Move-in ready means more than clean: our final walkthrough checklist

“Move-in ready” gets used loosely. To us it means a specific thing: a person could carry a box through the front door, put it down, and start living there without finding anything that reminds them it was a jobsite last week.

This is the list we walk with the builder at the end of every final clean. Homeowners are welcome to use it on walkthrough day.

Entry and exterior

• Front door glass, sidelights and transoms clean inside and out
• Threshold and porch swept and washed; no mortar or paint on the entry stone
• Door hardware free of paint and fingerprints
• Garage slab swept and washed, no drywall mud or adhesive spots
• Garage door tracks clear, opener dust-free
• Decks and patios swept, railings wiped
• Exterior windows reachable from the ground, deck or walkable roof

Kitchen

• All protective film off appliances, including the dishwasher door, range hood and the inside of the oven door
• Oven interior wiped and the packing materials and manuals removed (we leave the manuals in a drawer)
• Refrigerator shelves and drawers washed, interior film off
• Dishwasher filter checked and rinsed; installers often leave debris in it
• Range hood filters washed
• Inside every cabinet and drawer vacuumed and wiped; no sawdust in the corners
• Cabinet faces wiped with the manufacturer’s recommended product; no overspray, no adhesive
• Counters cleaned with the right product for the material (see our limestone and copper posts)
• Backsplash grout haze gone; caulk lines clean
• Sink and faucet polished, aerator checked for debris
• Under-sink cabinet dry and clean, plumber’s cutting oil wiped up

Bathrooms

• Tub and shower free of grout haze, silicone smears and sticker residue
• Shower glass clean and the manufacturer’s coating care sheet noted if there is one
• Toilet inside and out, including under the seat hinges where the installer’s handprints are
• Mirrors streak-free, medicine cabinet interiors wiped
• Exhaust fan grille washed, fan housing vacuumed
• Vanity drawers and cabinets vacuumed and wiped
• Towel bars and hardware fingerprint-free

Living areas and bedrooms

• Tops of doors, casings, cabinets and window frames dusted
• Light fixtures and ceiling fans wiped; glass shades removed and washed
• Window glass, tracks, screens and sills clean
• Closet shelving and rods wiped, closet floors vacuumed
• Baseboards wiped, no drywall dust in the corners
• Walls checked in raking light for chalky haze and wiped where needed
• Fireplace surround cleaned with the right product for the material; firebox vacuumed
• Floors vacuumed and cleaned with the manufacturer’s product; no haze, no footprints

Laundry and mechanical

• Washer and dryer film off, drum interiors wiped
• Dryer vent checked for construction debris at the wall connection
• Laundry sink and cabinet clean
• Mechanical room swept and vacuumed, top of water heater and furnace dusted
• Fresh furnace filter in place
• Electrical panel face wiped, no drywall dust in the panel

Whole house

• Every register cover washed and reinstalled
• Every switch and outlet cover wiped, no paint on the plates
• Door hardware and hinges free of paint and fingerprints
• Smoke and CO detectors dusted
• Stair treads and railings wiped
• The flag sheet: every item on it is either fixed and the tape pulled, or scheduled with a trade and a date

What is not on the list

Anything that needs a trade, not a cleaner. A scratched pane, a misaligned cabinet door, a nail pop, a stripped copper patch. Those are on the flag sheet, with a number, so the builder can close them out. A clean house with an honest list is move-in ready. A clean house with surprises is not.