When Is The Right Time To Clean?

A Common Mistake

I’m  just writing this quick little blog since it has been brought up 4 times in the last couple of weeks so I feel it’s important and relevant to mention.

Many times homeowners will bring in house cleaners right before they put their house on the market.  That is a great idea, however the timing of WHEN you do it is just as important.

Time lines are very rushed when you’re getting your house ready to list and there are so many steps involved.  As previously mentioned, I’ve heard lots of complaints about cleaners not doing a good job.  From my many years of staging experience, the only time you should hire a cleaner is AFTER the house has been staged.

I’ve also struggled trying to stage a house right after the carpets have been shampooed and they are still soaking wet.  NOT fun, and it’s not great for the carpet.  Depending on how soiled the carpet is, it is often better to shampoo them the day before photos if they have drying fans, or right after the photos. Obviously if they are in really bad shape you should do them earlier but still consider the timing of everything else.  Take into account humid weather since it takes carpets longer to dry. Wet carpets can also escalate pet odours so you need lots of drying time (or powerful fans).

When hiring Styled & Staged for a Full Staging, the best order to do things is:

1. Homeowners complete the items on the Staging Report and makes sure the house is decluttered, tidied, furniture rearranged, and surfaces are cleared (depending on the report).
2. Styled & Staged comes in to stage the house. We are not cleaners or movers. We ‘dress’ the house with our rental inventory. In reality, the house gets a bit messy before and even during the staging process. Sometimes furniture gets rearranged, stuff is brought in and taken out and things get all moved around.
3. Bring in the cleaners right after the staging.  The house will be tidy so cleaners can actually do a deep cleaning.  There is no way that any cleaner can do an effective job until then. They can’t be expected to clean surfaces if they are covered in ‘stuff’ or clean the floors when there are boxes everywhere.
4.  I go back for final tweaking and assist the professional photographer.  The house will look perfect.

Work Together

Listing a house takes a whole team.  You need your realtor, stager, sometimes a painter/handyman/gardener/snow removal/ photographer, just to name a few.  When we all work together, the results are amazing.

I can honestly tell you that a clean house is EXTREMELY important.  I can make any house look great with my inventory, but if the house is dirty, smells of smoke or has a lot of pet hair, buyers might walk away.  I hope you find these tips helpful.