You have the keys, the apartment is empty, and the moving van arrives tomorrow. This is the best window for cleaning an apartment before moving in, but do not reach for the mop yet. Spend the first twenty minutes on a hygiene audit: decide what needs a photo, what you can safely clean, and what belongs with the landlord, building manager, or a technician.
Take photos before you clean
An empty room is unusually honest. Walk through in daylight with your phone and no cleaning products. Take a wide shot, then a close-up of any mould, pest evidence, grease, damage, or appliance fault. Include an object for scale when the size is not obvious. If you are renting, label the room and keep the original timestamp. Add the finding to the handover record or email it to the landlord that day.
Once you wipe a cabinet, vacuum droppings, or spray a stain on the wall, part of the evidence is gone. During an apartment inspection before moving in, I sort findings into three rough groups:
- ordinary dirt, such as dust on shelves or limescale around a tap;
- neglected maintenance, such as an overloaded cooker-hood filter or a blocked overflow;
- a defect, including an active leak, unsafe socket, faulty appliance, persistent drain smell, or mould fed by damp construction.
Clean the first group. Photograph the other two and agree on responsibility before you change anything. I once saw an under-sink cabinet in Holešovice that looked merely sticky. We ran the tap and a fresh drop appeared on the back panel; the chipboard base was already swollen. A cloth would have improved the photograph. It would not have fixed the pipe.
Ten places an empty apartment exposes
This is not a search for every speck of dust. These ten checks tell you quickly whether you face a normal move in cleaning job or something that perfume and disinfectant should not hide.
1. Traps and drains
Run water into every sink, basin, bath, and shower. Watch the drain speed, the trap joints, and the floor below. Note gurgling, a wet connection, or an odour that remains after the trap has refilled. A removable trap may be cleaned once responsibility is clear. Pouring aggressive chemicals into an unfamiliar plumbing system on day one is a poor experiment.
2. The toilet
Flush once. Look at the supply connection and press dry tissue around the base of the bowl; it reveals small leaks better than a quick glance. Check cracks, the seat, and the area under the rim. Limescale is a cleaning task. Seepage or an unstable bowl is not.
3. Under the kitchen sink
Water, waste pipes, warmth, and old food traces meet here. Look for warped board, dark spotting, a musty smell, and droppings. Shine a torch around pipe openings. If the cabinet is dry and only grubby, clean it. If it softens under your finger or becomes wet during the test, stop and report it.
4. The fridge and its surroundings
Open the seals, drawers, and drain channel. Check for mould, dried spills, and odours after the appliance has been off. Photograph cracked shelves and freezer damage when the fridge belongs to the property. Move it only if that can be done without dragging a cable, bending a water line, or damaging the floor.
5. The washing machine
Inspect the door seal, detergent drawer, filter cover, inlet hose, and water valve. Black residue in the rubber may be cleanable. Rust at a connection or a brittle hose needs attention from someone qualified. Do not start a test cycle until you know where the machine drains and that the inlet stays dry.
6. Vent grilles and cooker hood
Dust on a removable grille is routine. A greasy cooker-hood filter can usually be degreased according to the manufacturer's instructions. Leave fixed fans, shared ventilation shafts, and wiring alone. A thin sheet of paper can give you a rough indication of airflow, but it is not a technical test.
7. Radiators and the space behind them
Use a torch between the fins and around each valve. You may find ordinary dust, pet hair, or marks from an older leak. A wet valve, rusty water, or a cold radiator during heating season belongs on the maintenance list. Vacuum dry dust before using a damp cloth, otherwise it turns into grey paste.
8. Tops of doors, cabinets, and kitchen units
Wipe one section with a white cloth. The dust layer gives you a quick idea of how thorough the previous clean was. Greasy film above the kitchen also tells you how long the job may take. Use proper steps for high surfaces, not a chair balanced on an unfamiliar floor.
9. Cupboards and drawers
Remove old liners and inspect back corners, hinges, and shelf-pin holes. Photograph crumbs, cast insect skins, or pepper-like specks before vacuuming. Empty storage is precious access. Once plates, clothes, and pantry food arrive, those corners will be ignored for months.
10. Corners, skirting boards, and spaces behind appliances
A cold damp corner, flaking paint, insect trails, or small piles of debris matter more today than streaky windows. In a ground-floor flat or an older Prague building, check pipe gaps, the space behind the cooker, and the kitchen plinth. One dead silverfish is not an infestation. Repeated evidence or live insects calls for a closer look at the source.
What must be hygienically ready for the first night
The flat does not need to sparkle by bedtime. It does need to be usable. Prioritise the toilet, basin, shower or bath, kitchen worktop, sink, handles, and the area where bedding or a mattress will go. Vacuum the route between the entrance, bathroom, kitchen, and sleeping space, then mop it with a product suitable for the floor.
Cleaning and disinfecting are not the same job. Remove dirt with an ordinary cleaner first. Use disinfectant selectively on the toilet, on high-touch surfaces after a plainly unhygienic handover, or after cleaning biological contamination. Follow the dilution and contact time on the label. Never mix products, especially chlorine-based cleaners with acids or other chemicals.
Leave windows, outer cabinet doors, and cosmetic details for later if time is tight. Polishing glass while crumbs remain inside kitchen drawers is backwards. A sensible new apartment cleaning checklist is about risk and access, not making every surface smell of chemicals.
The right order while there are no boxes
Start high and dry: cobwebs, door tops, grilles, and radiators. Continue with cupboard interiors, accessible appliances, and the kitchen. Clean the bathroom and toilet after that. Vacuum and mop the floors last because dust and debris will keep falling as you work.
For a first-day reset, I use this order:
- phone walk-through, water test, and defect notes;
- ventilation and dry dust removal from the top down;
- storage spaces that will soon be filled;
- fridge, washing machine, and other accessible appliances;
- worktops, sink, handles, and switches;
- bathroom and toilet, with tools kept separate from the kitchen set;
- final vacuum and damp floor clean, working towards the exit.
Keep several cloths and give them different jobs. A toilet cloth never visits the kitchen. Avoid soaking surfaces as well. Laminate, timber, and already swollen edges can be damaged by the cure as easily as by the original dirt.
When to stop cleaning and call the right person
Stop for an active water leak, sparking, a loose socket, suspected gas, a persistent sewer smell, or mould that is extensive or returning. If you suspect gas, do not operate switches or use a flame. Leave the danger area and follow the emergency process for the relevant service. Fixed ventilation, gas appliances, and electrical installations are not cleaning work.
Do not paint over mould or hide it behind a wardrobe. A tiny surface mark after old condensation is different from a damp wall with a growing tide line. Photograph the mark with its surroundings, note the smell, and record visible moisture. A landlord or technician needs to see the likely cause, not a freshly whitened symptom.
With pests, the visible trace is rarely the whole job. Seal food, avoid bringing cardboard into the affected area, and document what you found. Cockroaches, bed bugs, recurring droppings, or widespread activity need professional pest control and a conversation with the landlord or building management. Random sprays can drive insects further into cracks and make the treatment harder.
When professional empty-apartment cleaning is worth it
Professional help earns its place when only a few hours separate key handover from the movers, the kitchen has a heavy grease layer, or the bathroom needs prolonged descaling. An empty flat gives a cleaner access to skirting boards, cupboards, appliances, and floors without moving your possessions around.
For an accurate quote, send photographs, floor area, storey, lift information, and the available time window. Name the priorities: cupboard interiors, fridge, bathroom, or specific appliances. List defects separately. A cleaning provider should not be asked to repair a leak or disguise mould before the owner or a technician has assessed it.
Inspect the agreed work before the van arrives. Open drawers, look around the bathroom edges, check the worktop, and look behind doors. Ten quiet minutes now are more useful than discovering a missed cupboard after it holds all your dishes.
If you would rather clean an empty apartment without racing the boxes, send photographs and priorities through the Čistýkout contact form. Čistýkout can help you find a Prague-based cleaning option for the work that genuinely matters before the first night.
