Floor cleaning tips that ready your home for sale

Home sellers, it’s no secret that your home needs to be cleaner than ever when you’re trying to sell. Also not surprising is that those potential home buyers touring your home start their scan under their feet: your floors. What they see is up to you: your floors can be a sign of how well you take of your home OR a red flag that leads your potential buyers to make a low-ball offer. That’s why you need to take these floor cleaning tips to heart as you ready your home (especially your floors!) for sale.

Get any old stains (and smells) out of carpet.

A carpet full of old stains and odors can be one of the biggest reasons a potential buyer puts in a lower offer. After all, if a carpet is full of stains it needs to be replaced, right? Not necessarily. If your carpet has old stains, you still may be able to get those stains and residual odors out (use our carpet stain guide to help). As a last resort, a professional carpet cleaner may be able to tackle stains you can’t, as well as get odors out that can detract potential buyers.

Be careful about floor cleaners.

When cleaning your floors, be cautious. Test any cleaners you use in any unused area to make sure the cleaner doesn’t discolor the carpet.

Deep clean your floors.

Don’t stop with carpet stains. Deep clean every floor in your home (or schedule a deep cleaning) to make them look the best for future showings. After the deep clean, place rugs by all your exterior doors to catch any grit, dirt, or water potential buyers may track in (or ask them to leave their shoes by the door).

Repair any issues.

If your home’s flooring has any issues, now is the time to repair them. Contact local flooring experts to repair any cracks, squeaks, or damage so your home looks ready to move in.

Don’t leave standing water on floors.

As you prep your home for market, make sure you don’t leave standing waters on your floors when you clean. Puddles can damage wood and laminate floors, and a very wet carpet can cause odors—all of which can be huge detractors to potential home buyers.