Ottawa's busiest moving days cluster around the end of April, when students at Carleton, uOttawa, and Algonquin finish their leases, and around July 1st. Between packing and booking a truck, cleaning often gets squeezed in at the last minute, exactly when you're most tired.
Under Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, tenants are responsible for keeping a unit in a reasonable state of cleanliness. Leaving it clean helps you avoid disputes, keeps things friendly with your landlord, and makes it easier to get a good reference for your next place. Use this checklist, working from the top of each room down and finishing with the floors.
Kitchen
- Oven: remove racks, clean inside the oven, and wipe the door glass.
- Stovetop: degrease the surface, burners or drip pans, and the range hood filter.
- Fridge and freezer: empty, defrost if needed, wash shelves and crisper drawers, and wipe door seals.
- Cabinets and drawers: wipe inside and out; crumbs love the corners.
- Sink and faucet: scrub, descale, and shine.
- Backsplash and counters: degrease and wipe down.
- Dishwasher: run empty with a cleaner and wipe the door edges.
Bathrooms
- Shower and tub: scrub soap scum, grout, and caulking; clean glass doors.
- Toilet: clean inside, outside, the base, and behind.
- Vanity and mirror: clean inside drawers and the medicine cabinet.
- Exhaust fan: dust the grille.
Bedrooms and living areas
- Baseboards and trim: wipe away dust and scuffs.
- Doors, frames, and light switches: remove fingerprints and marks.
- Closets: empty, wipe shelves, and vacuum the floor.
- Windows: wipe sills and vacuum tracks, which fill up with dust and dead bugs.
- Walls: spot-clean marks (test first on painted surfaces).
Floors: do these last
- Vacuum carpets, edges, and stairs.
- Mop hard floors, working backwards toward the door so you don't walk over clean floors.
Before you hand over the keys
- Remove all garbage and recycling, including from the balcony and storage locker.
- Take photos of every room once clean. They are useful if questions come up later.
- Check the lease for anything specific your landlord expects, such as carpet cleaning.
Short on time? Book a professional move-out clean
A move-out clean is one of the easiest jobs to hand off. AV Group's move-out cleaning in Ottawa covers everything on this list, including the inside of cabinets, fridge, and oven. We serve Nepean, Barrhaven, and communities across the city. Book early for late April and July 1st, since those dates fill up first.
Moving out of a house with a yard? A final grass cutting visit or a quick driveway power wash can help too.