How to Clean a New House
After Moving In

You just got the keys. The seller is gone, the inspection is done, and everything on paper looks clean. But here's what four years and 500-plus homes have taught us: "broom clean" and "ready to live in" are not the same thing. Not even close.

We walk into new-to-the-owner homes in Alpharetta, Milton, Johns Creek, Cumming, and Roswell every week. Some are spotless. Most aren't. Previous owners clean what they can see. They do not clean the inside of the dishwasher filter, the tops of the kitchen cabinets, the inside of the dryer vent housing, or the window tracks. They do not scrub the grout in the master shower. And they definitely do not pull the refrigerator away from the wall.

Before your movers unload a single box, the house needs to be cleaned. Here is exactly how to do it.

What this post covers:

• Why cleaning before you unpack is non-negotiable
• The right order to tackle every room (and why order matters)
• The tasks most people skip that they will regret later
• What supplies to have on hand before you start
• How a move-in clean is different from a standard deep clean
• When it makes sense to hire a pro

Why you should clean before you unpack

This is the single most important decision in the whole process. Once furniture is in place and boxes are everywhere, cleaning becomes twice as hard and half as thorough. Corners are blocked. Cabinets are already full. You cannot vacuum properly with a couch in the way.

Clean first, unpack second. Every time. No exceptions.

There is also a practical reason beyond convenience: you do not know what the previous owners had in the house. Pets, pests, mold in slow-growing corners, or just years of accumulated grease in the kitchen that no one dealt with. An empty house lets you find it and fix it before it becomes your problem.

On new construction in developments like those off Webb Bridge Road in Alpharetta or the newer builds in Forsyth County near Cumming, "post-construction dust" is a real concern. Drywall dust settles inside HVAC vents, on top of cabinets, inside light fixtures, and inside every drawer and cabinet. If you move in without cleaning first, you are distributing that dust through every surface you touch and every box you open for the next three months.

Supplies to have on hand before you start

Do not wing this. Have everything staged before you open a single cabinet. Running to Home Depot mid-clean costs you two hours and your momentum.

Cleaning solutions:

• All-purpose cleaner (we use Zep All-Purpose on most surfaces)
• Degreaser for the kitchen, specifically the hood and stovetop (Krud Kutter Kitchen Degreaser is reliable)
• Disinfecting bathroom cleaner or a bleach-based spray
• Oxygen bleach powder (OxiClean, dissolved in hot water) for grout
• Glass cleaner (Windex or Method, your preference)
• Oven cleaner if you are going the chemical route (Easy-Off Heavy Duty works; follow the label, typically 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on buildup)
• Stainless steel cleaner if the appliances are stainless

Tools:

• Vacuum with a hose and crevice attachment (not just the main floor head)
• Microfiber cloths, at least a dozen (they rinse and reuse well)
• A stiff-bristle grout brush
• A bucket and mop
• A step stool
• Rubber gloves
• A flat-head screwdriver (for pulling vent covers)
• Plastic bag or container for vent covers while they soak
• Old toothbrush for tracks and tight corners
• Paper towels for really grimy surfaces where you do not want to contaminate your microfibers

The right order: top to bottom, dry before wet

The single most important cleaning rule in any home is to work from the top down. Dust falls. If you mop the floors first and then clean the ceiling fans, you are mopping twice. Always do high surfaces first, floors last.

Within each room, do dry tasks before wet tasks. Dust and vacuum before you mop. Wipe dust off shelves before you spray them down. This prevents you from spreading wet dust, which sticks to everything and is much harder to remove than dry dust.

Start with the rooms you will use immediately: the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the master bedroom. Get those three to a livable state before you spend a single minute on a guest room.

Room by room: kitchen

The kitchen is the hardest room in the house. Budget 2 to 3 hours here, minimum. Most of the "invisible" dirt lives in this room.

Start at the top

The tops of the cabinets collect grease mist and dust over years. If the previous owners had a gas stove and cooked regularly, there is likely a sticky layer up there that looks gray or brown. Use your step stool, a degreaser, and a microfiber. Do not skip this step. You will not be back up there for another year, and everything you put on top of the cabinets will collect that grime.

The hood and filter

Pull the grease filter out of the range hood. Most slide or pop out with a light push on a tab. Submerge it in very hot water with a generous scoop of OxiClean or a squirt of dish soap. Let it soak while you clean other parts of the kitchen. After 20 minutes, scrub with a stiff brush and rinse. The filter should come out looking nearly new. If it does not, it may be past saving, in which case replacements for most standard hoods run $15 to $25 on Amazon.

The oven

Spray Easy-Off Heavy Duty into a cold oven and close the door. Do this before you do anything else in the kitchen so it has maximum dwell time. Come back to it after you have finished the cabinets and counters. Wipe it down with paper towels (not your good microfibers), then rinse. Pull the racks out and soak them in the bathtub with dish soap and hot water while the oven spray does its work. Scrub the racks with a stiff brush, rinse, and dry before replacing.

Inside the cabinets and drawers

Empty every one. All of them. Wipe the interior surfaces, including the corners, with a damp cloth and all-purpose cleaner. Do not assume they are clean because they look clean from the outside. Crumbs, old spice residue, and sticky rings from bottles are almost always present in kitchen cabinets, even in homes that look well-maintained.

Line the shelves with fresh liner before you put anything away. This makes future cleaning infinitely easier.

Behind and under appliances

If the home came with appliances, pull the refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher away from their spaces before anything else goes in. Sweep and mop what is behind and under each one. Refrigerators accumulate dust on the coils underneath, which is both a hygiene issue and an energy efficiency issue. A quick vacuum of those coils with a crevice attachment is 5 minutes of work that can lower your electric bill.

The dishwasher

People rarely clean the dishwasher interior when they clean up before a sale. Pull out the filter at the bottom (it twists out counterclockwise on most models), rinse it under hot water, scrub with a brush, and replace it. Run an empty cycle with a cup of white vinegar placed on the top rack. It removes mineral buildup and odors.

Window tracks over the sink

The track is a slot most people ignore because they cannot easily reach it. Use an old toothbrush or a folded paper towel dipped in all-purpose cleaner. It takes 3 minutes and makes a visible difference when the window is open.

Room by room: bathrooms

Bathrooms take 45 minutes to an hour each if you do them properly. The primary targets are grout lines, shower glass, and the toilet base and floor around it.

Shower and tub

Apply your oxygen bleach solution to the grout lines and let it sit for 10 minutes before scrubbing. Dry grout lines absorb the solution better, so do this on a dry surface before you run any water. Scrub with a stiff-bristle grout brush, working in short back-and-forth strokes. Rinse with the showerhead on a wide spray setting.

Glass shower doors: spray with a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Scrub with a non-scratch pad, focusing on any soap scum rings at the bottom edge of the glass. Rinse and squeegee dry. If there is hard water etching that does not come off, that is mineral damage from years of use. It can be polished out with a product like Bar Keepers Friend, but it takes time and a lot of elbow grease.

Toilet

Clean the outside first: the tank, the back, the base, and the floor around the base. Many people only clean what they can see from standing. The floor directly behind the toilet base and around the bolts collects mineral residue and grime. Get down and wipe it. Then do the bowl.

Exhaust fan

Pull the cover off (most pop off with a light push). Bring it to the sink and wash it with dish soap. While it dries, vacuum the interior of the fan housing with a crevice attachment. Dust buildup inside the fan reduces airflow, which is the whole reason it exists.

Under the vanity

Empty the cabinet under the sink completely, wipe every surface, and check the P-trap and supply lines for any signs of slow leaks before you store anything. A small water stain under the previous owner's cleaning supplies can be the first sign of a slow drip that needs attention.

Room by room: bedrooms and closets

Bedrooms are generally the easiest rooms, but the closets often aren't. Closet floors, shelving, and the tops of closet shelves collect dust that does not get touched during routine cleaning.

Closets first

Vacuum the closet floor and shelves before anything else in the room. Use the crevice tool in corners. Wipe the shelving with a slightly damp cloth and let it dry completely before you hang anything.

Window tracks and blinds

In Georgia, window tracks are often full of pollen, dead insects, and red clay dust, especially on the first floor. Use a vacuum on the track first, then scrub with a toothbrush dipped in all-purpose cleaner. For blinds, close them one direction and wipe with a damp microfiber, then close the other direction and repeat. If the blinds are vinyl and badly yellowed or stained, replacement sets from Home Depot run $10 to $20 per window and may be worth the upgrade.

Ceiling fans and vents

Wipe each fan blade with a damp microfiber. If they are thick with dust, lay a drop cloth or old sheet under the fan before you start, because you will knock a lot of it to the floor. For the HVAC vents, unscrew the covers, wash them in the sink, vacuum the interior opening with a crevice attachment, and replace. This is worth doing in every room of the house, not just bedrooms.

The tasks most people skip, and why they matter

These are the spots we find neglected in the majority of the move-in cleans we do, including homes that were professionally cleaned before closing.

Inside the dryer vent housing. Pull the dryer duct away from the wall and vacuum the lint out of the wall opening as far as your attachment can reach. Dryer lint is a fire hazard, and the previous family's lint is not something you want in your walls.

The garage floor and walls. Not glamorous, but Georgia humidity makes garage floors grow mold in corners. Give it a sweep and a rinse with a hose or a bucket of soapy water before you park your cars inside.

Light switch plates and outlet covers. Unscrew them, wipe the plate and the wall surface behind it, and replace. Grimy switch plates are one of those details you stop noticing after a week, but they make the home feel immediately cleaner when they are clean.

Baseboards on the back side. The visible face of the baseboard gets cleaned sometimes. The top edge, the back edge that meets the wall, and the floor joint underneath almost never do. Previous owners' pet hair and accumulated dust get compacted into those joints. A quick pass with the crevice tool and then a wipe with a damp cloth takes care of it.

The doorbell and keypad. Frequently touched by previous owners and their visitors. Wipe them down with a disinfecting wipe.

How a move-in clean is different from a regular deep clean

A standard deep clean focuses on the surfaces you use every day: floors, counters, bathrooms, and fixtures. It assumes a lived-in home with furniture in place and personal items already stored.

A move-in clean (sometimes called a vacant home clean) is different in a few specific ways. The home is empty, so every surface is accessible. The scope is broader: inside every cabinet and drawer, inside every appliance, inside every closet, behind every appliance. The goal is to reset the home to a baseline that is actually clean, not just presentable.

Our move-in cleans in Alpharetta start at $420 for a standard home. That price includes everything listed in this article. Our deep clean service starts at $180 and is the right choice for a home you are already living in.

For a clear breakdown of what each service covers, the deep clean vs. standard clean comparison breaks it down side by side.

When to hire a pro instead of doing it yourself

Be honest with yourself about this one. A thorough move-in clean of a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Alpharetta or Cumming takes between 6 and 10 hours of solid work for one person doing it right. If you have moving trucks arriving the same day, children who need attention, or a job to return to, that time does not exist.

Here is a simple way to think about it: if your hourly rate at work is more than $35 to $45, hiring a professional move-in clean is almost certainly a better financial decision than doing it yourself. It will be done faster, more thoroughly, and without the physical cost of spending your first day in a new home on your knees scrubbing grout.

The other reason to hire a pro: a move-in clean is not a forgiving job. There are no excuses available after the fact. If you miss the dryer vent housing and there is a lint fire six months later, you missed the dryer vent housing. If you skip the inside of the cabinets and find old pest evidence three weeks after your dishes are put away, you put your dishes in unclean cabinets. A professional team with the right supplies and a systematic process will catch everything.

We have cleaned homes in every neighborhood from Webb Bridge in Alpharetta to Avensong to the Windermere area in Cumming. The moves are different, the homes are different, but the checklist is always the same. Top to bottom, dry before wet, inside everything.

"We got into our new Milton home on a Friday and had Staci's team in the next morning before the movers arrived. I did not realize how much the previous family had left behind until I saw what the team pulled out of the kitchen cabinets." Renata H., Milton

If you want to book a move-in clean before the truck arrives, see our full move-in and move-out cleaning service page, or check pricing for every service we offer.