How to clean a rental property for routine and end of lease inspections
Do you spend your weekends cleaning, and love your home to sparkle? If so, you may not need to read this — you probably don’t even break a sweat when your property inspection is due!
But if you dread inspections, feeling rising panic as they approach, this blog is for you.
Between scrubbing ovens, removing every cobweb, and getting gardens in order, preparing for an inspection can be exhausting.
Particularly if, like most of us, you’re no housekeeping goddess (or god!)
If rental inspections are a nightmare and you always miss something, learn how to clean a rental property for routine and end of lease inspections.
Cleaning for Routine Inspections
Routine inspections usually happen four times a year.
While not as intensive as a final inspection, a positive routine inspection makes it more likely you’ll pass your final inspection with flying colours, and get your bond back!
Our most crucial tip is — clean regularly. Then it’s less work and there’s no last minute panic!
Next, always take the cleaning guidance provided by your property manager seriously!
We Love Rentals provide a cleaning checklist to our tenants, focusing on exactly what to do at the end of the lease.
Lastly, check the Property Condition Report (PCR) from when you moved in.
It sets out all items/areas to be inspected, and their condition when the lease began.
Get everything back how it was when you moved in, and you can’t go wrong!
End-of-Lease Cleaning
Regular cleaning and extra effort for routine inspections will give you a strong start.
But what else can you do to ensure end-of-lease cleaning is spot on?
First, do your own inspection (using the initial PCR). Don’t trust your memory! Identify areas that have deteriorated since the lease began.
Next, bring these areas back to the way they were.
To help with this, our pro “house detailing” tips below can be a lifesaver!
So for products and methods professionals use to deep-clean problem areas, read on…
Bathrooms/Laundry
- Stained toilet bowls: Scalex (Bunnings).
- Shower glass: Bam, Aldi shower cleaner, vinegar with baking soda (bicarbonate of soda), or a dishwasher tablet.
- Mould: Cleaning Vinegar or Ajax Professional Mould Remover.
- Grout: any grout cleaner from Bunnings. Do not use bleach, vinegar or baking soda — these weaken grout.
- Chrome: baking soda paste.
Kitchen
- Oven: oven cleaner like Easy Off or Selleys, or dish liquid with baking soda.
- Exhaust fan filters: soak in hot water, baking soda and dish liquid/use dishwasher hot cycle.
- Surfaces (cupboards, benches, drawers, shelves): multi-purpose spray like Nifti, dish liquid and warm water for stone and marble.
Floors
- Polished tiles: boiling water and methylated spirits
- Timber: only specialised timber flooring products like Bona or Pledge, or water with dish liquid — never use vinegar or baking soda.
- Carpet: Check with your landlord. Your lease will usually require professional cleaning.
Walls
- Spot clean with Gumption/Magic Eraser, mop large areas with sugar-soap solution.
Lights & Fans
- Wet-wipe fan blades, light shades, switches.
- Vacuum exhaust fans.
Windows
- Wipe with Windex or methylated spirits. Polish dry.
- Dust and wet-wipe screens.
General
- Oil stains on concrete: scrub with detergent and baking soda.
- Cobwebs: use a cobweb brush, or hose down.
- Sills, sliding door/window tracks, skirting boards, ledges above doors/windows: brush or vacuum, wet-wipe.
- Rubbish: remove all belongings, take bins out.
- Driveway – consider an environmentally friendly pressure cleaning service to remove oil stains and the like.
These tips come from years of experience, professional cleaners, and comparison sites like Choice, who test many products.
NOTE: Always read product instructions to be sure the product is suitable for the surface you’re cleaning.
Make Tenancy a Breeze With We Love Rentals
Many tenants of We Love Rentals have found these hints invaluable — we want to make sure tenants feel supported and know what to expect.
Many tenants get professional cleaning and/or gardening help to ensure great results.
At We Love Rentals we strive to ensure our tenants know exactly what to do to get their bond back. This makes life easier for everyone!
If you have more questions, check out the FAQs on our website, or for more information call the friendly We Love Rentals team on 08 6254 6300.
Brendan Leahy
I am the licensee of We Love Rentals and provide support to the team whenever needed. I began my real estate career over two decades years ago. While I loved seeing people achieve their dream of a new home for their family, I kept thinking that there had to be a better way of doing real estate – one with respect for the long term benefit of the client and one that focuses on customer satisfaction.
