When, why and how to do apartment pre-cleaning

Cleaning an apartment before selling it is a difficult and very responsible task. If you show housing to future buyers as it is – it can be sold for a very long time, any realtor will confirm this. After all, the apartment in this case is a commodity, and the goods must necessarily have a marketable appearance.

So, why do you need a pre-sale apartment cleaning?

Imagine that you are the buyer. You are offered to look at 2 different options: a perfectly clean and well-maintained property and a cluttered “barrack” with bins of things and two centimeters of dust on the surfaces. Which of these apartments would you want to stay in?

Some owners, and even realtors claim that cleanliness is not as important as, for example, the condition of communications (pipes, wiring, plumbing, etc.), windows and carpentry. This is not true! When a person enters a dirty house, he no longer wants to look at what condition the piping is in, his only desire is to leave this room as soon as possible.

Order, neatness and cleanliness are paramount things that you just need to pay attention to when selling real estate. Even if you are very busy, and you have no free time at all, and even more so for cleaning, you can not ignore this point. Invite professional cleaners who will quickly, qualitatively and at an affordable price perform professional cleaning of the apartment before the sale. Such service is also available in our cleaning company!

Когда лучше проводить предпродажную уборку квартиры?

Professional cleaners recommend breaking real estate pre-sale cleaning into 3 phases:

• For photography

To take presentation photos, the premises should have a presentable appearance. Take out of the apartment all the junk, garbage, if necessary, glue wallpaper, mask torn linoleum and all unsightly places.

• 2-3 days before the show

In this case, a general cleaning is carried out so that the potential buyer gets only positive emotions and impressions from the viewing.

• On the day of the showing

A light maintenance cleaning is carried out to bring visual gloss. You will need to dust the surfaces and damp mop the floor.

Tools and equipment for cleaning the apartment before sale

Before you start general cleaning, you need to stock up on all the necessary detergents and cleaning products so that you are not caught off guard. For example, you may find that you don’t have anything to clean the toilet bowl from lime scale. We have prepared a list of the most essential cleaning products for you:

1. Household chemicals

You will most likely need the following products:

• dishwashing liquid;
• scouring powder;
• Sanitary ware and bathtub cleaner (selected according to the coating of the appliance);
• liquid soap;
• oven cleaner;
• universal cleaner for washing surfaces (doors, window sills, cabinet furniture fronts);
• polish for polished surfaces;
• glass cleaner;
• carpet stain remover;
• toilet bowl cleaner;
• floor cleaner.

2. Tools and aids

Pre-sale house cleaning cannot be done without such tools as: safety glasses, respirator, rubber gloves, cleaning brushes (including those with an extension handle), paper towels, sponges, clean rags, dusting brush, broom, vacuum cleaner, basin, bucket, mop.

3.  Miscellaneous

It’s not unreasonable to stock up on little things like trash bags, light bulbs, a new bathroom curtain.

How to properly do pre-sale cleaning of an apartment without specialists

The first thing to do is to free the area from all extraneous and unnecessary objects that will create inconvenience and interfere with the cleanliness.

If the apartment is equipped with furniture, general cleaning is best to start with cleaning soft sofas and armchairs, as well as sleeping places from various contaminants, crumbs, hair and hair of pets.

Next, you should pay special attention to removing dust from appliances and cabinet furniture. First you need to remove dust accumulations with a rag or cellulose sponge, moistened with a special cleaning solution, and then rub the facades with polish.

Then you can proceed to dry cleaning of floor coverings and carpets with a vacuum cleaner. If dirt or stains remain on the floor after this procedure, they should be removed using detergents and stain remover.

At the same stage, the lighting fixtures are cleaned of dust and dirt.

Wet cleaning. This is the final stage of preparing the apartment for sale. Here it is necessary to pay special attention not only to washing the floor, but also to wet cleaning of window sills, interior doors, front door, baseboards. It is also recommended to rub all glass and mirror surfaces to a shine.

Important! If the windows were washed more than six months ago, it is recommended to perform a full window cleaning (inside and outside) in all rooms, and if necessary to perform their maintenance (adjustment of mechanisms, lubrication or replacement of seals, etc.). 

Once the bedrooms, children’s rooms and living rooms are perfectly cleaned, it is recommended to move on to cleaning the bathroom, toilet and kitchen area. To make these rooms look tidy, you need to perform the following actions:

• cleaning tiles from lime and grease deposits;
• removal of dirt from the walls of the shower cubicle;
• cleaning and disinfection of sanitary ware;
• washing and polishing of sanitary ware;
• removal of rust, lime scale and urinary stone in the toilet bowl, sink and bathtub;
• microwave oven cleaning;
• thoroughly washing the hood, oven and cooktop.

By performing all these actions in the sequence we suggested and using specialized chemicals and tools, you will be able to make the property look marketable and sell it as soon as possible.

Also you can always order pre-sale cleaning of the apartment in our company. Professional cleaners will perform it at the highest level in the shortest possible time. At the same time you will not have to spend money on purchasing expensive detergents and cleaning agents (and you will need a lot of them) and inventory – we bring everything with us. Contact us!