Move-Out Cleaning Checklist for Rockford Renters and Sellers
A move-out clean covers every cabinet and drawer inside and out, the inside of the oven, fridge and dishwasher, baseboards, switch plates, vents, blinds, closets and every floor, then a final walk-through against a checklist. Suite 5 does it in Rockford from $200, as a flat rate for the empty house.
Updated October 21, 2026 by the Suite 5 Cleaning Co team, Rockford, IL
Start with an empty house
A move-out clean is a deep clean of an empty house. It works best once the last load is on the truck. We can work around a few boxes, but cleaning around a full house of furniture is a different job and a different price. Empty also means the floors where the couch, the beds and the dressers stood finally get cleaned.
The checklist below is the same one we work to on a Suite 5 move-out clean, so you can use it to do the job yourself or to check ours. Work top to bottom in each room, so dust from shelves and fixtures lands on floors you have not done yet.
Kitchen
- Every cabinet and drawer wiped inside and out, crumbs and leftovers out
- Inside the oven
- Inside the refrigerator, after it has been emptied
- Inside the dishwasher
- Microwave inside and out
- Stovetop degreased
- Countertops and backsplash wiped down
- Sink scrubbed and polished
- Appliance exteriors, including handles
- Floor swept and mopped, edges included
Bathrooms
- Toilet inside and out, base included
- Shower and tub scrubbed, grout lines and shower tracks included
- Glass doors and mirrors streak-free
- Sink and faucet polished
- Vanity and any cabinets wiped inside and out
- Countertops disinfected
- Floor mopped and sanitized
- Trash emptied
Bedrooms and closets
- Closets and shelving wiped down
- Closet floors vacuumed or mopped
- Baseboards, door frames and switch plates
- Blinds, window sills and interior glass
- Light fixtures and vent covers
- Floors throughout, including where furniture stood
Living areas, halls and stairs
- Baseboards, door frames and trim
- Switch plates
- Vent covers
- Blinds, window sills and interior glass
- Stairs and landings
- Floors vacuumed and mopped, including under where furniture stood
The spots people forget
These are the items that get missed when someone cleans their own place at the end of a long moving week:
- Inside the dishwasher and the microwave
- The top of every door frame
- Switch plates, which collect fingerprints for years
- Vent covers in every room
- Inside closets, including the shelf and the floor
- The floor where the fridge, the beds and the couch stood
- Every drawer, including the ones you thought were empty
- A finished basement, which counts as living space and needs the same list
A Suite 5 move-out clean finishes with a walk-through against a move-out checklist, and you get photos of the finished house to send your landlord or buyer.
What a move-out cleaning costs
Suite 5 move-in and move-out cleaning starts at $200 in Rockford. It is a flat rate for the house rather than an hourly charge, and the quote gives you the exact number before anything is booked. Most move-out cleans take three to seven hours.
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Size and bathroom count | More rooms and more bathrooms take more time |
| Condition | Condition matters more than square footage. A house that was kept up goes faster than one that was not |
| Empty or furnished | Empty houses go faster. A house still full of furniture is a different job and a different price |
| Finished basement | It counts as living space, so include it when you tell us the size |
The quickest way to an accurate number is to tell us the size, the bathrooms and the date you hand over keys, and send a few photos of the kitchen and bathrooms.
Doing it yourself or hiring it out
You can do a move-out clean yourself. The checklist above is the full job, and nothing on it needs special equipment. The honest problem is timing. It lands at the end of a move, when you are tired, your supplies are packed and you still have a truck to return.
If you do it yourself, give it a full day in an empty house, start with the kitchen, and do the floors last. Take your own photos of every room when you finish.
If you hire it out, you get a flat price, a crew that brings its own supplies, photos of the finished house, and the 200% guarantee: tell us within 24 hours if something was missed and we come back and re-clean it at no charge, and if the re-clean does not fix it, we refund the cleaning in full.
One thing nobody can honestly promise is your deposit. A move-out clean covers what a landlord inspects, but the landlord makes the decision. What we can do is clean to that checklist and give you the photos.
Timing your move-out clean
- Book as soon as you know your move date. Moving days slip, so tell us early and we will hold the window.
- Schedule the clean after the last load is out and before you hand over the keys.
- If the clean has to happen on key day, tell us in advance. Same-day is often possible when we know ahead.
- Keep the water and power on until the clean is finished.
- Set up access. A lockbox, a code or a hidden key all work, and you do not need to be there.
- If your landlord or lease has a move-out checklist, send it with your quote request so we can see what they check.
Renters and sellers need slightly different things
If you rent, the move-out clean is about the inspection. The landlord walks the unit against their own list, so the clean should follow the same list, and you want proof of what the place looked like when you left. That is why the photos of the finished house matter as much as the clean itself. Keep them with your lease paperwork.
If you are selling, the clean often happens twice. The best order is a deep clean before the listing photos, while the furniture is still in, because dust shows up in photos long before a buyer would notice it in person. Then a move-out clean once the house is empty, so the buyer walks into a clean house on closing day. If you are on that path, tell us both dates when you ask for a quote.
In both cases the job list is the same. What changes is who looks at it afterwards and when.
Move-in cleaning works the same way
Buyers and new tenants book the same clean on the way in, before the first box is unpacked. The price and the checklist are the same. The difference is that you get to start in a kitchen nobody else has cooked in since it was cleaned.
Either way, the crew is background-checked and brings eco-safe products that are pet-safe and kid-safe. Request a quote online in about 60 seconds or call (815) 391-0795, and a real person replies inside 24 hours.
Book it in Rockford
Move-in / move-out, from $200. Rockford and 15 miles around, open 7 days, 6 am to 8 pm.
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Common questions
- How much does move-out cleaning cost in Rockford?
- Suite 5 move-in and move-out cleaning starts at $200. The price depends on the size of the house, the number of bathrooms, its condition and whether it is empty. It is a flat rate, and the quote shows the exact number before you book.
- How long does a move-out clean take?
- Three to seven hours. Empty houses go faster than occupied ones, and condition matters more than square footage. We confirm the window when we send your quote.
- Will a move-out clean get my security deposit back?
- It covers what a landlord inspects, but we cannot promise what someone else decides. We clean to that checklist and send you photos of the finished house to pass on to them.
- Does the house need to be empty?
- It should be. We can work around a few boxes, but cleaning around a full house of furniture is a different job and a different price.
- Can you clean the same day I hand over the keys?
- Often, yes, if we know in advance. Moving days slip, so tell us early and we will hold the window for you.
- Do I need to be there during the move-out clean?
- No. A lockbox, a door code or a hidden key all work. Access details are only shared with the crew assigned to your clean, and they lock up when they leave.