When getting your home ready to put on the market you really need to think in terms of “Spring Cleaning” or really what we like to call a Deep Clean. This is the elbow grease your mom talked about – when you roll up your sleeves and remove grime, dirt, and make your home look shiny. Here are some great tips about how to really your deep clean on!
What |
To Do |
Air Conditioner & Heater |
- Change the filters in the furnace
- Schedule a service in early spring to check the system out – you want to make sure the system works before buyers tour
|
Windows |
- Squeegee with water/ammonia mix – works better than glass cleaner
- Clean on a cloudy day – less streaks
- Touch up the windowsills with paint, inside and out
- Repair loose glass
|
De-Griming |
- Wash down the walls and doors – a mixture of trisodium phosphate and water should work.
- Concentrate this cleaning in bathrooms and kitchen
- Soak cotton balls in bleach and place them in mildewed corners of showers when you start cleaning the bathroom. Remove them when you’re done and the mildrew will be gone.
- Use rubbing alcohol to clean caulking – or consider replacing the caulking
- Disinfect and whiten toilets with chlorine bleach. Let sit for 10 minutes to kill germs – wear gloves!
- Remove mildew from floors and walls by spraying a mixture of ½ cup chlorine bleach, 1/3 cup powdered laundry soap and 1 gallon hot water, working from the base of the wall up. Wear gloves!
|
Fridge & Freezer(yes people will look) |
- With a trash can and large cooler on hand, take out all fridge and freezer contents. Throw away old and expired items and place the remaining perishables in the cooler.
- Scrub down all the interior surfaces, including rubber gaskets around the doors
- Re-organized the contents as you put them back by category. Local organizational expert Amy Volk has a great plan for this on her blog, Simplified Living.
|
Floors |
- Vacuum hard surfaces first
- Wax the floor and seal when dry to protect
- Rent or hire a professional carpet cleaning service.
|
Odds & Ends |
- Smoke detectors – test, clean, and change the batteries
- Water Valves – open and close the main water values and check for leaks
- Fire Extinguishers – recharge and check dates
|
Exterior |
- Check your roof and gutters for leaves and debris.
- Patch cracks in the driveway, patio, paths, and sidewalk
- Power wash wooden decks and surfaces
- Fix squeaky doors and windows
- Have your chimney and furnace serviced
|
Information came from Peter Walsh