How Long Does an Exit Clean Take? (Real Timeframes & What’s Included)

When you're packing up a house, your to-do list feels like it never ends. Between taping up boxes, booking removalists, and moving your power and internet, you have a lot to do. You probably do not want to spend hours scrubbing your old rental. If you’re planning your moving week, you’re probably asking one big question: How many hours will this job take? To give it to you straight, a proper exit clean usually takes anywhere from 4 to 18 hours. The reason that gap is so big comes down to one simple thing. Getting a home ready for a final real estate inspection is very different. It is not like your average weekend vacuum and dusting. Here is a practical look at how long the job takes, where most of that time goes, and how to figure out what works best for your move. ## Realistic Timeframes Based on Property Size If you choose to grab a bucket, wear old clothes, and do this yourself, plan for one or two full days of hard work. If you hire a local cleaning team, they often send two or three people. They split up the rooms and use commercial gear. This cuts the total time by a lot. ### Here is a realistic breakdown: #### 1 to 2 Bedroom Apartment * Doing it yourself: 5 to 8 hours * Professional team (2–3 people): 2 to 3.5 hours #### 3 Bedroom House or Townhouse * Doing it yourself: 8 to 12 hours * Professional team (2–3 people): 3.5 to 5 hours #### 4+ Bedroom Family Home * Doing it yourself: 12 to 18+ hours * Professional team (2–3 people): 5 to 8+ hours Keep in mind that these estimates assume the place is already empty and in average shape. If your oven has years of grease, your carpets need deep steam extraction, or your patio is filthy, add a few hours. ## The Four Spots That Waste the Most Time Some areas of a house take five minutes to wipe over, while others seem to drain your whole afternoon. If you’re trying to manage your energy, these four spots are where most of your day will vanish: ### 1. The Kitchen (Especially the Oven) The kitchen is always the biggest time sink—no competition. Baking soda, heavy degreasers, and plenty of elbow grease are usually required to shift baked-on oil. Soaking the rangehood filters, scrubbing the wire racks, and getting the double-glass oven door fully clear can take two hours. ### 2. Bathrooms and Shower Screens Soap scum and hard-water marks take real effort to shift. Getting glass shower screens fully clear takes steady effort. Cloudy streaks can be hard to remove. Scrubbing each tile grout line also takes steady effort. ### 3. Window Tracks and Blinds Wiping the glass itself doesn't take long, but window tracks are dirty catch-alls for dead bugs, dust, and grit. Vacuuming out those narrow grooves and wiping down individual blind slats (especially wooden Venetian ones) is slow, fiddly work. ### 4. Walls, Doors, and Skirting Boards Running a rag along every single skirting board, door frame, and architrave across an entire house takes patience. Spot-cleaning hand marks and scuffs off hallway paintwork without rubbing straight through the paint takes time, too. ## What Actually Needs to Be Cleaned? Under Australian tenancy laws, you usually must return the property in a "reasonably clean" state. This includes normal wear and tear from everyday living. An exit clean targets all the spots that usually get skipped during weekly chores. A practical room-by-room checklist includes the following: Kitchen: Wipe inside and on top of each cupboard and drawer. Deep-clean the oven and stovetop. Degrease exhaust fans. Wipe down benchtops and splashbacks. Bathrooms & Laundry: Scrub showers, tubs, basins, and toilets. Descale tapware. Wipe down mirrors. Clean dryer lint traps and laundry tubs. * Living Rooms & Bedrooms: Dusting ceiling fans, light fittings, and wardrobe shelves; wiping light switches and door handles; and spot-cleaning minor wall scuffs. * Windows & Floors: Vacuuming out window tracks, wiping sills, cleaning interior glass, vacuuming all floors, and mopping hard surfaces. ## Doing It Yourself vs. Paying a Professional Team Deciding whether to roll up your sleeves or hire a crew comes down to what you have more of right now: energy or budget. Doing it yourself keeps money in your pocket, but it is hard work. This can be tough when you are already tired from packing up your life. You’ll also need to make sure you have proper degreasers, long extension poles, and decent microfiber tools ready to go. Hiring a professional exit cleaning crew means the whole job gets knocked out in a single morning or afternoon. They bring commercial vacuums and industrial-grade supplies. They know the exact items real estate agents check on their clipboards. This leaves you free to focus on settling into your new place. ## Four Simple Ways to Keep Things Moving Fast If you want the clean to go as quickly and smoothly as possible, keep these four basics in mind: * Get everything out of the house first: Cleaning around leftover furniture, stray boxes, or garbage bags doubles your workload. Make sure the removalists are finished before anyone starts scrubbing. * Leave the power and hot water on: The cleaner needs electricity to run the vacuum. They also need hot water to cut kitchen grease and bathroom soap scum. Don't disconnect your utilities until the day after the clean is done. * Defrost the fridge early: If your rental has a built-in fridge, turn it off and defrost it 24 hours early. Then it will be dry and ready to wipe out. * Grab your original condition report: Pull out the report you signed when you first moved in. It’s your main guide for how the property looked when you first got the keys. ## Summary An exit clean isn't something you can knock over in an hour with a spray bottle and a roll of paper towels. It takes time, steady effort, and a thorough eye for detail. Knowing these timelines upfront helps you plan your moving week well, without running out of time on handover day.