Move-In Cleaning in Manhattan
Between keys and boxes, an empty apartment is the easiest thing in Manhattan to clean properly. We open every cabinet and closet so the only history in your new place is yours.
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Move-In Cleaning Between Keys and Boxes
Broom clean is the standard most Manhattan leases require of a departing tenant, and it means about what it sounds like: the floor was swept. It says nothing about the hair in the vanity drawer, the crumbs in the silverware slot, the grease on the range hood filter, or the ring in the tub. The landlord's painter has usually been through since, and painters leave their own dust and drips. A move-in clean is how you replace whatever the last tenant considered clean with your own definition.
The best window for the work is the gap between getting keys and getting furniture. In an empty apartment we can open every cabinet and drawer, wipe every closet shelf, clean where the bed will go, and mop floors that will sit under a rug for the next two years. Once the movers have stacked boxes against the walls, half of that becomes impossible. If you can give us the morning before the freight elevator reservation, that is the ideal slot.
Manhattan buildings add their own steps. A condo or co-op may need a certificate of insurance before a vendor can come upstairs. A doorman building will want your name on the list and may only allow the service elevator between nine and four. In a walk-up, the super may be the one holding your keys until the lease starts. Send us the building's requirements with your booking and we will handle the rest with the management office.
New developments and recent gut renovations look clean and are not. Protective film leaves adhesive on appliance fronts, grout haze dulls new tile, and fine drywall dust sits in the window tracks, the closet shelving, and the HVAC returns. Those apartments get the same checklist, with extra attention to the residue a developer's final clean tends to skip.
Pricing follows the apartment size from our move-in and move-out rate card, and it covers the extended checklist below rather than a standard visit. Studios start at $180 and one-bedrooms at $220. Book as soon as your lease start date is set. End-of-month and first-of-month dates go quickly, and a week's notice is usually enough to get the slot you want.
What a Manhattan Move-In Clean Covers
The move-in checklist is written for an empty apartment, with the insides of cabinets, drawers, and closets included:
Kitchen
- Remove cobwebs
- Dust light fixtures
- Dust all windowsills, window frames, and ledges
- Dust blinds
- Dust ceiling fans
- Clean and dry sink and soap dish
- Clean countertops and backsplash
- Clean microwave (inside and outside)
- Clean stovetop, burners, and control panels
- Clean exteriors of large appliances (fridge, oven, dishwasher)
- Clean all light switches and doorknobs
- Spot clean cabinets and clean all handles
- Sweep, vacuum, and mop floors
- Clean oven hood vent
- Wipe down exteriors of all cabinets and drawers
- Wipe down all doors and door frames
- Dust and wipe down baseboards
- Sweep, vacuum, and mop pantry floor and wipe down shelves
- Wipe down insides of cabinets and drawers
- Clean inside closets and wipe down shelves
Bathroom(s)
- Remove cobwebs
- Dust light fixtures and shelves
- Dust doors, windowsills, and window frames
- Dust blinds
- Clean and dry shower and tub
- Clean and dry sink, countertops, and soap dish
- Clean all mirrors and glass
- Polish towel racks and toilet paper holder
- Clean inside, outside, and around toilet
- Clean all light switches and doorknobs
- Wipe down and disinfect cabinets
- Sweep, vacuum, and mop floors
- Scrub tile grout in shower
- Wipe down all doors and door frames
- Dust and wipe down baseboards
- Wipe down inside of linen closet and shelves
- Wipe down inside all cabinets and drawers
- Clean inside closets and wipe down shelves
Bedrooms
- Remove cobwebs
- Dust light fixtures
- Dust windowsills and window frames
- Dust blinds
- Dust ceiling fans
- Dust furniture, lamps, and lampshades
- Clean all mirrors
- Clean all light switches and doorknobs
- Sweep, vacuum, and mop floors
- Wipe down doors and door frames
- Dust and wipe down baseboards
- Clean inside closets and wipe down shelves
Living Areas & Common Spaces
- Remove cobwebs
- Dust light fixtures
- Dust windowsills and window frames
- Dust blinds
- Dust ceiling fans
- Dust furniture, lamps, and lampshades
- Clean all mirrors
- Clean all light switches and doorknobs
- Sweep, vacuum, and mop floors
- Wipe down doors and door frames
- Dust and wipe down baseboards
- Clean inside closets and wipe down shelves
When to Schedule a Move-In Clean in Manhattan
1The Morning You Get Keys
Sign the lease, pick up keys from the management office, and let us in. The apartment is empty, nothing is in the way, and it is spotless before the first box arrives.
2The Day Before the Freight Elevator
Most doorman buildings assign a move-in window. Book us for the day before it so the cleaning is finished before the movers and the building staff are in the hallway.
3Furnished Sublets and Short Leases
Taking over a furnished place from a stranger? We clean around the furniture and inside every drawer and cabinet you will actually use, with extra attention to the bathroom and kitchen.
4After the Landlord's Paint Job
A fresh coat of paint comes with dust on every ledge and drips on the floor and switch plates. We take care of the dust and the drips so the new paint is all you notice.
Keep the Move-In Standard Going
Set up a recurring schedule at the new place and it stays at the level it was on day one
Weekly
For full households, pets, roommates, and anyone who entertains
15% OFFBi-Weekly
The rhythm most New York apartments settle into
10% OFFMonthly
A reset for studios, one-bedrooms, and tidy solo households
Quarterly
A seasonal deep clean four times a year, radiator dust included.
Nobody in this city has spare hours for scrubbing. Between the commute, late nights at work, and weekends that fill up on their own, the apartment gets pushed down the list. A standing visit takes it off the list entirely. Choose weekly, every other week, or monthly, and we hold the slot for you. Traveling or hosting on a different day? Move the visit with a day's notice at no charge.
Why Manhattan Movers Book NYC Cleaning Service
Timed Around Your Keys
We book to your lease date and your building's move-in window, and we can shift if the closing or the elevator reservation moves.
Inside Every Cabinet, Drawer, and Closet
The move-in checklist goes where a standard visit does not: shelves, drawers, linen closets, pantry floors, and the insides of cabinets you are about to fill.
Comfortable in Doorman Buildings and Walk-Ups
Certificates of insurance, front desk sign-ins, service elevators, or five flights of stairs. We handle all of them without needing a briefing.
Set Prices by Apartment Size
Studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or larger, the move-in rate is quoted up front and does not change when we walk in.
Other Ways We Help Manhattan Moves
Leaving one apartment for another? Pair a move-out clean at the old place with the move-in at the new one. Our Manhattan crews also handle recurring visits, deep cleans, and post-renovation cleanup.
Apartment Cleaning
Studios, one-bedrooms, and shared units in walk-ups and doorman buildings alike. We work quietly, follow your building's rules, and leave every room ready for company.
Apartment Cleaning ManhattanHouse Cleaning
Brownstones, row houses, and multi-floor homes across the boroughs. Kitchens, bathrooms, floors, and dusting handled on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly rhythm you set.
House Cleaning ManhattanDeep Cleaning
For the buildup a routine visit skips: radiator dust, grease above the stove, grout, baseboards, and the space behind and under the furniture nobody has moved in years.
Deep Cleaning ManhattanMove-In Cleaning
The previous tenant's dust, the contractor's grit, the empty fridge. We scrub the whole unit while it is still empty so your boxes land in a clean apartment.
Move-In Cleaning ManhattanMove-Out Cleaning
A walkthrough-ready clean built around what New York landlords and management companies check: appliances, closets, cabinets, bathrooms, and floors, top to bottom.
Move-Out Cleaning ManhattanPost-Construction Cleaning
Renovation over? Drywall dust settles on every surface and inside every vent. We clear the fine debris, wipe down the millwork, and bring the space back to livable.
Post-Construction Cleaning ManhattanManhattan Move-In Cleaning Questions
Usually, yes. The landlord's standard is broom clean, and the crew that turned the apartment over was working to that standard, not yours. If you open the oven and the vanity drawers and are satisfied, skip it. Most people are not.
Yes, if there is a gap. Give us three to five hours before the movers' arrival window for a one-bedroom and we will be done and out before they park. Tighter than that, we recommend the day before.
Email us the building's requirements, usually a sample certificate from the managing agent, and we will issue one to the building before the visit. Condos, co-ops, and most large rental buildings ask for it.
Small items go in the trash or get set aside for the super. Furniture, appliances, or a refrigerator full of food are the landlord's responsibility to remove, and we may need to reschedule if the apartment is not empty enough to clean.
Inside the refrigerator and inside the oven can be added to any move-in clean. Most people add both, since it is the one time you will know for certain what condition they were in when you arrived.
A studio is $180 to $240, a one-bedroom is $220 to $300, and a two-bedroom is $280 to $380. Three-bedroom and larger apartments start at $380. That price includes the full move-in checklist below.
Book Your Manhattan Move-In Clean
Send the address, the apartment size, and your key date. We will confirm the slot and handle the building's paperwork so all you carry in is boxes.