Cleaning Your Home To Sell It: Some Helpful Hints and Tips

When considering a house purchase most people are going to consider the current state and cleanliness of a home when it comes to making an offer, and the amount they’re willing to pay. Also, you, as the seller, need to keep in mind that yours probably isn’t the only home that is being considered by the buyer, and therefore it’s important your home leaves a lasting and positive impression in their minds. A clean and well organized home can add to the appeal and help to speed up the sale.

If you are looking for tips on how you can best clean your home to get it ready for sale, read on for some helpful hints that will give your home a big advantage over other properties on the market:

1. One of the first things your prospective buyer is going to notice when he or she walks into your home is the state of the carpet. Not just the appearance, but also the smell. Old houses often have the smell of mold hanging in the air, and this could be coming from beneath your carpets. Perhaps you’ve had a spill in the past which hasn’t been allowed to dry and mold has developed and spread without you noticing it. Although getting rid of mold is probably a job better left for the professionals, you can disguise the smell and not let it put off a potential buyer. Start off with some spot removal to remove any clearly noticeable blemishes. Next spread baking soda over the carpet and use a stiff brush to get it deep into the fibers. Let is lie there for about an hour and then use a strong vacuum cleaner to suck it all up. The baking soda will absorb both moisture and smells and both of these will be removed by the baking soda being picked up by the vacuum cleaner. Next use a good carpet deodorizer to leave your carpet smelling nice and fresh. If your carpet is in a really bad state, then you may need to considering hiring a professional carpet cleaning company to shampoo and deep cleanse it.

2. It’s a well known fact that kitchens sell homes. Therefore it’s important that your kitchen looks spotless when it’s being inspected. Make sure all surfaces are clean. If you have any grout showing make sure it’s mold-free and looking pretty much like new. Grout is a reservoir for germs and bacteria, so whether you are selling your home or not you should always pay careful attention to keep your grout clean and disinfected. Put away any out of the ordinary kitchen equipment such as bread makers and table top ovens, and only leave a few of the more common items such as kettles, toaster and microwave out on the counter tops. You want your counter space to be at a premium to make your kitchen look bigger than it might actually be. Over cluttered kitchen counters gives the impression that you don’t have enough cupboard space available for storage.

3. Clean your fridge and remove any spoiled food, or food with strong odors. Even if you’re not selling your kitchen goods, the last thing you want is to be embarrassed when a would-be buyer walks by and opens the refrigerator door to release the smell of last week’s left over goulash. Make sure your oven is spotless and the stove tops are stain free.

4. Make sure your curtains and blinds are dirt and dust free. Remember we are comfortable living in our own mess, but when you walk into somebody else’s then it is a huge turn off. An hour spent cleaning and dusting off these window fittings could make all the difference in the world on whether you get an offer or not.

5. De-clutter your bedrooms and living room. Put away all books, documents and kids toys, and if necessary, rearrange your furniture to make the rooms as spacious as possible. Remember if you are moving heavy furniture that you make also need to inspect for additional dirt and dust, since these items are probably not moved every time you clean those rooms.

All of this might seem like a lot of effort to go to, but remember selling a home, especially in today’s economy isn’t easy, so you need to go that extra mile to make your home the most attractive option for prospective buyers. Of all the ways you can improve your home, cleaning is always going to be the least expensive option.

Author Bio: Rosemary Gardner is a freelance writer living in Fort Myers, Florida. Rosemary specializing in writing articles and blog posts on home care. If you are in need of a Fort Myers carpet cleaning company, Rosemary recommends you check the online review sites to find out what the customers of the carpet cleaning companies in Fort Myers are saying about them.