Washington landlords have to itemize any deductions from your deposit, and cleaning is the most common line on that list. The good news is that the walkthrough is predictable. Property managers look at the same spots in every unit, and almost none of them are the ones you'd clean first.
The kitchen carries the most weight: inside the oven, under the burners, inside and on top of the fridge, inside every cabinet and drawer, and the grease line along the backsplash. Bathrooms come next, with grout, the shower door track, the exhaust fan cover, and the floor behind the toilet.
Then it's the stuff you stop seeing after a year: baseboards, window tracks, closet shelves, light switch plates, and the rectangle of floor where the couch used to be. Blinds and window sills are checked in almost every walkthrough, and they're the first thing to show dust in photos.
Do the clean after the movers leave, not before. An empty unit is faster to clean properly, and you can photograph every room for your records. If you'd rather hand it off, our move-out clean follows this exact list and gives you a completed checklist to forward to your landlord.