintwork. Left card and flowers for new occupants as well as information file on what days bins were collected, contact details for electrician, plumber and other local services. When we arrived at our new home the people their had done exactly the same and the place was pristine. They were a really lovely couple.

Nearly 40 years ago we moved from one council house to another. We hadn`t seen inside, but it was the same design as our previous house, so thought we knew what to expect. When we got the keys, I could have cried. There was decorating and repairs to be done, the council hadn`t had time to see to it, so they left us 2 large tins of white emulsion. The place was filthy, the walk in food cupboard in the kitchen was absolutely grotty, and the toilet was so disgusting I wouldn`t even go in there. To their credit, my kids got down to it and gave the place a good clean.

I have a client who sold a house unwillingly (due to debt) and deliberately sabotaged it. I won’t give all the details because they’re identifying, but amongst other things she left things hidden that would smell badly and be hard to find and deliberately spilt things on carpets. She and her husband eventually became homeless and her husband thinks it’s karma.

Mogsmaw I agree that, with two notable exceptions, the houses I moved into on camp were in good order, but moving into civvy street was a completely different story. ?

Two houses I moved into had not one single lightbulb in place and no toilet paper in any of the loos. Now I know they’re not strictly ‘fixtures and fittings’, but who does that? I always leave such things - and usually a bottle of wine and a welcome card for the new owners.

This topic has brought back memories of when we moved house a number of years ago. I found many many toenail clippings which had been trapped in the nylon bedroom carpet. Yuk!

We have had nine houses and I have always cleaned them thoroughly before we moved out. My parents moved house a lot because my father was in the police force and had a lot of promotions. My mother was very house proud and left each house very clean but she wasn’t as fortunate with the ones she move into. One house was newly built and the front and back gardens were full of builders’ rubble. My Dad loved gardening and planted potatoes in the front garden the first year to prepare the ground, then he put grass seed down and planted flowering shrubs. Then he set to work in the back garden which was huge and he planted all sorts of fruit and vegetables. We were only there for three years and the lucky person who moved in had a spotless house and beautiful garden. We have had six new builds and the three other houses have been reasonably clean but a friend of mine has recently moved house, the house looked lovely on line and when they did two viewings but I spoke to her soon after they moved in and the house is very dirty, especially the kitchen, she has has to remove and soak all the handles on the kitchen units because they are so greasy. Four weeks later she is still cleaning room by room but she is hoping it will be their last move. I don’t think I could face moving again either.