Most deposit deductions for cleaning come from the same handful of spots. Landlords and property managers on the Peninsula know exactly where to look, so it pays to know too.
In the kitchen, that means inside the oven, inside the fridge and freezer, the range hood filter, and inside every cabinet and drawer. Crumbs in a drawer corner are easy to miss and easy for an inspector to find.
In bathrooms, check grout lines, the base of the toilet, the shower door track, and the exhaust fan cover. Soap scum and hard-water spots on fixtures are common deductions.
Throughout the home, wipe baseboards, door frames, light switches, and window sills, and clean window tracks. Once furniture is out, vacuum and mop the spots it was hiding.
Do the clean after the last box leaves, not before, and take dated photos of every room when you're done. If you're short on time, a professional move-out clean covers all of the above and gives you a clean record to point to.