One of the most important steps to selling a home is giving everything a good, thorough cleaning. Keep in mind that the house hunters who show up to tour the place are going to be diligent in inspecting every square inch of your home, ensuring everything has been lovingly cared for and properly maintained. Naturally, if they find that any part of your house is unsanitary, dust-covered, or simply not properly cleaned, they’re going to have second thoughts about the entire property.
Of special importance is the kitchen. A dirty kitchen is gross, to say the least; completely off-putting. And it’s an area where buyers tend to linger, being particularly methodical in their inspection and appraisal.
The bottom line? One of the most important home selling tips is spending some time getting your kitchen looking its absolute best, allowing you to really wow buyers with your high standards of hygiene and cleanliness.
Here are a few of our favorite tips for getting your kitchen shiny and pristine.
Cleaning Your Kitchen Before Selling Your House
- Clean your greasy grates. Do you have stovetop grates that have seen better days? One easy way to get them looking shiny again is to take them off the stove and place them in a trash bag filled with ammonia. Let them soak overnight, then carefully dry them and put them back into place. (You may want to do all this outside to keep the ammonia smell from pervading the rest of your house.)
- Spruce up your oven racks. Yes, buyers really may open the oven and have a peek inside… so make sure you get those oven racks looking like new. Take them out and let them soak in a bath with dish soap and hot water. Let them soak for a good six hours before drying them off and putting them back into place.
- Wipe away stubborn kitchen dust. You have certain areas of your kitchen where the dust and debris just won’t respond to conventional cleaners. A little bit of mineral oil, or even cooking oil, can help you wipe these surfaces clean.
- Remove stains from the stovetop. If you have stubborn stains on your cooktop, you can often scrub them away with a simple combination of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.
- Get wooden surfaces looking their best. Do you have wooden butcher blocks or cutting boards? If so, then you probably have some pesky stains. This is a common problem, but you can often wipe those stains away with lemon juice and kosher salt.
- Wash your curtains. Don’t neglect your window treatments! Take down your curtains and simply throw them into the washing machine. Another option is to vacuum them. Note: You’ll want to do the same for kitchen towels, kitchen rugs, etc.
- Dust off your blinds. Use a small microfiber cloth for best results. This can be painstaking, but one DIY hack is to wrap cloths around a pair of tongs, creating your own two-pronged dusting wand!
- Do the windows. No special secrets or hacks here; just make sure you wipe the windows down with a basic glass cleaner. We’d recommend applying the glass cleaner to your cloth, not to the windows itself; this helps minimize streaking.
- Take care of the dishes. This may go without saying, especially if you’ve read our previous articles on tips for selling your home… but the last thing you want visitors to see in your kitchen is clutter of any kind. Dirty dish clutter is worst of all. Make sure you either wash, dry, and put away before a showing, or at least load all the dirty stuff into the dishwasher.
- Clean off your faucet. Does your faucet have a buildup of calcium or grime? You can take care of this by filling a plastic baggy with white vinegar then tying it to the faucet head, allowing the faucet to soak for a few hours before untwisting the baggy.
Get More Tips for Selling Your Home
When it comes to house selling tips, we can’t overemphasize the importance of keeping everything clean. This is especially important in the kitchen.
For more information on the steps to selling a house, make sure you claim your FREE seller’s report from SOLD.com. Request yours today!
