Cleaning Tips to Get Your Home Ready to Sell

Posted by Judy Orr on Tuesday, November 29th, 2005 at 10:56am.

This post goes hand-in-hand with Staging Your Home for Sale. The first step to marketing your property is getting it as clean as possible. I'd like this to be an interactive post. I need more tips! Here are a few I've found and I'll keep adding to this.

Mr. Clean Erasers - This is great for marks on walls and other things, like the refrigerator. You should wipe the surface down with a damp cloth after using the eraser to get rid of any residue. You can get a coupon at Mr. Clean (will open a new window).

For dirty stove grids place them in a ziplock bag with 1/4 cup of ammonia. Seal and let stand overnight. Be careful when you open the bag (stand back). Use a soapy sponge (the rough or green side) to wipe everything and it should fall off.

For the top of the stove and the refrigerator baking powder works good with a damp cloth.

Spot cleaner for carpet: 3 Tablespoons dish soap, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon ammonia, 3/4 cup water. Mix and put in a foamer container (you'll have to purchase one of these). Apply the foam to the carpet and rub with a sponge. You can also use it on upholstery. I would suggest you test a spot first.

Homemade window cleaner: I found several "recipes" for this and I'll give two. For the first one you'll need 1 cup rubbing alcohol, 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Put this in a sprayer and use on windows and other surfaces such as chrome and tile.

Homemade window cleaner II: Combine 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent and 2 cups of water in a spray bottle.

Cleaning mildew from the bathroom. Again, I found several different methods so I'll list two. The first mix calls for a squirt of dishwashing gel in a bucket of hot water. Rinse after using and dry.

Mildew cleaner #2: Plain old vinegar in a spray bottle! Supposedly, this is a good preventative as a spray-down after every shower but it can also clean mildew and soap scum.

Cleaning the oven: There were many non-commercial recipes for this but one tip that I found was to first turn the oven on to 200 degrees and shut it off when it's pre-heated. Then spray on your solution. The heat will help the cleaner penetrate. There were more recipes for this than anything else but I'll choose two. First, combine 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoon bleach and 1 quart of warm water. Mix in a bucket or bowl and apply with a sponge to the oven's interior. Let sit for 45 minutes, scrub clean and rinse well.

Cleaning the oven II: 5 tablespoons baking soda, 3 drops hand or liquid dish soap, 4 tablespoons white vinegar. Mix the ingredients to form a paste. Apply it to the oven interior and wipe clean. Rinse thoroughly after.

I've got more tips I'll be adding and please add some of your favorite cleaning tips by using my comment area.

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Cleaning Tips to Get Your Home Ready to Sell

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