Before day one
- Confirm
- Move-out date, next move-in date and building rules on work hours
- Book
- Odor work and painter, with painting deliberately scheduled after treatment
- Reserve
- Elevator or loading area, if the building requires it
- Notify
- Adjacent residents about work dates and any equipment running
The ten days
Adjust the spacing to the unit; a lightly affected unit may move faster, a heavily affected one slower.
- Day 1
- Move-out walkthrough. Photograph every room before anything is touched. Collect keys and the resident's forwarding address.
- Day 1 to 2
- Remove blinds, curtains, abandoned items and any carpet and pad slated for replacement. Pull HVAC and air conditioner filters.
- Day 2 to 3
- Wash ceilings, walls, trim, doors, cabinets inside and out, closets, radiators, windows and fixtures, from top to bottom.
- Day 4
- Clean or service built-in cooling units and any ductwork serving only this unit. Seal gaps at outlets, pipes and baseboards on shared walls.
- Day 5
- Whole-unit odor treatment, if planned, with the unit closed and neighbors notified. Follow re-entry guidance.
- Day 6
- Ventilate. Close up overnight and smell the unit first thing in the morning. Decide whether any area needs another pass.
- Day 7
- Odor-blocking primer on walls and ceilings where residue was heavy, then paint.
- Day 8
- Install new blinds and flooring. Fit new filters.
- Day 9
- Final cleaning of floors, glass and fixtures after trades are finished.
- Day 10
- Final walkthrough with heat or cooling running. Photograph the finished unit for the next move-in report.
Stretching or compressing the plan
Ten days is a working figure, not a rule. A one-bedroom where the resident smoked only on the balcony may need two or three days of cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. A studio after a decade of heavy indoor smoking may need a second cleaning pass, a longer treatment window and replacement of carpet and blinds, which can push the schedule well past ten days. The order of the steps matters more than the calendar.
In older Capitol Hill buildings, plan extra time for anything that involves the building itself: elevator reservations, the building engineer for radiators, or approval from a condo association. Those are the steps most likely to slip.
Sign-off before handing over keys
- No odor in closets, cabinets or the bathroom vanity after the unit was closed overnight.
- No odor when the heat or air conditioning has run for at least an hour.
- Fresh filters installed and dated.
- Smoke and CO alarms present and tested.
- Move-in condition report prepared with current photos.
- Invoices and before photos filed with the unit's records.
General information for Capitol Hill, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.