Move-In Cleaning in Alpharetta:
The Complete Checklist

Moving into a new home is one of the best feelings there is. It's also the single best window you'll ever have to get it truly clean. Once the couch is in place, you're not moving it for the next five years. The same goes for the refrigerator, the bookcase, and every other piece of furniture that will eventually become a permanent fixture.

Whether you're moving into a new construction off GA-400, a resale home in Alpharetta, or a rental where the previous tenant's cleaning standards are a mystery, the state of the home is not your fault. But it becomes your problem the moment you move in. A proper move-in clean solves that before anything is unpacked.

This guide covers everything you need to know: what a professional move-in clean actually includes, why new builds still need it, what it costs in Alpharetta and surrounding areas, and when to schedule it for the best result.

What this post covers:

• Why new construction homes still need a professional move-in clean
• The full room-by-room checklist of what's included
• Pricing ranges for homes in Alpharetta and North Atlanta
• The timing that works best (before or after the movers)
• How move-in cleaning differs from move-out cleaning
• What to do before we arrive

Why the builder's clean isn't enough

If you're moving into a new build in Alpharetta, Avalon's newer neighborhoods, or any of the subdivisions going up along GA-400 and the Milton corridor, there's something your real estate agent probably didn't mention: the "broom clean" you get at closing is not a real clean. It's a liability baseline. Major debris out, floors swept, surfaces wiped. That's the standard the builder is held to, and that's all they're required to do.

What a broom clean doesn't address is significant. Drywall dust settles inside HVAC vents and on every horizontal surface in the home, including the insides of cabinets and drawers that were installed before the drywall was finished. Grout haze, the milky film left on new tile from the grouting process, coats shower floors and bathroom tile. Paint overspray ends up on fixtures, doorknobs, and light switch plates. Construction adhesive residue clings to floors. Window tracks are packed with installation dust from every window frame that was put in.

None of that is visible during a quick look around. You see clean counters and fresh floors, so you assume the home is clean. The cabinets tell a different story.

We hear this from new build owners every week: "The house looked clean but every cabinet had a layer of dust." That's because the builder's crew cleaned surfaces, not interiors. Once furniture goes in over those floors and boxes go into those cabinets, the dust is there for good. A move-in clean before the furniture arrives is the only time you'll ever have everything empty and accessible at once.

Resale homes have a different version of the same problem. You don't know the previous owners' standards. You don't know how long they lived there without cleaning the oven interior, when the grout was last scrubbed, or what's been accumulating behind the refrigerator for years. A rental is more of the same, compounded by however many previous tenants there were. A fresh start means a real clean, not an assumption that someone else handled it.

What a proper move-in clean includes

A move-in clean is our most thorough service tier. It's the same level of detail as our deep clean, plus cabinet and drawer interiors in every room. Here's exactly what's included, broken down by space.

One thing we adjust for new construction specifically: we pay extra attention to window tracks, HVAC vents, and every interior cabinet surface. Those are the places where construction dust collects heaviest and where a standard cleaning sweep will miss. If you're in a new build and the HVAC has been running, there will be dust inside those vent covers. We remove them, clean the interior, and replace them.

How long it takes and what it costs

Move-in cleans take longer than standard cleans because every surface in the home is being addressed, including surfaces that are only accessible when the home is empty. A two-person team typically works five to eight hours on a thorough move-in clean, depending on the size and condition of the home.

Home Type	Size	Move-In Clean Price
Smaller home, 2BR/1BA	Under 1,500 sq ft	From $420
Typical 3BR/2BA	1,500 to 2,000 sq ft	$555 to $660
Larger home, 4BR/3BA	2,500 to 3,500 sq ft	$660 to $810
New construction estate, 5BR+	4,500+ sq ft	Up to $810

Exact pricing depends on the actual condition of the home, the number of bathrooms, and whether appliances need interior cleaning. A new build that was only broom-cleaned takes longer than a well-maintained resale. We confirm the price before we start so there are no surprises.

For most Alpharetta homes, this is a one-time cost before settling into a recurring schedule. Many clients book their move-in clean, then start bi-weekly recurring cleans once they're settled. If you schedule recurring cleaning with us within 60 days of your move-in clean, we discount the first two recurring visits.

When to schedule: the timing that works best

The best time for a move-in clean is one to two days before the moving truck arrives. The home is completely empty, every surface is accessible, we can clean under and behind everything, and you can check every room before a single box comes in. That's the ideal.

The second-best option is the morning of moving day, starting two to three hours before the movers arrive. We focus on the kitchen, bathrooms, and closets first. Those spaces benefit most from being cleaned empty. By the time the truck rolls up, the critical areas are done.

If you've already moved in, that's fine too. We work around furniture. It takes a bit longer because we're navigating boxes and furniture rather than an open floor plan, but it's still worth doing. The oven, refrigerator, cabinet interiors, and bathrooms are all the same regardless of whether the living room is furnished.

To book, go to alpharettacleaningco.com/booknow or call Staci directly at 678-578-4747. We can usually get a move-in clean scheduled within two to three business days. If you're on a tight move-in timeline, call us first and we'll work around your schedule.

Move-in vs. move-out cleaning: what's different

These are two different situations with different goals. Move-out cleaning is about satisfying a landlord or buyer inspection. Precision matters because someone else is evaluating the result. Every corner has to pass someone else's checklist, and there's often a deposit or sale contingency on the line.

Move-in cleaning is about setting your own starting standard. No one is grading it against a lease agreement. You're doing it for yourself, so you know exactly what condition your home was in the day you moved in and so that condition is as clean as it can be.

Both services reach the same level of depth. Both include interior cabinets, appliances, grout scrubbing, baseboards by hand, and our 24-hour return guarantee. The difference is the context and the timing, not the quality.

If you're both moving out of one home and into another, we can schedule both cleans in the same week. A lot of our clients in Alpharetta and Johns Creek do exactly that when they're closing on a new home and handing back keys on the old one. One call, one team, both homes handled. See our full move-out cleaning checklist post for what that service covers.

What to do before we arrive

Not much is required on your end, but a few things make the job go faster and the result better.

Make sure we have access. A key, a code, or someone on-site to let us in. If you're coordinating with a real estate agent for key access, let us know ahead of time and we'll confirm the details directly.

Utilities need to be on. Lights and water, at minimum. We need to see what we're cleaning, and we need running water. If you're in a new build, make sure the water heater is active so we have hot water for grout scrubbing and floor mopping.

For new builds specifically: if the HVAC system has been running for at least a day before we arrive, it will have circulated and settled a lot of the drywall dust that would otherwise still be floating. This makes vent cleaning significantly more effective. Ask your builder when the system was activated. If it's been off, just give us a heads-up so we allow extra time for the vents.

Clear counters if you want everything cleaned underneath. We'll clean what we can access. If there are items still on counters from staging or the builder's punch-list visit, moving them off lets us clean the full surface. If they're staying, we'll clean around them.

Tell us about problem areas. If the builder missed a section of grout in the master bath, or if the previous tenant left something in the oven, let us know before we start. We'll prioritize those areas and make sure they get the attention they need.

"We bought a new build in Alpharetta and the builder's broom clean was terrible. Cabinet interiors had layers of drywall dust. Alpharetta Cleaning Co. came in and by the time they left it was actually spotless. We started recurring biweekly after that." James and Karen F., Alpharetta