New York landlords have fourteen days after you move out to return your deposit or send you an itemized statement of what they kept and why. "Cleaning" is the most common line on that statement, and in our experience it almost always comes down to a handful of specific things that were skipped rather than a generally dirty apartment. Here is what a walk-through actually checks, in the order it usually happens.
The oven and the refrigerator. They're the first two things a landlord or managing agent opens, because they're the two things tenants most often skip. The oven needs the inside cleaned — racks out, baked-on grease off the floor and walls, door glass clean inside and out, the drawer underneath emptied. The refrigerator needs to be emptied, every shelf and drawer pulled and washed, the gaskets wiped, the freezer defrosted if it has ice, and — if you're leaving it plugged in — the doors left closed and clean. If it's being turned off, leave the doors propped open so it doesn't smell.
The bathroom. Grout, soap scum and limescale are what get noticed. The tub and shower walls scrubbed to the grout lines, the fixtures descaled, the toilet cleaned inside and out including the base and the hinges, the mirror and the medicine cabinet inside, the exhaust vent cover dusted. In a New York bathroom the tile floor around the toilet and behind the door is where the inspection goes.
The kitchen beyond the appliances. Inside every cabinet and drawer — crumbs, rings, the sticky shelf under the sink. Cabinet doors and the fronts of the drawers, especially near the stove where grease collects. The backsplash, the range hood and its filter, the sink and the faucet, the counters, and the wall behind where the trash was.
Closets, walls and floors. Closets emptied and wiped, including the shelf and the rod. Scuffs and marks on the walls — most come off with a magic eraser; anything that doesn't is a painting question, not a cleaning one, and it's worth knowing that normal wear is not something a landlord can deduct for. Nail holes are a gray area; small ones filled and touched up are usually fine. Floors swept, vacuumed and mopped edge to edge, including under where the bed and the sofa were, because that's where the dust is.
The things people forget: the inside of the windows and the sills and tracks, the radiator covers and the wall behind them, light fixtures and ceiling fans, switch plates and doorknobs, the top of the door frames, the air conditioner filter if it's a through-wall unit, and the front door itself inside and out. Take all the trash out, and take everything with you — a landlord will charge to dispose of what's left.
Photograph everything when you're done — every room, the inside of the oven and the fridge, the bathroom — with the date visible. If a deduction shows up that you don't agree with, the photos are your case. Under New York law you can also request a walk-through inspection before you leave, and it's worth asking for one.
Or hand it to us. A move-out clean from AD Cleaning and Painting is this list, done properly, in a few hours, on the day the keys change hands — and if the walls need it, we can paint too. Call (914) 501-4690 for a free estimate anywhere in Manhattan, in English or Spanish. Landlords and brokers: we do move-in cleans and turnover repaints as well, per unit or per building.