A clean and tidy home is essential when presenting to prospective buyers, who will quickly turn their backs on properties that are dirt traps.
Buyers rarely see past the mess, never imagining that a dirty home is where they’d want to create the next chapter of their lives.
Before putting your house on the market, look out for any features that may make it harder to keep your house or apartment clean.
White-out
A combination of white tiles and grout are a bathroom nightmare. Your grout will turn grey with dirt and make ugly lines against your tiles. One low-cost option is to hire a tiler to grind out the grout and replace it with a consistent grey-tone filler.
Shower spoiler
Water spots on all-glass showers are difficult to remove. When buying a new shower, ask the manufacturer to spray a special solution on the glass that’s resistant to marking by water. The additional cost is minimal.
Black edging
Long exposure to water can turn silicon black. You’ll see this most often behind the taps of a kitchen sink. There’s nothing for it but to dig out the silicon and regrout.
Dark benchtops
You might think a dark colour hides all manner of kitchen sins, but the opposite is true. Water and crumbs stand out on dark surfaces, so consider replacing your benchtops with a neutral colour.
No painless stainless
Stainless steel appliances show marks easily, so buy some special wipes from the supermarket to clean them properly. Also avoid putting magnets on fridge doors, as these can leave permanent, rust-like marks. If you live on the coast, forget the brushed-steel-look because it will show rust in just a few years.
Out of gas
Cleaning a gas cooktop is a constant, daily chore. The burners collect muck with every meal that’s cooked. So when putting your home on the market, make sure you keep on top of this.
Stain pains
Marble and composite stone countertops require constant vigilance. Stains from turmeric, red wine, pineapple juice, raspberry cordial and bolognese are constant threats. A good scouring liquid will help you out, but you need to watch for these evils. If a stain sits too long, there’s no shifting it.