When selling your home, a cleaning is always crucial to a successful showing. During this public health crisis, however, you’ll want to take that standard pre-showing quick-clean to a more hygienic level. Right now, it’s critical to clean and sanitize your home before opening it up to a buyer.
Clean and Sanitize Your Home, Flatten the Curve
Taking some time to clean and sanitize your home before buyers come in for a tour can help prevent the spread of COVID-19—which helps keep your guests safe, flattens the curve, and (hopefully) gets us all back to our normal routines ASAP!
Here’s how to clean and sanitize your home before a showing.
Clean AND disinfect
First things first, it’s important to understand that cleaning and disinfecting (or sanitizing) are not the same thing. Cleaning refers to removing contaminants (like dirt, dust, or crumbs) from a surface. Disinfecting, on the other hand, refers specifically to removing pathogens (like the coronavirus).
To make your home look good (clean) and prevent the spread of the virus (disinfect), you’ll need to both clean and sanitize your home.
Focus on high-touch areas
When disinfecting, focus your attention on high-touch areas, like doorknobs, tables and counters, light switches, cabinets, faucets, and drawer pulls. Hopefully, buyers will be wearing gloves and trying to mostly keep their hands to themselves, but you never know!
When cleaning and sanitizing these areas, first wipe them down to remove dust and debris. Then apply a disinfectant chemical or home solution to remove pathogens.
Spend some time in the kitchen
Most kitchens see a lot of use—and have a lot of high-touch surfaces like handles, counters, knobs, and switches. While buyers probably don’t want to go poking around your kitchen, they will likely want to turn on the faucet, flip switches, and maybe even turn on the stove burners, so be sure to give everything a good wipedown.
Use the right disinfectants
One of the biggest differences between cleaning and sanitizing is the type of product used. When disinfecting, you’ll need a chemical strong enough to kill off bacteria, viruses, and other germs. Most common types include disinfecting wipes or spray, isopropyl alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide. Just be sure you’re not combining cleaning products on one surface.
Or sub in home products
The cleaning aisle of most stores has been looking a little sparse these days, but don’t worry if you can’t find any of the above cleaning products. It’s actually possible to make your own disinfectants with things you likely already have at home.
Homemade bleach spray:
- 4 teaspoons bleach, 1 quart water
- Let sit 10 minutes after spraying before wiping
Disinfect soft surfaces, too
Buyers probably aren’t going to be curling up on your couch (unless maybe it’s staying with the house), but it’s still a good idea to spend a little time cleaning soft surfaces, even just for the sake of accidental touching. A disinfecting spray is quick and easy to use, and can provide a little added peace of mind.
Want to Know More About Selling & Social Distancing?
Curious to know more about how social distancing and stay at home orders are affecting your home selling plans? Contact 220 Agents today—we’d be happy to clear up any questions or address any concerns.