When you’re preparing to sell your house or are simply considering renting it out, knowing how to ensure it’s presentable to potential buyers/renters is critical. Deep cleaning is one of the most essential parts of preparing a property for a market, but the idea of doing a deep clean is often overwhelming. With the right guidance, however, the deep cleaning process can be much more straightforward. To guide you on this journey, here are nine steps for deep cleaning your house so that you can sell it:
1. Plan Ahead
Nothing is as essential to a quick deep clean as having a set game plan. Without understanding what tasks you need to accomplish and how long each task is expected to take you, you’ll quickly feel overwhelmed. Thankfully, if you simply create a checklist with some timetables, you’ll feel much more motivated to clean your space quickly and, most importantly, efficiently.
2. Clear Clutter First
Before you can do a truly deep clean of a property’s space, you have to clean up the clutter and do some serious dusting. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself having to do necessary deep cleaning steps more than one time. Having to repeat tasks will harm your ability to stick to your schedule and will quickly demotivate you, so be sure to heed this important step! If you find any spaces with urine smells or stains from pets, be sure to handle them before further deep cleaning steps as well.
3. Start in the Kitchen
When you’re doing a full-property deep clean, you’ll want a comfy but productive space to take breaks in. By starting your efforts in the kitchen, you’ll have the perfect space to take a breather. Since your kitchen will already be sparkling clean, you can enjoy snacks at ease in the space during your breaks as well. Just make sure you do not leave any serious messes in your wake.
4. Bathrooms Should be Sparkling
If you want to impress potential buyers or renters, you need to make the most critical parts of your home sparkle. Bathrooms become especially important, as they demonstrate your dedication to making the house feel professionally kept and comfortable. Many renters and buyers assume that there is a problem with a property if the bathroom is a mess, so be sure to take extra measures to make the bathroom perfectly clean.
5. Deep Clean Your Carpets
Especially if you’ve been living in the property that you’re trying to sell, it’s easy to not realize how dirty a space truly is. Carpets can be especially tricky, as built-up stains or smells may have become fully normalized in your mind. By deep cleaning your carpets, you ensure they are as clean as humanly possible. This extra effort will make it much more likely that you’ll find a buyer fast.
6. Don’t Forget the Ceilings
As humans, we do not look up all that often (especially in our homes). Because of this, we rarely think about how clean or presentable a property’s ceilings are. When you’re first looking at a property to buy or rent, however, you’re extremely likely to at least briefly check out the ceilings. By ensuring the ceilings are presentable and free of any rot, you can charm a potential renter or buyer much faster.
7. Keep Your Windows Open
When you’re cleaning and when you’re presenting a property, keeping the windows open can add an extra layer of freshness to the space. During the cleaning process, this will also ensure you’re not breathing in too many cleaning chemicals and that you can enjoy the fresh air while you’re building up a sweat. This easy tip will make your cleaning journey much more enjoyable.
8. Your Basement is Key
Not all properties have basements, but those that do need to be careful about keeping them presentable. Like carpets, it’s easy to overestimate how clean a basement truly is. By deep cleaning this space and decluttering it, with extra vigor, you can feel assured that it looks good to both you and the potential buyer/renter that’s looking at the property later on.
9. Give Spaces Personality
Take some extra time during cleaning and preparation tasks to add a hint of personality to each space within your property. Doing so will make your property more memorable, and give it a more comfortable look. With this extra effort, you’ll make it easier for the potential renter/buyer to imagine how they will decorate a space once they’ve moved in.
Don’t Overstress Yourself
As you take care of your property and apply these nine deep cleaning tricks, be careful not to overstress yourself. Think of the process as more of a marathon, and less of a race. Doing so will let you clean more effectively, and help you relax during this likely-long, but worthwhile deep cleaning journey.