Homes Staged To Sell: Cleaning, Living Room/Den/Dining Room

So, you are standing in the middle of the living room. Hopefully, the Staging is done and the number of things in the room is significantly reduced - that will make cleaning easier. If you have read the Science And Art Of Staging on my website and have been following this blog, you realize you actually just thought, "I know how to clean this room to Live, how do clean it to Sell?"


Before you start on the first major cleaning after you Stage, I suggest you get a phone book and call several professional cleaning services. Ask questions: do they truly clean from the ceiling to the floor? Get quotes and find out if your budget can handle a one-time deep, deep cleaning. If it can, then consider paying someone to start you off right. Thereafter, if you usually use a maid service, continue to do so. If you usually do the cleaning yourself, go for it.

Clean sells houses. My family lived in one house for four years, then moved and put the vacant house up for sale. I still lived close by, so I checked for touch up cleaning every few days. Once every two months, I had a maid service come in. When we sold the house, the buyers asked me if anyone had ever lived in the house because it looked and smelled so pristine.


Okay, there are no professional cleaning services in your area, or your budget will not cover the cost (and that can happen).

Time to DIY clean.

I keep a supply of vinyl (waterproof) tablecloths, old washcloths (I buy these in bulk when the Stuff For A Dollar store has a sale), Swiffer dry dusters, krud remover, antibacterial generic household cleaner, glass cleaner wipes with vinegar (or, I just use vinegar), granite wipes, and floor cleaner/polish.

Start at the top and work your way down. Get a dry duster with an extension and wipe down the ceiling then move on to the walls. Be prepared to be surprised at how much grey matter you remove and how many times you have to change the dust cloth. Keep it dry. You risk smears otherwise.

If you have to use a ladder to reach the ceiling, be very, very careful. Move the ladder frequently. Do not try to reach too far and risk losing your balance.

Even if you painted, if it has been more than two weeks, dust the ceiling and walls.

Now, check for scuff marks and discolorations. If you find any, try using the krud remover. In many, if not most, cases this will remove the scuffs without leaving a patch that shines and looks out of place when seen against the rest of the ceiling or wall.

Clean chandeliers and ceiling fans thoroughly. While you are up there, install all new light bulbs.

Dust or damp wash the all around the window and door trim. Damp wash baseboards, chair rail, and cornice moulding. Again, remove scuffs.

Depending on how dusty you location is, plan to clean the ceiling and walls every six months or as needed. In other words, all the Staging we have done is aimed at only having to do this cleaning once.

Take down and clean (or clean in place) your wall art. Plan to do this every two weeks or as needed.

Vaccuum everything fabric: sofa, chairs, ottomon. Take the cushions off and vaccuum underneath. The dust that settles on fabric includes organic detrius (dropped popcorn kernals and other meal oopsies, your hair and skin cells, your pets' fur and skin cells, and so on). As time passes and the organics decay, that dust does develop an odor. It tends to be mild, but it is there and many people are aware of it. Get rid of it.

Polish hardwood furniture, make it shine. Deep clean other surfaces, make them glow.

If you have carpet that has been around awhile, either have it professionally cleaned or rent a steam cleaner. Ditto any rugs in the room. Do not use one of the scented carpet deodorizors. Many people are allergic to or dislike this kind of scent.

If you need to, go to the pet supply store and get an enzyme spray. Follow the directions on the bottle to remove organic odors from you furniture and/or carpet and/or rugs.

If you have hardwood, laminate, tile, or vinyl flooring use the appropriate cleaning and polishing solutions. A clean floor is not slick - that is dangerous. But a clean floor reflects light upwards into the room. This makes the space seem more open, the room feel larger. In fact, that glow tends to lift most people's spirits. We move closer to selling when buyers feel happier as they walk around the house.

Now that you have it clean, keep it clean. Walk through the house every day and check to see if any touch up cleaning is needed. In a very short time, if everyone living there pitches in, you will find things stay clean longer and it is easier and faster to clean when you need to, than it ever was when you were cleaning to Live.

Some of you will not be able to do everything I just described. But, remember, clean sells. So, do as much as you can. And look for other things you can do to make or keep your house cleaned to Sell.

Does anyone have additional advice? Special cleaning tips? Please post a comment and share your knowledge with the rest of us!

Tomorrow we move on to cleaning bathrooms and kitchens.