Preparing Your Home To Sell

Putting your house on the market is an exciting time, and your goal likely is to have it sell as quickly as possible. Luckily, there's a lot you can do to ensure that the potential buyers who tour your home leave with a good feeling that might entice them to buy. In addition to reducing clutter, putting some of your furniture in storage and filling the air with the scent of baking bread, you should be sure your home is pristine. If potential buyers are in love with two homes and would be equally happy in either one, they're going to choose the cleaner one because that means less work for them as they move in. Read on for ways to get your house spic and span before putting it on the market so that it sells fast. 

Floors

Before putting your house on the market, give your floors a good scrub. In bathrooms, kitchens, or anywhere there is tile, give it a good scrubbing -- including the grout. Wood floors should be polished until they gleam. Carpets should be stain-free and vacuumed. If your carpet is heavily stained, rent a carpet cleaner to lift those stubborn stains and mask foot traffic. If you have too much to do as you prepare for a move, hire a residential carpet cleaning service such as Bravo Cleaning & Restoration to do the hard work for you. After a residential carpet cleaning service has done its work, you'll just have to vacuum your home before showings to get rid of any dirt that potential buyers track in and mask their footprints on the carpet. It might not be part of your regular cleaning routine, but if you plan to take your appliances, like your refrigerator or washing machine, with you when you move, clean the floor beneath them as well. 

Glass

Make all the glass in your house sparkle. This includes windows, mirrors and glass shower doors. If your glass shower door has soap scum on it, cut through the soap scum with a sponge soaked in white vinegar. White vinegar also can get rid of water marks on bathroom mirrors and is ideal for cleaning windows. When cleaning windows, skip the paper towels and use microfiber cloths to wipe them down so your hard work isn't masked by the lint that paper towels can leave behind. 

Walls

When you live in a home, it's amazing what little messes escape your gaze. When cleaning your home for potential buyers, try to look at your home with fresh eyes and you suddenly might see marks all over your walls. To get rid of those marks, first, give the wall a good dusting. Put a few drops of clear dishwashing liquid into a bucket of warm water, soak a white sponge or cloth in the water, wring it almost dry, and wipe your walls. Once all the walls are wiped down, give them a second pass with a clean cloth and plain water to rinse away any soap residue.