Bond Cleaning Guide for Furnished vs Unfurnished Homes

Disagreements and disputes over bond cleaning are quite common in the Sunshine Coast’s rental real estate market. Tenants running at the end of their tenancy often face the challenge of restoring their rented home to its original condition (as it was at the start of a lease). It is a crucial step for securing your hard earned bond money.

From bedrooms and living rooms to kitchens and bathrooms, every nook and cranny must be spotless to pass your property inspection. The entire process can be time consuming but a proper cleaning checklist can do wonders. However, the approach changes when cleaning furnished rental homes compared to unfurnished properties. The effort goes beyond cleaning walls, floors and fixed fixtures. It is more detailed, laborious, and the chances of rental bond deductions are high.

Here is a comprehensive guide to bond cleaning for furnished and unfurnished rental homes. This will help you understand key differences when tackling dirt and grime, saving you time and energy.

Let’s Get Started!

1. What is Bond Cleaning & Why Does it Matter to Tenants?

Bond cleaning is a one time cleaning process performed specifically at the end of a tenancy to return the rental property to its pristine condition. Unlike a regular house cleaning session, it is more intricate and requires professional assistance to meet the landlord’s cleanliness standards. The process involves dusting of hard surfaces, vacuuming carpets and mopping floors, washing windows, cleaning and disinfecting kitchen surfaces and bathroom fixtures, while paying special attention to hard to reach areas as outlined in the lease agreement.

According to the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008, it is a tenant’s responsibility to hand over the property in a reasonably clean condition beyond fair wear and tear. Failing to perform detailed cleaning can lead to bond deductions and penalties. If you want to seamlessly pass your rental property inspection, book experts for a professional bond cleaning Sunshine Coast. They meticulously clean everything, including furnished and unfurnished properties to secure your bond money.

Fret not! We provide a detailed comparison of bond cleaning for furnished and unfurnished homes to help you better understand the scenario.

2. Living Room Cleaning Checklist: Unfurnished vs. furnished

Unfurnished properties: The focus is mainly on removing cobwebs and dust from ceiling fans, walls, air vents, light fixtures and fittings, windows, blinds, carpets and floors. It is good to follow a top to bottom cleaning approach to attain cleaning precision and efficiency. Ensure you remove all the furniture pieces to access nooks and crannies without any stress.

Furnished: There is no denying that cleaning a furnished home at the end of a tenancy can be a bit more difficult and time consuming. Apart from cleaning walls, windows, vents, carpets, and floors, you also need to wipe down all furniture pieces, including sofas, chairs, and tables. Vacuuming upholstery & cushions and polishing wooden furniture are also added to the checklist.

3. Creating a Spotless Kitchen: Key Difference

Unfurnished Home: Landlords thoroughly inspect every nook and cranny of the kitchen before releasing the bond money. The best part is that an unfurnished kitchen is quite easy to clean. The main focus is only on the built in fixtures and fittings, like cupboards, drawers, cabinets, countertops, stovetops, oven, rangehood, splashback, tiles, sinks, and faucets. No large appliances or furniture are included in the checklist. However, it is always good to refer to the property condition report to prevent disputes.

Furnished: This includes everything from the unfurnished property along with a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, inside and outside. You may also need to clean small appliances, such as a coffee maker, kettle, toaster, and dining table and chairs.

4. Bathroom Cleaning Checklist: Unfurnished vs Furnished Home

Unfurnished Property: Bathrooms are a breeding ground for lethal germs, mould and mildew, leading to various health hazards. When cleaning an unfurnished home, bond cleaning Sunshine Coast experts focus on detailed cleaning. They clean the showerhead, walls, grout lines, glass doors, curtains, bathtubs, toilet seat, around the rim area, counter, sink, taps, towel rails, mirrors, and floors. The main focus is to banish soap scum, mineral deposits and lingering germs.

Furnished Property: Add on tasks are cleaning vanity items, cabinets, storage units. That’s one of the reasons why bond cleaning for furnished homes is more expensive than for unfurnished properties.

5. Bedroom Cleaning Makes a Difference

Unfurnished: Make sure you vacuum the mattress, dust the side tables, clean wardrobes outside and the top, polish mirrors, wash windows and mop the floors.

Furnished: Under this, you may need to steam clean the mattress, wipe down bed frames and side tables, clean inside the drawers, etc.

6. Carpets and Rugs Cleaning

In an unfurnished home, you just need to vacuum the carpet or just blot the affected area with a damp cloth. On the contrary, furnished property requires moving large furniture from one place to another for deep cleaning of carpets. This may lead to physical injuries if you lift the heavy object without any assistance.

7. Understanding the Key Difference:

Here is a brief guide to help you understand the key differences when cleaning both types of properties:

Furniture pieces and Belongings

The key difference lies in the thorough cleaning of furniture pieces and other household belongings in a furnished home. This requires extra time, energy and cleaning products, especially when cleaning couches and large tables.

Ease and Accessibility

In unfurnished rental properties, quality bond cleaners in Sunshine Coast have easier access to all surfaces, including nooks and crannies. On the other hand, furnished properties may have spots obstructed by large pieces that require more detailed cleaning strategies.

Exclusions

Cleaners won’t clean inside cupboards and drawers if items are not removed when cleaning furnished properties. They also don’t clean or warrant lamps, clocks, decorative pieces, fruit bowls, linens and other ‘nick knacks’.

When hiring professionals, make sure you ask necessary questions about bond cleaning to clear your doubts. This will help you make an informed decision.

Infographic: How to Clean Furnished vs Unfurnished Home At the End of Tenancy?

Wrapping Up

There is a huge difference in cleaning a furnished vs an unfurnished home at the end of a tenancy. It is always good to hire a professional bond cleaning service in Sunshine Coast to ease the burden. However, remember that they may quote a higher rate for furnished properties. If you want to save money, empty the entire room, remove all furniture and let professionals deep clean almost all surfaces for a safe and sound bond retrieval.