The Post-Construction & Turnover Cleaning Checklist for Pittsburgh Property Managers and Contractors

There is a specific look to a unit that has been "cleaned" but not turned over properly — a haze on the windows, gritty baseboards, sticky cabinet interiors, a bathtub that looks fine until the light hits it at the right angle. Prospective tenants notice within thirty seconds. Contractors handing off a new build to an owner notice too. After thirty-five years of post-construction and turnover work in the Greensburg-to-Pittsburgh corridor, we've built the room-by-room checklist below. Use it as a self-audit, or as a scope document when you're hiring a crew.

Pre-clean walk-through

Before the first surface is touched, we walk the unit with the project manager or property manager and note anything that needs a heads-up: damaged trim, adhesive residue on a countertop, drywall dust in an HVAC return, paint overspray on a fixture. Getting these on the list up front prevents disagreement at handoff.

Kitchen

• Cabinet interiors, exteriors, and tops wiped and vacuumed for sawdust
• Countertops cleaned and, where applicable, sealed
• Sink and fixtures polished, aerators checked for debris
• Appliance interiors and exteriors — oven, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher — cleaned to move-in standard
• Backsplash and tile grout cleaned
• Range hood interior, filter, and vents degreased
• Floor swept, vacuumed, mopped, and detailed at edges

Bathrooms

• Tub, shower walls, and glass doors scrubbed and polished
• Tile grout cleaned; caulk lines checked for construction residue
• Toilet cleaned inside and out, including base and bolt caps
• Vanity, sink, faucet, and mirror polished
• Cabinet interiors wiped
• Exhaust fan cover cleaned
• Floor detailed, including behind the toilet

Living areas and bedrooms

• Ceiling fans, light fixtures, and vents dusted
• Walls spot-cleaned for construction marks and handprints
• Baseboards, door frames, and window trim wiped
• Windows cleaned inside; tracks and sills vacuumed and wiped
• Closet interiors — shelves, rods, floors — cleaned
• Outlet and switch covers wiped
• Floors vacuumed, mopped, or steam-cleaned as appropriate

Windows, doors, and hardware

• Interior glass streak-free, exterior glass cleaned where accessible
• Door hardware, hinges, and stops polished
• Entry door threshold cleaned
• Sliding door and window tracks fully cleared of debris

Whole-unit finishing pass

• Full high-to-low dusting, including any exposed ductwork
• Adhesive, sticker, and label residue removed from appliances, windows, and fixtures
• Final HVAC vent wipe and filter check
• Floors given a final detail pass after all other work
• Trash removed from the unit

Punch-list walk-through with your PM

Every turnover and post-construction job ends with a walk-through — flashlight in hand, ideally in the actual lighting conditions the space will be shown in. This is where a professional crew earns its keep: catching the streak on the shower glass, the smudge on the microwave door, the fingerprint on the switch plate before your client sees it.

Where recurring service fits in

Property managers running a portfolio of units are often better served by a hybrid: turnover deep cleans between tenants, plus bi-weekly common-area service to keep lobbies, hallways, and amenity spaces at standard. Contractors handing off new construction typically need rough clean, final clean, and a touch-up pass timed to the punch list.

Mindy walks every new property personally and gives you a free on-site estimate before any work begins — that's how we set the scope so there are no surprises on invoice day. If you're a property manager or contractor from Greensburg to Pittsburgh who'd rather hand this list off than run it yourself, the contact section below is the place to start.