Written by MaidEX Cleaning Services Editorial Team · Reviewed by Milad Hoseini, Founder & CEO · Published September 13, 2026 · 6 min read
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
The best time to clean a home is the day before your furniture arrives — when every cupboard is empty, every floor is clear, and you can actually get at the corners. Most people skip it, unpack in a hurry, and then spend the next month cleaning around boxes they've already filled. A move-in clean flips that: an hour or two on an empty space saves you weeks of working around your own stuff.
This is a practical, room-by-room checklist for cleaning a new place in Metro Vancouver before you settle in — whether you're renting a Burnaby condo or buying a house in Surrey — plus how it differs from a move-out clean and when it's worth handing off.
The short answer
Clean a new home while it's empty, top to bottom, starting with the kitchen and bathroom — the two rooms where the previous occupant's residue actually matters. Focus on the surfaces you'll touch food and skin against (counters, cupboards, appliances, tubs, toilets), then floors, then everything else. An empty suite takes far less time to do thoroughly than a furnished one, so it's the one chance to reset the place to genuinely yours.
Why bother if it “looks clean”?
A previous tenant's rushed move-out clean, or a builder's post-construction wipe-down, usually looks fine at a glance and misses the things you'd rather not inherit: grease film inside kitchen cupboards, dust in the vents, hair behind the toilet, sticky residue in drawers, and whatever's living in the dishwasher filter. None of it is dramatic. It's just nicer to start from a clean baseline than to discover it one cupboard at a time.
There's also a simple practical reason: you will never again have this place empty. Cleaning behind where the fridge will sit, or wiping the inside of a closet, is a five-minute job now and an annoying furniture-moving project later.
The move-in cleaning checklist
Work through it in this order — it follows the “top to bottom, dry before wet, kitchen and bath first” logic that keeps you from re-dirtying what you've done.
Kitchen (do this first)
- Wipe inside every cupboard and drawer, plus the fronts and handles
- Clean inside the oven, the stovetop, and under the drip pans or elements
- Clean inside the fridge and freezer and the door seals; check nothing's been left behind
- Run an empty dishwasher cycle and clean its filter; wipe the microwave inside and out
- Counters, backsplash, sink and faucet
- Floors last
Bathrooms
- Toilet — inside, seat, base and behind (a spot that's almost always skipped)
- Tub, shower and glass; soap scum on tile and grout
- Sink, faucet, mirror and counter
- Inside the vanity and the medicine cabinet
- Exhaust-fan cover, and give the fan a look while you're there
Bedrooms, living areas and throughout
- Wipe inside all closets and shelving
- Dust light fixtures, ceiling-fan blades, window sills and tracks
- Clean interior windows and any doors/frames with marks
- Wipe baseboards and switch plates
- Vacuum, then wash the hard floors
The easy-to-forget list
- Door handles and light switches (high-touch, rarely cleaned)
- Heating/cooling vents and any in-suite heat-pump or fan-coil filter — a new-to-you filter is often overdue for a clean or swap
- Washer drum and dryer lint trap if laundry is in-suite
- Balcony or patio floor
Move-in vs move-out cleaning — what's different?
They sound like the same job, and the checklist overlaps, but the purpose is different, and that changes what matters:
- A move-out clean is done to a standard someone else inspects — a landlord checking against BC's “reasonably clean” bar to decide on your deposit. (If you're on the other end of a move, that's covered in our move-out cleaning guide for BC.)
- A move-in clean is done to your own standard, for your own comfort. There's no inspector — just you deciding you'd rather not eat off a stranger's cupboard liner.
In practice a move-in clean can be a little lighter on the “prove it” details (you're not photographing anything for a dispute) and a little heavier on the “this is mine now” details — the insides of things you'll actually use.
Should you do it yourself or hire it out?
Moving is already exhausting, so be honest about your capacity that week.
Doing it yourself makes sense if the place is small, was left in decent shape, and you have a free window before the truck arrives. An empty one-bedroom is a genuinely quick job.
Hiring it out makes sense if you're moving mid-week with no gap, the previous state is rough, or you simply don't have a spare half-day in the chaos of a move. An empty home is also the fastest, cheapest state for a professional to clean thoroughly — there's nothing to work around.
If you go that route, MaidEX handles move-in and move-out cleans across Metro Vancouver, with inside-oven and inside-fridge included as standard, at no extra charge. (Reachable interior window glass, sills and tracks are optional paid add-ons — not part of the base move-in/move-out package — and exterior window cleaning isn't offered.) You'll see a flat price online before booking — 5% GST included, no PST — and the work is done by insured, background-checked cleaners. For a condo, leave a note about elevator or concierge access so the visit can be planned around it. (Not sure whether to DIY or hire in general? We weigh it up in DIY vs professional cleaning.)
A realistic move-in timeline
- Before the truck: get access to the empty unit and do the clean (or have it done) — kitchen and bathroom first.
- Line the cupboards (optional) once they're dry.
- Move in. Now you're unpacking into clean space instead of cleaning around boxes.
- Once settled: start a light weekly routine so the fresh baseline holds.
Frequently asked questions
What should I clean before moving into a new place?
Focus on the empty kitchen and bathroom first — inside cupboards, the oven, the fridge, the dishwasher, the toilet, tub and sink — then floors, closets, vents and windows. It's faster and more thorough while the place is empty.
Is a move-in cleaning really necessary?
It's not mandatory, but it's worth it: a previous occupant's clean usually misses the insides of cupboards, appliances and vents, and you'll never have the space this empty again. Even a light pass beats discovering grime one drawer at a time.
What's the difference between move-in and move-out cleaning?
A move-out clean is done to the “reasonably clean” standard a landlord inspects for your deposit; a move-in clean is done to your own comfort standard, with more attention to the insides of things you'll use daily.
How long does a move-in clean take?
An empty one-bedroom is often a couple of hours; a larger or rougher place takes longer, mostly because of the oven, bathroom detail and inside-cupboard work.
Should I clean or hire a cleaner when moving in?
DIY works well for a small, decently-kept place with time to spare. Hiring makes sense if you're time-pressed during the move or the previous state is heavy — and an empty home is the quickest state for a pro to clean.
Moving in soon?
See your flat-rate move-in cleaning price online — 5% GST included, no PST · Metro Vancouver & the Lower Mainland
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Milad Hoseini
Founder & CEO, MaidEX Cleaning Services
Written by the MaidEX Cleaning Services Editorial Team and reviewed by Milad Hoseini, who founded MaidEX in Vancouver. MaidEX provides insured, background-checked cleaning across Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. More about MaidEX →
How this guide was made
This guide draws on MaidEX's hands-on cleaning experience across Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, along with publicly available sources. It was drafted with the help of AI tools, then reviewed and fact-checked by our editorial team and approved by Milad Hoseini, Founder & CEO, before publishing.