Real Estate Agents Wish You’d Clean These 15 Spots Before Anyone Walks Through the Door

If you are wondering what to clean before a home showing, the first places buyers notice may surprise you. Here are 15 cleaning and maintenance spots that are often overlooked when preparing a home for buyers.

Walk through your house in the same manner and order buyers will when viewing your home. Start at the curb and move inside. Grab a rag, a small attachment for your vacuum, some glass cleaner and a notepad to take notes about any repairs that may be needed. Check for dust, cobwebs, dirt, fingerprints, smudges and pet prints as you walk through and tackle anything you find. Take this list of overlooked items and do a walk-through with it before photography, Open Houses and buyer appointments. Remember, buyers will see your house differently than you do because they’re not as familiar with it. While we’re not trying to make it seem like nobody has ever lived there, eliminating these interruptions can help buyers envision life in your home.

1. The front door and everything around it

Believe it or not, some buyers will be standing at your door for up to a whole minute while the agent unlocks the door and gets inside. That’s a lot of time to stare at your front door handle. Make sure it is clean and working smoothly.

While you’re at it, if your front door has a window in it, clean the glass. Reach up and wipe down the top of the door. Buyers will notice. Give both sides a once-over as well. Buyers will be exiting and re-entering through that door more than once, so give both sides attention. Check the door for dust, dirt, cobwebs, shoe prints, especially if you have little ones running around, and paws if you have pets. Clean porch lights, as they can collect lots of bugs. Check the house numbers, have they faded? Clean or replace the welcome mat if the sun has bleached it and left it looking dingy. If you live in an area like South Florida where salt air can get into finishes after just two windy weeks, power washing will breathe new life into your entry.

2. The first few feet inside the entrance

Buyers will notice marks from shoe trays, dirt, dust, and other things in this area. Sweep or vacuum accordingly. Check behind doors as well.

Buyers will reach for the light switch just as they enter your front door. Give them a wipe down, as well as the area of wall around the switch as it can get dingy from hands and fingers.

Move the coats and vacuum underneath. Buyers will be looking for storage and extra space in the closet. If you have matching hangers and designer handbags on display, great. Otherwise, I’ve found that breathing room is more appealing to most buyers.

3. Windows, sliding doors and their tracks

Buyers will notice the added light when they walk into a room with sparkling windows. If you have a condo with an awesome view, make sure the hazy glass isn’t dulling the view. Unless you enjoy dangling over balconies or want to get creative with broom handles, call in professionals to help with this chore. Vacuum out tracks before cleaning sliders or windows. Dirt will turn to mud as you wipe them. Check locks, as buyers will push sliders to see how well they work. Older is okay if they’re clean and glide along nicely without force.

4. Ceiling fans, air-conditioning vents and door-frame tops

We clean what’s within arms’ length. Buyers will tilt their heads and look up. Dust collects on the edges of fan blades. It can be hard to see until they’re moving. Use a pillowcase over the blades to catch the dust. Vacuum the A/C vents and wipe with a damp rag. If your vent cover is stained, painting won’t cover up moisture issues. Same with return grates. Buyers will be looking for things like these. Give door frames a dusting as well.

5. Kitchen counter overhangs and backsplash seams

Wipe down any areas buyers may not think to clean. The undersides of counters where they meet walls, the lip of the dishwasher, the undersides of kitchen islands, and other spots. Food particles, splashes, fingerprints, and crumbs collect in these areas.

Kitchen Countertops: Many sellers get hung up on the idea of emptying all of the countertop items. You can leave a few items like a plant, a nice bowl, or a coffee maker, just make sure buyers can envision available countertop space. Remember, buyers are looking for usable spaces! Make sure to clean behind items on countertops, such as walls behind coffee makers and outlets. Wipe down seams between counters and backsplash tiles. Clear away crumbs, loose cords and the random objects that gather in a kitchen corner.

In the kitchen, the underside of the range hood collects grease. Also, look up and check your venting grill, especially if you’ve been cooking often.

6. The sink rim, faucet base and disposal guard

Buyers may open the cabinet below the sink, turn on the faucet and look down the drain. Polish faucet, as a sparkly faucet makes an average sink seem new. Wipe down sink. Dry the lip of the sink after washing because minerals leave a chalky white residue. Clean around faucet base using an old toothbrush to get into seams. Remove the stopper, clean it and wipe the ledge below. Clean the overflow opening and the removable disposal splash guard. Try to eliminate any funky odors. Empty the drying rack before leaving, though a few drops of water are fine.

7. Appliance handles, seals and narrow edges

Clean around the appliances, including the reachable spaces beneath and between them. It’s amazing how much dust collects there. Wipe the refrigerator handle, the top edge of its doors and the rubber gasket. Clean the dishwasher handle, the rim around the door and its lower edge, then do the oven controls and window. Wipe the visible wall beside the range and clean the outlet plates.

8. Cabinet fronts and loose knobs

Cabinets and Knobs, Fingerprints and an overall filmy feeling from cooking can attract buyer’s attention. Light coming in from the side makes it worse! Start with cabinets closest to the stove and wipe them down. Try to match the sheen of the finish with your choice of cleaner. Old or dated cabinets are fine if they open and close smoothly and are in good, clean condition. Tighten any loose knobs, as this takes about 10 minutes and buyers will wonder what other maintenance items have been neglected.

Old cabinetry or finishes are OK. Buyers understand houses aren’t brand new. It’s OK as long as drawers and cabinets slide easily. It’s not about making it look like nobody lives there, it’s about eliminating interruptions. If you have to look twice to figure out if there’s dirt or grime, take care of it.

9. Grout, baseboards and the places beneath rugs

Floors: Old and dated flooring is OK if it’s clean. Scrub grout and get that filmy cloudiness off tile. Dust baseboards. Remove little rugs before taking pictures, and you’d be surprised at the darker circles of dirt, or outline of the rug from sun-bleached wood floors, once the rug is removed! Pay particular attention to where floors meet, corners, edges, like by the refrigerator or in front of the bathroom vanity. The goal is to make sure when buyers step into your home they think: We can unpack tonight, go to bed tonight, and not scrub floors tonight!

10. The shower glass, drain and caulk

Bathrooms, Buyers enter your bathrooms to envision relaxing or starting their morning there. Bathrooms need to be squeaky clean! Clean soap scum from the shower doors, then look from the side to catch any cloudy band left on the glass. Clean drains, as pink residue will make a bathroom seem ancient. Clean caulk, and if caulk has blackened and cannot be cleaned, consider replacing it. Clean drain covers, edges of glass, edges of tub, and other areas. Don’t over-do it with rolled-up washrags with cute bows. One fresh hand towel will do. Think impersonal, clean and quiet, like a good hotel bathroom on the morning you check in. We want buyers to envision relaxing in your bathrooms, not estimate costs to redo them!

11. The rest of the bathroom’s small touch points

Bathrooms get a lot of scrutiny because they’re small. Clean behind the faucet and toilet handle, around the base of the toilet, and the floor around the toilet. Buyers will be looking at the caulking so make sure there’s no mold or grime. Dust off the exhaust-fan cover. Scrub your shower curtain liner. Give the mirror a quick rubdown, as hairspray makes a film that catches the light, and shine a flashlight at an angle to see. Get rid of the clutter, such as toothbrushes and razors in the sink and prescription medications. There’s no need to stage with matching towels, just remove the personal items. One hand towel and one soap dispenser on the counter are fine. Close the lid!

Open the medicine cabinet and the cupboard below the vanity to make sure they’re clean and organized. Buyers want to envision themselves storing their stuff there.

12. Closet floors, shelves and the inside of the door

Buyers will open closets. Clean them. Dust shelves, vacuum corners, wipe down the inside of the door, dust the light switch. Remove donations and out-of-season items, as it’s OK to have some breathing room. I like to pull everything off of one side of the rod, because buyers want to see there’s space. A full closet makes the closet seem smaller than it really is. Matching hangers aren’t important, and it’s fine to have ten normal hangers with gaps.

13. The floor under pet bowls and the garbage can itself

If you have a pet, buyers will be looking at the food and water area. Move the bowls and wash the rubber mat, including the damp side touching the floor. Sweep away crumbs, clean water rings from the floor and wipe the nearby baseboard. Vacuum under the pet bed and wash the removable cover.

Empty the garbage. Buyers will lift the lid, so wash out your can if there was a leak. Smelly trash cans happen to the best of us. Do not cover them with spray. Buyers will be looking into trash and recycling receptacles especially if there are small spaces, so make sure they’re clean and not leaking.

14. Light switches, door frames and the gray marks on walls

Look for gray marks anywhere hands touch often: near door frames, switches, garage entryways and stairways. Melamine sponges work well but test a small area first as they’re abrasive and may remove your sheen. Use a mild cleaner and rag. Wipe down doorknobs, door edges, switch plates. It will make the paint in your entire house seem cleaner.

15. The balcony, lanai or patio

If you have an outdoor space like a lanai, balcony, or patio, it’s the reward at the end of a successful house-hunt so make sure it shines. Especially in South Florida! Wipe down railings and tables, hose down the floor, check corners for debris. Check cushions for mildew. Pick up broken items. Buyers will be looking for reasons to spend time in these spaces, so put away anything that suggests maintenance, including a hose, dirty water in a planter saucer or clutter. Check your screens, as it’s hard to see small tears, so get down and look at eye level and check behind furniture.

Make one final walk in the buyer’s order

Walk through the house the way a buyer will and look at things with fresh eyes, because you’ve seen things so many times that you don’t register them anymore but buyers will. Look at the whole house in daylight and evening hours, as certain things pop out at certain lighting. Take pictures at eye-level from your doorways, which will make the picture flat like a buyer’s initial viewpoint. I’ve seen crooked entryway mats, dusty ceiling fan blades, and shampoo left behind in the shower. Buyers will be looking at views, light, space. Get rid of interruptions.

See the house in their order

Follow the buyer’s path—not your usual cleaning routine

This is the idea behind “front door to patio”: clean in the order a buyer experiences the house, paying attention to what they wait beside, touch, look through, open and inspect.

At every stop, look three ways: up high, at hand level and down along the floor.