Relocating to a new house or apartment requires packing and moving of belongings from one location to another and it is not an easy task. It entails many things that may make you forget to think about cleaning of the apartment you are leaving. However, if you are to get all your bond agreement back, cleaning is needed to be considered first when you are planning a move out.

Before you can claim your bond agreement, property managers or property owners expect the house to be in the best state as when you are moving into the apartment. This has been one of the reasons some amount of money is held in escrow when you are moving in, so you can stick to the agreement.

Bond amounts can be varied based on the conditions such as the state of the house as at the time you were moving in, the type of the building or apartment, locations, agreement, and much more. However, the bond is worth claiming as it can pay off some expenses during your moving or relocation.

You may be thinking of the hassles and stress involved in cleaning your messes and make the place as new as when you packed into the apartment. But things have been made easy in Melbourne with the availability of professional bond cleaners who know the value of bond cleaning.

If you have not known, there are various cleaning services offered by professional cleaning service providers and each service is designed for a specific purpose. One of these services is ‘Bond Cleaning.” The professional cleaners know what the property managers are looking for in a bond clean, so they can happily pay your bond amount without hesitation.

There is a checklist for bond cleaning and if a professional cleaner does not show you his or her bond cleaning checklist, don’t ever try to fall into his or her trick. If you want your bond claim to be 100%, hire the best cleaning service for the job. It is worthy of mentioning that the property managers and property owners also have their bond cleaning checklist on which your claim will be justified before giving you your bond. What is rental ‘bond’? What is bond cleaning? What does it entail?What are those things property managers are looking for in bond clean?

This article aims to provide much-needed information about bond cleaning and its checklist for a successful bond claim. To break the jinx, let’s start with the meaning of rental bond and bond cleaning.

What is a Rental ‘Bond’?

The rental bond can be described as a security deposit paid by a tenant at the commencement of his or her rent or lease, and it is legally held by a corporate body known as the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA). The bond amount paid by the tenant may vary, but it is usually one month rent in most cases. The amount is normally paid back unfailingly to the tenant at the end of his or her expiration of the rental agreement if all things being equal as per agreement.

One of the significant bond payback determinants is “cleaning.” Others may be a rental debt owed by the tenant to the property manager or if there is any damage to the property during the tenant stay. Property owners and property managers don’t joke about cleaning before your bond can be released to you. Or do you prefer to forgo your hard earned money just like that? Hence, the need to perform bond cleaning to put the place in optimal condition and claim your bond without delay or excuses. Remember, the property owners and property managers keep rental bond for housecleaning so they can ensure that the apartment or house is put in perfect condition for the prospective tenants after you. The question now is what is this special cleaning that ensures you get your bond back? Read on to discover.

What is a ‘Bond cleaning?

Bond cleaning can be defined as a special cleaning service that ensures that the apartment, office, house, or premises you are vacating after the expiration of your rent or lease is cleaned and tidy up to the specifications and standards of the property manager or owner. The property owners or real estate agents usually require that the house you are leaving is put at the high level of cleaning prior refunding your bond as agreed.

After the cleaning, an inspection is carried out before your deposit is paid back to you. During move out inspection, property managers are looking for a fault to hold onto so that your bond claim can be declined. This is why it is advisable to hire a professional bond cleaner who understands what property managers are looking for in bond cleaning. Always know that this is not what you think you can do on your own because, without a thorough cleaning of the apartment or house, your bond cannot be claimed from a Real estate agent or property owner.

Property managers can overlook normal wear and tear in the house and pay back your bond but not when the place is not properly cleaned as expected. Hence, you need a professional cleaner who understands what bond cleaning is all about.

Comprehensive Bond Cleaning Checklist

Bond cleaning is usually viewed as a routine cleaning which makes some tenants carry it out on their own. The property managers normally give them a checklist, but at the end of the day, they fail and lose the bond. Why do tenants usually fail?

They fail because they cannot perform the task as expected unless they are professional cleaners. Most tenants lack the required cleaning equipment to carry out bond cleaning; hence, they fail in the process.

Just think about it, after you have worked so hard to clean the house and at the end, you lose the benefits. There are many troublesome property managers out there who are picky and want perfection when it comes to bond cleaning. Their bond cleaning checklists can be more than five pages long, and you need not to underestimate their specifications and standards. However, below are the key areas to be considered for a comprehensive bond cleaning checklist that guarantees successful bond claims in Melbourne:

Kitchen Cleaning

Your kitchen is one of the difficult spaces to clean during bond cleaning as cleaners need to clean appliances, cabinets, wall, and other intricate parts of the kitchen. So, the work usually starts from there. However, prior cleaner arrival, it is expected that make sure you remove all the items kept in the cabinets, take out all dishes, and other items you did not meet in the apartment before packing in. You don’t need to fear about damaging anything in your kitchen that can lead to additional expenses, as the professional cleaners will use surface-safe cleaning tools such as tile cleaners, wood cleaners, and much more. Under-listed below are the cleaning checklist for the kitchen:

Clean inside and outside of all cabinets, doors, cupboards in the kitchen, and replace and repair any torn or peeling liners on the cabinets.
Remove dust or grease from all windows, tracks, screens, and sills.
Thoroughly clean the inside and outside of your microwave and wipe away any traces of food stains and grease.
Maintain both interior and exterior of your griller and oven. Ensure cleaning of your trays, glasses, doors, and racks.
Clean your taps and sinks, and evacuate all food residue trapped in the drains.
Clean entire body surface and inside of appliances like dishwasher, refrigerator, blender, and other appliances.
Clean all the counters with splash of soap water.
The last task is to mop the entire kitchen floor and clean wall.

Bathroom Cleaning

Bathroom cleaning is always the toughest task in the bond cleaning that requires special effort to achieve the best result. This is because it involves a lot of cleaning efforts and scrubbing exercise in those areas you may overlook. Some of these areas are the points of focus during move out inspection. Since professional cleaners have discovered the requirement of the inspectors, they don’t handle bathroom cleaning with levity hand. Herewith is the checklist for bathroom cleaning:

Clean all the windows, mirrors, walls, and window tracks to ensure windows and mirrors are without any trace of streaks or dust.
Clean toilet cistern, bowl, flush handle, and other toilet fittings such as in and outside pipes, flexible connector, and flush bend.
Clean the faucets and sinks, and remove any soap scum and hair from the walls.
Clean the shower and other shower parts such as shower screens, curtain, grout, and glass doors. Ensure replacement of shower curtain if need be, and as well evacuate any build-up of soap scum on the shower.
Look for any hidden corners left untouched for any possible grime build-up and clean.
Mop the whole floor to the shiniest.

Bedroom and Living Room Cleaning

Bedroom and living room cleaning are almost the same as they usually contain light fittings, furniture, hardwood floors or carpet with empty spaces, unlike bathroom and kitchen that contain different hardware. Nevertheless, they are also equipped with some other things that require the attention of the cleaners for the sake of bond cleaning. Below is the checklist as expected:

Carefully remove the light fittings and clean. Ensure all the dead bugs attached to them are removed.
Dust the ceiling fan blades and base and if required, carefully wash them with water and soap to bring out the beauty.
Remove dust from all light switches.
Clean skirting boards.
Clean walls and clear up any visible stain on it with water and non-abrasive soap.
Clean all curtains, windows, blinds, sills, screens, and tracks.
Remove vent cover and clean. Dust all the vent covers to be free from dust and sand.
Vacuum-clean the carpets and remove any stain on it.
Mop and clean all hardwood flooring.

Laundry Room Cleaning

Laundry rooms are usually get messed up through washing of clothes. The accumulation splashes of detergent water over time may sometimes become tough on the wall and difficult to remove. This later result in dust, grime, and lint build-up that may be difficult to clean. However, professional cleaners know how to handle this type of cleaning to meet expectation. With the use of various cleaning equipment, they will get the job done. Herewith is the checklist for laundry room cleaning:

Carry out the thorough cleaning of washer and dryer machines, including inside and outside surfaces. Clean and drain away the residue and as well as removing lint from the filters.
Clean walls from dust, grime, and lint build-up.
Mop the floors and remove residues. For complete cleaning, hand-scrub the floor or wall with a sponge to get rid of stubborn residue stains.

Driveway and Garage Cleaning

Bond cleaning is expected to leave the property managers or owners speechless; hence, the need to touch every nook and cranny of the entire house and space. Parts of these areas to be cleaned are the driveway, carport or garage. They are usually cleaned last. However, it is worthy of mentioning that some professional cleaning services may not include this as part of their bond cleaning checklist; hence, you need to look before you leap. Those unused boxes and belongings littering the garage and premises may make you lose part of your bond to property managers. Everything must be removed and cleaned for a complete claim. Listed below is the checklist:
Wash and clean the window exterior to be shining like new.
Remove all the cobwebs and dust from the outside walls and ceiling rafters with long duster and broom as applicable.
Declutter all unused boxes and other rubbishes from the garage and only leave thing that you met when you first moved in.
Remove oil and grease stains on the ground by pressure-washing the ground.
Empty and place bins in their right places.
Clean driveway from any dirt and obstruction.
Dress and trim the flowers in the driveway if there any.
Lock up the garage door.

Yards, Porches, and Garden Cleaning

You can’t help it; there is always a form of rubbish in the outdoors section of the house. For the sake of bond cleaning, yards, porches, and gardening cleaning is essential. Removal of rotting and dead messes that have been placed there over a long term is essential. However, some cleaning companies may tell you that yards, porches, and gardening cleaning are not incorporated in their bond cleaning and that you need to hire an expert to do it. Ask at the beginning of the agreement before you sign any contract with them. Checklist for yards, porches, and gardening cleaning is as follows:

Clean all porch areas, walkways, yards, ensuring they are free from unwanted boxes and bins.
Wash outside of all flower pots found on the premises.
Mow the lawn if there is any, trim the flowers and rake any weeds and other remains such as twigs, dead fruits, leaves, and much more.

Conclusion

You will discover that the list is long if one is really ready to perform bond cleaning. Cleaning your rental spaces such as an apartment, commercial offices, and houses to claim your bond is not a small task. This is one of the reasons you need a profession cleaner to save you from all these hassles and you are guaranteed it will be done to the specifications and standards of the property manager.

Clean House Melbourne offers a comprehensive checklist for bond cleaning service. You don’t need to hire additional experts to handle some special sections of the cleaning, as our list is all encompassed. We are always in collaboration with top leading property managers and Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) in the country to know their standards and specifications for bond cleaning; hence the comprehensive checklist as described above.

If you are thinking of carrying out your bond cleaning yourself, the above checklist is what you need to follow to get your bond back without holding back part of the bond amount. However, if you don’t have the time or you don’t want to face the challenges and hassles involved in it, you can contact for a rescue.