This is the list our crews actually work from on move-out day. Print it, follow it yourself, or hand the whole thing to us. Flat price before we start.
Move-outs we handle every week
Recognised for our work in New York
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Limited-time
Tap a code to copy it, then mention it when you book. One code per household, and they do not stack.
New clients
10 % off
Code FIRST10
Ten percent off the first visit, whichever service you start with. The easiest way to see how we work before you commit to a schedule.
Most flexible
5 % off
Code FLEX5
Give us a four-hour window instead of a fixed hour and we can route more efficiently. That saving comes back to you on every visit.
Biggest saving
$30 off
Code RESET30
Thirty dollars off a first deep clean or a move-in / move-out clean, the two jobs where the difference is most visible when you walk back in.
Your neighbors
Same walk-ups, same tiny bathrooms, same landlord walkthrough you are dreading. Unedited reviews from people a few streets away.
Sarah M.
Upper West Side · deep clean
I was in a panic with my in-laws arriving the next morning and my apartment looking like a disaster zone. Green Hands swooped in and did an incredible deep clean, making every corner sparkle. My mother-in-law even complimented how fresh and spotless the place smelled!
James R.
Park Slope · move-out clean
Moving out of our Park Slope walk-up was chaotic, but the Green Hands team made the move-out cleaning an absolute breeze. They handled the grimy oven and the stubborn bathroom tiles while I focused on the final boxes. I got my full security deposit back, all thanks to their meticulous work.
Emily K.
Astoria · holiday clean
Hosting my first Passover Seder was stressful enough without worrying about the state of my floors and kitchen. The cleaning crew arrived on time and delivered a meticulous clean, leaving my baseboards and oven gleaming. Everyone felt comfortable and I was able to actually enjoy the holiday.
James R. called us from a third-floor walk-up in Park Slope with nine days left on his lease. The moving truck was booked. The boxes were mostly taped. What he did not have was a plan for the oven, which had not been cleaned in the two years he lived there, or the bathroom tile, which had gone from white to a sort of soft grey he had stopped noticing. His landlord had already sent an email with the words "unit must be returned broom-clean" in bold. James googled a NYC move out cleaning checklist at eleven at night, found six different lists that all said different things, and gave up.
That is the actual problem with most move-out lists online. They are written for houses in the suburbs. They tell you to clean the garage and the porch light. They do not tell you that in a New York apartment the money is hiding in five places: inside the oven, the gap beside the stove, the window tracks, the closet shelves, and the two feet of wall where your couch sat for two years. A landlord in this city walks in and looks at those five things first. We know because we have done thousands of these walkthroughs alongside tenants, brokers and building managers since 2015.
We cleaned James's apartment on a Thursday, two days before his walkthrough. He recieved his full deposit back eleven days later. This page is the same list our crews carried into that apartment, written out room by room, plus what we have learned about how the timing works, what it costs, and where people usually go wrong. You can print it and do the whole thing yourself. You can also just book the clean and go deal with the truck.
We are Green Hands Cleaning Services Corp, based at 22-16 79th Street in East Elmhurst, Queens. Roughly forty cleaners, three boroughs, one written checklist. If you want to know your rights before you argue about a deduction, the New York Attorney General's tenant guidance is the plain-English place to start, and NYC Housing Preservation & Development covers what counts as normal wear in a rental unit.
How move-out day works
From the lease-end email you have been avoiding to keys handed over with nothing owed.
Truck booked, boxes half taped, and a landlord email using the phrase "broom-clean" that nobody has ever properly defined. The oven alone is a two-hour job you do not have.
Size, bathrooms, whether the closets and cabinets will be empty, and your walkthrough date. Sixty seconds online or one phone call, and a flat quote appears before anyone is booked.
A screened, trained cleaner arrives with the products and works top to bottom through the written move-out list. Inside appliances, inside cabinets, tracks, frames, baseboards, the gap beside the stove.
Dated photos of every room land in your inbox the same day. If the landlord questions something later, you already have the evidence sitting there.
Hover a room to see what we cover
Why tenants call us for this
Move-outs are the one clean where a stranger inspects the result and money changes hands. So we treat it like an inspection, not a tidy. That is why the standard does not drift from one apartment to the next.
We are …
… roughly forty cleaners working out of East Elmhurst, most of whom have been with us for years. Whoever arrives on your move-out day is one of them, trained on the same checklist and working from notes kept on your apartment.
An empty apartment shows everything you stopped seeing.
We clean it back to the day you got the keys.
No judgment. Just clean.
The result
Real New York apartments on the afternoon we finished. Empty, wiped inside and out, tracks clear, nothing left to argue about.
What we do
Move-out is one of them. Here is where it sits next to everything else, so you can pick the right one instead of over-buying.
Empty-unit clean top to bottom, inside cabinets and closets, tracks and frames, timed around your lease dates and the deposit walkthrough.
View serviceInside the oven and fridge, grout, baseboards, door frames, vents and behind furniture. The right call when you are staying, not leaving.
View serviceBuilt around New York layouts: one closet doing the work of four, a tub with no window, a radiator baking dust every winter.
View serviceLight tidying, laundry, bed linens and dishes alongside the standard clean, for homes that need more than surfaces wiped.
View serviceWeekly, bi-weekly or monthly on the same written list, so the apartment never gets far enough gone to need a rescue.
View serviceNo commitment, no card on file. Before guests, after a party, or as a trial run before you decide about a schedule.
View serviceIncluded with every move-out booking
In detail
You have one shot at this and it happens with a stranger holding a clipboard. Empty rooms hide the most, so we clean the places furniture was covering.
The last tenant's cleaner had twenty minutes and a super watching the clock. Before your bed goes in, everything gets wiped inside, not just wiped.
Turnover between tenants, on a deadline, with a showing already scheduled. Same list, same photos, invoiced to the management company.
An empty unit shows every mark under a photographer's lights. We clean it for the camera first and the buyer second, which is the same job done properly.
What clients say
We used the Green Hands move out cleaning service while preparing our rental unit for a new tenant. They left the space in immaculate condition, which made the inspection seamless for the landlord.
We hired Green Hands for a deep nesting clean before my wife's due date. They scrubbed every nook and cranny, so we could bring our baby home to a pristine environment.
Coming home from a two-week trip to a stale apartment is the worst. They aired the place out and disinfected everything, making it smell and look brand new.
Post-renovation dust was coating every surface. They got the fine dust off the walls and out of the air vents. Now I can enjoy my new kitchen without a layer of debris.
Juggling a demanding finance job and a toddler meant my home had fallen into serious disarray. The crew gave my SoHo loft a top-to-bottom clean I just couldn't manage.
My elderly mother struggles to keep up with housework. They were so respectful and gentle, and left her apartment dust-free and spotless. She feels safer now.
I was overwhelmed getting my apartment ready for a post-wedding brunch. The team handled the mess with absolute professionalism, countertops and floors immaculate.
Recovering from surgery made chores impossible. They provided a compassionate and thorough service, especially disinfecting the kitchen and bathroom.
The checklist
Work top to bottom, always. Anything you knock loose from a shelf or a door frame should land on a floor you have not mopped yet, not on a counter you just finished. Move-out is the standard clean, plus the deep clean items, plus two extras that only matter when the apartment is empty. That is the whole structure. Nothing about it is mysterious, its just long.
Set aside four to six hours for a one bedroom if you are doing it alone, and closer to a full day for a two bedroom that has not had a deep clean in a while. Two of our cleaners will usually finish a one bedroom move-out in three to four hours because they split the apartment and never backtrack.
01
The base layer. Every move-out includes all of this.
02
Everything above, plus the items a landlord actually opens:
03
Only possible once the apartment is cleared out:
Inside the oven. This is the single most common deduction we hear about. Baked-on grease does not come off with a spray and a paper towel, and a landlord will open that door within the first two minutes. Give the cleaner or the product time to sit. Twenty minutes of dwell time beats an hour of scrubbing.
The gap beside the stove. In a New York galley kitchen the stove sits in a slot with an inch of clearance on each side. Two years of things falling down there adds up. Pull the stove out if you can do it safely, and if you cannot, tell us so we do it with two people.
Window tracks. City grime turns the bottom track into a black line that photographs badly. A dry brush first, then a damp cloth, then dry again. If you go straight in wet you make mud and push it into the corners.
Closet shelves and rods. Nobody cleans these while they live somewhere, so two years of lint and dust is normal and also very visible once the clothes are gone. Wipe the rod, the shelf top, and the front edge of the shelf, which is the part at eye level.
Walls where furniture sat. Couches leave a grey halo. Bed frames leave scuffs. Normal wear and tear is not deductible under New York law, but a mark that wipes off and did not get wiped is an easy argument for the other side. Take it off if it comes off.
Book the clean for after the truck leaves and before the walkthrough, with at least one full day of margin. That margin is the whole point of the 24-hour re-clean promise: if something got missed you still have time to have us come back for free. People who book the clean for the morning of the walkthrough have no room to fix anything, and movers run late more often than they run early.
If your building has a service elevator reservation system, and most doorman buildings in Manhattan do, check whether the cleaners need a slot too. We have shown up on time and then waited forty minutes for a freight elevator more than once. Tell us at booking and we will plan around it.
Take photos yourself the moment we finish, in addition to the set we send. Timestamped pictures of an empty clean apartment cost you nothing and settle almost every dispute before it becomes one. If it does become one, the Consumer Reports cleaning guides are a decent neutral reference for what standard cleaning does and does not cover.
Products, sprays and cloths all come with us. For hygiene reasons we do not carry vacuums and mops between homes, so we ask that yours are available on the day. If yours is already packed on the truck, tell us and we will bring a Swiffer mop with disposable wet pads instead. For fragrance-free or pet-safe products, just say so when you book, there is no extra charge.
In detail
approach
An apartment in this city is not a small house. The radiator bakes dust on all winter. The tub has no window over it, so it holds moisture. One closet does the work of four. We built our checklist around those specifics rather than a generic room list, and on move-outs we add the things that only show up once the furniture is gone.
See the checklist
move in and move out cleaning
Empty cabinets and drawers wiped inside. Closet shelves and rods. Inside the oven and fridge. The gap beside the stove where things fall. Window tracks. Scuffs on the walls where furniture sat. Move-in is the same list with a different reason: the last tenant's cleaner had twenty minutes and a landlord watching the clock.
Book seven or more days ahead and code RESET30 takes $30 off. See move in / move out cleaning, or your borough: Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Lease ending on a specific date? Ask about end of lease cleaning.
Discover now
apartment cleaning
In a pre-war building in Astoria or Sunnyside, plaster walls shed a chalky dust that settles on picture frames and sill tops. In a newer Long Island City tower the problem is the opposite: sealed windows, HVAC vents holding dust, and floor-to-ceiling glass that shows every mark. On a move-out that glass is the first thing a broker photographs.
Ask about apartment cleaning in New York City, or your neighborhood: Long Island City, Astoria or studio apartments.
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deep cleaning
The standard checklist, then the rest: inside the oven, inside the fridge, grout scrubbed by hand, baseboards and door frames wiped, light fixtures and vents, window sills and tracks, blinds, behind and under furniture we can safely move.
If you are not moving, most apartments here need one of these every six months. If you cook a lot, have a radiator under a window, or you are in a ground-floor unit facing the street, make it every four. See deep cleaning service or the guide on deep versus standard cleaning.
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recurring cleaning
Tenants on a recurring plan almost never need the heavy version of this checklist, because the oven and the grout never got that far. Weekly takes 25% off every visit, bi-weekly 15%, monthly 10%, for as long as you stay on the plan. Bi-weekly is the right answer for most one and two bedroom apartments in this city.
Reschedule or skip free up to 24 hours ahead, because everyone has a week that falls apart. See custom cleaning plans or recurring cleaning.
See the discounts
eco & pet-friendly
Households with cats, dogs, birds or small kids get the pet-safe set by default once they tell us. One rule we never break, and neither should you: never mix bleach with ammonia or with any acidic cleaner. It produces a toxic gas and in a windowless New York bathroom that is genuinely dangerous. Oven cleaner and bleach in the same small kitchen is the same mistake with a different label.
See eco-friendly cleaning and pet-friendly cleaning, or the roundup of best eco-friendly cleaning products.
Discover nowthe full range
Same day, week after week, on the same written list. Upkeep rather than rescue, for clients who work long hours or travel most weeks.
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Walkthrough moved up a day? Call before about 11am and we can usually reach you the same day. Queens and north Brooklyn are easiest.
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Checkout at 11, check-in at 3. Linens reset, restocked, staged to your listing photos, damage flagged before the next guest finds it.
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The standard clean plus what piles up between visits: dishes, laundry, linens changed, towels swapped, clutter put back.
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The checklist and nothing more, priced by home size. Studios and one bedrooms run two to three hours with one cleaner.
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Condos, lofts, townhouses and brownstones. Stairs collect more dust than any other surface, so treads, risers and banister every visit.
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No plan, no commitment. Before a party, after a party, or just to see whether you like us before going recurring.
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HEPA vacuum, several passes hours apart, and the places dust hides: door frame tops, window tracks, cabinet tops, radiator fins.
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Offices, studios and small retail, after hours or before opening, on a schedule that fits your week.
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Recurring plans
Set a rhythm and the discount applies to every visit, automatically. No contract, no cancellation fee, and you can change or pause it whenever you like.
For busy households and full schedules
25% off every visit
Your home never leaves its best state.
Cancel any time · no fee
Our most popular rhythm
15% off every visit
The sweet spot for most New York apartments.
Cancel any time · no fee
A steady reset on the calendar
10% off every visit
Keeps things from ever getting away from you.
Cancel any time · no fee
Discounts apply automatically to every visit for as long as you stay on the plan, and are quoted flat by home size before anyone arrives.
Questions
Straight answers, no drop-downs. If yours is not here, call (212) 812-9418 and ask.
What does "broom-clean" actually mean in a New York lease?
Legally it is vague, which is exactly why it causes arguments. In practice most landlords read it as: empty, swept or vacuumed, no trash left, and appliances cleaned out. A full move-out clean goes well past that, and going past it is how you avoid a deduction. If your lease uses a stricter phrase like "professionally cleaned," keep the receipt we email you.
When should I book the clean relative to my walkthrough?
After the movers are out and at least one full day before the walkthrough. That gap is what makes the 24-hour re-clean guarantee useful, if something got missed there is still time for us to come back for free. Booking it for the morning of the inspection leaves you no margin, and movers run late more often than they run early.
Does the apartment need to be completely empty?
For the full checklist, yes. Inside cabinets and inside closets only get done if they are empty, and we cannot clean a floor that still has boxes on it. If a few items are staying behind, tell us at booking and we will clean around them and note it in the photo report so nobody thinks we skipped a room.
How long does a move-out clean take?
Two cleaners will typically finish a studio in two to three hours, a one bedroom in three to four, and a two bedroom in five to six. It stretches if the oven has never been cleaned or the bathroom has heavy buildup. We quote flat by apartment size and scope, so a longer job does not change your price.
Do you bring your own supplies?
Yes for products: sprays, solutions, degreasers, paper towels and sponges all come with us. We do not carry vacuums and mops between homes because that can spread bacteria or bedbugs, so we ask that you provide a vacuum, mop and toilet brush if the job needs them. If yours is already on the truck, say so and we will bring a Swiffer mop with disposable wet pads instead.
Do I get proof the apartment was cleaned?
Every move-out gets a dated photo set of each room emailed the same day, plus a paid invoice you can forward to a landlord or management company. Take your own timestamped photos as well. Two independent sets of pictures settles almost every deposit dispute before it starts.
Can you come the same day?
Often, yes. Call before roughly 11am and we can usually reach you that afternoon, with the best availability in Queens and north Brooklyn where most of our cleaners live. Manhattan below 96th Street is covered every day, though a doorman building may need a freight elevator slot. See same day cleaning service.
Will a move-out clean fix wall marks and scuffs?
We remove what comes off with cleaning: the grey halo behind a couch, hand marks near light switches, scuffs from a bed frame. We do not patch holes, spackle or paint. If your walls need repair, book that separately and schedule us after the painter, not before, or you will pay for the same clean twice.
Which neighborhoods do you cover for move-outs?
Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan below 96th Street. That includes Astoria, Long Island City, Park Slope, Fort Greene, Chelsea and about thirty more. Full list in the service areas below.
How do I pay, and can I use a code?
Card on file, charged after the visit, no deposit taken. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before your slot. First-time clients use FIRST10 for 10% off, and a first move-out booked seven or more days ahead can use RESET30 for $30 off. One code per household and they do not stack.
Testimonials
My wife and I were too exhausted to tackle the deep clean our apartment desperately needed after a busy season at work. The team arrived and completely transformed our space, making the fridge and oven look brand new. We can finally relax.
Preparing our home for my daughter's first birthday party felt impossible with a crying baby and piles of stuff. They did a phenomenal job cleaning and sanitizing the floors and surfaces. The house was picture-perfect for the family photos.
We had a guest coming to stay for a few weeks and our spare room was just a storage closet. Green Hands helped us clear and clean the space, making it inviting and fresh. The attention to detail in the vacuuming and dusting was just excellent.
We were hosting my parents for the first time in our new apartment and I was stressed about the city grime, particularly the window tracks and blinds which had black dust buildup. My parents were amazed at how clean the place was.
Patricia L.
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Where we clean
Most of our cleaners live in Queens, so Queens and north Brooklyn get the widest choice of move-out times. Manhattan below 96th Street we cover every day.
Queens
Brooklyn
All of Brooklyn22-16 79th Street
East Elmhurst, NY 11370
Ready when you are
Tell us the apartment size and your walkthrough date. You get a flat quote before anyone arrives, and first-time clients save 10% with FIRST10.
Green Hands
Cleaning Services
Insured, background-checked cleaners serving Queens, Brooklyn & Manhattan since 2015.
📅 Book a cleaning →22-16 79th Street, East Elmhurst, NY 11370, United States
