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Whether you live in a rented apartment, condo, or home, you must pay a security deposit before signing the lease. The property managers and landlords use the security deposit to fix any damages and clean the house once the renter moves out.

The good news is that you can still get your money back in full, provided that you meet specific requirements using these apartment cleaning tips.

Property owners appreciate it when you leave their units in good condition. While cleaning can be stressful, there is nothing more satisfying than looking at a sparkling house.

This article shares apartment cleaning tips to ensure you get back your security deposit. Give yourself peace of mind by hiring cleaning professionals for your move-out cleaning. Contact us for a free quote today.

Apartment Cleaning Tips On Different Areas of Your Home

Move-out cleaning should be stricter than the mother-in-law test if you want to get your deposit back. It is more than simply swiping a finger across a mantel. First, you need effective cleaning supplies to make your job easier and faster.

You can start by dusting ceilings and cabinets, wiping countertops, and sinks, and finally, mopping or vacuuming carpets and floors.

Clean From Top to Bottom

When cleaning your apartment, cleaning from top to bottom is essential to ensure that dirt and dust fall to the ground. It saves you time and energy from multiple vacuuming. The first step to deep cleaning your home is removing cobwebs and dusting. You can:

Clear cobwebs from corners and ceilings
Dust ceiling fan, light fixtures, and ledges to remove dust and dirt
Wipe dust from surfaces such as bookcases, shelving, dressers, doors, and curtain rails.
Repaint or remove dirty stains from walls and baseboards
Thoroughly vacuum blinds
Clean and polish mirrors.

Tackling The Bathroom

Bathrooms are some of the tiniest parts of a home but are the least desirable and time-consuming to clean. You must clean the sinks, cabinets, toilet, tiles, and shower. Remember to clean the toilet from top to bottom to avoid spreading germs. Also, ensure to ventilate when using bleach properly.

Here is a step-by-step process of making your bathroom spotless:

Use the disinfectant cleaning spray and microfiber cloth to wipe down the sink and counters. Make a paste of vinegar and baking soda to remove stains from the grout.
Scrub the tub or shower using vinegar and dish soap to eliminate mold and build-up.
Wipe down the mirrors with a glass cleaner and thoroughly polish
When it comes to the toilet, you can use a toilet brush and cleaner to scrub the inside and remove hard water stains.
Antibacterial wipes are your best friend when it comes to wiping down the toilet seat
Finally, clear all the debris from the floor using a vacuum or broom and mop the bathroom floors using soapy water.

Apartment Cleaning Tips for Your Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most used areas in a home. However, you probably won’t make frequent meals during the last week before moving. This is the best time to start making your kitchen sparkle.

You can hire cleaning services like TLC cleaning professionals to save you from the hassle of cleaning and make your move stress-free.

Here are our apartment cleaning tips if you prefer cleaning the kitchen yourself:

Clear out and clean kitchen cupboard, shelves, and drawers
Throw away food leftovers
Clean windows and wipe down the frames, sills, and ledges
Remove molds and discoloration from the grout, wash and polish the wall tiles
Scrub, rinse, and shine kitchen sinks, faucets, countertops, and worktops
Scrub and polish gas rings and control knobs
Clean the microwave by heating the water and vinegar mixture for a few minutes, and then wipe using a microfiber cloth.
Deep clean the fridge using dish soap, vinegar, and water.
Take the trash out and sanitize the garbage bins
Lastly, mop and polish the kitchen floor.

DIY Oven Cleaning

The oven is one of the places that is mostly ignored when it comes to deep cleaning. That means it’s also one of the places likely to deny your security deposit by the time you’re moving out.

The best apartment cleaning tip to make your oven sparkle is using a mixture of baking soda and water to clean.

Baking soda is an excellent cleaning agent because it is mildly abrasive. As a result, it helps eliminate sticky food stains in the oven. It also removes greasy stains and leaves the oven spotless. After washing the oven with the baking soda and water mixture, rinse it using a wet piece of cloth.

TLC Cleaning Services for The Best End of Tenancy Cleaning

As cleaning professionals, we understand how energy and time-consuming cleaning an entire house can be. We provide cleaning services in Fargo, including Grand Forks, Detroit Lakes, Wahpeton, and Jamestown.

If you dream of walking into an immaculate house without taking the time or effort, TLC Cleaning is ready to help. Call us today for weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly cleaning to keep your space sparkling while you focus on things that matter, like family, career, and friends.

You go to your kitchen sink for a glass of water, and suddenly a swarm of pesky fruit flies appears swirling around your head. Now you’re thinking, “I wish I knew how to get rid of fruit flies!”

So how do you kill fruit flies? You may hope tossing the overripe or rotting fruit will solve the problem, but there are additional steps you should take.

A clean home is vital if you want to get rid of fruit flies. Having a cleaning company for recurring visits will help in the prevention of a fruit fly infestation. TLC Cleaning knows how to get rid of fruit flies! Service areas include Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Having a little knowledge of fruit flies goes a long way in preventing an infestation and dealing with existing insects.

Where do the Fruit Flies Originate?

The misconception here is they come in with your grocery store fruit or produce. Fruit flies usually make their way into your home from outside through open windows and doors when they get a whiff of the delicious ripening, overripe, or mostly rotten fruit on your kitchen counter. Fruit flies are attracted to fermentation, so beer and wine also seduce the little buggers!

Fruit Flies, Explained by The Old Farmer’s Almanac

The Old Farmer’s Almanac explains that the tiny insects are part of a large family of small flies with about 3,000 species. Compared to disease-spreading houseflies, fruit flies are relatively harmless. Other than fruit, they will live and breed in drains and garbage cans, and anything damp.

Fruit flies range in color from a light tan to a reddish-orange and brown. In liquid, they will almost look almost like swimming coffee grounds.

Having TLC Cleaning get under the refrigerator for spilled juice or milk or discover a forgotten potato under your counter will take away the larvae’s breeding grounds. If you want to know how to get rid of fruit flies, start with a deep clean.

Here is a fun fact, fruit flies can lay 500 eggs at a time! And in about 30 hours, the larva then surfaces and nourishes on the nearby fruit, developing into pupae. A week later, they are souring freely around your house and will lay their eggs.

The fruit fly only has a two-week lifespan but can do a lot of breeding. The cycle will continue without taking the proper cleaning precautions and removal steps.

What Are the Trouble Spots for Fruit Flies?

The biggest enemy of a fruit fly is a clean surface and a house free of spills, stains, and crumbs. Yes, overripe fruit is a big culprit, but so are garbage cans, garbage disposals, open vinegar or wine, or even whiskey bottles (and it is a sad day having to pour out a bottle of your whiskey because of the little buggers).

The Food Network recommends the following tips on how to get rid of fruit flies:

Toss the Fruit:

Get rid of infested ripe fruit and vegetables that are out in your kitchen.
Wrap up in a bag and securely fasten.
Bring to your outdoor trash can.

Clean the Fruit:

Wash uninfested produce in warm water and blot with a paper towel, allowing them to dry completely on a clean surface, as their eggs may be on the surface.
Put in a sealed container and refrigerate.
Gently scrub with a clean vegetable. Brush more rigid-skinned fruits such as apples, potatoes, melons, and bananas.

Wipe Everything in Kitchen, Bathroom, Family Room:

All kitchen surfaces need a good washing down, as there may be eggs.
Clean your refrigerator, tables, counters, and especially the sink drain and garbage disposal with a disinfecting spray (preferably food safe).
For sinks, use rubber gloves, and spray a paper towel with disinfecting spray. Use the paper towels to wipe the entire sink.
Check other house rooms, family rooms for hidden juice boxes, bathroom for dried toothpaste, basement for forgotten beer cans.
Take the trash out and clean the inside (including under the lid) and outside of your trash can.

As mentioned, the sink drains an often forgotten place. Keep continually free of food bits and clean all the icky buildup in and around the drain. It will become a breeding ground in no time!

Other suggestions on how to get rid of fruit flies include using overhead fans or portable fans. Fans will bother the fruit flies. You may also want to check screens and windows for holes or gaps and have them repaired or use caulk to fill.

Airborne Fruit Flies Must Die!

After a rigorous cleaning by you or TLC Cleaning, it is time to attack the mature fruit flies.

The basic premise here is to attract the fruit flies and drown them with homemade fruit fly traps. Set up bowls of glasses filled partway with apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, or even leftover red wine.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac instructs to cover the containers (bowls, glasses, wine glasses, etc.) with plastic wrap, a plastic baggie, or aluminum foil and poke holes in it. Make sure it is secure around the sides (a rubber band works great). Use a toothpick to poke holes, as you want to get the fruit flies in but not get out.

Another suggestion on how to get rid of fruit flies is to try the “bowl and soap trap.” Fill a bowl with apple cider vinegar, but add a few drops of dish soap and leave it out uncovered. Warming the vinegar first will make it more aromatic and inviting to the fruit flies.

Why the soap and no cover as with the other methods? The soap decreases the surface tension, and landing fruit flies then drown.

Tip: No plastic wrap or aluminum foil? Use several pieces of paper and roll them together into a funnel and tape. Put the funnel inverted into each filled glass. Flies will get in and have nowhere to escape.

If You Want to Know How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies, CALL TLC Cleaning!

Nobody wants fruit flies in their home. TLC Cleaning helps prevent the problem in the first place by cleaning the hard-to-reach spots for you. A clean house uninvites the fruit flies.

Keep your mornings peaceful. With the help of TLC Cleaning, you won’t have to worry about picking up a cup of coffee and seeing black dots floating in your cream!