Let’s be honest- students are notorious for being messy, unclean creatures. And whilst this isn’t true of all students, we can vouch that student accommodation can require a more intense clean than your average home!

Most student letting agents put the tenants in charge of cleaning their own property upon leaving, hence why a deposit is usually taken. And if the property isn’t cleaned properly (to their exacting standards!) then you may well lose out on getting your deposit returned.

So, how thorough do you need to be with a clean of your rental? To help, here are the main areas that a landlord/student letting property would expect to be clean upon inspection:

Kitchen

  • All cupboards, drawers and appliances will be expected to be completely empty and cleaned inside and out. The majority of people will forget to do this, but make sure you pull out the kitchen appliances (if you can) and clean the back of those as well, including the washing machine, microwave and dishwasher etc. And don’t miss the washing machine drawer – grime can build up in here quickly and the landlord will expect it to be clean!
  • The fridge/freezer is particularly important – make sure that this is completely empty and then cleaned thoroughly including removing the drawers and shelves to clean them properly.
  • The oven isn’t a fun job, especially if you’re in a shared rental and the other tenants have left without helping to clean. You will be expected to clean everything inside the oven including trays, shelving and the oven door inside and out, switches, knobs etc. The same goes for the hob and the backsplash too!

Living Room

  • Everything will need to be cleaned in here – and not just the obvious stuff. Yes, dusting the shelves and furniture, and hoovering all the floors is 100% neccessary.  But you also need to make sure to clean things like light switches, lamp shades, paintings on the wall and use the hoover nozzle to get the skirting boards!

Bathroom

  • A general clean won’t do in the bathroom, you have to be thorough in here. This will notoriously be the worst room to clean, so it’s time to don the rubber gloves and open the windows!
  • Don’t miss any limescale build up on taps or the shower head
  • Use a drain de-blocker to ensure that water is draining properly in the bath / shower / sink
  • Don’t forget the towel rails or radiators!

Walls

  • An easy one to forget, but one that landlords will spot straight away. Walls can easily be scuffed and marked when people are moving in, moving out or just living life. If you can, just wash them off, if not you may have to purchase a tin of paint and do a bit of decorating.

 

If you have a bigger property, you may even find that the list continues! Now, if you’re not bothered about getting your deposit back, then perhaps you’re happy to leave the cleaning to your flat mates and cut your losses.

However, if you want that money returned (or your parents do!) but you don’t want to spend your weekend scrubbing and shining… then why not book a professional cleaning service through Welpol and let us do the grime-work!