Every home carries scents of the wonderful meals we prepare, cleaners we use, laundry we’re doing and even the furniture we choose, whether it’s a leather armchair or antique highboy. Combined, they’re like the family scent signature.
How the fresh scent could make or destroy your home sale
Unfortunately, some scents, like those from our pets, smoke or pungent cooking odors, are certainly not very pleasant. Below are a few items to help offset those offensive odors before a showing:
2 hours before a showing
Open the windows and doors to exchange stale air with fresh air from the outside. The fresh outside air will exchange with the inside air in approximately an hour.
While they’re open
Clean hard surface floors using a diluted floor cleaner that has a warm scent, like lavender. Lavender is really a welcoming, calming scent for guests.
Use a diluted quantity of exactly the same all-purpose cleaner to spray and quickly wipe down kitchen counters and flat surfaces.
Using the same cleaner, wipe down surfaces in all bathroom. Do not use bleach or ammonia for this.
Sprinkle baking soda lightly on carpets and vacuum after a couple of minutes.
Clean litter boxes and move them outside or to a garage or carport area clear of visitors.
Spray linen freshener in closets for a clean, fresh smell.
Do one load of laundry, both wash and dry. This will help the laundry room smell fresh, and externally vented dryers will make the outside smell of clean laundry, too!
Additional options
Bake a sheet of chocolate chip cookies. No need to go all out – just pick up a roll of refrigerated cookie dough and keep those on hand. Slice, bake and voila!
Put two caps of vanilla extract in a coffee cup, then stick it in the oven at 300 degrees for one hour. The whole house will quickly smell like vanilla heaven without having to use harsh chemical air fresheners.
(Don’t forget to turn the oven off, get rid of the cup and hide it in the dishwasher, or a nosy buyer could see our little trick!)
Prior to leaving
When leaving the home for the soon-to-arrive agent and buyer, open every one of the curtains, turn on each of the lights, remove bathroom rugs, hang fresh towels, and flush and close toilets.
Your fresh-smelling home will stand out from the rest!
Ready to get your home sold here in the Tampa Bay Area? Nick & Cindy Davis have a proven track record of getting market value for the clients. If you are interested in finding out the current value of your home. We are always just a click here or call to 813-300-7116 away.
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