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Move-out cleaning cost for an apartment or house
A move-out clean of a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home costs $290–$400 at Kleen-It Maids in Dallas; a studio or 1-bedroom apartment is $170–$250. HomeGuide's national figure is $0.22–$0.33 per square foot, or $330–$495 for 1,500 square feet. Ask whether the inside of the oven, fridge, cabinets and drawers is included, because that is what a landlord checks first.
What do published prices include?
| Job, size or area | Published price | Included work and extras | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move-out clean (US guide) | $0.22–$0.33 per square foot | Move-out cleaning of the vacated home; appliance interiors depend on the agreed scope. | HomeGuide: house cleaning prices · Published · Checked |
| Deep clean, hourly (Seattle) | $75 per cleaner-hour | Published $200 minimum for one-time work. | MagiClean: Seattle house cleaning · Checked |
| 3 bed, 2 bath regular clean, one-time (Dallas) | $160–$240 per visit | Same-size recurring biweekly guide range is $130–$200. | Kleen-It Maids: Dallas cleaning price guide · Published · Checked |
| Studio or 1 bed move-out clean (Dallas) | $170–$250 per visit | Move-in or move-out clean: inside appliances, cabinets and drawers included. | Kleen-It Maids: Dallas cleaning price guide · Published · Checked |
| 2 bed, 1 bath move-out clean (Dallas) | $220–$320 per visit | Move-in or move-out clean: inside appliances, cabinets and drawers included. | Kleen-It Maids: Dallas cleaning price guide · Published · Checked |
| 3 bed, 2 bath move-out clean (Dallas) | $290–$400 per visit | Move-in or move-out clean: inside appliances, cabinets and drawers included. | Kleen-It Maids: Dallas cleaning price guide · Published · Checked |
| 4 bed, 3 bath move-out clean (Dallas) | $370–$500 per visit | Move-in or move-out clean: inside appliances, cabinets and drawers included. | Kleen-It Maids: Dallas cleaning price guide · Published · Checked |
| 5 bed, 3+ bath move-out clean (Dallas) | $450–$600+ per visit | Move-in or move-out clean: inside appliances, cabinets and drawers included. | Kleen-It Maids: Dallas cleaning price guide · Published · Checked |
Prices are in US dollars. Each row keeps the provider's unit and service area.
How much is a move-out clean for an apartment?
Kleen-It's Dallas prices run $170–$250 for a studio or 1-bedroom and $220–$320 for 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. HomeGuide's per-foot rate lands in the same place: an 800-square-foot apartment at $0.22–$0.33 per square foot is $176–$264. Expect the top of the range if the oven and fridge haven't been cleaned in a while.
For a house, Kleen-It lists $290–$400 for 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, $370–$500 for 4 and 3, and $450–$600+ for 5 bedrooms or more. Give the cleaner the square footage, the number of bathrooms and a photo of the kitchen. The kitchen and bathrooms take most of the time, so they move the price more than an extra bedroom does.
Why does a move-out clean cost more than a regular clean?
Because the cleaner does the parts a weekly clean skips: inside every appliance, inside cabinets and drawers, baseboards, window tracks and the build-up behind the fridge. Kleen-It's one-time regular clean of the same 3-bedroom house is $160–$240, so the move-out clean adds $130–$160.
Some companies charge by the hour instead. MagiClean in Seattle bills move-out work at $75 per cleaner-hour with a $200 one-time minimum, so a two-person team for three hours (6 cleaner-hours) is $450. With hourly pricing, ask for an estimate of the hours and a cap, so a greasy oven doesn't turn into an open-ended bill.
What does a move-out clean include?
A full move-out clean covers the whole empty home, top to bottom, including the inside of every appliance and cabinet. Use this list when you compare quotes, and ask each cleaner to mark anything they leave out or charge extra for:
- Kitchen: inside the oven, fridge, freezer and microwave; cabinets and drawers inside and out; counters, sink and backsplash
- Bathrooms: tub, shower, toilet, sink, mirrors, inside the vanity and medicine cabinet
- Every room: baseboards, door frames, light switches, window sills and tracks, closet shelves
- Floors: vacuumed and mopped, including under where furniture stood
- Usually separate: carpet shampooing, washing walls, outside windows and hauling away things left behind
What should I ask before booking a move-out clean?
Send this with photos of the kitchen and bathrooms: Please quote a move-out clean of my empty [number]-bedroom, [number]-bath home, about [square feet] square feet, on [date]. Does the price include inside the oven, fridge, cabinets and drawers? Is carpet cleaning separate? What happens if the landlord's inspection finds something you missed?
Ask your landlord or property manager for their move-out checklist and give it to the cleaner before the job. Book the clean after the movers leave, since cleaners price an empty home. When it's done, take dated photos of every room, inside the appliances and cabinets included. Those photos are what you show if the deposit is disputed.
Frequently asked questions
Is carpet cleaning part of a move-out clean?
Usually not; carpets get vacuumed, not shampooed. Carpet cleaners price it separately, such as EK Carpet Cleaning's $48 per standard room in Chicago, so ask for both prices if your lease requires cleaned carpets.
Does the home need to be empty?
Yes, for the quoted price. Furniture and boxes left behind slow the cleaner down and block the floors and baseboards they are supposed to clean. If some items stay, say so when you ask for the quote.
Do I need to be there for the clean?
No. Leave a key or a lockbox code, and agree how the cleaner will send photos when they finish. Walk through before you hand the keys back, so anything missed can be fixed the same week.
Sources
- HomeGuide: house cleaning prices · Published · Checked
House cleaning by cleaner-hour or floor area, with separate regular, deep and move-out services.
- MagiClean: Seattle house cleaning · Checked
Seattle deep, move-out and post-construction cleaning at $75 per cleaner-hour, with a $200 one-time minimum. Recurring service starts at $150 per visit.
- Kleen-It Maids: Dallas cleaning price guide · Published · Checked
Dallas prices for a three-bedroom, two-bath home: one-time and biweekly regular cleaning, deep cleaning and move-out cleaning.
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