Pre-sale House Cleaning Tips: How To Deep Clean Your Property Before Selling
About to sell a house without a thorough pre-sale cleaning at all? Bad idea. To move forward and list a property for sale with no cleaning beforehand is a huge slip down.
There are many ways to boost the value of a property – from stiff repair costs to endless DIY improvements. Believe it or not, a few minor touch-ups can impress potential buyers and increase the price.
Too busy to stay on top of chores?
Does time tick away?
Truth is, you should never give up on cleaning a house to prep for a sale!
Otherwise, you risk ditching some good profits.
Losing money could happen because of renovations lowering the property value, a scam for inaccurate valuation of the property, and many other mistakes.
At Go Cleaners London we know that you should clean a house before listing it for sale, or you could lose a deal.
For expert help, consider our one-off cleaning service or the in-depth professional tenancy cleaning treatment we do for tenants and landlords. Depending on how severe you have it, both can do wonders. We also do amazing carpet cleaning using hot-water extraction cleaning technology.
And if you want to do it yourself, where to start? First,
In this guide:
Get Rid of Clutter
House owners collect tons of useless items over the years. Often, piles of clutter become part of your interior in a discreet and natural way.
When listing a property for sale, a nasty jumble could diminish the price requested.
Buyers need to see the full potential of a property to picture themselves living in it. This is why chaos is a prime turn-off for real estate sales.
Follow the general rule of thumb and put your abode in apple-pie order:
Maximise every square inch of the property by minimising the overall clutter.
And here is exactly how to meet the target:
Make Narrow Hallways Look Wide
- Remove as much visual clutter as possible.
- Empty all hangers.
- Throw old magazines away.
- Dump shoe racks.
- Take photos and other artworks down.
Showcase Your Living Room and Bedroom
During open house showings,
- Keep both the living room and bedroom neat and tidy.
- Conquer clutter so rooms feel less jammed.
- Dump useless whatnots.
- Pick up empty coffee mugs.
- Set phone chargers aside.
- Organise bookshelves.
- If you have to, throw away stale decorative pillows.
Tidy Storage Rooms so They Look Bigger
Nooks and crannies won’t remain hidden from the sight of a serious house-hunter. Besides the main rooms, clean up and organise closets, pantries, and any other small compartments.
Remove Excess and Oversized Furniture
Make your house look vast and elegant for buyers. To create a pleasant visual illusion, get rid of excess furniture. Cast extra pieces might discourage prospects, or worse – cut the asking price.
Items to be included in the checklist: grubby couches, bean bag chairs, rusty coffee tables, dusty-looking light stands, etc.
Leave the Kitchen Spotless-clean
Believe it or not, in terms of space and square feet, the kitchen is the most expensive room in a household. That’s why a clean and inviting kitchen can steal the heart of a buyer straight away!
Follow these guidelines to win the selling point:
Spruce Up Your Countertops
Remove small appliances, recipe books and other knick-knacks. Remove essential items and tuck them all in boxes and closets. Once countertops are clear, proceed with deep cleaning the house before selling!
Different surfaces require different cleaning agents. Whether it is granite, marble or stainless steel, figuring the right way to make shine countertops is man-da-to-ry.
Wash The Dishes
A stinky pile of dirty plates will put off anyone viewing the property. Avoid the impression of an overlooked house. Wash, dry and put away silverware before you let people in or take photos.
Buyers might look inside a dishwasher to gauge how big it is. Remember to run the appliance in a cleaning mode as well.
Sort out Kitchen Appliances
High-priced cooking equipment is the focal point of any cuisine. It might take elbow grease to make it shine, but the effort is worth it. Gleaming kitchen appliances may increase the perceived value of your property. And if you want to get a precise idea of that, get an instant property valuation to get your head straight.
Read:
Refrigerator cleaning, stove and oven scrubbing, microwave scour – have all appliances look pristine both inside and out.
Print the energy labels of each unit and you might gain the upper hand.
Mop and Disinfect Floors
Add a final touch to complete the immaculate kitchen look – a deep floor clean-up.
- Start with a good sweet in spite of the flooring type, always.
- Remember to scan corners and areas underneath your appliances.
- Proceed to the actual deep cleaning.
- Find the right treatment for the type of floor covering you have.
Read:
Bathroom Checkup
Your bathroom is the most important room that people strive to keep whiter than white and germs-free. Your WC needs to shine. If prospects see a grubby toilet bow in need of cleaning and a bathroom where you didn’t prevent drains from clogging will deter buyers from closing a deal right off the bat.
The following checklist will help with pre-sale bathroom cleaning and ensure a spick-and-span appearance:
Remove Mould and Mildew
To deal with mould and mildew, use either a store-bought product or simple vinegar – the first-choice multi-purpose solution of housewives worldwide.
If you opt for the latter, go ahead and
- Fill an empty spray bottle with white vinegar.
- Don’t dilute it – spirit vinegar is most effective when it’s not watered-down.
- Apply the solution over the infested areas – whether it is a shower curtain, a toilet bowl or tile grouts.
- Let it sit for an hour or so.
A smart hint: Vinegar smell is harsh and unpleasant. It takes up to 3 hours to vanish.
Since mould could take a fortune to fix, renters strive to hide it from landlords at all costs.
Polish Faucets
Bright and shiny faucets will catch the eyes of buyers right away. Increase your chances of cutting a profitable deal and add bathroom taps to your deep clean the house checklist.
To get rid of filth build-ups,
- Create a thick paste from 3 tbsp baking soda and juice of half a lemon.
- Spread a good amount of the DIY cleaner over the slimy taps and let it work for a couple of hours.
- Resist rubbing vigorously, and shun scratchy scrubbing pads to avoid any damage.
Overcome Limescale
Colourfully stained toilet bowls, cloudy mirrors and dirt marks are the last things you want potential buyers to notice at a viewing.
If you can’t use a specialised product, vinegar will again come to the rescue!
- Pour a litre of undiluted white vinegar in and around the sides of your toilet bowl.
- Wait an hour or so.
- Scrub the fixture to remove all stubborn stains. Give your toilet a final flush, and you are ready to move forward.
- Damp a clean cotton rag with vinegar and gently wipe down the glass.
Et voilà, now you’ve got a squeaky clean and shiny mirror, ready to thrill “hooked” prospects.
Clean Your Boiler
Wiping the outside is great, but cleaning your boiler on the inside is going a step further. Add that to your unique selling points and buyers will appreciate it.
Read: Zero-Waste Plastic-Free Bathroom Cleaning
Give Windows a Thorough Wash
Windows are a feature that home sellers often seem to neglect when it comes to cleaning.
“You never get a second chance to make a first impression”.
Dazzle homebuyers with good looks and welcome them with streak-free windows.
Consider professional window cleaning with purified water, or strive to achieve it yourself:
- Mix 2 cups warm water, 1/4 cup white vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon dish soap in a bowl.
- Increase the amounts if needed. Spray your windows with the solution and wait for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Scrunch up a few sheets of old newspapers into balls.
- Swirl them into circles over the windows to erase obstinate blemishes.
If you have aluminium windows, stick to mild cleaning products/solutions and gentle cleaning techniques to ensure their longevity.
That’s it – crystal clean windows, ready to greet sale prospects.
Read:
How to Clean Tape Residue Off Windows And Glass
Freshen Your Furnishing
Use a good polish to wipe furnishing and give surfaces a shiny look, comment experts at Leather Sofa Cleaning.
Explore our guides:
- How to Clean Sofa Cushions
- How to Clean a Suede Sofa
- How to Clean Upholstered Dining Chairs
- How to Clean Wool Carpets
Banish Funky Odours
Malodorous stays on top of the downsides list, which puts homebuyers off.
Reeks tend to linger for a long time, especially those left by pets, cigarettes, mould, and cookery magic went wrong. A great way to banish funky odours from your house is to get rid of textile pieces such as carpets, rugs and furniture.
Upholstery fabrics are highly absorbent, being prone to hold onto nasty smells. Apart from overpriced and futile deodorisers, there is a simple trick to get rid of bad odours.
Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda over the frowsy pieces and allow it to sit for a few hours. The white powder absorbs any funky odours instead of just covering them up. So, the longer you leave it to sit, the better it works.
Finally, vacuum thoroughly. You can now greet home viewers in your fresh and stink-free property.
For outstanding results, book professional upholstery cleaning experts to make things by the book.
Check the Overall Appearance
Seems you cracked pre-sale house cleaning but It’s left with a tiny chore to cross out.
Before you list your home for sale:
- Put the buyer’s hat on and walk through the place.
- Imagine how your property looks to potential buyers.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Does the living room need rearrangement?
- Are there any dirty vents or sneaky cobwebs?
- Anything that could indicate a poorly maintained house?
The overall appearance is critical in the real estate business, especially for first-time property viewings and British home buyers. Double-check every corner of your place to fend off sale breaches.
Final Remarks
Now that you’ve learned how to clean a house for sale, get to impress buyers. We’re talking about your home but truth is, it’s business and in business, you should never assume. Go the extra mile in deep cleaning and hire professionals.